The English Deerhound

A decades-long challenge of dog breeding, Dave Platts redeveloped the once-popular English Deerhound dog breed using a combination of the best examples from various dog breeds.

A worthy and quite admirable group of enthusiasts are now working to obtain recognition for The English Deerhound, based on the 10 generation breeding stock of sporting dog enthusiast Dave Platts, who started with Anastasia Noble's famous Ardkinglas Scottish Deerhounds and renowned racing Greyhounds in 1986, to develop his own line of rough-coated lurchers, selected on field performance, not any show-based cosmetic qualities. His foundation stock is rooted in Ardkinglas Sam, Xotic and Mick and track Greyhound winners Pannini, Casiope, Price Cut and Shooting News. For a quarter of a century his dogs have been prized by discerning sportsmen and rated as outstanding hunting dogs. Now, working with Dave Sleight, well known for his lurcher demonstrations at country fairs, and with the seeking of breed status being coordinated by Jackie Sykes, Dave Platts' outstanding dogs, producing uniform litters and much-admired hunting dogs, could be heading for well-justified formal recognition.

The superb hunting dogs bred by Dave Platts to produce a uniform and hugely-successful sight-hound, combining high prey-drive backed by equable temperament, remarkable physical soundness and a consistently re-created litter-profile, deserve wider recognition, with much to offer other breeds of this type, as well as sportsmen in overseas grounds. Dave Sleight is aiming to seek out and then offer steeplechase events at racing greyhound venues, so that such dogs can be thoroughly tested for function and not depend just on sheer handsomeness for appeal, the fate of so many sight-hound breeds in the 21st century. All true sportsmen should now support this admirable quest, with ideally the backing of a sponsor of stature eventually rewarded by the fame of backing a restored English canine asset. It would be so heartening to have support across the board for such an admirable venture, from the KC at the top, down through other established Breed Clubs, and, especially, the sporting press.