best age to start working your lurcher?

[AshR1 214]

had different opinions to start working my lurcher some say 6months some say 9months, any advice on this would be appreceated.

[Floyd17586 454]

6 months with a bitch as they will be at the best they will be at 9 months a dog much later

[the big chief 3,099]

13 - 14 months as the dogs are that mutch more mature than say 6 months

[BEARINATOR 2,872]

At 6 months the pup will still not be developed properly, 9 months to a year should see them having enough to catch rabbits

[ferret features 289]

start takeing it out mooching as soon as its jegged let it follow th other dogs

[WILF 47,354]

Nobody ever f****d a dog up by waiting, but quiet a few f****d one by starting too soon.....myself included.

[morton 5,368]

As you are obviously unsure about when to start a pup i would say,concentrate on the dogs training,stock breaking and fitness.Forget about entering the dog until its 14 month old,this way the dog will be physically and mentally more capable of handling the mistakes you will make,better than if you start it before its finished growing and maturing a tad.Try and get out with somebody reliable and capable enough of showing you the ropes,if this is not possible then just start slowly,easy runs short outings in the field and don,t put undue pressure on the mutt.

[Guest cookiemonsterandmerlin]

As you are obviously unsure about when to start a pup i would say,concentrate on the dogs training,stock breaking and fitness.Forget about entering the dog until its 14 month old,this way the dog will be physically and mentally more capable of handling the mistakes you will make,better than if you start it before its finished growing and maturing a tad.Try and get out with somebody reliable and capable enough of showing you the ropes,if this is not possible then just start slowly,easy runs short outings in the field and don,t put undue pressure on the mutt.

 

You will not go wrong following that advice

 

You will have a major malfuction of the dog if you follow either6/9months opinions.

 

Is they a dash of dobey in your pup.

 

Good luck with the pup Cookie

Edited June 6, 2012 by cookiemonsterandmerlin

[Gaz_1989 9,539]

Someone once said to me...

 

No one has ever ruined a dog by starting it too late. Plenty ruined by starting to early.

 

6 months? Feck that.

[craigluckyjihad 244]

i cant believe people would even consider coursing hares before 12 months.dogs are still developing fs

[fagaen 282]

i believe every dog is different some seem keener than others and show all the characteristics of a world beater at an early age i was told to let the dog be a pup and concentrate more on obedience and other types of training . to be fair morton could not of put it any better atb

[Ideation 8,216]

Also does depend on what you class as 'starting working'.

 

I'd take a 6-9 month dog out for a couple of hours gentle ferreting, just to watch, and gain some experiance, maybe hold a rabbit in the net etc, but wouldnt lamp one.

 

And i'd let a 9 month dog, hunt up and mooch about if that was what its intended role was, just picking the right areas etc.

 

But no flat out working till after 12 months.

[Country Joe 1,411]

I start my pups ferreting at 6 months, you would need your pup to be born in March or April so he or she is out in September, im not looking for rabbit catches at this age, just learning to use their nose, mark, and watch the rabbits hit the net.

Then the following summer, there will be lots of very young rabbits about, that will be easier to catch, this will give them confidence, and get them used to fur in the mouth,

Then when September comes round again they will be ready for the lamp, and hopefully become a valuable member of the rabbiting team.

[craigluckyjihad 244]

what age to start coursing properly daytime then? i was told to leave my pup to be a pup and run the longears between 12 and 18 month?

[fagaen 282]

its hard to say what breeding is in the dog iv found saluki crosses iv had seem to start later than other crosses