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Talk to me about lurchers

16 replies

Readysetcake · 06/02/2021 23:09

I’m hoping to get a dog and would love to get a lurcher. A scruffy one ideally as they melt me. But any lurchers are lovely. I had one growing and she was bonkers but lush. She would need a good walk everyday but would then crash out. I live right by the beach and love walking and running and it would be great to have a companion.

I’m in no rush as I want to make sure I’m not going through a puppy farm, but I’m a bit clueless as to how to go about getting a lurcher? When I google I just find pets4home etc ads which I’m so dubious about. The other sites are for rescues which is sadly not possible as I have primary aged kids and they all say kids 12+ if kids at all.

I’m under no illusions about the work a puppy is etc and remember the crying at night and toilet training well as I was about 13 when we had our lurcher pup. But also remember the utter joy she brought. She was from a rescue centre who happened to have puppies when we were looking.

As you don’t get KC registered breeders how do you get a reputable lurcher breeder? Or is it just a case of picking a preloved advert and hoping it all turns out ok?

OP posts:
SuperSange · 06/02/2021 23:16

There are various lurcher rescues nationwide. We had three at one point, just the one left now. I love them. ❤️

Scottishskifun · 06/02/2021 23:26

Please don't use a pre loved advert this can be a stolen dog especially as you have children. The smaller rescue charities especially lurcher or sighthound specific do adopt with children if you Google usually your area and sighthound rescue they should pop up. Generally they have more time to assess as the dogs go into Foster homes first. You might have to wait for the right dog but I suggest checking these out.

Lurchers are great there are several things you need a secure garden and min 5ft high fence being one (they can jump if they wish to). They can be skittish depending on breed cross and there are many different breed crosses. Bull Lurchers are generally staffies crossed with sight hound.

They also have a prey drive so you will have to put in a lot of work on their recall. Never buy a extendable lead with a sighthound the speed they can accelerate at makes them dangerous and the thin wire can cut through their legs. You can get long lines for training.

Tolee · 06/02/2021 23:32

Apparently there are lots of lurchers in rescues and there are specialist lurcher rescues as well. My lovely scruffy lurcher was the puppy of a border collie mum deerhound/bearded collie dad. He still visits his mum and brother. He's 3 and a half. Needed a lot of recall training and doesn't like being left alone. He's pretty good with recall now. He does like to guard the house and bark at passers by. No issues with toiletting/chewing. Tends to ignore children in the park. He likes a good run but is happy to laze around the house otherwise. I would definitely get a lurcher again.

Talk to me about lurchers
Talk to me about lurchers
Talk to me about lurchers
Readysetcake · 06/02/2021 23:57

Ah tolee he’s beautiful!
I definitely don’t want to go through preloved and the like which is why I posted.

I have a secure garden. I looked at local rescues and they all say no young kids and the dogs listed tend to be nervous have a few issues which sadly I don’t have the capacity to take on at this point in my life as I have young kids. I know I could end up with a dog that has issues even with a puppy and my lurcher had a few but I can’t take on a nervous dog from the start of that makes sense. Is nervous/behaviour issues a trait of most lurchers and mine when younger was non typical? Should I look at another type of dog and have a lurcher when Kids are much older / left home?

OP posts:
moosemama · 07/02/2021 00:34

Sighthound specific rescues do get litters of pups in, they just tend not to go on the websites, as they already have pre-approved homes waiting. If you are willing to wait, you can usually register interest and fill in pre-adoption forms, so you’re vetted/approved when they do have pups come in.

Both Lurcher Link and Evesham Greyhound and Lurcher Rescue consider homes on an individual basis, so there’s no strict age limit for children and they will place dogs with children where appropriate. They also rehome nationally - under normal circumstances - but obviously Covid has caused problems with this, so you may have to wait until lockdown ends.

My boy is 15 now, but we took him on as a pup when ds2 was about 18 months old. My other Lurcher (sadly passed last Summer) came to us as a pup from a general rescue, rather than a Lurcher/Sighthound specific one, when dd was 4.

I adore Lurchers, but you do need to be aware that they can be very different according to the mix of breeds in particular dogs and that those bred from working lines will have high prey drives. It’s worth joining the FB groups for a few of the rescues to get some idea of what the different mixes can be like. Both mine were/are scruffies. My old lad is Deerhound/Saluki x Greyhound Bearded Collie and is the calmest, friendliest, most laid-back lad ever. We often say he’s the perfect family dog. We don’t know what our other boy’s breeding was, but he definitely had a heft dollop of Saluki in there, as well as some Bedlington, somewhere along the line, judging by his fur. He was extremely highly strung and very needy, but then he had an very bad start in life (dumped at a couple of hours old, so never had his mum or a litter to learn from, then very ill and missed his early socialisation) and struggled with some pretty serious health problems from a very young age, so a lot of his issues were probably down to that.

I do think Lurchers make fantastic family dogs, but it needs to be the right match and you need to be aware that, if you have little children, unless you are super careful, they are likely to be knocked over (Lurchered) a few times while the pup learns how to control his legs and braking system. All three of mine wore their Lurcher Link ‘I’ve Been Lurchered’ tshirts with pride when they were younger!

The good news is that if you go through a reputable rescue like the ones I’ve mentioned above, they will make sure you are a good match and also be there to support you all the way.

