Staghound

The Staghound, sometimes referred to as the English Staghound, is an extinct breed of scent hound from England. A pack hound, the breed was used to hunt red deer and became extinct in the 19th century when the last pack was sold.

History

The Staghound most likely developed from Southern Hounds, which were themselves developed from Talbot Hounds and Norman Hounds introduced into England by the Normans in the 11th century after their conquest of the country. As seen from the Norman Forest laws, in medieval England the hunting of red deer, or stag, was the exclusive domain of the monarch and their favourites, and the Staghound was developed to hunt the stag in packs, becoming an important dog breed in England. From at least the reign of Henry III (1216–1272), different hounds were maintained in England for hunting different deer species, with the Staghound kept to hunt stag, and the smaller Buckhound kept to hunt fallow deer or buck.

The Staghound shared many characteristics with French hound breeds; there was likely interbreeding between the hounds of France and England as the exchange of hounds as gifts was common between royal courts and noble houses. It has been claimed the Staghound most closely resembled the King's White Hounds, the hound breed of the French kings. At the beginning of his reign, Louis XV of France wanted to improve the quality of his royal pack, and sought English Staghounds, procured by the Count of Toulouse, to achieve this, as English Staghounds were described as "fleeter and more vigorous and better hunters" than the hounds in the royal pack.

With the gradual destruction of the forests of England and the increased cultivation of the country, the deer's habitat was reduced, and from the 17th century, the sport began to decline in popularity, being supplanted by fox hunting. The Staghound was one of the foundation breeds used in the development of the Foxhound.