Hollie 21 Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Has anyone done this? Can it be done, i know certain breeds have certain traits that they are born with. For example, do you think you could take a 3 year old Lurcher from someone that had lived it's life in a town, rarely allowed to act like a lurcher, fed crappy food and never had the chance to chase anything in it's life, do you think in the right hands it could make a good working dog? Quote Link to post
ferret boy charlie 0 Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 yes!!!! Quote Link to post
christine88 1 Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 i really do, a dog doesnt stop being a dog if u call it a cat! Quote Link to post
jackarmstrong 4 Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Has anyone done this? Can it be done, i know certain breeds have certain traits that they are born with. For example, do you think you could take a 3 year old Lurcher from someone that had lived it's life in a town, rarely allowed to act like a lurcher, fed crappy food and never had the chance to chase anything in it's life, do you think in the right hands it could make a good working dog? the worker is in its blood, it will always be there and cant be taken away from the dog in my opinion you can Quote Link to post
lurcher123 3 Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Has anyone done this? Can it be done, i know certain breeds have certain traits that they are born with. For example, do you think you could take a 3 year old Lurcher from someone that had lived it's life in a town, rarely allowed to act like a lurcher, fed crappy food and never had the chance to chase anything in it's life, do you think in the right hands it could make a good working dog? If its in the blood the gameness is always there, but things like stamina/fitness may be lost, Ive seen dogs raised as workers turn out to be useless, and pet ones be good, so its a chance you take, a couple of nights out is all you will need to see if it has potential, have you taken on a pet lurcher? Quote Link to post
aaron01 739 Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 in my opinion you have to breed a lurcher from working stock raise it as a worker and train it to work from an early age dont get me wrong i have seen exceptions but in my opinion that is just luck all the best anyway Quote Link to post
lofti 579 Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 in my opinion you have to breed a lurcher from working stock raise it as a worker and train it to work from an early age dont get me wrong i have seen exceptions but in my opinion that is just luck all the best anyway Quote Link to post
lofti 579 Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 yes you could get good ,after alot of graft ,but i wouldnt expect anything special. Quote Link to post
ferret1 6 Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 as was said earlier it will come down to the fitness of the dog and condition of its feet as i have seen lurchers run with flat feet and they have torn all their claws out when they turn during a course. If everything is ok with the dogs health then there is no reason why it should nt turn to hunting. Quote Link to post
Hollie 21 Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Has anyone done this? Can it be done, i know certain breeds have certain traits that they are born with. For example, do you think you could take a 3 year old Lurcher from someone that had lived it's life in a town, rarely allowed to act like a lurcher, fed crappy food and never had the chance to chase anything in it's life, do you think in the right hands it could make a good working dog? If its in the blood the gameness is always there, but things like stamina/fitness may be lost, Ive seen dogs raised as workers turn out to be useless, and pet ones be good, so its a chance you take, a couple of nights out is all you will need to see if it has potential, have you taken on a pet lurcher? No i haven't taken on a pet urcher, well i have kinda, my puppy was rehomed to me in Dec from a family that had bought him as a pet, i have no idea about his parents but i'm pretty sure they weren't 1st class workers!! I was just wondering how important it was to people, the breeding of a working dog etc My 1st Lurcher i got from Dogs Trust when he was a about a year old, he had been kept in a flat his whole life, he turned out to be a really good hare dog (pre ban) well he was good in my eyes, not a record breaker but would take 6 out of 10 daytime hares which to me is an achievement in itself. The instinct will always be there, although i'm not sure if it is with my Kylo, he can see bunnys running and just stands and watches them so for a sighthound he is pretty dumb!! Quote Link to post
JPTfellterrier 65 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 as tthey say you cant teach an old dog new tricks but my terrier started at 3 and is a little cracker....i think the instinct is always there in a dog....only problem there is that it may not be stock borken Quote Link to post
Dan Newcombe 58 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 My thinking (based on gundogs) is that there is an element of luck every time you get a pup whether you get a good worker or not. Getting a pup from working parents increases your chances of getting a good worker because the parents have got that 'x factor'. Selective breeding in breeds like spaniels and collies shows this the best. Show strains of these breeds do not have anywhere near the drive or instinct to work as selectively bred workers to the point where there is no overlap in the two types. Im not saying that there arent any show bred dogs that cant do the job but the training will usually be easier if you have good raw material. I would never buy a show bred dog to work (or one whose parents i do not know to work) BUT You already have this dog, so what is there to loose by letting it have a go. You never know you might get a nice surprise! Dan Quote Link to post
Hollie 21 Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 My thinking (based on gundogs) is that there is an element of luck every time you get a pup whether you get a good worker or not. Getting a pup from working parents increases your chances of getting a good worker because the parents have got that 'x factor'. Selective breeding in breeds like spaniels and collies shows this the best. Show strains of these breeds do not have anywhere near the drive or instinct to work as selectively bred workers to the point where there is no overlap in the two types. Im not saying that there arent any show bred dogs that cant do the job but the training will usually be easier if you have good raw material. I would never buy a show bred dog to work (or one whose parents i do not know to work) BUT You already have this dog, so what is there to loose by letting it have a go. You never know you might get a nice surprise! Dan I never got him as a worker anyway, i grew uo with Lurchers and i love them so when i saw him i couldn't resist!!! He is a pet 1st and if he catches then thats great, i say that but i do find it bloody annoying that he doesn't show any interest in moving rabbits!! Quote Link to post
Guest DogFaceKillah Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 good topic, i wonder if people have rehomed a working in dog and tryed to train the drive out of it? i bet the dog whisperer could lol Quote Link to post
lurchers 2,919 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 give the dog time and show it stuff it would graft but you never no it could turn out a good un some peoples dogs dont graft for a few years then the penny drops and its if they have done it from a pup Quote Link to post
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