The kangaroo dog or kangaroo hound is an Australian type of sighthound purposely crossbred from a variety of sighthound breeds to produce a hunting dog.
| Kangaroo dog | |||||||||||||
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 Kangaroo dog ca. 1915 | |||||||||||||
| Other names | Australian Greyhound Bush Greyhound Kangaroo Greyhound Kangaroo Hound Staghound | ||||||||||||
| Origin | Australia | ||||||||||||
| Foundation stock | Combination of various sighthound breeds | ||||||||||||
| Breed status | Not recognised as a breed by any major kennel club. | ||||||||||||
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| Dog (domestic dog) | |||||||||||||
Kangaroo dogs were first bred by colonial settlers in Australia from as early as the 1830s, the aim being to create a sighthound fast, strong and robust enough to outrun, catch and hold a kangaroo without being injured or disembowelled by the animal's powerful, clawed hind legs.[1][2][3] 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.[1][4] Originally, these dogs were bred from British sighthound breeds, principally the Greyhound and Scottish Deerhound, with occasional Irish Wolfhound blood; later, the Borzoi was also used and more recently the Saluki as well.[1][2][3][5]
Hunting of native species with sighthounds is now banned in Australia; however, kangaroo dogs are still bred for hunting invasive introduced species, such as feral pigs and red foxes.