Kangaroo dog

{{short description|Australian type of hunting dog}} {{Infobox dog breed | name = Kangaroo dog | image = Kangaroo Greyhound from 1915.JPG | image_alt = | image_caption = Kangaroo dog ca. 1915 | image2 = | image_alt2 = | image_caption2 = | altname = Australian Greyhound Bush Greyhound Kangaroo Greyhound Kangaroo Hound Staghound Roo Dog | nickname = | stock = Combination of various sighthound breeds | country = Australia | weight = | maleweight = | femaleweight = | height = | maleheight = | femaleheight = | coat = Smooth-haired or coarse-haired | colour = Black, brindle and bicolour common | litter_size = | life_span =  | notrecognised = y | kc_name = | kc_std = | kc2_name =  | kc2_std = }} The '''Kangaroo Dog,''' also colloquially known the '''Roo Dog''' or the '''Staghound''', was created in the early 1800s from a foundation stock of primarily British colonial sighthounds. The initial breeds included in creating this type were the Greyhound and the Scottish Deerhound.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2024-09-18 |title=Roo dogs are the toughest Australian animal you've never heard of |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-19/kangaroo-roo-dog-role-in-first-nations-and-colonial-history/104261384 |access-date=2025-09-13 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref> Later accounts include introduction of the Borzoi, Saluki and other breeds.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Hancock |first=David |date=2025-09-13 |title=Lurchers for the Kangaroo |url=https://www.davidhancockondogs.com/archives/archive_900_present/1035.html |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=www.davidhancockondogs.com}}</ref>

The Kangaroo Dog is decidedly not a breed, but is instead classified as a type, with populations today primarily remaining in the hands of hunters who wish to preserve the functional utility of the Kangaroo Dog rather than dwell on factors such as standardization or ANKC recognition.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Bruning |first=David |date=2018-02-09 |title=Information about the Kangaroo Dog |url=https://www.bruning.com/about/dogs/kangaroo_dog/ |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=Bruning.com}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

== History == thumb|Kangaroo Dogs chasing a Kangaroo

=== Origins === [[File:Kangaroo hunting, Corranderrk Vic 1900.jpg|thumb|Kangaroo hunting with Roo Dogs, Corranderrk, Victoria (1900)]] The Kangaroo Dog has been reportedly part of Australian hunting culture since the beginning of colonization, with early settlers needing a dog that could handle the rigor of hunting in the Australian environment, particularly against kangaroos, who were a major food source for the early settlers.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=kangaroo-dog {{!}} Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris {{!}} Archli |url=https://archli.com/dictionary/dictionary-of-australasian-words-phrases-and-usages-by-edward-morris/kangaroo-dog-337062 |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=archli.com}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Sharp |first=Moya |date=2018-11-30 |title=The Kangaroo Dog - 'Roo Dogs' |url=https://www.outbackfamilyhistoryblog.com/the-kangaroo-dog/ |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=Outback Family History |language=en-AU}}</ref> Kangaroos were already wary of both humans and dogs, due to 50,000 years of interactions with Aboriginal peoples and their dingo hunting companions.<ref name=":0" />

Greyhounds and Scottish Deerhounds made up the earliest populations of Kangaroo Dogs,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1949-04-30 |title=Here's the answer |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136316209 |access-date=2025-09-13 |work=World's News |pages=19}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" /> though other breeds were eventually added along the way. Interestingly, the Scottish Deerhound was colloquially known as the Scotch Staghound,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1892-05-07 |title=KENNEL NOTES. |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19823724 |access-date=2025-09-13 |work=Queenslander |pages=877}}</ref> not to be confused with the English Staghound, an extinct scenthound.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1922-04-08 |title=THE SCOTCH DEERHOUND. |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140230400 |access-date=2025-09-13 |work=Australasian |pages=11}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite news |date=1946-05-31 |title=DOG NOTES |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105694134 |access-date=2025-09-13 |work=Land |pages=12}}</ref>

=== Earliest mentions === Some accounts suggest that Darug people had Kangaroo Dogs as early as 1802, while in 1804 colonists sailed Kangaroo Dogs to Lutruwita, Tasmania where they were incorporated into the lives of Indigenous communities.<ref name=":0" /> The earliest known print reference to Kangaroo Dogs appear in classified advertisements as early as 1805 in the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1805-11-03 |title=Captain Kangaroo Dog - Classified |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article626956 |access-date=2025-09-13 |work=Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser |pages=2}}</ref>

