Why Aren't Gundog Lurchers Popular?

[Tyla 3,179]

My next lurcher will probably be a lab x. Won't be for a while though. Kennels full of busted lurchers

[TALKCHEAP 183]

put a big whippet to a spaniel bitch what can be better than that for mooching about in the day or a bit of ferreting ,even then you'd be comparing one lot of pups to hundreds of other lurchers,there loads of other xs that can be used, most people say why as it not been tried before then, if we all thought like that wed still be living in the stone age

[forest of dean redneck 11,190]

I think a lot of problems as well is the people that do breed them ,charge more so kinda puts off the mooching/pot fuller type people that would own one. I know. I would considered one when I was looking last autumn.but not at £350-400 notes.

[shaaark 10,133]

put a big whippet to a spaniel bitch what can be better than that for mooching about in the day or a bit of ferreting ,even then you'd be comparing one lot of pups to hundreds of other lurchers,there loads of other xs that can be used, most people say why as it not been tried before then, if we all thought like that wed still be living in the stone age

I don't think they are as little used, or unpopular as many people seem to think. Alot of people with these types, same as a lot of people I suppose, wouldn't even consider coming on a hunting forum and writing about, or posting pics of their dogs.

 

I think a lot of problems as well is the people that do breed them ,charge more so kinda puts off the mooching/pot fuller type people that would own one. I know. I would considered one when I was looking last autumn.but not at £350-400 notes.

You could be right there too fdr

[Somewhereyournot 1,117]

If I wanted a mooching type that don't listen and hunts up I'd get a beardy x lol

[TALKCHEAP 183]

I think a lot of problems as well is the people that do breed them ,charge more so kinda puts off the mooching/pot fuller type people that would own one. I know. I would considered one when I was looking last autumn.but not at £350-400 notes.

the thing is to get your own bitch ,that way you know what you got, some time change can give us a new lease of life.

[TALKCHEAP 183]

If I wanted a mooching type that don't listen and hunts up I'd get a beardy x lol

try taking them out more than once a fortnight you might be surprised

[forest of dean redneck 11,190]

 

I think a lot of problems as well is the people that do breed them ,charge more so kinda puts off the mooching/pot fuller type people that would own one. I know. I would considered one when I was looking last autumn.but not at £350-400 notes.

 

the thing is to get your own bitch ,that way you know what you got, some time change can give us a new lease of life.

Yeah if you can breed your own ideal,but not everyone wants to wait years to get one,or has space or use for gundog .

There was some smart little spaniel lurchers while back can't remember who had them,don't hear anything about them now.

[mackay 3,049]

I genuinely don't know why gundog lurchers aren't more popular.

I like collie crosses, but as lurcher work goes ( in the true sense of the word) I would think gundog breeds would be up there along side them.

Or perhaps I've got a different idea of what constitutes lurcher work.

To the guy that says a lurcher doesn't need a great nose... give your head a shake, nose is an essential in a lurcher and the better the nose the better the dog.

Soft mouth?, I've seen pointers, weimaraners, Labradors and even a springer spaniel knack foxes and if we want to split hairs, is killing foxes actually the job of a genuine lurcher.

Retrieving?, well I'll put my balls on the table and say this, the majority of dogs I've seen in the last forty years have been non, or poor retrievers unless they had a strong base line of a breed likely to retieve, in their make up and even dogs that were classed as retrievers spitting their prey out when they came back into sight of there owner or at best dropping it short.

Brains?, aside from the herding breeds many of the gundog breeds (not all) must rank as next in line.

Guide dogs, bomb detection, search and rescue, the list is endless and the day I see other breeds which are classed as essential in the make up of a lurcher performing the same tasks in any great number and not one offs, I'll concede the point.

Water work?, no, you don't usually catch rabbits on water, although I have caught them in flooded saturated places where certain slighter thin skinned dogs might not be so keen to go.

