Lochiel's Pirate was one of the finest dogs I ever saw; he stood about 29m., had good bone, fine symmetry, and a hardish coat of a fair length, and altogether looked what a Deerhound should - a combination of speed and power. He was of the dark blue colour, so much prized, and so seldom seen. The Duke of Sutherland exhibited two very fine dogs of this colour at Birmingham in 1869, and a descendant of theirs, in the person of Lord Fitzhardinge's Tom, a powerful dog of like colour, took first at Birmingham in 1880. Another beautiful dog, in shape and symmetry, was Mr. J. Addie's Arran, a well-known dog some thirty years ago. He stood over 3oin. at the shoulder, had a wonderfully deep chest, capital loin, strong limbs of the best shape, and was of a dark blue colour, approaching black. His great failing was his want of coat, it being extremely scanty, especially on the head and legs. From the union with Mr. Parkes's Brenda he is the grandsire of that gentleman's Borva and Leona and of my Lord of the Isles, in all of which dogs some of his best qualities can be traced. Wallace, son of Arran, was a well-shaped dog, of but medium height, perhaps not more than 281'n. For this reason, and from a deficiency of coat as a puppy, he was not destined to the show-bench, but given away. He afterwards, I am told, developed a splendid coat; but it was almost by a chance that Mr. H. P. Parkes bred from him, as he was thought not to have sufficient size. The result was, however, that his first litter produced some dogs of the largest size in Lord of the Isles, Mr. Parkes's Duncan, and Mr. Sherman's Haco. Duncan, whose loss Mr. Parkes never ceased to regret, though larger than I care for, was certainly the best-made giant I can call to mind. His owner states that he was 31½ in. in height, girthed 35m., and weighed 971b., at thirteen months old, when he was exhibited for the first time. He then caught distemper and died, as so many puppies do. Haco was over 29m. high at nine months old, when purchased by me for Mr. W. S. Sherman, of Rhode Island, and sent out to America. On his voyage out he was shipwrecked on his 'native' shore of Scotland, off the Mull of Cantyre; but after being transhipped he arrived safely at his destination, and won first prize at the great New York Show in 1881.

Wallace's second litter from the same bitch produced Mr. Parkes's Borva and his well-known bitch Leona, the latter one of the best of her time. Borva was a true Deerhound, a wonderfully fast dog and a magnificent fencer, and would have made a perfect dog for work. Owing, however, to his not being an overgrown animal, but only about 28m., he was not so successful as a show dog as he should have been.

Here we have the case of a moderate-sized dog like Wallace getting unusually large stock; showing that, if an animal has size in its breeding, it is just as likely to transmit size as one of its larger relations, thus giving encouragement to the plan, advocated by me, of not always selecting the largest and coarsest specimens of a strain in the hope of getting size merely because they are big, a system which simply perpetuates coarseness and clumsiness, very often unaccompanied by what is the chief aim. But if you breed from the smaller specimens of a large strain which possess character and quality, you will be nearly sure to get the latter, and very probably the size: 'a giant's dwarf may beget a giant' Dr. Hemming's Linda, whose portrait was given in the First Edition of this work, was a splendid bitch, but her portrait was a mere caricature, and must have been taken in the last stage of decrepitude and decay.

It has been a matter of remark how much superior in late years the bitches have been to the dogs. For one good dog we can count three or four good bitches. Amongst the latter Dr. Haddon's Maida must not be forgotten. She was a grand bitch, with a fine coat, and would doubtless have been the greatest prize winner of her sex, had she not been killed in transit to the Alexandra Palace Show before she had got to her best. Mr. Parkes's Teeldar and Leona were also of the highest class, and several others I might mention. Indeed, a long string of first-class ones could be given, beside which an equal number of the dogs contemporary with them would make a poor show.

The great fault of the show Deerhound of to-day is the want of length and Greyhound form, the coarse, thick muzzles, heavy ears, woolly coats, and want of quality, arising from breeding for size alone. A dog standing 30m. at the shoulder, girthing 33m. to 34m., and with a loin of not less than 24m. round, should be the highest standard aimed at. The rest of our efforts should be directed to getting the highest combination of strength and speed with the greatest amount of character, aiming at improving the length to such a degree that the dog should, with all his size, have a long, low frame, rather than a tall, stilty one.

As companionable animals, Deerhounds cannot be excelled. Their chief drawback is their eagerness, when young, to chase any running object. If, however, they are taken out constantly, or reared amongst animals in the country, they soon become easily restrainable and capital followers. They are not quarrelsome, but when they get three or four years old will not stand any nonsense from other dogs. They are of a gentle and affectionate disposition, strong in personal attachment, and may safely be let run about the premises without any fear of their biting any lawful comer. They are delicate dogs to rear, and should never be shown as puppies unless they have had distemper.

The great difference in size between dogs and bitches of this breed has often been a matter of notice; and, as has been often correctly remarked, the purer the breed the greater the difference. Crossing increases the height of bitches, but not so much so that of the dogs. I do not believe in crossing; but, if it be resorted to, the best cross, there can be no question, is that with the Russian Wolfhound, a very pure bred dog, and of an analogous breed. Improvement in Greyhound shape might certainly be looked for, and the chief defects to be expected are the soft, silky coat and the white colour. But plenty of material is at hand nowadays, if breeders will have the courage not to neglect good strains simply because they are not of very large size."

Fig. 37. - Mr. R. Hood Wright's Scotch DeerhoundiSelwoodDhouran.