Collie/whippet

[Merlin21 143]

Does anyone else work this type of lurcher part from me. I got a mate that had one. But you don't seen to see this type of x about, here are a few pic's of my 3 year old bitch why I was on holiday in Devon.

 

 

The last pic with the Rabbit in her mouth was taken before I went on holiday.

Hello I have just got myself my first lurcher and it is very much like your bitch , he is almost 90% whippet with the rest collie , he has the same colouring as yours ,I got him for mainly a pet but hoping to take him lamping as well .. lovely looking bitch you have there ...

[Sammy666 49]

iv got a whippet with a bit of collie in him. last season was his first season and hes shaping up to be a cracking dog on the lamp and out ferreting. fast smart agile and not afraid of cover and keen as anything just a wee rabbit dog but hes good crack and great to watch.

[Neal 1,873]

 

 

 

 

 

The two main things to consider, in my humble opinion, are that I've always found it odd that so many people would consider owning a pure whippet but not a pure greyhound yet would never dream of working a whippet cross over a greyhound cross. Also, the majority of the people who criticise them have never owned or seen one work.

Having owned a pure whippet and whippet bred lurchers I don't think I'll own another unless it was a whippet x grey. They aren't big enough or fast enough for the ground local to me.

had a racing bred (none ped) whippet bitch 20in 20lb great little rabbit dog, some of the male dogs at the track went up to 36-37lb very fiery things you could see bit of staff in them, I liked them types of whippets . But I know what you mean with a whippet x grey , just that bit more bigger /tougher type , if you got one about 23in 40lb that be bang on for rabbits, plenty fast/agile enough , feck me my big 1x gsd xgrey Buck can spin fair few rabbits over, so 40-45 lb type whippetxgrey do it dead easy

Gnipper, were size and speed the only reasons for arriving at this decision or did you find them lacking in any other ways? I've always preferred the idea of working a whippet cross over a greyhound cross, partly because I prefer whippets but also because the land by me is tiny fields and thick woodland.

Have to admit though that my brother has three pure whippet bitches and he can't praise them enough.

To be honest, I don't have enough experience of either to have a qualified opinion...my previous post was aimed more at those doing the same as me but in reverse i.e. criticising collie/whippets just because they've heard them knocked in every book on the subject.

Pretty much mate yeah. The ground here is the same as altcar and the rabbits are jet propelled most of the time and I've not seen a dog under 22 not left behind.

 

I think that's partly why I gradually made the transition to pure sheep/cattle dogs: to a certain extent they're just as likely to catch as a lurcher as I (or rather they) only get a few yards before the rabbits disappear. If mine put them up in the middle of a field then I have to hope it's a stupid one or else rely on my mini-kelpie to bush it out again (Scout is only about 18"). My new pup is 22" and I got myself a bit lost in a bracken bed which was taller than me yesterday; Scout followed the tunnels below knee height while Noggin crashed over the top like I was trying to do.

 

The genuine first cross twixt a pure whippet and a Collie can be a disaster...

 

It is imperative to use real good stock to produce what I would term ,..a starting point...

 

As a young man, I was told that the ideal hybrids for ferreting, were Whippet Collies or Whippet Bedlingtons...Alas,..I have not found this to be a definitive statement,..in fact,..such a hybridization need to be carefully considered....However,..if the initial prototype shows promise and exhibits the best of both worlds ; the lightening fast reflexes of the whippet, combined with the tractability and sagacious demeanour of a good working cur,..well,..for me,.as a rabbiting enthusiast,..this purpose bred style of moucher's pal,.. is a worthwhile 'on going' project...

 

I have never considered a first cross (of any kind) to be the end product...

However,..in reality,..it can and should be,....the start of something good...

That's the problem I had with Skye Phil. She was only my second pup and I stupidly believed everything I'd read in certain books and picked the wrong pup. As both whippets and collies can occasionally be sensitive, she'd doubled up on it and was hypersensitive. I remember once writing a list of all the "instructions" which she knew and would follow exactly and there were over seventy. I know that you could argue that all dogs are doing this all the time without us realising but I'm talking about definite verbal or signed instructions which I was choosing and she was following to the letter.

Unfortunately, this sensitivity made her a nervous wreck. I remember on one occasion my landlord shouted something obscene at Dirty Den on tv (that shows how long ago this was) and she shot off into my bedroom, hid under the bed and refused to come out for several hours. Even tutting under my breathe at something completely unconnected to her could cause her to flinch and I had lots of people berating me for being so "nasty" to my "poor little doggy" as she really did come across as the kind of dog who was regularly beaten yet was treated with kid gloves.

Oh well; you live and learn.

[Jamie m 668]

I have kind of come to the conclusion that the first cross should be the grey, then if you want a smaller version put it back to a whippet for the most usefull lurchers.

 

Each to there own and I'm not knocking it, but I would think a first cross whippet and anything other than a sighthound wouldn't be quick enough?

Seems an awful lot to do when some folks did it a long time ago and the fruits of there labour are about today : )