=== Purpose === The goal of breeding the Kangaroo Dog was to create a sighthound fast, strong and robust enough to outrun, catch and hold a kangaroo without being injured or disemboweled by the animal's powerful, clawed hind legs.<ref name=":0" /> From the 1830s onward, colonial hunting clubs were established across Australia's colonies, with native kangaroos, wallabies or dingoes pursued by mounted hunters and their kangaroo dogs.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Kangaroo hunting in colonial Australia |url=https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/kangaroo-hunting-in-colonial-australia |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=Pursuit |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=The art of the colonial kangaroo hunt |url=https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/news/2667-friday-essay--the-art-of-the-colonial-kangaroo-hunt |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au}}</ref>

== Appearance == thumb|Representative Kangaroo Dog, possessing the typical phenotype expected for a member of the race Those who continue to keep the Kangaroo Dog today have rejected standardization, and so there is no one correct way for a Kangaroo Dog to look. However, the Kangaroo Dog's form follows function, and continues to represent the sighthound phenotype. <ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

The ABC describes them as "muscly, heavily boned, agile, capable of great endurance — and a bit of an eyesore."<ref name=":0" />

=== Varieties === Both contemporary and historical sources indicate that both the terms Kangaroo Dog and Staghound refer interchangeably to the same type-bred sighthound, a crossbreed coming from Greyhound and Scottish Deerhound foundations with other breeds mixed in as needed, in the Australian hunting context with slight differences reflected in phenotype.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Boardogs Staghounds |url=https://www.boardogs.com/Boardogs_Staghounds.htm |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=www.boardogs.com}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> thumb|Representative of the Staghound, possessing the typical phenotype expected for a member of the race. Contemporary pig hunting enthusiast blogs, such as [https://Boardogs.com Boardogs.com], write about their experiences hunting with the dogs documenting that the rougher-coated varieties are what are referred to as '''Staghounds''' while the smooth-coated varieties retain the name of '''Kangaroo Dog'''.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7" /> Writers at [https://Boardogs.com Boardogs.com] additionally write that hot and humid climates are not suitable for the rough-coated dog as they tend to overheat quicker than the smooth-coated dog.<ref name=":7" /> Staghounds are preferred by hunters of large game, due to the added protection of their rough-coats, and are a common choice for pig hunting.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Orr |first1=Bronwyn |last2=Malik |first2=Richard |last3=Norris |first3=Jacqui |last4=Westman |first4=Mark |date=2019-10-22 |title=The Welfare of Pig-Hunting Dogs in Australia |journal=Animals |volume=9 |issue=10 |pages=853 |doi=10.3390/ani9100853 |doi-access=free |issn=2076-2615 |pmc=6826489 |pmid=31652568}}</ref> The Kangaroo Dog is preferred in warmer climates, and cautioned against using on larger game, instead promoted as a small game hunter due to their more sensitive coats and slimmer, greyhound-like features.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7" />

== Temperament == Much like how some sources describe Greyhounds as "couch potatoes", the Kangaroo Dog is described by some owners as "sooks" who sleep about 16 hours a day.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The 70km/hr Couch Potato – Greyhounds as Lazy Pets {{!}} Greyhounds As Pets |url=https://gapsa.org.au/blog/the-70km-hr-couch-potato-greyhounds-as-lazy-pets/ |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=gapsa.org.au |language=en}}</ref>

== Use == thumb|Indigenous Australians with their Kangaroo Dog. While the type was initially created for kangaroo hunting, it is now strictly illegal to hunt native species with hounds. The Kangaroo Dogs are dwindling in numbers, though still used in pockets of Western Australia and other states for the hunting of invasive pest species such as feral pigs and red foxes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Overview of Laws Governing Kangaroo Culling in Australia {{!}} Animal Legal & Historical Center |url=https://www.animallaw.info/article/overview-laws-governing-kangaroo-culling-australia |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=www.animallaw.info}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7" />

== In popular culture == In 1996, Australian comedian and performer Kevin Bloody Wilson released "Roo Dog", a Christmas parody of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" which directly references the Kangaroo Dog and describes them as "wet-nose crossbreed" and "ugliest dog you've ever seen".<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Kevin Bloody |date=1996 |title=Roo Dog - Kevin Bloody Wilson |url=https://www.shazam.com/song/1744692182/roo-dog |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=Shazam |language=en-us}}</ref>

==See also== * Longdog * Lurcher {{clear}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Dog breeds originating in Australia Category:Sighthounds Category:Dog crossbreeds

Kangaroo dog

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