Lurcher - what do I need to know?

[Bearfrills]

Our local rescue has matched us with a 10wk old Lurcher pup. She's not 100% ours yet, we still have meets and greets to go, but we're hopeful.

We've read up a lot about lurchers and we're aware that we're getting a dog with two modes: lunatic and asleep We're also aware she will think she's a lap dog even if she ends up weighing 90lbs (not sure yet how big she'll be as an adult, the rescue thinks she won't be massive). We're also aware a puppy is like having a newborn but we've had four of those so it's nothing we haven't faced before.

Any tips? Any recommendations on beds, collars/harnesses/leads? Best/worst thing about owning a lurcher?

Be aware of little dogs. Even with lurches who are great with dogs and meet and greet nicely. I've had to rescue my little terrier on frequent occasions when a friendly lurcher has come over the running starts can be like a switch is pressed and all they see is a small fluffy running thing. Good luck with the next step though lovely dogs.

Oh and I've just seen the picture - 😍😍😍🥰

My 3 are great off lead... Fab recall and never brought me anything furry..

I have two. One is laid back, very gentle, good recall, quiet at home, the epitome of lazy lurcher. He is a saluki x.
The other is an intense arsehole, who steals anything she can reach, jumps like a kangaroo (ended up on my neighbour’s garage roof), cannot be let off her lead unless there are tall fences, is very vocal, gets into bed with me every night - shovels the duvet off if I don’t lift it up for her to get in. She’s also very loyal to me, very affectionate, is brilliant on lead, very eager to learn and cuddles up for sleeps.
As a puppy she was more bitey than any puppy I have ever encountered, so be prepared to be very patient!

@liveforsummer

Be aware of little dogs. Even with lurches who are great with dogs and meet and greet nicely. I've had to rescue my little terrier on frequent occasions when a friendly lurcher has come over the running starts can be like a switch is pressed and all they see is a small fluffy running thing. Good luck with the next step though lovely dogs.

This is a good point actually, Lurchers do play very differently to ‘normal dogs’. It can be quite alarming to see if you’re not used to it and a lot of dogs don’t appreciate it. It’s best to try and find some sighthound friends for them to play with if you want them to play off-lead. Either that or try to cultivate doggie friendships with other breeds when he’s young, so that he learns to play appropriately with them.

It doesn’t meant that they are actually seeing the other dog as prey, they play like this with each other as well. My old boy had quite a few smaller friends (JRT, Schnauzer, Cocker, a few small cross-breeds) who enjoyed the chase before he finally got his own Lurcher friend at home to really blast about with. He has really good social skills though and will only play with dogs that are clear they want him to chase. He can and would mooch about with other dogs as well if they weren’t keen to join in his idea of fun.

My younger boy was scared of other dogs and would actively avoid even tiny dogs. No inclination to chase at all, even if they were charging about off-lead. In fact he was more scared when they were off-lead than if they were on-lead.

I tend to just keep them on lead around dogs they don’t know and we used to go over the fields at certain times of the day when it was always empty for them to play their wild Lurcher games with each other.

This series of articles came out a few years back. Probably as true to life as you'll find.

greydogtales.com/blog/lurchers-triumphant-secret-index/

We have a collie/bedlington/whippet and I agree that they can be more like cats than dogs. The way she stretches, the way she just wants to curl up in her basket all day and the way she sometimes wants affection on her terms. She is fantastic with other dogs, but her recall is patchy. She is bright as a button and very loving. If she has a few running sessions and a half hour walk, she's happy to sleep and/or chew her toys for the rest of the day. She was hard work in the beginning as she has inherited collie nipping/herding behaviour, but now she's calm and lovely. She currently smells terrible, though, as she's been rolling in hedgehog poo!

Yes! I read greydogtales last night and was chuckling away to myself.

Also looked up some videos to show the DC lurchers in action and the first hit was a TiKTok video of a lurcher that had managed to get onto the roof of a house

Not lurcher specific but for any pup:

1. This training group www.facebook.com/groups/dogtrainingadviceandsupport/?ref=share

1. Bloody good insurance. AwkwardPup got sick at 9 months, he's now 16 months & has incurred over £8k in vet bills. Bought By Many have been amazing & paid it all.

