collie/greys

[Guest lurcherlad]

whats the opinan on 1 st cross collie greys like what quarry are they cappeble of catching temerment obediance

CHEERS LURCHERLAD

[Guest CharlieC]

a first cross collie greyhound will usually make a great rabbiter, their temperaments are usually very biddable and they are naturally obedient dogs.

 

Some will take fox with the right entering, others wont. Most will kill white hares easily, some will even kill the odd brown hare if they get it on the early turns, and some will pull roe with a fair amount of regularity.

 

Ive taken all quarry with mine and they are not first crosses they are collie/grey over many generations, so a first cross should definately be fast enough to do most things the average lurcherman wants, but the drawbacks to collie crosses can be that they can sometimes lack committment, they can be very jealous dogs, and they can also be hyper as puppies if not given enough to do to keep their minds occupied, they can become cunning if run too often or too sore, and some can have very skittish, nervous temperaments (although the ones I have seen that have been like this have mainly come from a well known commercial kennel where they are kept in poor conditions and have little socialisation ) collie greyhounds can sometimes be quite exasperating, they can drive you to distraction with their wily ways but they are fantastic dogs if you just want to mooch about and enjoy a close bond with your dog as they are very one-man dogs and work best when they can have you all to themselves

[Stabs 3]

I can only comment on my own who's a sly, devious bugger! She's a bully, very possessive, VERY guardy to the extent that she'll guard anything you put on the floor, even a cup of tea Scatty at times too. Her nose seems to get better by the day and she's a dream in cover. Not everyone's cup of tea that, but perfect for me. What I have noticed is that she's very indepent too, which translates as pig-headed I suppose. You might read this description and think I'm knocking her, but nothing could be further from the truth. I wouldn't part with her for the world.

 

 

Good ferreting dog and for the bunnies. Loves the water which is another must for me.

[smallmouth 1]

This bitch from the early ‘80s was Beardie/Border X Greyhound. I reckon most of the Collie influence must’ve come from the Beardie, as she was so similar in attitude to the bitch Stab’s describes above, I needn’t say more really.

 

Here she is at about 10 weeks.

 

 

She was quite precocious and made a decent rabbiting dog. The best thing about her was that she was a natural retriever with hardly any training. The worst thing about her was sheep breaking, we got there, but I never felt comfortable with her around sheep.

 

Here’s my Border Collie Greyhound. Again a rabbiting dog, though she’s taken a blue hare, and a variety of feather.

 

 

I think on the land I go on, this bitch would be best suited to ferreting. So as a wise man said to me when she was a small pup, “if you don’t ferret smally, that bitch will be wasted on you”.

 

On land with more game, I think she’d be a competent all round rabbiter.

 

As for obedience, she’s certainly obedient until she encounters a lot of game, then her inexperience shows, her head explodes and she gets rabbit fever.

 

She came from a “well known commercial kennel where they are kept in poor conditions and have little socialisation”. Further more I took her on at 16 weeks. I won’t bore anybody with the whys and wherefores in an attempt to justify my rash decision. Suffice to say that I tried to compensate for possible sensory deprivation during a critical period, with 5 months of 24/7 contact. This may not have been entirely successful, but I like this lurcher.........and that’s the main thing for a dog walking armchair like me.........

[Guest alfie]

whats the minimum and maximum heights of the first cross ?

[smallmouth 1]

I think it must depend on the type of collie used, and the indivudual parents?

 

The smallest genuine 1st X bitch I've seen was 21 inch. The largest 1st X dog I've heard of was allegedly 27ins!

 

My bitch is just over 23ins.