This is Jasper - we adopted him from the RSPCA about 5 months ago and we believe his is just coming up to his third birthday. We think he may be a Greyhound / Deerhound cross. He is very gentle, affectionate and laid back - until he sees a small dog that is - in which case he goes bannanas - growling and barking and pulling on his lead. Not sure whether he is afraid of them or sees them as breakfast - the latter I suspect. He is great with bigger dogs, once he has been introduced, and has several pals around the village who he enjoys meeting on his walks. Over the months we have tried everything to try to stop his hunting instincts ( if that's what it is)from turning a quiet walk into a battle of wills - has anyone any bright ideas how to stop him doing this? Also, at the moment he has no recall at all - i'm working on it but this combined with the worry that he will hunt down someones small dog means that he very rarely gets let off the lead. Very sad for a lurcher as they need to run - bit like having a bird and not letting it fly. I have let him off a few times on the beach - usually with not very encouraging results - one minute he is stood next to you and the next he is a swiftly vannishing dot on the horizon. This may seem an odd request, but if you don't ask, you don't get! Is there is anyone out there within striking distance of Llandudno who has an enclosed space where Jasper could let off steam occasionally? If so we would be extremely grateful to hear from you!
He looks adorable, I have a soft spot for hairy Lurchers. Could not hazard a guess as to the cross apart from saying he is very deerhound the rest could be almost anything. As to the chasing, well he is a lurcher and he is following what he was bred for.
He is adoable and as Pita says def deerhound as for the cross it may be a grey, either way he is a typical sight hound and the instinct is there to chase small prey. Sorry I can't help with the en closed space I am nowhere near Llandudno ,but hope you are successful as it would be nice if he could have somewhere to run free without the chance of him injuring or even killing a small furry . He may only chase but it is better not to take the chance just incase he goes further. I just love hairy lurchers like your boy. It is not easy to teach recall to a sighthound my boys 9 time out of ten will come back, but if they spot something such as a rabbit squirrel or deer they take off and become selectively deaf. Just the lure of the chase.
Thanks for your replies - you are right of course and I don't want to make his life miserable by trying to stop him doing what comes naturally! Have just come back from a late "walkies" and he put up a fox on the village green - great excitement! He made a beautiful bugling / baying sound which I had not heard from him before - a reminder perhaps that he was born to chase! It was like that when I got here!
And not just sighthounds, all the hounds suffer seletive deafness and most are difficult to recall, none of mine are reliable and sometimes even the magic work biscuits falls on deaf ears. There are some Lurcher clubs Tash that hold shows and lure chassing meetings, not sure what they are called by think you may find information in a publication like the Horse and Hound or Farmers Weekly. Even on Dogsey there are lurchers owners who may know the name and contact details if not I will try to find out for you if you are interested.
I think Pita has hit the nail on the head, also where you live (been there often) can you not approach one of the landowners and see if they have a field thats enclosed
Thanks Pita for the advice about Lurcher Clubs - I think lure chasing might be the answer to him burning off energy in a controlled way without actually killing anything. I'll certainly follow that up! Also thanks to Youngstevie for his suggestion about contacting local land owners. There are in fact many fields around here and I am constantly on the lookout for one that doesn't have sheep in it or in adjacent fields. The area would have to be very secure because although Jasper hasn't a clue how to get over a style, I have seen him jump a high broad hedge without a second thought!!
Tash he is a beautiful dog. Unfortunately I can't help with anywhere for him to run but I hope you find somewhere soon. Good luck, we will all look forward to seeing more pictures of Jasper.
Try www.lurcher.org for other lurcher links. Also try reading 'Countryman's Weekly' for lurcher events. There's a very good article in this month's 'Your Dog' on how to train a bomb-proof recall. Haven't tried it, but it seems to make sense. I clicker trained my lurcher - it was the only way to get through to her and transformed her from a hooligan into a model citizen, but it takes a lot of patience and you need to understand the science. good luck E
How about local tennis courts to let him off if you have any. A 30ft horses lunge line is also good for giving some freedom to roam and they are quite inexpensive. Good luck.
