Lurcher in Alaska new member

[Linda&Daisy 0]

Hello,

Daisy and I are new to this site. We are in Alaska. Since she found us when she was wandering 40 miles from the nearst town, I have been searching for more information about Lurchers. She was chipped and her shelter information said Greyhound/Great Dane. I checked with breeders of both and they confirm the traits. Accidents happen, we have a poodle/greyhound in our hound club. An oops, at the Vets office.

 

While people here seem to have a passing knowledge of them I think they need to be elevated to a desirable hybrid. Greyhounds were bred into sled dogs for a while in the 1980s but and there are a few sight hound owners here but due to the winter conditions they special care. What I haven’t found until you site is how to hunt with them. I have raised and trained Labradors for 25 years for competition and hunting (two very different pursuits). I was happy to see one blog , the border collie/ greyhound lurcher with birds! Rabbits and grouse, and fox are abundant here. I’m a little nervous about the fox but I know they are close, marked my front door and my newspaper.

 

Daisy does retrieve with a moderate degree of drive. It seems to be growing with more play. I am sure she hunted for herself when she was running loose in the woods. She is just a year old. She found us 2 months ago. I’ve been working on obedience and recall. Recall is our biggest hurdle right now. We are getting there but she is still looking for her old owner and she wants to chase the cat. I took a fluffy dog toy on a long string , hooked that to a retractable leash and had her chasing it around the yard. I don’t know what I'm doing.

I’m used to Labs that stay near until they have to retrieve. What are the first steps in training the Lurcher to hunt? Do you think I can train her like she’s a lab? She can have a soft mouth but also a tight grip. She is also very sensitive. We had a retrieving challenge a couple of weeks ago and Daisy wore out the 5 yr old field trial Lab.

I have a blog on her web site www.aklurcher.com

 

Any help would be appreciated. Also I’d like to find US Lurcher owners.

Last week I sent information to the local shelters to be on the look out for sight hound crosses and asked that potential adoptive parents get my web site info. Love to see these dogs recognized for their uniqueness.

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Linda & Daisy

[welshdragon 6]

hello Linda & Daisy and welcome i hope you enjoy

 

W.D

[Umah 0]

Hi and Welcome !!

[higgins 75]

hi Linda & Daisy,welcome to the site. Just had a look at the pic of her on the blog,looks very nice and at 29" she is big!

As regards training,the lurcher will run after things on sight possibly so just keep taking her out to where the prey is

as soon as she spots something she will give chase,get yourself a lamp as you can hunt down the beam,most animals

are about at night as well as day time,so all you really need to work on is recall and retrieving,other things to train for

is jumping fences if there are lots of fenced off land near you,nice to see lurchers in other parts,keep us updated

and good luck with her,

Higgins.

[Tyla 3,179]

Hello,

Daisy and I are new to this site. We are in Alaska. Since she found us when she was wandering 40 miles from the nearst town, I have been searching for more information about Lurchers. She was chipped and her shelter information said Greyhound/Great Dane. I checked with breeders of both and they confirm the traits. Accidents happen, we have a poodle/greyhound in our hound club. An oops, at the Vets office.

 

While people here seem to have a passing knowledge of them I think they need to be elevated to a desirable hybrid. Greyhounds were bred into sled dogs for a while in the 1980s but and there are a few sight hound owners here but due to the winter conditions they special care. What I haven’t found until you site is how to hunt with them. I have raised and trained Labradors for 25 years for competition and hunting (two very different pursuits). I was happy to see one blog , the border collie/ greyhound lurcher with birds! Rabbits and grouse, and fox are abundant here. I’m a little nervous about the fox but I know they are close, marked my front door and my newspaper.

 

Daisy does retrieve with a moderate degree of drive. It seems to be growing with more play. I am sure she hunted for herself when she was running loose in the woods. She is just a year old. She found us 2 months ago. I’ve been working on obedience and recall. Recall is our biggest hurdle right now. We are getting there but she is still looking for her old owner and she wants to chase the cat. I took a fluffy dog toy on a long string , hooked that to a retractable leash and had her chasing it around the yard. I don’t know what I'm doing.

I’m used to Labs that stay near until they have to retrieve. What are the first steps in training the Lurcher to hunt? Do you think I can train her like she’s a lab? She can have a soft mouth but also a tight grip. She is also very sensitive. We had a retrieving challenge a couple of weeks ago and Daisy wore out the 5 yr old field trial Lab.

I have a blog on her web site www.aklurcher.com

 

Any help would be appreciated. Also I’d like to find US Lurcher owners.

Last week I sent information to the local shelters to be on the look out for sight hound crosses and asked that potential adoptive parents get my web site info. Love to see these dogs recognized for their uniqueness.

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Linda & Daisy

 

Welcome, you will find plenty of knowledgable people on here, check out the lurcher forum. Good luck with your pup and get some pics up so we can see her!

 

Happy hunting!

[Linda&Daisy 0]

Here in Alaska we have darkness from arround 5 pm to 9 am so we do go out with flashlights and I sometimes wear a head lamp during new moon. Very dark with no snow on the ground yet. Im pretty nervous about the woods in the dark though. We are in a populated area but not too many fences, some barbed wire . Most of it is unfenced except at the dairy farms.

 

I dont know what kind of training she had in her first year. She does know basic obedience that I am reenforcing with treats and pets so far. I know in the UK you dont use or condone electric collars but I do use them on my Labs and Daisy has taken to it very well. Set at vibrate (Like a cell phone) it is enough to reenforce "here" if she's on a scent, a mid level shock ( I can put it on my hand - not too bad) when she chased the cat. Same when she chased the snow plow a couple weeks ago. Depends on the motivation. We worked up to that point very slowly on long line, so I knew she wouldn't bolt. Big challange will be moose. They are deadly on dogs.

 

She has missed a step in socializing in a busy area and with other dogs. Im not allowed to bring her to puppy play day yet so I have to drive the 20 miles into town and take her through the pet store and the park on her head halter to see if we can get her a little more controllable around other dogs. No classes until January. I have to remind myself she is just a year old . I'll put up some pictures here too.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Linda & Daisy

[Kay 3,709]

Hi & welcome to the forum

[bowers1986 3]

:welcomeani: