English Staghound

English Staghound

He is not recognized by the F.C.I.

Origin

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The Staghound is an extinct breed of hound originating in England. A pack hound used for hunting red deer, the breed died out in the 19th century when the last pack was sold off.

The Staghound most likely descended from the Southern Hound, which in turn originated from the Talbot and the Norman Hound—breeds introduced to England by the Normans in the 11th century following their conquest of the country. As evidenced by Norman forest laws, hunting red deer (or "stags") was the exclusive privilege of the monarch and his favorites in medieval England; the Staghound was developed to hunt deer in packs, becoming a significant breed in the country. From at least the reign of Henry III (1216–1272), various hound breeds were kept in England to hunt different species of deer: the Staghound was reserved for red deer, while the smaller Buckhound was used for hunting fallow deer.

The Staghound shared many characteristics with French hound breeds; crossbreeding between French and English dogs likely occurred, as the exchange of dogs as gifts was common practice among royal courts and noble houses. It has often been suggested that the Staghound bore the closest resemblance to the *Chiens blancs du Roi* (the King's White Hounds), the breed of hounds kept by the kings of France. Early in his reign, Louis XV sought to improve the quality of his royal pack; to this end, he attempted to acquire English Staghounds through the Count of Toulouse, as these dogs were reputed to be "faster, more vigorous, and better hunters" than those in the royal pack.

With the gradual destruction of English forests and the expansion of cultivated land, the habitat of deer populations shrank; From the 17th century onwards, this practice began to wane in popularity, supplanted by fox hunting. The Staghound is one of the breeds that served as a foundation for the development of the Foxhound. The last pack of Staghounds in England belonged to the North Devon Hunt—the forerunner of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds—which hunted deer in the royal forests of Exmoor until 1825, when the pack was sold at Tattersalls. It was purchased by a certain Charles Shard of Somborne House in Hampshire; however, as the soil in Hampshire was flintier than that of Devon, the terrain frequently caused injuries to the dogs' paws, leading to the pack being sold again in 1826 after just one season. The majority of the pack was bought by a German buyer and exported to Germany; most of the animals were subsequently destroyed during a rabies outbreak. Since then, all packs kept in England for deer hunting have consisted primarily of Foxhounds, although they are generally referred to as "Staghounds".

The Staghound was described as a robust, powerful breed, standing up to 69 cm (27 inches) at the withers and exhibiting marked sexual dimorphism in size, with males being larger than females. The breed had a short coat, typically bicoloured, featuring yellow, lemon, or "badger" markings on a white background; the yellow-and-white coat was considered the most common. These dogs had elongated heads with broad noses and were renowned for their keen sense of smell. Compared to the Foxhound, the Staghound was larger, heavier, and slower.