Lurcher Discussions

lovely lurchers

This is my lad Fluke, a rescue Lurcher of Border Collie x Saluki parentage













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Your lurcher is just utterly stunning patch. I love Saluki's :smt007
Definate saluki ears

A question. What is the deffinition of a lurcher? Any mix that includes sighthound? Or is it more than that? (Sorry not from the UK, so not familiar)

Lurchers are Greyhound crosses, usually with another sighthound (called Longdogs technically!) or with another breed, bred to perform the task in mind. For instance, a dog to take Rabbiting may consist of a Whippet and a collie, Whippet for speed and strike, collie for obedience.
Dawn.

Beaky (Mia) on the right my Saluki x ? She is ten years old now and still charges about like a Loon



As far as working though she would be hopeless bless her, the biggest thing she has caught is a mouse

I`m determined to help you get this right once and for all ;-)

Longdogs are *any* Sighthound x Sighthound, they do not have to include Greyhound.

Any Sighthound crossed with *anything* else and in any percentage is a Lurcher.

Most of them these days are `accidental` actually, with no thought to anything let alone a `task` but their *parentage* defines them as Lurchers [ or Longdogs where relevent ], not their ability / design / speed / or anything else pertaining to a `job` the same as a Border Collie is a Border Collie whether he has eye or not, crouch or not, or indeed a head with half a braincell rattling around and would`nt know a sheep from a tree.
Breeds / types are so because of their genetics, not their job application suitability

In the original deliberate breedings a few hundred years ago the dog used to mix with the sighthound were chosen for stamina more than anything else, to improve the otherwise short sprint then need to sleep for 20 hours to recover from a hundred yard dash, [ to put it in basic terms ].
It was also the case at that time that Greys and Collies were the most commonly available for breeding to produce Lurchers. As more breeds became commonplace, more variations in crosses were done, hence these days its wide open for what constitutes a Lurcher [ or Longdog where relevent ].

There is a big difference between what someone *thinks* defines a dog and what *actually* defines a dog - its best to make it clear when one is giving a opinion rather than passing that opinion off as fact, its avoids confusion when anyone is asking for information.
Hope thats cleared it up once and for all ;-)

I have owned a lurcher, bred by my parents, as we had a greyhound and a irish wolf hound! Now i always thought that true lurchers had greyhound blood in them... but seems im wrong

There are plenty of misconceptions around about Lurchers and Longdogs, as has been shown on many a thread here and there so I`m not suprised so many people get confuddled.

To further clear things up for you, the dog from your parents Greyhound x IWH was not a Lurcher but a Longdog, defined by being of a crossbreeding from Sighthounds only on both sides.

So there ya go

Sadie GreyhoundXRidgebackXGSD

lovely dog random

Oooooh what a lovely looking girl - very expressive and smart too I`ll bet !

Yes Patch, you are right of course, you always are! silly me!
(do we have a yawning smilie??)

She is patch, she's the perfect dog, really loving and sensitive.

Dawn so do you disagree as i really dont know to much lurchers, i would like to know and to be honest a real lurcher is a working lurcher in my eyes!

Yes Dawn I am right, sorry that it means just for once that you are incorrect yourself
This may pain you to hear it but your personal opinion of what is or is not a Lurcher does not over ride the actual genetics of the dogs, nor does it make you more knowledgeable or `expert` than the Lurcher owners / breeders / Societies / Organisations who *do* actually understand what defines a Lurcher by parentage / heritage whether modern day or historical.

Yes Patch, fine Patch. But next time you see a Longdog that hasnt got Greyhound in it, let me know will you because that WILL be the accidental breedings you speak of!

You appear to think that most lurcher breedings are accidental, you are wrong. Most Lurcher breedings are very well thought out as to the work the owners of such dogs wish them to do, but perhaps I am wrong? however for the last 18yrs I have used, worked and lived along side them, but hey, dont mean diddly squat that! even if they were specifically bred to do a task.

Many Lurcher types in rescue are bred by travellers, these are the non thought out, stolen, whatever types, these are the people that give no thought to their breedings, not the people that rely on their dogs for their livlihood and their work. Stop tarring all Lurcher breeders with the same brush, dont wash that!
Dawn.

Hayley, a dog does not have to do the job it was bred for to be within its breed / type.

Yes or no to the following Hayley :

Does a pet Border Collie which does not work sheep cease to be a Border Collie ?

Does a pet Greyhound which does not race cease to be a Greyhound ?

Does a pet Poodle which does not work in hunting cease to be a Poodle ?

Does a French Bulldog which does`nt go ratting cease to be a French Bulldog ?

Does a Bernese Mountain Dog which does`nt pull a cart cease to be a Bernese Mountain Dog ?

Does a Staffie which does not take part in illegal organised fights cease to be a staffie ?

Does a Dalmatian which does not run with a carriage cease to be a Dalmatian ?

Dogs are not defined by whether or not they can or actually do the job they were originally bred for in the year dot but by their genetics.

No one can say that my Lurcher is not a Lurcher.
He is part sighthound [ Saluki ] part Border Collie. In build, speed and endurance he is the epitomy of a Lurcher of that type crossing.
He does not however, chase small furries.
Whether that is because he just does`nt want to, or because he was kept in a garage pretty much for the first year of his life and was never exposed to being a killing machine, who can say.

Whatever it is that meant him not being a working Lurcher, [ which I am more than happy about, I don`t want him killing things ! ], does not change his genetics Hayley, he is a Lurcher under the *factual* definition - his parentage.

There are more breeders in the world than just the ones you know personally

Yes you are. You are only considering a tiny pocket of those purpose breeding. Most Lurchers are accidental matings unless you are saying that of all the dogs involved in accidental litters every day never include any sighthounds :smt005

No it `dont mean diddly squat`. You are looking at only those bred by some people from certain breeds for certain jobs. They are not the only Lurchers in the world Dawn, you do not have a monopoly on knowing every breeder, [ accidental or otherwise ], and certainly not every crossing concerned.

Er hello, the only tarring with the same brush is the example you have just given yourself !!!

Fact :
Any sighthound x anything else = Lurcher
Any sighthound x any sighthound = Longdog

Get over it already