Mongrel puppy

[Bumpette]

Hi, looking for some advice... We have been desperate for a puppy for ages. But been waiting for the right time. We are not eligible to have a rescue due to the age of our children and our work situation (although my mum is going to have our dog when we are at work so won't be on its own. Anyway I have been offered the possibility of purchasing a pup from an accidental litter (a family member of a friend. Pups not born yet). Not designer dogs at all! Proper mixture of about 4 breeds. I love mongrels but have never owned one. Growing up we had springer spaniels. I am not at all fussed about having a pure breed. And there is no way we could afford the current inflated prices. Anyway in my position would you go for it? I'm soooo tempted (obviously not got to commit to anything until they are born). Please don't suggest we get a rescue. I have looked into this and honestly we are not eligible. Also whilst I would be happy to rescue a puppy I wouldn't be confident rescuing an older dog (before anyone jumps down my throat I do know of many success stories. My parents in law have a rescue staffie who is amazing with kids and we all adore. However my sister had two bad experiences with rescues who both bit and I am afraid it has put me off having one with my children as I don't know their past.)

@Gingaaarghpussy

Nope. A cross of two (pure) different sighthound breeds is a longdog.

A lurcher is a cross or mix of sighthound plus another type or types of dog.

A whirrier is a cross between a whippet and another type of breed.

Unless it's a greyhound-cross-whippet in which case it's a grew, or a non-ped whippet depending on the percentage of greyhound to whippet.

You can't have a lurcher 'first cross' anything as the lurcher is already a cross, although if the sighthound blood is diluted enormously down the generations eventually the lurchery traits will disappear but so will all the others.

You will also hear of other varieties which are shorthand for the various types of lurchers around: whiplingtons, beddywhippets, borderwhippets, Norfolk lurchers, Exmoor lurchers, bull lurchers, wheaton lurchers, saluki lurchers...

To be fair, lurchers bred for working or sports are very rarely just two breeds.

They’re mostly sighthound, but often more than one and then little bits of working breeds. It’s not unusual to see 6 or more different breeds listed. People keep pedigrees for them (obviously not KC ones, lol) so they know what they’re adding in the mix next to get the traits they’re after.

What breeds they add in depends what they’re using them for and what sort of landscape they’ll be using them in.

I admired a bloke's lurcher/longdog (TBF they all seem to get called lurchers round here) once when out walking and I got her full genealogy back to GGPs ('...and her dam's dam was grey cross deerhound...). Needless to say, with that much interest in her breeding, he worked her.

The dictionary definition of lurcher:

BRITISH

a cross-bred dog, typically a retriever, collie, or sheepdog crossed with a greyhound, of a kind originally used for hunting and by poachers for catching rabbits.

I googled it.

Yes. Or, as I said:

A lurcher is a cross or mix of sighthound plus another type or types of dog.

So, a lurcher bred with a gsd (or mix) will still produce lurchers, just with a lower percentage of sighthound blood. The description of a 6ft jump from a standing start is very lurchery!

You will meet people who say the only 'true' lurcher is a greyhound to collie cross (bearded or border) and they probably were vaguely that originally when they were required not only to hunt but to herd. The type has been expanded and extended though down the centuries depending on need and fashion.

I know folk who can describe their lurcher's genetic makeup in fractions all the way up to 64ths including all the ancestors' names and others who, when asked about their dog's breeding, will just say 'Oh, lurcher to lurcher'.

Greyhound/whippet crosses in various degrees are very popular for the country show lurcher racing/lure coursing circuit (longdogs also count as lurchers) although there has been bit of complaining in the past about dogs of 15/16ths greyhound - 1/16th whippet competing. In the opposite direction 'non-ped whippets' which are mostly whippet with a smidgen of greyhound have their own competition scene.

A while back a character (Greengrass, was it?) in the tv series 'Heartbeat' had a lurcher and suddenly all lurchers had to look like his - grey and a bit shaggy. Now the televising of flyball from Crufts showing incredibly fast teams of lurchers, whippets and 'border whippets' is bringing that smooth-coated 'racy' type into higher popularity.

My current dog has six breeds in him; three different sighthounds, two different gundogs and a herding dog (not necessarily in that order). Is he a mongrel? Yup. Is he a mutt? Yup. 'Lurcher' is just the term used to describe dogs bred like him, originally to do a particular job, which share certain characteristics.