American Staghound can be considered as a type of hound dogs that were bred to hunt. This breed is usually vey kind, calm and affectionate, and thus is considered as a good pet. They are large in size and may be upto 26 inches to 30 inches.
American Staghound’s characteristics can be considered as a mixture of Scottish deerhound and the Greyhound. This dog can run very fast and in known to follow its instinct of running after a running animal.
American Staghound History
The American Staghound has genetics of both Scottish Deerhound and the Greyhound. The characteristics of the Greyhound include excellent eyesight and high running speed, but it has soft feet that are not suitable for hilly and rough terrain. The characteristics of Deerhound include tough feet, heavy and harsh coat for protection against extreme cold along with a large and strong body.
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American Staghound Dog Facts and Information
- American Staghound took all the good characteristics of Scottish Deerhound and the Greyhound not by singular breeding of both the breeds, but it was perfected by performing many breeding experiments for many years.
- Hunting dogs are mainly used to hunt wolves. But hunting their cousins, coyotes posed new challenges as they are faster and more agile than wolves. But American Staghound can match their speed and help in hunting coyotes.
- At present, American Staghound is not recognized as any breed.
- American Staghound just wants attention of its owner and doesn’t make much noise.
- They have a strong instinct of hunting. But they prefer preys like coyotes and not small and feeble preys like rabbits.
- Puppy price: average $800-$1000
Diet
The American Staghound’s diet must be taken care of by the owner. The dog food given to them must have minimum specifications of crude protein and crude fat. This is necessary because lower crude protein protects the adult dogs from panosteitis (bone inflammation) and the puppies from hypertrophic osteodystrophy (Bone disease) and lower crude fat content protects the dogs from heart diseases.
Additional requirements include,
- Protein rich foods like eggs, fish and chicken.
- Vegetables like beets, spinach, lettuce, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc.
- Some vitamins like Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3 and Vitamin C along with the required amount of anti-oxidants.
- Some fruits and grains like apples, blueberries, flax seeds and oatmeal.
Behavior and Temperament
- American Staghound is usually very calm and affectionate. They crave for the attention of the owner and make a wonderful companion.
- Also, the dogs are highly intelligent since they can protect the livestock from various predators.
- They are very good and tender with children.
- As American Staghounds are bred to hunt, even puppies show strong instinct towards hunting and running after their prey.
- American Staghound is known to be bold, courageous and very determined when it comes to hunting or running after its prey. They usually don’t like running after feeble animals like rabbits, but prefer strong prey like coyotes.
- These dogs are usually pack oriented and prefer staying in packs. When they stay with humans, they consider humans as their pack, with humans as the pack leader.
Lifestyle
American Staghound prefers to stay where there is plenty of space to move around and not in an apartment. That’s why they are best suited for rural areas. But they still may do well in urban areas if they have proper place and time to exercise and if they are regularly taken for walks.
American Staghound requires daily exercise for their proper physical and mental growth. But care should be taken that the puppies under 12 months must not exercise too strenuously when their bone structure are still forming.
Breeding
American Staghound was bred by genetically combining the characteristics of Scottish Deerhound and the Greyhound. This cross breeding was done so that the speed and excellent eyesight of the Greyhound would combine with the rough and tough feet and coat of the Deerhound. This would make the American Staghound an excellent predator to hunt preys like coyotes along with being gentle and calm with humans.
Appearance
American Staghounds are big and strong. The male American Staghounds weigh about 25-41 kg and their height is about 66-81 centimeters. On the other hand, the female American Staghounds weigh about 20-39 kg and their height is about 61-74 centimeters. They have long legs and strong muscles that support them while running and catching their prey.
American Staghounds are of three coat types. One is the Shag coat type that resembles Scottish deerhound, the second one is the Slick, that resembles the Greyhound and the third one is the Broken that is between the Shag and the Slick.
Also, there are two different of coat variations that are found in American Staghound. The first one is the smooth coat and the second one is the rough coat. The smooth coated American Staghound dog is suited for the areas where the temperature is warm, like Australia.
Also, as their coat is soft, there are less chances of hair becoming tangled and getting covered with burrs. They are more related to Greyhound. The rough coated American Staghound dogs have rough hair that gets easily tangled and covered with burrs. Also, as their hair are rough, these dogs are more suitable for colder weather.
Health Issues
As American Staghounds have been bread for many years, they usually don’t have any genetic health problems and thus are healthy and strong. The only problem they may face is that they must not immediately run after eating big portion of food, as it may cause bloat concerns also known as gastric torsion. Also, American Staghound is sensitive to anesthesia.
Life Expectancy
If properly taken care of, an American Staghounds may live up to 12 to 14 years.
Grooming
The owners must regularly brush the dogs’ coat to keep it clean and shining. Other basic grooming include bathing, nail trimming, teeth brushing and ear cleaning.
Training and Exercise
An American Staghound can be trained efficiently by using correct training techniques. Care must be taken especially with the pups during the training period. Also, American Staghound needs regular and daily exercise as it is highly energetic. It is important to have a spacious place for them to play and run.
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Characteristics
- Besides being used for hunting purpose and being aggressive, the American Staghound is very calm and gentle with the humans. They are very loyal and only need owner’s attention.
- They need minimum grooming.
- With their excellent eye sight, they can act as excellent watchdogs.