1. Gin for you

I have had several dogs one of which was a lurcher. She'd had a very rough life and I git her from a rescue. I have to say she was the most wilful dog that ever walked. She never did anything unless there was something in it for her. She was loving and affectionate on her terms. And she forgot nothing. I'd put the cat's food down and we'd go off for a few hours. When we got back, she'd be all casual, and then as I'd be opening the front door, she'd burst past me to get into the kitchen to see what food was left. She must have been thinking about it the whole time we were out.
She was such a character, she used me like a servant, and I adored her.

We have a long dog (greyhound / saluki Cross) and she is the most beautiful, clumsy, sweet pup ever.

I just wanted to come back and update that everything went great when I took my DC to meet her at the weekend and I brought her home today for a short term foster.

Sadly it turned it to be a very short foster and I had to take her back to the shelter. She was lovely during our meet-and-greets, on the car ride today she was a dream and very calm for the whole drive, however once inside the house she became increasingly upset abd this came across as quite aggressive behaviour. She kept biting me and it wasn't playful puppy biting, it was very forceful and repeated. At one point she bit my arm and wouldn't let go, she then latched onto my sleeve and pulled back while growling and shaking her head, even when I moved away to give her space she followed me and continued trying to bite me. This was all totally different behaviour to what we had previously seen in the shelter and nothing like how she was during our meetings. She couldn't be distracted from the biting or redirected. I took her outside to try a change of scene and outdoors she was almost instantly sweet and affectionate again, running around like a little kangaroo, playing with a toy, sniffing everything. We went back indoors and within minutes she was back to the previous behaviour. When the DC came home from school I told them she was feeling a bit stressed so they went off to play upstairs, youngest DS stayed with me. He was nowhere near her, not interacting with her at all and just minding his own business on the sofa, she ran across the length of the sofa and attempted to bite his face. I'd been sitting next to him and luckily was able to catch her before she made contact.

It's possible that in her previous home she was mistreated, she was found abandoned so there isn't a lot of information about her past, or it's entirely possible she's never even been inside a house before but either way there was something about being in the house that was triggering her. She was fine outdoors, fine in the car, fine at the shelter, the only place she showed this behaviour was in the house.

On the positive side, we were able to give the shelter some additional information about her so that they can find the right home for her and based on the interactions we had before today I don't think anyone could have predicted this. Its a sad situation though and I'm really disappointed we weren't able to be the home she needed

That’s sad o/p, but you absolutely did the right thing taking her back.

Sounds like she needs a professional foster home before they even think of rehoming.

A big heart and some valium

Apologies OP didn't see your update. So sorry it didn't work out

That's a shame OP but probably for the best. Have you had a puppy before? I'm only asking because the behaviour you describe could quite easily be normal puppy behaviour. I've got a lurcher and he was a bugger as a puppy. They do bite - a lot! I've had dogs before but this one was like a little raptor as a pup. He used to run and launch himself at me and the kids (teens). All my clothes were ripped and we all had bites and scratches for a few months. I wouldn't have liked to have had him with younger children. I don't know whether it's a lurcher thing but I know the other pups from his litter were the same as we still see each other.

My little beddy whippet was like psycho jaws when he was a puppy. He’s the best dog in the world now.

I grew up with dogs and puppies and have had fairly regular contact with puppies via friends and family. This wasn't puppy playing, she was acting aggressively and it was constant with none of that almost apologetic affection in-between the bouts of biting. At the shelter she was puppy biting and it was litle nip, nibble, handed a toy, run away with the toy, come back for a pet and a nose-bump, repeat. This biting in the house was non-stop, she couldn't be deterred from it, and there was none of the wanting to be petted in between it. When she bit me and wouldn't let go she was pulling/jerking back and trying to shake her head, my husband had to help me get free. Then when she went for DS she was unmistakably going for his face, she had her mouth open and was moving into that head tilt position as she got near so would have grabbed onto either side of his face.

The behaviour that you describe does sound like my lurcher as a pup. Honestly, he was a nightmare. I've had other dogs and they've played as you describe tours did at the rehoming centre but my lurcher was different to that. I don't know if it's the beddy whippet mix but he feels like a proper hunting dog to me. He's a big baby and has such a gentle temperament but he also gets this glint in his eye when he's ragging his toys that I haven't seen before - and I grew up with Jack Russells. He's calmed down now and it's helped that he hasn't got his needle teeth anymore - but he did really hurt us when he was a puppy and I don't think it was intentional; I just think he was training to hunt. Having said that, I don't think lurchers are a great choice for children, mainly because of this puppy stage. I met one woman on a walk who had a whippet x and she told me that school safeguarding called her when her daughter was younger because she was covered in cuts and bruises! She was laughing about it now but at the time it was awful. So maybe consider a different breed or an older lurcher that's calmed down.

