Have dogs improved over the years

[keepitcovert 842]

Looking at the difference of modern day athletes to those of say 60 years ago there is a huge difference in the times clocked for various events. Take for example roger bannister breaking the four minute mile in 1954, major news at the time, looks pretty sad compared to todays time of 3.43 a massive difference. Question is have todays running dogs- lurchers call them what you like evolved along a similar path. We all have read about the dogs of yesteryear being credited with super intelligence and working ability eg the legendary smithfield, but were those dogs really that good or were they the imagination of some victorian authors poetic license. For me the dog that was approaching near perfection was the coursing saluki crosses pre ban, that was if you liked a course to become a war of attrition lasting up to several minutes, as opposed to a contest between two greyhounds seldom lasting more than two minutes. We all have fond memories of dogs we have owned, usually we look back through rose coloured spectacles and tend to forget the faults they had. So do you think the dogs of today are improving generally, or staying static or even taking a backward step. Be interesting to hear you guys views on the subject.

Edited May 28, 2011 by keepitcovert

[Casso 1,261]

Looking at the difference of modern day athletes to those of say 60 years ago there is a huge difference in the times clocked for various events. Take for example roger bannister breaking the four minute mile in 1954, major news at the time, looks pretty sad compared to todays time of 3.43 a massive difference. Question is have todays running dogs- lurchers call them what you like evolved along a similar path. We all have read about the dogs of yesteryear being credited with super intelligence and working ability eg the legendary smithfield, but were those dogs really that good or were they the imagination of some victorian authors poetic license. For me the dog that was approaching near perfection was the coursing saluki crosses pre ban, that was if you liked a course to become a war of attrition lasting up to several minutes, as opposed to a contest between two greyhounds seldom lasting more than two minutes. We all have fond memories of dogs we have owned, usually we look back through rose coloured spectacles and tend to forget the faults they had. So do you think the dogs of today are improving generally, or staying static or even taking a backward step. Be interesting to hear you guys views on the subject.

 

in general i thing the standard of dog owner hasn't improved, and if thats the case i dont see hows the dogs would have improved

 

and with the hunting ban now in place apart from bunnies , i dont see how it will ever get any better

[whippet 99 2,613]

in theory dogs should be improving over the years as breeding between proven worker to worker should be producing good working stock. you keep breeding from the best you should be getting better quality through the generations. BUT people out crossing too sh*t for money and no interest in working ability has spoilt it and always will . keep to your own working line and guarantee what your getting. buying dogs out of media or word of mouth, cant prove nothing unless you see the working abilites of dam and sire for your self, all the best for the comeing season

[boyo 1,398]

i think the way they are looked after as improved tenfold with mag boxes better food and conditioning methods being much better than years ago.also the saluki crosses and bull crosses was not about years ago like they are today.dogs of yesterday did their job very well but times have changed and the dogs with it my opinion is coursing dogs certainly have but there were good dogs on big stuff long before the bull crosses became so popular.i a;lso think and not everyone will agree but it is certainly true with myself that i am not so critical of a dog as i have got older and the dogs today dont seem to be as well trained obedience wise as years ago .just my opinion and we all differ .

[Guest dances]

Now I wasn't lucky enough to see the dogs of yester year because as so many members keep saying, I'm only 18 but I'm gonna to give my point based on my dads expierience. He went through many dogs in the late 70s - early 80s where they just didn't have what it took to take foxes as often as he did ( anything upto 100 a season) but then the PROPER bullxs came along in the mid 80s and these dogs sticked all that was thrown at them. For 10 or so years the only bulls in the country where proper tried and tested bulls but then people got there hands on them just as status and pets dogs producing cur after cur. These curs have then been used to produce bullxs and there are a lot of pet bulls being bred to greys so in my opinion the bullxs are going backwards not forwards.

