Welcome to the Scottish Deerhound Club of America’s web site on Deerhound health issues. We hope this will help Deerhound owners and breeders, as well as those considering adding a Deerhound to their home.
A blog with news and updates can be found here, or click on the “News” page above. If you want to receive news updates, please click the “Follow” button in the lower right corner.
Comments are always welcome. If you have a question or would like to share something on this page, we’d love to hear from you.
SDCA Health & Genetics Committee
Deborah Cutter, Ph.D.
John Dillberger, DVM, Ph.D. (Chair)
Miranda Levin
Mary Ann Rose, MD
Betty Stephenson, DVM
Have a 8year old deerhound cross three of his nipples have changed to black in colour and seen slightly scabby thinking the worst cancer? Any advise please
Hi Sam,
Thanks for writing. This site is for informational purposes only, and we can’t give veterinary advice. If you have a question about your dog’s health, you should contact your veterinarian.
Hello! I am finally getting the dog that i have always wanted, a deerhound puppy is coming to live with me. All is well except for the confusion in me due to all of the conflicting advice and information about puppies, exercise and lead walking…..please help…anyone??
Claire
Have you seen this brochure put out by the Scottish Deerhound Club of America? This will help to get you started: http://www.deerhound.org/Documents/DH_OverviewCareReq.pdf.
do you know how I can adopt a puppy
Two links for those looking for a Deerhound:
Our breeder referral person can help you to find a breeder: http://deerhound.org/the-breed/breeder-referral/
Rescue and Placement: http://deerhound.org/about-the-sdca/rescue-and-placement/
We have a four year deerhound and over the last 3 months she yelps whenever she puts her head down (i.e. sniffing ground when taking her for a walk, or just moving her head funny when lying down). Our vet could not find anything wrong with her and recommended we make an appointment with the vet hospital at Ohio State. After x-rays and MRI they found northing wrong. Have you ever heard of this in deer hounds? thank you
Hi Laura, I am sorry to hear that your dog is having neck pain. It is seen in Deerhounds sometimes. Here are some articles on this: https://sdcahealth.wordpress.com/2014/01/01/neck-pain/ and https://sdcahealth.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/deerhound-neck-survey/ . Many Deerhound neck problems resolve with anti-inflammatories, acupuncture, and/or chiropractic, so you might want to check with your vet to see if they would be appropriate for your dog. And note that sometimes it takes a while for the problem to resolve. Hope this helps, and hope your dog is feeling better soon.
I have an 8 month Deerhound. I have had repeated eye infections and have treated her with 3 different eye medicines. Within a week after discontinuing the meds she has an infection. Any suggestions appreciated.
Hi Meg, Sorry to hear about your puppy’s eye problems. We cannot give veterinary advice, but we can say is this is not a typical problem in Deerhounds. Have you seen a veterinary ophthalmologist yet? Maybe they can help you resolve this more quickly, at this point.