The shelter have said they're happy with us as adopters and will work with us to find the right dog for our family which is good. They've sent through an email of their current pups but I'm going to let them know I'd like to take a couple of weeks first to spend some time with dogs belonging to friends/family to build their confidence back up a bit, youngest DD was there when she went for DS and was shaken by what she saw so I was to address that before going straight back into having a puppy. From a parental responsibility point of view, I don't want to teach the DC that you can get rid of a dog on Monday and have a new one by Friday.

@Bearfrills I think it's also a good lesson for them that not every dog fits a family and that it's as much about finding the right home for a dog as it is finding a dog for the home. There's nothing shameful about returning a foster who isn't going to work you - at the end of the day what is most important is that the dog is safe and happy, and if that's not with your family than so be it. You sound very responsible and switched on.
I do agree with @OldWivesTale about it sounding quite breed typical though. We got our Saluki X at 15 months and I couldn't wear short sleeved tops or skirts/shorts for about a year because of the damage she would do to me. They think with their mouths, express themselves with their mouths and generally communicate with their mouths. Even now at 4.5yrs I have to remind mine that biting my heels as I go down the stairs isn't acceptable. We don't have children though so we've had time and space to work through it. My girl is 30kg and stands as high as my mid thigh and has been known to fling herself, jaws open at head height purely out of excitement. But she also sleeps in my bed (not at night time), is the biggest cuddle monster you've ever met and loves me and my husband obsessively. Greyhounds, particularly retired ones, are much calmer and less psychotic, but lurchers with their mix of breeding can carry some very very nail biting behaviours especially if they've gone through trauma whilst young. Hence my comment about valium earlier. Not all, some are totally chilled out - and my girl does sleep for a out 20 hours a day but it's when they're awake
Good luck with your search for a suitable foster and hopefully the puppy will find a home with more time to dedicate. My guess would be that he was exploding with anxiety and excitement and expressed it the only way he knew how.

People don't grasp how such psychological damage can be done to a ddog so young. Heartbreaking op..
As a dpuppy my ddog was punched in the face.. She was never the same.. Did you try the reverse image? Def feel like I saw that dpuppy advertised...
I hope you get the chance to make a difference to a foster ddog the the future.. Ddogs raised with dc share a special relationship ime.

That does sound like extreme puppy behaviour, probably triggered by anxiety and excitement - not knowing what to do with themselves in the house. She will get the help she needs now that the rescue knows more about her.

Ooh, we have lurchers and they are adorable. Incredibly lazy of course and good at picking pockets, stealing coffee, stealing butter ( not margarine they throw tubs in a rage if they steal one by accident:)

Our lurchers - huge saluki lurcher whom is generally upside down with one leg stretched up. He goes off the lead in an enclosed field because he is a rescue and is not good round other dogs. He walks majestically twice a day for about 20 mins then sleeps.
The lurcher pup - goes off the lead anywhere. I trained him from the word go . He comes when called, heels, leaves, seeks - all with treats and a few mins a time. He is a bit silly but 18 months now. He likes to get in the bed ( no idea how as he is enormous) and is the biggest cuddle monster ever.
I used a training lead for a long time with pup as it helps with being well behaved without thinking about it. Mostly I use slip leads now.

Neither dog gets any tidbits. They play by chasing and wrestling, and are very sweet with puppies and the boss dog.

We also have a small fluffy dog. She is boss. Although pup likes to swipe at her with his giant paws from the sofa and laughs when she wakes up with a jump. Puppy also talks endlessly with a kind of pirate noise. The other dogs copy him:)

Be kind, don't let puppy jump up at you, constant tiny training- come, sit, stay, practice on a lead. Tiny treats. They love it when we go out. It's a rush for the sofa and best spot for a good lurcher upside down stretch:)

Missed the update. What a shame and you have done the right thing op. Perhaps contact someone who runs a puppy club and go along to watch/ chat to people, or a friendly dog trainer to get advice on dogs in your home and what you need.