some advice on lurchers wanted.

[fishfish 17]

this advice from folk that know REALY is usefull and giving me much on which to ponder.i have a collie currently and have trained her to near working dog levels,obviously she is NO use what so ever for hunting! ive seen her run past a conie to chase a rook thats 200 feet in the air! the only worry i have about an adult dog would be with the kids,you just dont know how itll be with them.my kids respect dogs and know about giving them plenty of personal space,are whippets known for being snappy?

[mat p 0]

sorry this is a repeat post .

Edited December 9, 2007 by mat p

[dytkos 17,783]

i have been giving serious thaught to getting a lurcher for rabbiting, ime not one to rush into dogs or tattoos! so what shouldi look for in a lurcher?(yes i know about 4 legs!!!) would a rescue dog be any good? or a retired racing dog?

 

 

Decide what sort of work you want to do with your dog, and research which breed/type/cross of dog will best suit your purpose then look out for one that fits the bill. He/she will hopefully be your companion for a dozen years or so, so it's like chosing a missus but more important! Like Giro says, go for a pup then you can both learn together!

Good luck. Cheeers, D.

[poacher9991 10]

GET A ROUGH COATED PUP DEERHOULD COLLIE GREYHOUND PLENTY GOOD ENOUGH

[skycat 6,173]

If you can find someone SENSIBLE near you and go out and watch them working their dogs it will give you more idea of what to look for. If you are really starting from scratch then I'd get a pup: yes you can get a good rescue dog, but would you know what to look for and what not to look for? Some rescue dogs have really dodgy habits i.e. sheep chasing and other undesirable traits, plus a lot will come with psychological damage too and you could be spending a lot of time trying to undo someone else's mistakes.

If you have already trained a Collie for working trials then you should know what you are doing regards training: training a lurcher is no different> come, sit, stay, fetch etc.

Personally I'd opt for a Collie cross type lurcher as it won't be a million miles away from training a pure Collie, but do get one from good working parents. I know there are a few people on the forums that live in the South West: try and contact them and get out and see how they do things, if they are prepared to let you.

Good luck.

[allgame 0]

wippet are brilliant little first timers dogs pound for pound

[bill88 6]

so what characteristics does the bedlington blood give? also arent they the dogs with the silly pom pom ears? i noticed the chap in the warrener video uses a bedlinton lurcher cross,and if a travler uses it i supose it must be good!

 

Good question,

 

If i was being wise I'd probably say its personal preference

 

I've never had a Bedlington Whippet, but I have asked my self this question more than once and here are my thoughts.

 

I'm not trying to put anybodys back up as I certain that a lot of people with Beddi Whippets are gonna come back and say that they have dogs which are by far better than my Whippets

 

 

Many people swear by Beddi Whippets and many swear by Whippets; Some say that beddi whippets are more likley to open up (bark when hunting) some say that the coat is better in the broken coatedones as they either keep the dog warm or stop as many skin tears? I think that in the past people liked having dogs with thick coats to hide how fit the dog was from the Keeper etc. I have two whippets, one adult and one Pup and IMO they are good dogs for rabbits. Too many people use beddi whippets for them not to be on the mark, BUT if a Pure whippet is faster than a Beddlington terrier then why cross it to the terrier as it will result in slower Pups? I can't see what bedlingtons bring to the mix that wasn't there in the first place if you go for good working stock such as Laguna/Sooty Sam lines or some of the other good working lines.

 

I don't want to sound down on BeddiX's as perhaps they are more bidable than straight whippets or something like that, but Pure Whippets will do the job and so will BeddiXs.

 

 

 

Like I said at the begining Personal Preference .

No offence taken,but if a straight whippet was the perfect tool for the job,then why ever mess with the breed I'm well aware of the quality of some of the working whippet lines,but not for me.My beddyxwhippet never yaps,has a superb temperament,doesn't mind the cold,has very good feet,a fantastic nose,etc tec,would a straight whippet be better? yeh of course,in a straight line over flat ground,i'm sure the straight whippet would be faster than mine.

[billybear 32]

this advice from folk that know REALY is usefull and giving me much on which to ponder.i have a collie currently and have trained her to near working dog levels,obviously she is NO use what so ever for hunting! ive seen her run past a conie to chase a rook thats 200 feet in the air! the only worry i have about an adult dog would be with the kids,you just dont know how itll be with them.my kids respect dogs and know about giving them plenty of personal space,are whippets known for being snappy?

 

 

I have just read through this post and 15 months ago was in the same place as you and done the research into everything possible to run day and night. i just sat down and thought lets look for a good breeder (NOT A PUPPY FARM) get too know them as best i could ask them the questions i wanted answered and see what there dogs are like i found a chap from west wales who knew the breeding of my pup for the last 15 years so passion in his dogs was there and he had been around the block so he knew what he was talking about i when down to see him spent half a day with him and decided on a pup after about 2 months and i could not be happier with her she is catching most day rabbits that are possible to catch even ones you would put money on not catching and on the lamp i can safely say she will do me more than proud. but you will only get out of a lurcher what you out in and fitness and experience you will have to give them they all need lots of work and you will reep your rewards. i added a pic for good measures hope this helps