American Staghound

The American Staghound is a coursing dog of the American plains — a Greyhound and Deerhound cross bred for the job rather than to a written standard.

History

It was made by hunters who needed a sighthound with more coat, more bone and more staying power than a Greyhound to run coyote and hare over open western country. It has been bred to performance for well over a century and is registered by coursing associations rather than by kennel clubs, which is a deliberate choice by the people who keep it.

Temperament

The breed is known for being calm and quiet indoors and intensely driven in the field, gentle with its own household and typically indifferent to strangers.

Care and training

It needs room to gallop and secure fencing; the chase instinct is absolute. Training works through relationship, not repetition. Coats vary from smooth to rough and all of them are easy.

Health

Sighthound anaesthetic sensitivity applies, and the deep chest brings the bloat risk of that build. These are patterns for the type rather than a forecast for one dog; the measured facts are in the panel.