Labs

[Dan Newcombe 58]

I am thinking about crossing one of our lab bitches to a running dog in the future.

She is a hellish racy thing which is what we try to breed for the heather hill up here. Fast and Athletic but covered in muscle - she almost looks like she has some running dog in there.

At the moment she is 2 so not looking to do this for at least another couple of years - we have a kid on the way and my half plan is to do the cross when it is about 5 for its first dog (so the bitch would be about 7 and we wouldn't register more pups anyway).

In my mind i was thinking a grey / whippet cross or a hard blood whippet - of the bigger stamp. Don't want it to be too big but has to go well with the lab.

Anyway - my question is that, given the right lab would this likely make a useful mooching dog - only really interested in rabbits up here but would be handy if it would pick up as well if need be and Ive also never even heard of people using these as a cross - is there a reason and would actually we be better off juts buying a collie cross type thing instead?

I can imagine that you might throw some heavier stuff but our lines are lighter built so hopefully would throw something useful.

Thanks
Dan

[Born Hunter 17,763]

I'd be surprised if such a breeding didn't attract a lot of interest. Especially from shooting men wanting a lurcher in the kennel that stood a strong chance of being useful in the shooting field.

[low plains drifter 10,545]

They should be real useful mate

[darbo 4,776]

For me in the right hands should make ideal mooching/marking/ferreting dogs. Ideal for fur and feather i could never understand why they were not more popular compared to first cross collie/greys and i love collie crosses.The right lab surely has some good positives to offer including temperament.

[jossa 966]

Half x lab greyhound, then if the speed wasnt quite there put it back to a greyhound again. I think people would use them. Same as the pointer x greyhound.

[dodger 2,765]

The dogs that got me hooked as a kid were lab x saluki greyhounds they were good dogs at the time good alrounders n did plenty..

[Black neck 15,983]

Seen afew labs that looked dead lurcherish be a good x I reckon 

[forest of dean redneck 11,608]

I would be wary of the whippet blood ,It might not produce racy enough litter. 

Most people seem to favour a cross with grey or coursing type then when worked few years put that to a whippet  type.?

[forest of dean redneck 11,608]

1 hour ago, darbo said:

For me in the right hands should make ideal mooching/marking/ferreting dogs. Ideal for fur and feather i could never understand why they were not more popular compared to first cross collie/greys and i love collie crosses.The right lab surely has some good positives to offer including temperament.

Should make retrieving easy as well

[talt 878]

There were several lab x greyhounds in my village when i was younger. Most were used as gundogs and ferreters and one was a decent lamp dog, and another put up a good show at coursing hares but was obviously no match dog. All of them retrieved and i am surprised the cross isn't more popular.

[Bobtheferret 1,248]

Always amazed this cross isn’t more popular. Reckon you would find homes for any spares in no time. Cross I’ve always fancied owning at some point in the future but genuine ones from the right lab are like rocking horse shit. 

[Black neck 15,983]

They be good roustabout juckels 

Did I say it right

[two crows 3,342]

we have been here before, I have seen a couple of decent ones, and they were the only ones I ever saw , but cleverer dog men than me have been trying different crosses for ever, and that might just be why we don't see so many gun dog crosses about.

[Tyla 3,179]

I intend my next lurcher to be a lab x, I've posted about it before. There's quite a good thread about it if you do a search. 

[shaaark 10,786]

Might just be that most labs were NOT even remotely racy, compared to say alot of collies, to make first x's even remotely attractractive to most lurcher people. But the last 10ish years has seen an increase in some lab lines of very attractive, racyish types. Would have alot of good traits I think