Rappahannock Scottish Deerhound wins best in show — as in the entire country!
‘In the dog show world they call it buzz’
Rappahannock County is great for growing lots of things: cattle, crops, grapes, horses — and champion Scottish Deerhounds.
On Thanksgiving Day, Claire the Scottish Deerhound of Flint Hill, handled by Angela Lloyd of Amissville, won Best In Show at the 2020 National Dog Show. At the spry age of three, Claire defeated hundreds of dogs across 168 breeds, earning the top honor at one of the oldest dog shows in the world.
Claire, owned and bred by Rappahannock County’s own Cecelia and Scott Dove, comes from a prestigious line of top prize winners. Her grandmother, Hickory, won Best In Show at the Westminster Dog Show in 2011, and her mother, Chelsea, won Reserve Best In Show at the National Dog Show in 2015.
“In the dog show world they call it buzz,” said Scott Dove, who practices veterinary medicine in Gainesville. “She’s gotten a lot of buzz because she’s relatively young and she’s got several best in shows in a row now and several group wins too.”
Scottish Deerhounds are sight hounds that were once used to hunt the wild red deer native to the highlands of Scotland. According to the American Kennel Club, the breed is “so old, we can’t separate the Deerhound’s true origin from myth and legend.”
Angela Lloyd, who has lived her dream as a professional dog handler for more than 17 years, has been showing the Doves’ deerhounds for more than half her career.
“Sir Walter Scott called them the most beautiful creatures in heaven, and I think that still kind of holds up,” she said. “They were dogs of the aristocracy … so they have this air about them where they feel unearthly in a way. I guess some people would view that as
stuck-up, but they’re not. They’re very endearing.”
Cecelia Dove, Claire’s co-owner and breeder, is the mastermind of Claire’s success. “Cecelia has a really good eye for being able to pick them,” her husband said. “And not everybody can grow them.”
Scottish Deerhounds are not like labradors and retrievers. They don’t play fetch, they don’t play on their own. Instead, they love to chase. “So if you want to grow them strong,” Dove explained, “they really need the rough and tumble rugby play of the litter.”
The topography of Rappahannock County is perfect for growing athletic deerhounds, Dove said. “They’re up and down hills all the time tackling each other and that’s how they get strong and that’s how they get fit. And that’s one thing our hounds are known for in the show ring — our hounds are fit and they’re strong and they’re solid.”
The Doves and Lloyd have big plans for Claire. Next week, Lloyd and Claire will compete in the 2020 AKC National Championship hosted by Royal Canin in Florida, which will premiere on broadcast TV in January.
Claire, owned and bred by Rappahannock County’s own Cecelia and Scott Dove, comes from a prestigious line of top prize winners.