BILL DOHERTY,
well known in the lurcher world, with some of his dogs being able to be traced back to the seventies. His stock was always noted for their quality and ability, his honest working all-round type of lurchers were much sort after countrywide, and individual dogs bred from his strain were among the best available in mid to north Northumberland between 1980-2000. Bill is a keen hunter of all British quarry, but as he resides close to the Anglo-Scottish borders, hunting rabbits both by day and with the aid of lamps are his main interests, plus when legal, hare coursing, and the taking of fox and deer. 

Living in this game abundant environment, Bill always had the opportunity to test his stock to the limits, on any quarry he required; he saw this as an integral part of his breeding plans.  Bill was born and bred in the town of Bedlington in Northumberland, close to Ashington where he now lives, but his main hunting method during his youth was long netting (at night).

Apart from hunting, Bill has always possessed a close association with the countryside and is enthusiastic about many forms of wildlife; other traditional interests and past-times include taxidermy, stick dressing, net knitting, glass engraving and cage bird breeding.  

A wonderful piece of taxidermy, a hare mask mounted by Bill

He has been an active semi-professional vermin controller, mole man and has rung birds with the BTO, specializing in small passerines. Today sees Bill as a country diarist and a regular contributor to various UK magazines, including the COUNTRYMANS WEEKLY, WILDLIFE & COUNTRYSIDE, CAGE and AVIARY BIRDS, the BIRDKEEPER and many others. Please CLICK names for samples of his work or logos below.

John Doherty with two Rohanis deerhounds used on DOXHOPE bitches over the years, Rohanis Firehawk, and his son, Rohansi RUARI

JOHN DOHERTY
as with every hunter from the Bedlington area of Northumberland, John was a long-netter in his youth, but he also served a long apprenticeship in the world of dogs. He was originally a Whippet-man, both racing and hunting with these friendly diminutive sight-hounds. From there he branched into the world of cairn terriers, rough collies, Shetland sheepdogs and finally Scottish deerhounds. John was a highly respected breeder and exhibitor, he also judged to Kennel Club level. John became quite efficient in the use of genetics, he was partly self-taught, with his early experiments being practiced on budgerigars then on to dogs.

The father and son partnership worked well, due to John’s knowledge of genetics and his time served breeding and management regimes, plus Bills enthusiasm to test their progeny in the field of work, and his eye for a good pup.

Both Bill and John judged regularly at many of the well organised lurcher shows and country fairs in Great Britain, before the death of John in 2002.

Border union Championship show at Kelso Scotland.  Brian Doak with one of his bitches that impressed Bill and John so much. 

During the early nineties the duo studied the available deerhounds, and were very impressed by those owned and bred by Brian Doak from Northern Ireland. A bitch puppy was later secured, ROSSLYN FLING, this lovely well put together deerhound became their foundation bitch, and DOXHOPE DEERHOUNDS were born. Their first litter from SHENVAL ISIDORE X ROSSLYN FLING produced some lovely puppies. Three pups were kept, DOXHOPE LADY ANNADAILLE (Meg), DOXHOPE AMBECKY (Becky) and DOXHOPE LAIRD of ASHPARK (Lewis). Although two of these deerhounds showed well, all three were bred primarily for work.

The partnership however became disillusioned at the direction the size of the show orientated deerhounds was going, so Bill and John dropped out from the show scene and concentrated on producing quality, sound working deerhounds bred more to the hounds original dimensions.

Bill showing Adda at the Kelvin Valley lurcher and terrier show at Ayr in Scotland, one of the first cross deerhound x greyhound that DOXHOPE consistanly produced. Adda won best puppy here .

The plan worked, and they obtained an endless supply of enquiries for their deerhound puppies from both home and abroad, and use of their stud dogs. On many occasions breeders took bitches to DOXHOPE in an attempt to correct structural faults etc. DOXHOPE deerhounds were noted for their good, compact feet, and this “bred in trait” was also passed on to the F1 hybrids they produced.

Bill here tired after a successful weekend coursing in Scotland, pictured here with DOXHOPE Ambecky a beaten finalist on the second day.

It was in the field of work that DOXHOPE bred deerhounds excelled. Bill entered their deerhounds in many hare coursing events, some organised by the English Deerhound Club, plus other invitation or privately run events. His best position with his dogs was a beaten finalist at organised events, but won a number of private stakes.

The slipper and judge at an organised hare coursing event in the late nineties, with one of the pair of deerhounds being the formidable Coronach Pennys Chieftain, a hound Bill observed and liked so much, DOXHOPE deerhounds were the first to use him as a stud.

Through this involvement Bill was able to pick suitable working deerhounds as sire’s to the Doxhope bitches, making full use of such notable coursing deerhounds as ROHANIS RUARI, ROHANIS FIREHAWK and the exceptional CORANACH PENNYS CHIEFTAIN (in Bills eyes the best coursing male deerhound ever). Bill would pick the dogs, John would then obtain pedigree’s from their owners, check if they would be genetically suitable for DOXHOPE bitches, and have the final say in any proposed mating.

Soundness and temperament were two of the main virtues intentionally bred into DOXHOPE DEERHOUNDS; such things as working ability came naturally because of these factors, and also because of the constant large volumes of work DOXHOPE deerhounds were subjected to. A typical example of a deerhound from this breed would be smallish, (but within the breed standard), fleet of foot, sound, strong with incredible endurance and extremely fast, these dogs were bred to run, not to pull carts.

NB. Mention of hunting any quarry other than rabbits, was done before the ban of hunting with dogs acts came into force.

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