[stewie 3,387]

Looking at the difference of modern day athletes to those of say 60 years ago there is a huge difference in the times clocked for various events. Take for example roger bannister breaking the four minute mile in 1954, major news at the time, looks pretty sad compared to todays time of 3.43 a massive difference. Question is have todays running dogs- lurchers call them what you like evolved along a similar path. We all have read about the dogs of yesteryear being credited with super intelligence and working ability eg the legendary smithfield, but were those dogs really that good or were they the imagination of some victorian authors poetic license. For me the dog that was approaching near perfection was the coursing saluki crosses pre ban, that was if you liked a course to become a war of attrition lasting up to several minutes, as opposed to a contest between two greyhounds seldom lasting more than two minutes. We all have fond memories of dogs we have owned, usually we look back through rose coloured spectacles and tend to forget the faults they had. So do you think the dogs of today are improving generally, or staying static or even taking a backward step. Be interesting to hear you guys views on the subject.

personally i think no to much shit being bred by to many part timers the best dogs, imo, were the dogs that HAD to catch to feed their owners and themselves and nowadays a dog like that is just not needed so dogs can afford to miss a few hundred rabbits over the season that years ago would of been shot for!! yes we had many good lines of hare coursing salukis, fox taking bull crosses etc etc before the ban but, again imo, these are a luxury of the times and not what the original lurcher was bred for and for that matter i think the dogs of old were better as mistakes/blank nights meant one hell of alot more back then

[moonlighter 1,164]

Hare dogs have improved no end.. When we used to do best of 3 years ago, the 3rd hare was normally just ran behind, never normally killed. Now how things are different with saluki blood!

[Romany 1,065]

Definately NO..

[Raymond 618]

When you look at it, these modern day human athletes havent been bred best athlete to best athlete for generations to produce the top human athletes of today. So maybe diet,advanced training methods and some luck in the genes department has produced these human.When you look at all the shit athletes out there could it be a numbers thing aswell.Not saying this is fact but some food for thought.ATB Ray

[3 Turns 326]

ALRIGHT MATE .

DOGS NOWADAYS COULDNT LACE MY PREVIOUSES DOGS SHOES.

THE DOG TODAY IS MISSING ,HARD TIMES,TOMAKE THEM STEP UP THE NOTCH THEYRE NEEDING.

DOG,S IN THE 2000,S ARE WELL,FED,AND LIVE 6STAR AND ARNT AS HUNGRY AS DOGS 15/20 YRS AGO..

IM NO SLATEING ANYONE.BUT IVE BEEN GUILTY OVER FEEDING,BULKING THEM UP AND MOLLYCODLING.

.DOGS IN THE 60S/7OS/80S WERE BETTER .

[bunnys 1,228]

Iwould saynot general hardiness his missimg in a great deal of the modern lurcher strains ,not all but the vast majority could not function on the meagre rations some dogs had to in times gone by ,strong constitution good grubber all thrive on ought ,no room for the picky fussy types couldint stand a decent nights lamping never mind 5 good winters .atb bunnys.

[3 Turns 326]

Iwould saynot general hardiness his missimg in a great deal of the modern lurcher strains ,not all but the vast majority could not function on the meagre rations some dogs had to in times gone by ,strong constitution good grubber all thrive on ought ,no room for the picky fussy types couldint stand a decent nights lamping never mind 5 good winters .atb bunnys.

 

IM NOT GETTING YOU PAL..

YOU AGREE THEN CONTRDICT YOURSEF TWICE

[pattfell 1]

The answer to that question is simple the dogs the hares the fox the rabbits the deer the badger have al had to up the standard to stay alive.thats evalution for yea.

[wirral countryman 2,110]

I'd say about 99% of the dogs being bred today are'nt a patch on the stuff being bred in the 70's and 's,if anyone kept a lurcher back then it was purely for work,I don't remember anybody keeping them as pets or show dogs,most were good pot filler's because so few people bothered to hunt the land unlike today ,there were no internet sites to search for pups or magazines for terrier and lurcher men to find pups,the only way to find a decent one was to wait for mates to put 2 good dogs together after 5-6 seasons of work to test them properly,or wait till wednesday for the "exchange and mart" to come and hope for maybe one litter advertised miles away, nowaday's there are people breeding off dogs that have seen little work or just shows and that is responsible for all the sh*te dogs that are about,working a dog once or twice a week will not test it fully by any means,ask yourself an honest question before you keep pumping out second rate dogs that lack basic obedience,stock chaser's,jibber's and bad feet,we should only breed off the best and then not for money but to replace an ageing dog with something similar or even better,they are not a status symbol to be paraded about by tracksuited mobs roaming the countryside but another tool to efficiently catch our chosen quarry and slip back home without most people knowing you have even been on their land,so my honest answer is that most dogs being bred and worked today are a poor second to those of yesteryear,atb,wirralman

[trigger2 3,145]

NO