The Best Lurcher Men And The Dogs They Choose...

[Dan McDonough 560]

What would be the top 3 crosses in the kennels of the very best lurchermen you have witnessed? I'll add an additional question based on the answers.

 

Please list them in order of popularity.

 

For example:

 

1. GH x BC

2. GH x Kelpie x DH

3. Saluki x BC

 

Feel free to explain why if you think there is something additional information I would like to know to help explain why one cross is more useful than another.

 

[thebiggerdog 160]

the best dogmen, will get the best out of any cross. there is no magic cross.

[shaunpowell 130]

the best dogmen, will get the best out of any cross. there is no magic cross.

 

Totaly agree. % of good dogs have good owners. Other 20% is down to the dog imo. Every dog has its limits. And its a good owner that knows whem its had enough. Shaun

[shaaark 10,787]

1. 1st x deerhound/greyhound, caught all quarry this country has to offer, pretty comprehensively. About 75% of his catches were on the lamp though.

 

2. Collie/grey x deer/grey, as above, but maybe not quite as good. Both dogs more than capable of taking everything on the lamp, and also hares in the daytime, but with both being big dogs, deer/grey 30", collie/grey x deer/grey 28 1/2", they wouldn't be as effective as smaller 'sharper' types at ferreting.

 

P S When I say all quarry, I don't mean red deer singlehanded

[Terra Firma 136]

The 3 best all round catch dogs I've personally witnessed in the lamp have all been sal/bull/grey in various percentages, all from well tested stock.

 

That's not the be all and end all of breeding though, just what I've seen myself.

[sidd 1]

thers no such thing as best cross,its horses for courses and it depends where you live,the saluki is good on the flat such as the fenns,but they dont like the heather and steep hills,thats where the stag hound cross comes on its own,the colie cross is a good alrounder but verry head strong,the first cross bull is good only for one thing ,,, ,,, where as the three quarter great dog if you kan keep the bull determination,and if you like a wee dog then a bedlington first cross whipet,if you could get one with a bit of hight i would heve one any day of yhe week . genarly if a dog or bitch has good geens and produses good pups dont go by it eg a freind of mine had a big rough lurcher and this could kill for fun,it lined two bitches roughly at the same time ,one a first cross colie grew and the outher a strait grew,i picked the pup from the strait grew what a machine and my freind picked one from the colie cross and that was a machine to but was alot faster than mine but mine had more staminer so never go by the book. dont look for answers there is non just do the best with what you choose they all do a job.

[shaaark 10,787]

thers no such thing as best cross,its horses for courses and it depends where you live,the saluki is good on the flat such as the fenns,but they dont like the heather and steep hills,thats where the stag hound cross comes on its own,the colie cross is a good alrounder but verry head strong,the first cross bull is good only for one thing ,,, ,,, where as the three quarter great dog if you kan keep the bull determination,and if you like a wee dog then a bedlington first cross whipet,if you could get one with a bit of hight i would heve one any day of yhe week . genarly if a dog or bitch has good geens and produses good pups dont go by it eg a freind of mine had a big rough lurcher and this could kill for fun,it lined two bitches roughly at the same time ,one a first cross colie grew and the outher a strait grew,i picked the pup from the strait grew what a machine and my freind picked one from the colie cross and that was a machine to but was alot faster than mine but mine had more staminer so never go by the book. dont look for answers there is non just do the best with what you choose they all do a job.

Couple of interesting points there sidd, your mate's dog, was it possibly a deer/grey ( big, rough )?

[rob284 1,682]

Isnt the breed. Its the breeding

[alan81 110]

sidd have you ran a first cross bull/hound I have one here and she's good for more than just one thing ie fox. she will take rabbits all night no problem and turns as sharp as any dog. bring her ferreting and she sweeps them up ( not the ferrets mind ).

[the monkey 338]

Isnt the breed. Its the breeding

Pretty much says it all

[keepitcovert 842]

One of the best dogs ive seen was owned and trained by a woman, obviously collie blooded but that dog did its best to please every time, but you need the right material to start with, and the rest is up to the owner to put the time and effort in

[Dan McDonough 560]

Some great answers so far. I'd like to say that we all know that the owner has a big part to play and also that well bred dogs of a lesser cross will likely outperform poorly bred dogs out of a typically greater cross. All of that being said, the best lurcher men do gravitate towards certain crosses and that is what I'm looking to discover.

 

As close as I can come to the ghxcollieXdhxgh is the stag to the collie and then back again to the stag. With some of the things I've seen from my male Duce (28" and 97#'s or 44kgs.) who is a full stag, I don't think there is much of anything he can't handle. I don't think he's going to take a wolf, bear or anything that big but all else is fair game for him. He's a little to amped up to be the ultimate dog and would have been better off (or at least I would have) if he had good obedience training as a pup. I got him when he was nearly 2 years old. I can certainly see Duce playing a big part in the future of the lurchers here though. He's got a great personality, he can cold trail when he has to, he trees like a curdog, he's got a lot of endurance (way more than I eve expected a sighthound to have) and is as loyal as they come without being a menace. It's good fun to just listen to him run into game in the open as it sounds like a horse running hard across a field. I would like to put him to my lurcher female out of another stag female and a border collie.

 

Anyway, enough of my plans and back to the topic. I expected to hear more about the gh x bc being the dog of choice and I'm surprised to hear more about the ghxbcXdhxgh cross. I understand the value of a Saluki for coursing but I'm more interested in the all around type that might find itself in the hands of one of the legendary lurchermen in that country.

[alan81 110]

you say the best lurcher men gravitate towards certain crosses and maybe so but id say those men took a liken to a certain cross ( 5 men could like 5 different crosses ) and put a lot of time and thought into there preferred cross to get the best they could.

[Dan McDonough 560]

If you know five great lurcher men, what do they run? I know that people can only account for what they've seen. maybe I should have asked who the best politician is. This will only prove usefull if people simply answer the question. then we can all add up the results and come up with a larger answer.

[alan81 110]

I don't know 5 "great lurcher men" but I do know good lurcher men who like different crosses and have good dogs. collie/hounds, bull/hounds, wheaten/hounds, saluki/hounds, whippet/hounds and any mix you want in between. there's no ultimate cross at least not that iv seen but there are different crosses that all produce good dogs.

the 3 best dogs I ever saw were a first cross wheaten/hound, a 3/8 5/8 bull/hound and a saluki/collie/bull/hound. 3 different crosses but all top of the range all rounder's.