An Madra Mór.

If we look into a Gaelic dictionary we find:

an - the
madra (m.gsg. id, npl -aí) - dog
mór (comp. mó) - big

So An Madra Mór means "the big dog" in Gaelic, one of the remaining Celtic languages.

Even before we all got overwhelmed by the amount of Celtic-influenced music in the CD-shops today we, my wife and me, were already in the mid-eighties interested in Celtic culture and we loved to listen to music by Enya and Clannad. The fact that I was unable to understand over 50% of the lyrics made me decide to do a Gealic language course, now little over 10 years ago. When we thought about a name for our Deerhound kennel of course it had to be a Celtic name.

It depends on how you came to this internet page. It was either a logical step in your reading after you already visited our other pages, or the keywords on top of my HTML-pages did their job and you came here by means of a search engine. Either way: welcome.

Our experiences with Deerhounds.

Our kennel is the result of our experiences with Scottish Deerhounds, and we do not have to go back to ancient history for the start of that experience.

We bought our first Scottish Deerhound in 1996. We already had vast dog experience thanks to our three Schnauzers, and before our Schnauzers we had a Saint Bernard. Also my wife and me were quite active in dogevents. She as trainer and I as member of the board in several clubs and organisations. All in all we were no longer a layman when it came to dogs.

We always prepare ourselves on the owning of a new breed by reading a lot. That was also the main problem: not many information existed in The Netherlands on a breed so rare (and the internet was still only something you once heard about).

After some time we were able to retrieve at least some information thanks to libraries, encyclopedias, (foreign) magazines, books, etcetera. We reported ourselves as potential owners to the Dutch Deerhoundclub. We were invited for a member meeting so we would get to know each other.

The meeting was helt at a motel in the middle of our country and in the meetingroom were not only the dogowners present, but also their dogs. Meeting the Deerhound 'in the flesh' resulted in our still existing enthusiasm. We applied for a puppy and a few months later that happy day came: Ciallmhar (Gaelic for sensible; pronounce as 'Gelmar') entered our life.

Company for Ciallmhar.

Half a year after we got our first Deerhound Ciallmhar she got company from France as the imported dog Glen Mara Lachlann of Pitlochry's joined our family (it was renamed Breandán). In fact we thought of our 'troop' by then as being complete. With two Scottish Deerhounds and three Schnauzers in our living room (more specific: on the couch) we were quite content... we thought.

In 1997 we visited the breeder of Ciallmhar once again. And there, in an orchard, there was this beautful group of Deerhound puppies.

Based upon her character I fell for Claire. And then there were three (agree: six if you also count the Schnauzers). Even now all of our dogs live in our home (I can only say: as do all of the members of our family).

Our premises do not resemble the castles of the Deerhoundowners from long ago, and neither would that be necessary. The Deerhound is a quiet and gentle dog. Its all-important daily training and walks are performed outdoors, in the park or in the forest nearby. We adjusted our car though, a van proved to be more convenient. But that is all.

Why a kennel ?

To us, all our dogs are a member of the family. We also try to offer our Scottish Deerhounds something that the breed was initially ment for: running and hunting. Hunting deer in the traditional way is of course forbidden by law. So you will have to offer something else. We found coursing and running to be satisfactory alternatives. On the track the dog chases a plastic or fur 'hare' over a certain distance. First to finish is the winner.

In a coursing the hare is pulled using pullies in in the grass. The 'hare' will make curves, simulating the natural run of a hare. Now the dog should not only run but also anticipate on the possible changing in direction. Finishing first is no longer the issue. The run is judged by an official judge and he determines who is the winner.

At official events a muzzle is mandatory. This has nothing to do with reliability of any dog, but at the finish there are two dogs and one hare. Both of the dogs want to have a piece of the action. To avoid any problem a muzzle is used. They don't even notice it as the dogs are far too concentrated on the movement of the 'hare'. During training a muzzle is not mandatory in The Netherlands. At least not for the Deerhound.
On the picture Claire (during a training at Lelystad) does wear one as the dog must become accustomed to wearing a muzzle.
Mind to always read the official guidelines at an event to avoid discussion afterwards on wearing of not-wearing muzzles. It would be a pity if a misunderstanding would cause your disqualification.

A healthy dog is a must on these events. Regular checks by a veterinarian are necessary to make shure the dog stays healthy. Don't run or course unless you are sure you have a healthy dog!
Read more on our next page: Kennel An Madra Mór - Goals

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