Tolee · 07/02/2021 08:12

Moosemama please post a picture of yours. I think Bearded collie/Deerhound is a lovely combination for a family dog. I'm about to become a grandma so I'm hoping he will be good with the baby. He is extremely gentle when he plays with us and never bites. However I know you have to be careful around kids with all dogs. He's good at braking when chasing, but his lean on your legs when he is being loving could easily knock over a little one. Prey drive is powerful and I have to be careful no cats or squirrels around when I let him out of the car.

Readysetcake · 07/02/2021 08:58

Thank you for your reply moosemama some really helpful info. I’ll contact those rescues and explain our situation and see what they say. I’m not in a rush so happy to wait for the right one to come along. Mine are 5 and 3 so no tiny ones and both live dogs. But they are both loud so i think we would need a pup so they could used to the noise as they grow.

We had no idea what mix our lurcher when I was young, but she did have a very high prey drive. Luckily she didn’t have a killer instinct so the few times she managed to catch up to squirrels she was clueless and got a bite on her nose for her efforts!

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CMOTDibbler · 07/02/2021 10:01

I foster puppies for Evesham Greyhound and Lurcher Rescue. We don't have any blanket ban on age of children (or many other things tbh) it's all about the particular dog and their needs. So some of mine have gone to people with very small children, and some we can tell even at a very young age will need a different home. People get really rude about this too, but the beauty of dogs being part of a home is that you know them so well - my last teeny pups you could see one sister wanted lots going on (and her home with two other dogs and 4 adults in the house has worked perfectly) and the other sister wanted a very strong relationship with one person in a quieter environment.
I've had pups come in to me who were bought from lurcher breeders (and that they were relinquished to rescue tells you everything). The best result is that it is a commercial operation where the dogs aren't abused, but your pup won't have seen the world at all.

At the moment its crazy, and we are so limited to where we can rehome to. Wait until the end of the year and things will calm down and we'll be back to more puppies than we know what to do with I'm afraid

Readysetcake · 07/02/2021 10:11

Thanks @CMOTDibbler very helpful. Is it worth registering interest and going through the process so I’m registered for later on in the year? Or are the rescues not doing this at the moment?

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mrsrobin · 07/02/2021 10:19

I am pleased to hear you are interested in having a Lurcher in your family! Rather then a ...poo
Our lurcher (black and white spotty) is perfect for long walks as well as jogging. She is the perfect outdoor dog - when outdoors - and the perfect indoor dog too!
She came from a Lurcher specific rescue who are not operating as such now. However, they did take each enquiry as an individual, rather than blanket rules. I would say it is definitely worth contacting all the Lurcher rescues to see what they say.
I am stuck on Lurchers now....I can't imagine having any other dog!

wanderlove · 07/02/2021 11:43

I love my lurched more then my life! He was red used as a puppy. However he has 'issues' it's fine as we know what they are and can give him a happy life. He's great with kids in the house and has loved all
The kids from being babies. He hates spaniels of any type after a bad experience. He hates more than one dog together due to the same. He would kill a cat if he had the chance as he hates them with a passion and is not allowed on beaches as the sand pickles his brain and he forgets all
His training and tried to run other dogs and children down. As I say we love him to bits and avoid situations they irk him but despite having lots of amazing qualities he's not always the easiest dog--especially outside. Just a warning really they some are complex characters. I would get another chance tho!

moosemama · 07/02/2021 13:56

@Tolee. Here he is. He’s always been scruffy, but is even more scruffy now he’s a proper old man.

Also one of both my boys together in December 2019. We lost our other lad in June 2020.

CMOTDibbler · 07/02/2021 14:06

EGLR don't keep lists of interested people - there aren't any paid staff, so it would be a lot of work to maintain. But you can make sure that your house and garden are puppy proofed, make sure you've thought about how you will manage to keep the puppy from the dcs toys, provide pup with a safe space, know how you will manage days out/holidays etc rather than waiting for a suitable puppy to come up and not having your fences high enough/ the gate being able to be left open by children/ cables accessible indoors or whatever which would need to be rectified.
For cuteness purposes, this is the litter my ddog2 was born in - he was born with EGLR after his mum was dumped

Talk to me about lurchers
Tolee · 07/02/2021 16:56

@moosemama awww so lovely. Love those scruffy faces. Also @CMOTDibbler 🥰

PepperPotty · 07/02/2021 17:01

We had the same issues rescuing due to our kids ages. We decided to get a whippet in the end from a KC breeder and think they’re fab. Would still like to rescue a lurcher/greyhound in the future 🙂

ThenCatoJumpedOut · 08/02/2021 14:50

Lurchers are lovely, the best dogs.

We have one we got through a friend of a Friend who bred her (and was returned to her as first owners did not like her, so we took her in)

We’d love a second lurcher, but have just been rejected as “unsuitable “ despite having experience with lurchers, kids over 16, one person at home most of the day, a secure large fenced garden.... all this and we’re still not good enough Grin so they are not easy to come by (they wanted someone at home ALL day and with experience with serious behaviour problems. Pretty high bar imo, but fair enough if that’s what’s needed )

So yes, they are hard to find but spread the word that you are looking, that’s how we got our current gorgeous girl Smile

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