COURSING.

[Guest Frank]

Very well put! Just about says it all: though I'd add that many really good dogs often have a lot more breeds in them than just Saluki and Greyhound: you only have to look at the Merlin/Eve lines. Supposedly there's Bedlington, Airedale, Collie, Deerhound, Whippet: in fact you name it and it's probably in there. One of my better dogs was mongrelised lurcher to mongrelised lurcher, but bred from good coursing dogs on one side, and a rufty tufty line of who knows what breeding on the dam's side. I saw the great grandmother (and her sister) to one of mine running hares many years ago, and if there was any Saluki in there I'll eat my proverbial hat. Scraggy little rough coated bitches about 22-23 inches: they could catch hares like falling off a log: they made it look so easy. But then again: they did it all the time, lived on the fens and saw more hares than the average rabbiting lurcher would see rabbits in a lifetime.

I've seen them trot out to a hare, and then change course when the hare started running, knowing the lie of the land so well that they knew in any given field which direction the hare was likely to take, and they cut a corner so to speak, long before they were anywhere near the hare. Lovely to watch.

 

Interesting skycat, thanks.

[miles 227]

WHY IS IT THAT IF A SALUKI IS INTELLIGENT, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO TRAIN TO A STANDARD THAT WOULD NOT STRAIN A STREET CUR? VERY DIFFICULT BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE, AS AN INCIDENT THAT I

 

 

SAW AT A SHOW WILL PROVE. A FRIEND OF MINE OWNS A PUREBRED SALUKI OF DESERT BREEDING THAT HE HAS TRAINED TO A HIGH STANDARD. AT ONE SHOW IN THE NORTHWEST A FEW YEARS BACK, HE WAS ACCOSTED BY A KNOWN PERSONALITY OF THE LURCHER WORLD. " A PURE SALUKI IS IT? " HE WAS ASKED, WHEN HE REPLIED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE THE WELL KNOWN PERSONALITY STATED "OF COURSE YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO LET IT OFF THE LEAD, WILL YOU?" AS A REPLY, THE OWNER OF THE SALUKI REMOVED THE DOGS COLLAR, TOLD THE DOG TO SIT AND STAY, AND THEN PROCEEDED TO WALK AWAY, WITH THE SAID SALUKI IN COMPLETE CONTROL, THIS IN A CROWD OF HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE. NOT A GREAT FEAT OF TRAINING PERHAPS BUT IT SHOWS THAT A SALUKI CAN BE TRAINED IF YOU HAVE THE ABILITY AND TIME.

Snoopster

 

That was written by Alan T, of the old English and Colonial Club...... the "well known" personality was a certain Brian Plummer at a show near Blackpool one year.

 

His friend with the purebred saluki was me with Reuben............ Alan used poetic licence when he described it as a "desert bred" saluki and me as his friend

[Tommy 9]

The old lads in my area had Collie, Whippet and Deerhound type lurcher and like they said they would occasionally Knock over the Odd Hare .............an old lad i know was probably the first to bring a saluki bred dog around our way and as they say THE REST IS HISTORY :laugh:

 

ATB TOMMY :thumbs:

[bigdan 11]

my family used to breed what they call a staghound like a deerhound or rough couted lurcher sort of thing a pot filler old sort of lurcher

but i thought the greyhound would of been the most populer dog for courseing hare

[MINNIE 4]

BRILLIANT THREAD VERY INFORMATIVE ON THE SALUKI X. NICE TO READ INDEPTH INFO LIKE THIS BRILLO.

[bird 9,859]

Just wonderd how lurchers faird, before the saluki hybrids came a long?

Was their great lurchers, with famouse names , that took 5 out of 5 ect on the fens in Winter, without saluki in their make up?

 

 

Yes Frank, BEFORE saluki hybrids, the deerhoundxgreyxcolliexgrey. They were good hare dogs,

they were popular in the 70s. If you can get a good one , they will take anything.

In Ted Walsh book[ Lurchers and Longdogs] he rates the deerhoundxgreyxcolliexgrey

very highly. I saw one work day+night, good on hares, rabbits, and smashed foxes easy.

and a good deer dog pre ban. They were definitely the x before saluki hybrid.

 

BIRD

[trader 0]

Years ago the topography of england was different with more hedges /spinneys woodland etc so even an indifferent dog could catch hares, certain areas of britain have always had vast open spaces east anglia/the fens etc.As the land has changed so have the dogs that pursue the hares nowdays if you havent got a suluki bred dog you are not going to do nothing compared to a specifically bred dog for coursing FACT. Now that people are limited to what they can run suluki hybrids of various crosses probably inter bred using collie crosses will move in and dominate the rabbit lamping scene at the numbers game trader

[miles 227]

We ran "stag hounds" which were either first cross deerhound/greyhound or 3/4 bred.............. a man over the hill, in Clithero, called Nuttall (not that Nutall) bred a lot.

 

Some of the dogs threw to big, but the bitches were very, very good running in the dales and moors of Lancs and Yorkshire

[Guest Frank]

Just wonderd how lurchers faird, before the saluki hybrids came a long?

Was their great lurchers, with famouse names , that took 5 out of 5 ect on the fens in Winter, without saluki in their make up?

 

 

Yes Frank, BEFORE saluki hybrids, the deerhoundxgreyxcolliexgrey. They were good hare dogs,

they were popular in the 70s. If you can get a good one , they will take anything.

In Ted Walsh book[ Lurchers and Longdogs] he rates the deerhoundxgreyxcolliexgrey

very highly. I saw one work day+night, good on hares, rabbits, and smashed foxes easy.

and a good deer dog pre ban. They were definitely the x before saluki hybrid.

 

BIRD

 

 

 

Thanks Bird.

Did these dogs, take a few hares in a days coursing, like, 4 out of 4 ect?

 

Miles, cheers.

[Bosun11 537]

Thats right Miles, John Nuttall...... mentioned in 'Rouges & Running Dogs'.

 

I worked with an old boy when I was a kid that ran these crosses with Nuttall back in the day.

Jimmy was a tennant farmer on the outskirts of Altcar estate back then, he lost the farm due to his coursing pursuits.

Nuttall and Jimmy bred a few litters too, all specifically to course but he said they would tackle just about anythin.

 

You mentioned Plummer too, when I worked with Jimmy it was the mid 's, I'd read a Plummer book or two back then and casually mentioned this to Jimmy..... His reaction left me speachless..... Never heard my workmate lay into anyone before but boy, did he give him some stick.....!

[miles 227]

Wish i knew your mate Jimmy when he had the farm at ALtcar!

That's the only time i ever met Plummer............................ but lets NOT dwell on that subject

 

4/4 there were some about that could do it on the grass medows,but they simply didn't have the stamina and strength of a GOOD saluki bred dog IMO