Lurchers: Extra Training For Use With Guns.

[matt101 115]

Hello everyone,

 

Im not sure about anyone else but as well as the rabbiting that do, i also take part in a fair amount of shooting, including rough shooting with the shotgun and general air rifle work.

 

As ive recently become the owner of a new lurcher pup id like to know your opinions and experiences with lurchers being used during shooting excersises and the best ways in which to train them for this purpose.

 

I've read a bit about people using their lurchers for gun work but i have yet to find much detail on specific behaviours that would be benifitial while shooting.

 

What extra skills do you deem worth while if you were to use your lurcher for a bit of rough shooting or picking up for example.

 

Any help would be great

 

 

Thanks

[Hot Meat 3,109]

most my lurchers have worked with an air rifle at the least an usually a shotgun and the air rifle, truth be told iv never really trained them to do nothing to do with shooting just your basic retreive that you would need for bunny work an the search command that i also use whilst ferreting to put any bunnys above ground below, or if i intend on using the lurchers to draw out a small forrestry blocks, i usually start a youngster picking up shot squizzers an pigeons whilst they young pups an have mastered the retreive, lurchers are clever dogs an most learn to read what there owner wants if you spend the time with them

[Hands of Stone 154]

they can do most gundog jobs from plain old retrieving shot game, to use when deer stalking. depends on the cross... the best way to teach em is to start em off with a tennis ball/toy and put it in a tree a few feet of the ground when they are trying to get it shoot it down with an airgun. and buid up to shot gun. They aint like labs tho (unless itr a lab x greyhound..

[sikastag_1 689]

......

Edited August 28, 2019 by grant_c

[matmorgan 49]

pigeons are probably not the best thing for starting the dog on.they normally end up with a mouth full of feathers...can put em off a bit.

[paulus 26]

done everything with my old lurchers, driven, rough, beating, flighting, roosting, hide work, never done any extra training as such apart from getting them steady to shot as early as possible and ensuring you can work then close, as a dog 2 fields away is as much use as tits on a wheelbarrow when out with the shotgun.

[BORDERSCOT 3,816]

done everything with my old lurchers, driven, rough, beating, flighting, roosting, hide work, never done any extra training as such apart from getting them steady to shot as early as possible and ensuring you can work then close, as a dog 2 fields away is as much use as tits on a wheelbarrow when out with the shotgun.

 

Quality pics them Paul...are you a pro photographer...

[paulus 26]

 

done everything with my old lurchers, driven, rough, beating, flighting, roosting, hide work, never done any extra training as such apart from getting them steady to shot as early as possible and ensuring you can work then close, as a dog 2 fields away is as much use as tits on a wheelbarrow when out with the shotgun.

 

Quality pics them Paul...are you a pro photographer...

 

fuzzy all the way

[tsteve9999 456]

My mutt will pick up anything I shoot, very useful if a bird drops in the next field and there's no way through the hedge, But he's a ratbag in that if he hears a shot go off in the next field he'll piss off to give the shooter a hand

I had visions of using him in a hide when pigeon shooting but soon gave that up because every time I took a shot he'd be through the hide whether I'd hit anything or not, and often take the feckin hide with him. :laugh:

[GypsyJoe 36]

In my opinion most lurchers are too unpredictable for this sort of work, they can be yappy when anticipating a shot, they can get in the way and put themselves in danger, as well as ruin your shooting, I base this on experience as I also shoot lots of rats/rabbits/etc, and have never found a lurcher with a suitable temprement as a gun dog.

 

Maybe a retriever or lab mix might work, I'm sure some people have it worked out but no one I know.

 

Best of luck with it though, anyway

[Phil Lloyd 10,738]

Hello everyone,

 

Im not sure about anyone else but as well as the rabbiting that do, i also take part in a fair amount of shooting, including rough shooting with the shotgun and general air rifle work.

 

As ive recently become the owner of a new lurcher pup id like to know your opinions and experiences with lurchers being used during shooting excersises and the best ways in which to train them for this purpose.

 

I've read a bit about people using their lurchers for gun work but i have yet to find much detail on specific behaviours that would be benifitial while shooting.

 

What extra skills do you deem worth while if you were to use your lurcher for a bit of rough shooting or picking up for example.

 

Any help would be great

 

 

Thanks

 

Hi matt,...yes, you can bring some lurchers up, to work in a similar manner, to rough and ready gundogs...

 

However, you need to decide how best to play it,..cos their early training will need to reflect upon this,.. and it is no good changing the goalposts halfway through ...You need to be consistent in what your end game is going to be...

 

I've seen plenty of lurchers working on shoots,...they are generally the types that are willing to listen and have an understanding of what is on the menu today,.as opposed to others that have an immense prey drive (nothing wrong with that of course)...but if you cannot harness such an attribute,..a day out with the guns is going to be,.emotional...to say the fecking least...

 

All the best, Phil.

[cammy12 176]

my lurchers will work with the gun in fact all my dogs know what the gun is and what's expected of them when shooting, the only bother with lurchers is doing laps of honour when retrieving and when on organised shoots hares and deer poping out.

if your wanting to stay on the right side of the law your dog needs to be trained to gun.

[foresterj 1,096]

Gypsy Joe, thats some generalization bud for a type of dog thats made up of different crosses, that said I've only had half a dozen lurchers over the last 30 years so cant comment on "most" lurchers but only the ones I've owned, all were fine with the air rifle acting as retrievers, 2 wouldnt thank you to be near a shotgun, the others made passable assistants whilst rough shooting.if a dog would yap whilst anticipating a shot then surely it would exhibit that behaviour eg pre slip or pre bolt? And im sorry but dont really understand exactly how you mean unpredictable? surely if its your animal that you've raised trained and formed a working relationship with, you should be able to predict its behaviour to a degree??

[BIGLURKS 874]

I can never take my dog shooting the bugger will come back with more game then I can shoot

[gnipper 6,426]

This Brittany cross thing retrieves to the gun ok but runs in on the shot wether you hit or not. It's handy at night time in the woods though