But me anyway, I class water work as part of lurcher work and all the dogs I have owned have hunted waterfowl with the same enthusiasm as other quarry and all have readily retrieved off water.

I guess that's the beauty of lurcher work, we all see thing differently but essentially we are all the same.

[shaaark 10,133]

I genuinely don't know why gundog lurchers aren't more popular.

I like collie crosses, but as lurcher work goes ( in the true sense of the word) I would think gundog breeds would be up there along side them.

Or perhaps I've got a different idea of what constitutes lurcher work.

To the guy that says a lurcher doesn't need a great nose... give your head a shake, nose is an essential in a lurcher and the better the nose the better the dog.

Soft mouth?, I've seen pointers, weimaraners, Labradors and even a springer spaniel knack foxes and if we want to split hairs, is killing foxes actually the job of a genuine lurcher.

Retrieving?, well I'll put my balls on the table and say this, the majority of dogs I've seen in the last forty years have been non, or poor retrievers unless they had a strong base line of a breed likely to retieve, in their make up and even dogs that were classed as retrievers spitting their prey out when they came back into sight of there owner or at best dropping it short.

Brains?, aside from the herding breeds many of the gundog breeds (not all) must rank as next in line.

Guide dogs, bomb detection, search and rescue, the list is endless and the day I see other breeds which are classed as essential in the make up of a lurcher performing the same tasks in any great number and not one offs, I'll concede the point.

Water work?, no, you don't usually catch rabbits on water, although I have caught them in flooded saturated places where certain slighter thin skinned dogs might not be so keen to go.

But me anyway, I class water work as part of lurcher work and all the dogs I have owned have hunted waterfowl with the same enthusiasm as other quarry and all have readily retrieved off water.

I guess that's the beauty of lurcher work, we all see thing differently but essentially we are all the same.

Belting post .

And dare I say it, but before certain authors started writing about 'traditional' collie x's etc' that gundog, or even mongrel with a bit of gundog in, would've breen pretty much as common as collie x etc

Edited August 23, 2016 by shaaark

[Somewhereyournot 1,117]

 

 

If I wanted a mooching type that don't listen and hunts up I'd get a beardy x lol

try taking them out more than once a fortnight you might be surprised

i thought dogs were only meant to go out once a fortnight...aw shit been doing it wrong.

[jeemes 3,534]

Like as already been said,if it was a good idea they would naturally catch on,but like the Alsation cross that was tried and faded in the 70/80s there will always be a few that want to persevere.

Leaving longdogs aside I think the tried and tested are the Collie in Border or Beardie flavour and the various terrier crosses ie Wheaton,Bull,Beddy,Irish, make the best Lurchers. The rest are a joke.

[jeemes 3,534]

 

 

If I wanted a mooching type that don't listen and hunts up I'd get a beardy x lol

try taking them out more than once a fortnight you might be surprised

i thought dogs were only meant to go out once a fortnight...aw shit been doing it wrong.

 

Beardies are a bit mad when young but if you get the right strain and you get them through the mad stage,they can be a very useful dog.

[Phil Lloyd 10,736]

Seen one or two Lab x Greyhound/Whippet hybrids...

 

Real steady animals,.ideal for having a quiet mouch around and putting a few bits and pieces in the bag/freezer.. .

 

Personally,..I prefer wee curs bred from Herding baselines,..but,..the Lab crosses were useful, when hunting in the woodlands...

 

Each to their own...

[Somewhereyournot 1,117]

 

 

 

 

If I wanted a mooching type that don't listen and hunts up I'd get a beardy x lol

try taking them out more than once a fortnight you might be surprised

i thought dogs were only meant to go out once a fortnight...aw shit been doing it wrong.

Beardies are a bit mad when young but if you get the right strain and you get them through the mad stage,they can be a very useful dog.

ai mines alright he's good catch dog. Just has his moments which should be long gone now being 3. Maybe I'm too critical lol