Lurcher- Just the way they are?

[noodlenosefraggle]

We are fostering a whippet x at the moment with a view to adopting him. He is really lovely and the reason we looked into a whippet/ greyhound type dog is that we knew they didn't need tons of exercise and they could be left as we both work. He's not usually left for more than 3 hours without a dog walker and he seems fine. I'm working from home today and was interested in what he did all day. He has literally laid on the sofa! I gave him his Kong which he played with for a bit until it got too difficult to get the bits at the end, he ran around the garden for about 5 seconds then had a lie down, I threw him a frizbee and a ball but he just looked at me! Should I do something else? I got him a big bone from the butcher, a string of sausages to chew, a soft scrunchy toy to squeak,none of which he bothers with! He has a long morning and afternoon walk and is forced out for a quick loo walk in the evening.

[noodlenosefraggle]

What a lovely descripti on 😊

[Jsmith99]

Many pure sighthound crosses are quiet, chilled-out, lazy and challenging to train or motivate but not all lurchers fit this description.

Some have collie, terrier or both in their breeding. They can be much, much livelier. We used to have a greyhound x working border collie. He had a huge personality, he loved learning tricks, performing & being the centre of attention. He did competitive obedience and agility to a high level. All well & good, but he was also highly strung and didn’t like being on his own or bored, so he could be a pain to live with.

[bluetongue]

Should I return my whippet for a refund?

He does like to sleep and have a good lie in but he’s very active and walks are done at a very brisk pace. I think he’d prefer if I ran with him but that’s never going to happen. Sometimes he gets so excited on walks he bounds along and nearly gets airborne! He also loves to chase and retrieve balls and nearly always brings tham back to me.

Most of the time I love how lively and playful he is but sometimes it would be nice to have a lazy sighthound.

[Weaverspin]

Lurchers & greyhounds = "40 mile-an-hour couch potatoes"

Ours is a large rough-coat ginger lurcher with a fair bit of terrier in the mix. Loves a walk, and the occasional zoomie, but loves lying around snoozing even more. He has never played with toys. I think that's normal!

[Crunched]

Thanks for the gorgeous photos on this thread.

[Phillpot12]

We have a saluki x grey x whippet. Still v puppyish at 2yrs ish - loves toys, plays with us, loves her walks, total princess in terms of being cosy at night, amazing with our children, sleeps when we leave her but plenty of crazy times taking things she shouldn't when we are home, often is of she feels she is being ignored or fancies going out for a run! Terrible food thief. Bonkers and gorgeous, lazy but mad moments....

[BarbarAnna]

Well we have been thinking of getting a new one after losing our old girl a few years back. This thread has me sold!

[Sexnotgender]

Sam’s awfully tired from digging the small hole beside him.

They are phenomenally lazy dogs.

We got sam when he was 2. He loves a 5 minute hare round the garden followed by a 6 hour nap.

[Sexnotgender]

I should say Sam is pure greyhound.

[Judashascomeintosomemoney]

Sounds normal, or as normal as they get . This is our alien. She’s a tyrant and rules the house and all of her slaves within it, including our poor Labrador (who doesn’t really know what is going on bless him). She often sleeps with her head hanging off the bed and touching the floor with the tip of her nose. This is how she communicates with the mothership.

[noodlenosefraggle]

"sexnotgender He's hilarious

[Sexnotgender]

He is that, he’s adorable and gentle and gives me great joy.

[waterlego]

What a gorgeous thread. I love whippets, greyhounds and lurchers. My mutt is none of the above but I’m loving these photos and descriptions ❤️

[Phillpot12]

I think our maybe part kangaroo.
She loves going under her duvet but gets too hot so has to hang head or limbs out....🙄

[Beachbodynowayready]

Best friends!

[Pinkywoo]

This was my enormous lurcher taking up half a double bed (note the drool patch ) before moving to the sofa!

[thefirstmrsdewinter]

Our staff/whippet cross sleeps deeply like a person, tightly wrapped up in blankets, and he's always the last in the household to wake up. He's also too lazy to empty his Kong and I've stopped giving them as our other dog just eats them both. He has a stuffed squeaky monkey he's very fond of savaging.
He is my first whippet-type dog and although I can see the staff in him (vocal, bouncy, affectionate, eager to please) I'm less familiar with whippet traits, so I'm really enjoying this thread!

[Vicliz24]

All perfectly normal . The main reason I have a whippet is because of their laziness. A lunchtime walk and a half hour play in the garden and they're done . Free to spend the rest of their day sleeping . Always on the sofa or their big cushion outside if it's sunny . The perfect dogs in my opinion

[ArkAtEe]

My dog is a real mutt but he definitely has some lurcher in there and it's strong in his personality at home. As long as he gets a good long walk he is very happy spending the day snoozing with his legs in the air or curled up in his bed. He'll chase a ball for 10 minutes (but only usually if I give him a treat to bring it back - there is no retriever in him..) in the garden maybe then will go off for more sleep. He hasn't played with toys/kong since he was a pup and will only occasionally chew on his bone.

[PlumCakeChica]

Love all these gorgeous lurchers and friends. We’ve been thinking about getting one. We already have a small rescue dog, probably a poodle cross, several guinea pigs, a tortoise and hens at home. I’m worried that it wouldn’t be a wise thing to throw a sight hound into that mix. Any thoughts?

[Sexnotgender]

Sighthounds and birds aren’t a great mix as far as I know.
I’d love to keep chickens but I think Sam would upset them. He loves chasing the big fat pigeons that frequent the garden.

[noodlenosefraggle]

We have Guinea pigs. He likes running round their run. But at the moment he's terrified off them if they go near him. He also eats their Guinea pig pellets in preference to his own dry dog food! Cats also hiss at him which sends him quivering away, tail between his legs. However, I'm aware this may all change as he settles in, so keep an eye out if they are in the garden together.

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

Oh this thread! I wanted a whippet so much but DH had country walk lab fantasies, so black lab it was. To be fair, he's amazing and fits right in, but there's a corner of my heart forever devoted to greys, whippets and my absolute favourite - scruffy lurchers with the wiry hair that sticks out everywhere.

More pics please!

[Thatsnotmyname4291]

We have two retired racing greyhounds so not exactly lurchers, but.

One is currently standing outside the bathroom door singing to me. Not for a walk but just because she likes to be next to one of us and with eye contact at all times.
The other is on the sofa. She’s been there for 11.5 of the last 12 hours, minus walks.

We used to try to play with them. The look they gave us was just ‘nope’.

Sometimes the younger one collects our shoes on the rug or steals food from the countertops. That is her play.

Lovely dogs. I’ll never cope with a ‘real dog’ after these two sillies.

[Beachbodynowayready]

We also have 2 dcats but didn't let them near of chickens when we had them.
Ddogs know the result of a dcat claw and are very respectful!!