Kangaroo Dog

Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The Kangaroo Dog is also known as Australian Greyhound and Australian Kangaroo Dog originating in Australia. It is considered more a type of dog rather than breed. Its main purpose is to hunt by sight.

Historically, these dogs evolved from Greyhounds and Scottish Staghound which were brought to Australia by early settlers. The two hunting breeds were used for their speed, endurance, ability to catch small and medium prey and adapt to difficult terrain. The Greyhounds and Scottish Deerhounds provided much needed food to early settlers by hunting game like Emos, Kangaroos and wallabies. They were also used to guard sheep flocks from Dingoes. These two breeds spread across Australia and the best dogs of the two breeds were crossed together to obtain best qualities in a single dog. The resulting dogs have speed and fantastic eyesight of a Greyhound while the Scottish deerhound added thicker coat, tougher feet, more powerful body and excellent stamina. Later bloodlines from other working dogs were also added like Borzoi, Whippet, Saluky and Irish Wolfhound. From these, two separate yet similar dog types emerged; the smooth-coated Kangaroo dog and the rough-coated Staghound. The Kangaroo dog comes with a long and strong head. Moderate eyes are dark in colour. Small ears are folded back. Long and strong neck is mascular. The body is similar in appearance to a Greyhound, only larger and well boned. This breed has three coat varieties, the rough coat, the smooth coat and the broken coat. Any colour is acceptable for this dog.

It is a large dog with a height between 26-32 inches and weighs between 65-100 lbs.

This breed is NOT recognized by AKC or any other major kennel club.

Color

Any colour is acceptable for this dog.

Coat

There are three types of coat for this type of dog. One is rough coat that resembles Scottish Deerhound coat. The other is smooth coat that is more similar to a Greyhound coat and the last is a broken coat which is a mixture of smooth and rough hair on the body. The rough coated variety is known as Staghound.

Personality

The Kangaroo Dogs are very calm around the home. They crave the attention of humans and are very affectionate towards their owner. Although he is primarily used for coursing quarry, the Kangaroo Dog/Staghound makes a wonderful companion. He is good with children, but his size can pose a problem to the very young. Once this breed is properly socialized it is safe with pets and livestock.

Care

Kangaroo dogs shed very little under normal circumstances. They require the occasional brushing to keep their coats clean, but beyond that, grooming can be kept to a minimum. They are omnivores like most dogs and need to be fed at least twice a day because of the amount of energy they burn.

Training

Training should start at an early age and maintained throughout a dogs' life.

Activity

This dog is very active and would need ample amount of exercise. Not suitable for apartment living, the dog will need large open spaces to run and play.