Hmmm

abbey · Old Hand

Hmmm

feldandjack · Guru

When you get a cross breed you hope you get the best of both breeds, but as with anything in nature, you can never be sure. You are just as likely to get the worst terrier traits mixed with the worst sight hound traits. I know plenty terriers/sight hounds, who suffer from 'instant recall' that's to say the instant there is nothing more interesting, they will come when you call, but otherwise you could wait forever for them to respond. furious

I've had many 'pre owned' lurchers and they were all very individual characters, recall is always a bit hit or miss. I hope you don't write off your search too soon, experience of owning dogs is invaluable when working with any type of dog, especially rescue dogs. My new girl Bess is glued to my leg when out walking, she has no interest in stock, but when she shot off after a rabbit I didn't expect her to stop and return immediately I called. I let her reach the end of the field then called, once the rabbit was out of sight, she ran back to me. For a lurcher this was very good (in my humble opinion) but the level of obedience you need depends on your circumstances, I would not dream of letting my last lurcher 'off lead' anywhere in town or near sheep, but he was fine out here. Please meet some hounds and get to know them, like terriers and other working dogs, they only want to please, they just need to be shown what is required of them. wink

abbey · Old Hand

Awww thank you for such a positive reply, i think i was slightly disheartened this afternoon, but i havent given up yet! Terriers are the same, mine all recall fairly well..but when a bunny is waving at them right in front of their nose..sometimes there is a slight delay in between my whistle going and them returning!!! I have always made coming back to me an exciting thing..i carry all sorts in my pockets from a ball, to treats, tuggy bit of rope, to a piece of rabbit fur..etc(when i go to Tesco and rummage for my change and these things fall out..i get VERY weird looks!!!!)With the Vizslas it was a completely different way of training, their recall and skills to the whistle are now excellent, but i still much prefer my terriers..i like their independance, their spirit etc, which is what i am sure i will love in a Lurcher. I have found training each Terrier has been a different experience..each one has responded differently to different things, and i personally have found this really rewarding. I hope somewhere out there is the right dog for us and us for him/her..it will hopefully all come together at some stage. We are in no hurry.

Leolurcher · Master

Abbey what that man told you ties in with what I warned you about re the beddie x. In lurcher circles the beddie x seems to be the most problematic even to extremely experienced lurcher people.It is a type unto itself..... other lurchers are not like the beddie x. biggrin

Lots of love
Eleanorxxxxx

-- Edited by Leolurcher at 01:03, 2007-07-29

abbey · Old Hand

I remember that you said that...what would you all think of a Parson Russell x Whippet..i know both the parents, lovely steady, nice tempered dogs..any thoughts?

-- Edited by abbey at 01:05, 2007-07-29

Valerie · Guru

On lurcher recall. Biscuit is now two years old and good on recall under "normal" conditions. However, no amount of whistle or shouting does any good if a rabbit, deer, hare etc. crosses his path. He gets off-lead in quiet places away from roads, so wildlife is inevitable. He chases until tired or they lose him, and then comes back. I have to follow on the path he ran down doing the occasional whistle and call, so he can locate me. It can be worrying, but it's the balance of letting a big rangy dog have his time off lead. I think he would wither if on lead all the time.

Biscuit is whippetX deerhound and perhaps a bit of collie. He has learned his manners on lead, and we can walk past cats etc., with only some hard stares, but would never trust him with cats.

Biscuit is an angel in the house, very sweet and will listen, and hates to get a row for anything, but outside can be different when the sighthound/prey thing kicks in.

I have to say it's hard work and consistency, but it has been very rewarding - there is nothing like seeing him barrel back to you when you whistle (for the chicken of course!)

Hope you find the lurcher with your name.

Valerie and Biscuit

Murphyandco · Graduate

Hi there

this isn't really advice,just my experience of having a lurcher with a bit of Beddie in her. We got our first lurcher Murphy from Seafield cat and dog home with absolutely no idea of his parentage but as he developed it was obvious he had more than a touch of saluki in him and definitely has a saluki temperament i.e would sleep all day if you let him!! Outside he is born to run and chase rabbits but has NEVER actually caught one and one day we saw Murphy actually being chased by two rabbits biggrin

Jazz on the other hand...we acquired her under odd circumstances but we know her parentage. She comes from working lurcher parents-whippetxsaluki mum and beddiexcollie dad so she covers all bases-speed,stamina,intelligence and tenacity. Oh,and sometimes downright bloody mindedness weirdface

What we are discovering with her boils down to the old argument of nature versus nurture and on the odd occasion it seems like a bit of an uphill struggle but she is still only 7months old and really is doing well on the whole!
But Jazz has already caught,killed and eaten several bunnies and definitely has a strong prey drive but lives perfectly happily in a house with two cats and shows no interest in them whatsoever. And on the plus side she generally comes when called,even with the bunny running right in front of her nose. BUT we are finding now that she has started 'hunting' dogs of any size or breed cry

she can switch from play mode to 'kill' mode in the blink of an eye but same again,if we catch her before she gets to that stage,she will come back to us quite happily.
I think what I am trying to say is don't let the beddie x put you off-it's a big learning curve for us but hopefully with the right management and consistency Jazz is going to be as great a companion as Murphy,just a very different personality. Dogs are a bit like kids I think. You never know what you are going to get but hopefully with a bit of work and dedication they can turn out to be wee stars smile