Lurchers

[crazyhorses3]

I have always wanted a collie or retriever, but know that lurchers require less exercise and mental stimulation. Today we saw a lovely lurcher in a rescue and I am wondering if she would be more suitable for us, but I am put off by the build of lurchers. Can anyone talk to me about the virtues or not of this breed?

I've had a lurcher for the last 13 years
She's v gentle and lazy and easy to look after.
Great with kids and never barks.

What MrsKeats said. Such easy dogs to look after. I do find they get quite attached though so not great if you work full time (although I don't think any type of dog should be left alone all day).. they can show quite obvious traits of their crosses - do you know what cross it is?

I have two lurchers, and foster lurcher puppies for a breed specific rescue. I adore mine (obviously), but lurcher behaviour and build does vary massively depending on their mixture- they are cross breeds after all.
My older one is a greyhound x saluki and is a bit thick and a skinny/bony type of dog. My younger is whippety cross x doberman and a much bigger and solid build. Both recall and live happily with my cats and chickens.
You do get collie x lurchers which are bright - like Roxy. I had a collie x as my last foster, and he was brilliant

I don't know what kind of cross she is. She is very small, looks like a whippet or saluki . She is very gentle and sweet, but i would like a cat too in the future, and i know cats and sight hounds don't mix . i just find their build unattractive, but don't think I'm up for a high maintenance dog, much as i love them.

She a rescue dog and was picked up as a stray.

i just find their build unattractive

You will not only get used to the pointiness but you will grow to love it and you will never go back to anything else!

DH hated the look of greyhounds but like you, we just couldn't devote ourselves to anything too intelligent or too needy in terms of exercise so we went the grey route - DH is now more besotted than the rest of us and says that everything else looks square and squat in comparison.

CMOT is right though - lurchers vary greatly depending on what their mix is.

It's a bit of a gamble in terms of cat-safety. Our sight hound definitely definitely isn't, some can be though.

If you are thinking of a cat as well, I'd get the cat first. Ask the rescue for a confident cat, and then once they've settled in nicely, get the dog. My cats are firmly in charge of the dogs but I notice that as my evilgingercat doesn't run away from dogs but just sits and stares at them, they tend to give him a very wide berth.
Where dogs are in foster, the rescue is usually much more confident about their cat friendliness as they see them in context. I know several other fosterers at EGLR have cats. A kennel based rescue may have a stunt cat, but its not the same at all

OP, my DM has two cats as well as two lurchers (one collie x whippet, one whippet x Bedlington). They very much 'respect' the cats 😂. But I think it makes a difference as the cats (which were mine until I moved abroad) were dog savvy having lived next to three beagles and a weimaraner when they were with me. Also, mum got the dogs as puppies so for a while the cats were bigger than the dogs. That set the scene really. Although I have introduced an adult cat and an adult working lurcher (deerhound x collie) which worked quite well - the dog was curious and sniffed the cat. The cat swiped the dogs nose. The pecking order was set. The lurcher in scenario and one of dms lurchers will chase strange cats, but not the cats at home. They do work out the difference.

We have a small lurcher along with our two greyhounds (from the same rescue that CMOT fosters for - waves), and as most other people have said there's an enormous variation. For instance, ours looks like someone took a greyhound and sat on it - she's short and tubby (barrel chested) but if you look at her side on, a classic sort of sighthound shape but just a lot smaller. I have lots of friends with lurchers and various combos of sighthound and there's more differences between them than there are similarities. I would say that they can be highly intelligent (they are bred to work independently, after all) - ours loves the training we do with her - she does Rally, and has just done her Silver GC Award, and we'll be doing our Gold next. As for many dogs, I know lots who are perfectly cat friendly and who live happily with various other creatures, while there are others who couldn't - it very much depends on the dog. Don't think too much about what they are SUPPOSED to do, just look at the one who's in front of you - a good rescue will be able to tell you a lot about them. The only other observation is that they are usually very good at pinching stuff - don't leave an unattended sandwich.

We have a Springer x Lurcher. She is very good natured, very friendly, excellent with children. She does however seem very Springer in temprement. Very lively, needs a lot of exercise. Can be boisterous if bored or under exercised.

She also had seperation anxiety which has taken months to overcome. She is fabulous though, hard work but worth it!

I love lean, skinny 'pointy' dogs- they're the best!

The lurcher was cross bred as hounds were not accepted to be kept by commoners so it was mixed with terrier and behold a master piece was created with best of both qualities. They are highly intelligent and unlike a retriever more bonded with one family member. Personally I think you need to be an experienced dog owner to rehome this callibre of dog especially with kids and other animals. Not cause their vicious but just cause it's a total different ball game to a lab or retriever. Btw I have 2 horses (american quarterback and selle Francais) , 2 dogs (Swiss shepherd and chihuahua ) , 2 Siberian cats and a pet rat for now ....

I love lurchers and hope to have one , one day so meanwhile just talking of what I sense but I feel it's more of a solitary kind of dog then a " have a biscuit from a stranger " type of dog. I hope it was a helpful feedback.

