Perl Best Practices

Colophon

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The animal on the cover of Perl Best Practices is an American staghound, a hybrid of the greyhound and the Scottish deerhound that is bred specifically for coursing, or hunting by sight. Coursing is one of the world's oldest field sports, and "gazehounds," or "sighthounds," have been tested in competition since as early as AD 116.

The staghound is not recognized as a breed, but is considered a type of sighthound. Although some lines of staghounds have been bred together since the 1700s—longer than some modern breeds—most huntsmen don't push for breed recognition. They believe the staghound should be left unrecognized in order to preserve it as a coursing animal bred for function and not form. As a result, there are no breed standards. Staghounds come in any color or pattern found in either the greyhound or Scottish deerhound and have three coat types: "shag," "slick," and "broken" (which is between shag and slick).

The staghound exhibits many of the same physical characteristics as the greyhound, with long legs, strong muscles, a deep chest, and keen eyesight, and has the endurance and scenting ability of the Scottish deerhound. The staghound's coursing instinct is so strong that anything that runs—rabbits, deer, coyotes, etc.—may ...