{{short description|Australian type of hunting dog}}
{{short description|Australian type of hunting dog}}
{{Infobox dog breed
{{Infobox dog breed
| kc2_std =
| kc2_std =
}}<!– End Infobox –>
}}<!– End Infobox –>
The ”’Kangaroo Dog,”’ also known as the ”’Roo Dog”’ or the ”’Staghound”’, was created in the early 1800s from a [[foundation stock]] of primarily [[British colonial]] [[Sighthound|sighthounds]]. The initial breeds included in creating this type include 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,”’ also known as the ”’Roo Dog”’ or the ”’Staghound”’, was created in the early 1800s from a [[foundation stock]] of primarily [[British colonial]] [[Sighthound|sighthounds]]. The initial breeds included in creating this type include 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>
[[File:Adam Gustavus Ball – Dog chasing a kangaroo – Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|339x339px|Early Kangaroo Dogs chasing a Kangaroo]]
[[File:Adam Gustavus Ball – Dog chasing a kangaroo – Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|339x339px|Early Kangaroo Dogs chasing a Kangaroo]]
==== Earliest references to Kangaroo Dogs ====
==== Earliest references ====
The earliest origins of Kangaroo Dogs are unclear. Some accounts suggest that [[Dharug|Darug people]] had Kangaroo Dogs as early as 1802, while in 1804 colonists sailed Kangaroo Dogs to [[Tasmania|Lutruwita, Tasmania]] where they were incorporated into the lives of [[Indigenous Australians|Indigenous]] communities.<ref name=”:0″ /> The earliest known print reference to Kangaroo Dogs appear in [[Classified advertising|classified advertisements]] as early as 1805 in the [[The Sydney Gazette|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>
The earliest origins of Kangaroo Dogs are unclear. Some accounts suggest that [[Dharug|Darug people]] had Kangaroo Dogs as early as 1802, while in 1804 colonists sailed Kangaroo Dogs to [[Tasmania|Lutruwita, Tasmania]] where they were incorporated into the lives of [[Indigenous Australians|Indigenous]] communities.<ref name=”:0″ /> The earliest known print reference to Kangaroo Dogs appear in [[Classified advertising|classified advertisements]] as early as 1805 in the [[The Sydney Gazette|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>
[[File:Kangaroo hunting, Corranderrk Vic 1900.jpg|thumb|341x341px|Kangaroo Hunting with Roo Dogs taking place in [[Coranderrk|Corranderrk]], Victoria (1900)]]
[[File:Kangaroo hunting, Corranderrk Vic 1900.jpg|thumb|341x341px|Kangaroo Hunting with Roo Dogs taking place in [[Coranderrk|Corranderrk]], Victoria (1900)]]
==== Purpose of the Kangaroo Dog ====
==== 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 [[Kangaroo|kangaroos]], [[Wallaby|wallabies]] or [[dingo]]es pursued by mounted hunters and their kangaroo dogs.<ref>{{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>{{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>
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 [[Kangaroo|kangaroos]], [[Wallaby|wallabies]] or [[dingo]]es pursued by mounted hunters and their kangaroo dogs.<ref>{{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>{{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>
==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=Alderton>{{cite book |last=Alderton |first=David |author-link=David Alderton |date=2000 |title=Hounds of the World |location=Shrewsbury |publisher=Swan Hill Press |page=124 |isbn=1-85310-912-6}}</ref>
<ref name=Alderton>{{cite book |last=Alderton |first=David |author-link=David Alderton |date=2000 |title=Hounds of the World |location=Shrewsbury |publisher=Swan Hill Press |page=124 |isbn=1-85310-912-6}}</ref>
<ref name=Mason>{{cite book |last=Mason|first=Walter E. |date=1915 |title=Dogs of all nations |location=San Francisco |url=https://archive.org/details/dogsofallnations00masorich |publisher=The Panama-Pacific International Exposition |pages=40 & 123 }}</ref>
<ref name=Mason>{{cite book |last=Mason|first=Walter E. |date=1915 |title=Dogs of all nations |location=San Francisco |url=https://archive.org/details/dogsofallnations00masorich |publisher=The Panama-Pacific International Exposition |pages=40 & 123 }}</ref>
}}
}}
{{Hounds}}
{{Hounds}}
{{Australian dogs}}
{{Australian dogs}}
[[Category:Dog breeds originating in Australia]]
[[Category:Dog breeds originating in Australia]]
[[Category:Sighthounds]]
[[Category:Sighthounds]]
Australian type of hunting dog
Dog breed
| Kangaroo dog | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kangaroo dog ca. 1915 |
|||||||||
| Other names | Australian Greyhound Bush Greyhound Kangaroo Greyhound Kangaroo Hound Staghound Roo Dog |
||||||||
| Origin | Australia | ||||||||
| Foundation stock | Combination of various sighthound breeds | ||||||||
| Breed status | Not recognised as a breed by any major kennel club. | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Dog (domestic dog) | |||||||||
The Kangaroo Dog, also known as 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 include the Greyhound and the Scottish Deerhound[1] Later accounts include introduction of the Borzoi, Saluki and other breeds.[2]
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.[3][2]
History
Earliest references
The earliest origins of Kangaroo Dogs are unclear. 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.[1] 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.[4]
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.[1] 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.[5][6]
Appearance
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. [1][2][3]
The typical specimen will be smooth-coated, though broken-coated dogs do appear. They are generally more greyhound-like than their staghound cousins and despite their powerful stature are probably more suitable for smaller game such as rabbits, foxes and hares.[3]
The ABC describes them as “muscly, heavily boned, agile, capable of great endurance — and a bit of an eyesore.”[1]
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.[1][7]
Use
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.[8][1][3]
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”.[1][9]