Just to counter all the things you've said; my lurcher is definitely in need of some degree of mental stimulation, he can be destructive if left to his own devices.

Cats, however, he's surprisingly good with; he will curl up with my cats. Anything feline outside, however, is chase material!

He's not the smartest of creatures, and is more aloof than I'm used to in a dog, but I've had him 2 years now and he's a lovely bugger despite his faults!

All that said, because of the nature of it being a cross breed, there is such variation between lurchers that it's impossible to tell what you're going to get. Don't go in thinking of it as a lurcher, just think dog; drop the preconceptions and get to know the actual dog.

Pics of my handsome scruffball for pics' sake!

You say that you think a lurcher needs less exercise or mental stimulation then a collie or so. I find this an awkward statement and slightly worried if your aware of the possible responsibility you might face.
You say you like a cat and would strongly advise to start your 'territory' with that as it will give the cat the benefit of familiarity so when you bring another pack member it might feel more entitled and stronger. I've had a kitten(ginger boy) and had a toy beagle puppy shortly afterwards and wow they clicked and played and slept together and it was a sight.
Love the red cats ( they almost always male)

I work with a breed-specific rescue ; there are as many kinds of temperament and exercise requirements as there are lurchers, depending on what the particular cross of dogs is. The one thing they all usually share is a terrific capacity for finding the most comfortable sofa and spending hours on it snoring in strange positions.

There are also a number of different shapes; their 'build' is actually a plus-point. Sighthounds (greyhounds, whippets, deerhounds, salukis, sloughi, azawakh, wolfhounds, borzoi, Ibizan hound, podenco, galgo, those I've forgotten and any mixture thereof) are one of the oldest types of dog existing and in general one of the least messed about by the show-ring types. The showing brigade have sadly had a go with the greyhound and it isn't pretty but as a rule, the form follows function. They're made to run; they have deep chests, long, straight legs and a nipped-in waist or tuck-up which allows them to fold and extend when they run. They have the predator's large eyes, and long snouts (for efficient air intake); salukis have webbed feet for ease of crossing the desert.

Within those general parameters you'll find dogs who are long and lean, dogs who are 'cobby' and quite chunky. Dogs with hardly any hair and dogs you have to wait until they move to know which direction they're facing. Dogs who are wildly excited by everything and dogs who are hardly ever excited about anything. Dogs with tremendous prey-drive and dogs who hunt only what they can blag from their humans at dinnertime. Dogs who are barky and dogs who are silent.

I'd recommend reading a book called 'The House Lurcher' by Jackie Drakeford which has some very sensible advice for lurcher owners. If you fancy a laugh I'd also Google John Linwood Grant's Greydogtales and read his articles on living with lurchers which, while funny, are SO true.

I have a lurcher (saluki cross), an ex racing greyhound and walk a beddlington/whippet cross (for the Cinnamon Trust). They are all totally different! We have a cat (who came first) and is very dog savvy and whilst my lurcher isn't very cat tolerating they do co exist with a hate/hate relationship. My ex racer weirdly tolerates cats really well even outside the house. The beddlington/whippet is very high energy, quite barky but has amazing recall.

I love their build, very much doggy supermodels in my view!

I've got a lurcher. She's easy in the house, sleeps a lot and affectionate. She enjoys sprint walks - so we don't need to be out hours but she does need to have an off lead place to run fast (we have open fields near by so easy for us). I think you'd struggle if you haven't got anywhere for the dog just to run. Obviously recall needs to be good. Ten minutes or so is fine for her so long as most of that is sprinting - along with longer walks too - but if you've had a busy day she is satisfied with just a couple of sprints per day.

Ours gets on fine with cats and other pets but she's been around all kinds of pets since a puppy. Very friendly with children and visitors.

They are eating machines and seek out food - including anything left out in the kitchen...😕

I have two lurchers, a collie lurcher and a bull lurcher (staffy I think) both stray rescues. I also had a ex racing greyhound from age 3 to 11.5.

I have also been fostering for around 5 years, all lurchers and salukis. I have a foster whippet at the moment.
It really depends on the cross with energy levels, greyhounds IME are very laid back . my collie lurcher needed more exercise but will settle down to sleep after a good blast off lead and the staffy lurcher is the same. Foster whippet is only young (approx 1) and high energy.

Never had any problems with any any of the fosters I've had (a fair few) all have had fab temperaments. I wouldn't say they are high maintenance in any way, they are easy dogs. I wouldn't have anything else !

As for their build, as someone else said they are the supermodels of the dog world, elegant and graceful 😉

Mines 12yrs old now and not slowing down Greyhound cross Whippet, she still needs to be worn out mentally and loves her walks, chases a ball. In her younger years was as mad as a box of frogs, she loved flyball and agility. I also have a saluki cross whippet whos 10 and is totally different is scared of people she doesnt know and finds going on walks stressful. Both live with cats, chickens, ducks.

I find their pointyness beautiful.