One Law For Them...

[FUJI 16,330]

We all have our favoured "type" when it comes to lurchers and there's nothing wrong in that after all life would be boring if we all kept the same BUT within the makeup of our lurchers we have all matter of match ups to produce the end product ie:APBT, Beddy, Saluki, Collie, Wheaton, Whippet, Greyhound amongst them..now NONE of them are flawless and have traits that cause debate..a Bull x generally lacks pace,Beddy x's have a more than average % of yappers, Salukis with their "boring" boxing and half hearted running style, Whippets being shivering wrecks in anything other than Mediterranean heat lol, Greyhounds renowned for nothing other than raw speed on bowling green flat terrain..a Collie capable of stalking his quarry or heaven forbid choosing what "it" believes is a run worth taking...BUT why are all the other types of lurchers traits accepted as nothing other than the norm apart from a Collie x? Now I have no axe to grind with any cross as I have Collie, Saluki & Bull x's but just had me thinking as to why one dogs traits are classed as a job to the vets or passed on yet all the others are found acceptable?

[BRICKTOP 126]

Sometimes the collie has more brain power than the owner , I've never owned a collie cross but from what I've seen they can be a testing cross for some owners . Not the cross I would keep .

By the way a good in depth and thought out post .

[skycat 6,172]

I think that some people, maybe too many of today's youngsters, just want something that will go out all guns blazing on whatever gets up: it's the thrill seekers who are like this, not the owners who truly appreciate what goes on in a dog's head when it is working. Yes, I've seen my little Collie cur stand motionless watching the other dogs run themselves ragged on rabbits flashing into the hedge, but when a pheasant comes over that hedge, maybe a pricked bird, obviously not flying quite right, she's on it in a flash, running along underneath until it turns back to the hedge just above her head height: pulls of a leap to nail it: that's what I like about the Collie brain, but then again, I'm old, bought too many T shirts and now just appreciate watching a thinking dog hunt with all the wisdom of her years and breeding.

 

Maybe the Collie should be labelled as having 'drive with reasoning', the reasoning bit being a tad too insightful for some owners.

 

Meant to say, that there are bound to be many Collie fans out there who do appreciate their traits, but they don't necessarily come on line and praise their dogs in the way that some do.

[krawnden 1,036]

I think a lot of it's down to the fact that people just blindly take 'accepted wisdom' as fact and then it gets passed on from one generation of hunters to the next and before you know it everyone's an expert on every different cross. But the same thing happens in all walks of life, not just hunting.

 

The older I get, the more I realise the importance of taking 'accepted wisdom' with a generous pinch of salt - in my experience lots of so-called 'facts' about dogs are nothing but sweeping generalisations that may or may not apply to any given individual.

 

And so much comes down to the individual owner's training and handling ability, and what they want out of a dog. You only have to read any of the 'collie cross' threads on here to see that although plenty of people wouldn't touch them with a bargepole, there are also plenty of people who can't sing their praises highly enough. And what's a fault to one person could be an asset to another. Case in point - years ago a mate had a beddy cross that yipped while it was running quarry. Lots of people would hate that, but he loved it cos he hunted a lot of deer in woodland with the dog, so it meant he was able to tell where the dog was. Horses for courses and all that.

[weasle 1,119]

Never had a perfect dog myself,Some closer than others.Most have had a weak point some were along the line the more you want them to do the more chance you have at them not being perfect.

I dont really care who keeps what,I remember putting up a thread about collie brains,and of all the die hard collie men not one would admit to ever seeing one picking and choosing ever in life times of keeping them

Must admit i found that strange,in fact plenty took it extremely personally for me even saying it.

Plenty of new comers come on here,and would be told colliex are the perfect x for them without them hearing the negatives.

If they come back on a year or two down the line saying there dogs stopped running will be told they must have done somthing wrong.

Not much point in talking about dogs if it aint warts and all.

[Bosun11 537]

Fuji, IMO...all those other dogs, with all those other traits, will do their owners bidding and run when required. love it or hate it, those collies in some cases don't and unless you are a understanding owner, that dog has overruled you and your decision. It can also be seen as quitting, jibbing, jacking and with words like those being used all to often, the collie gets the brunt of the flustration and can get hung out to dry!

Me, i just wish folks would stop shouting from the rafters to new commers and youngsters about the cross as a beginners dog and the like because IMO they are, in the main, not that dog and its the collie fans who need to keep quiet and let folks find their own path to these dogs.

[jeemes 3,561]

Most Bullxs Ive had will choose or just watch rabbits that are too close to the hedge. They are very intelligent dogs as most dogs are in there own way.Ive learned its mostly down to breeding and if you breed your own dogs you can select the types you like over time. Ive had some good Colliexs and seen a few very good ones,but Ive also seen plenty of bad ones. The main difference in the two was mostly down to breeding.

[jeemes 3,561]

Fuji, IMO...all those other dogs, with all those other traits, will do their owners bidding and run when required. love it or hate it, those collies in some cases don't and unless you are a understanding owner, that dog has overruled you and your decision. It can also be seen as quitting, jibbing, jacking and with words like those being used all to often, the collie gets the brunt of the flustration and can get hung out to dry!

Me, i just wish folks would stop shouting from the rafters to new commers and youngsters about the cross as a beginners dog and the like because IMO they are, in the main, not that dog and its the collie fans who need to keep quiet and let folks find their own path to these dogs.

A beginners dog should be the best you will ever have. Starting off with a so called easy to handle type is more likely to disappoint and cause a beginner to drift away or get on the road of changing dogs every week.

[nothernlite 18,028]

The only thing i noticed about collies crosses they are like most not all there owners are easy upset lol

[border lad 1,047]

well I am a fan of the good ole collie x but I moved onto the Saluki x and they stalk, standing on three legs just like a collie, the rabbit is only sitting off the hedge,

it does not run this is daylight not on the lamp, But if its sitting out different story, Never owned a bull x cannot speak about them but owned a couple of Beddy xs never again, this for,,, Northern light,, who thinks they are cream, well, the two I owned the first was back in early 70s I wanted for working the rough and hedge rows, I could not stop her from Hunting on she was working 3 fields away yapping, second one was 80s beddy/whippet/grew, I only wanted it for a rabbit dog, sorry not for me, I like a dog that has pace and can use its pace as and when necessary, and I also like them to carry back to hand or foot, use its nose,

to find its quarry, so the saluki x suits me they have pace can run clever, through a silver birch wood and more put there quarry out and do the job single handed, quick recovery, but frustrating, at times you need patience, they do test your patience, like yesterday the bitch she done her job, on long ears, but by the time I could see with the dawn breaking she had it half ate, the first dog I have ever owned that done that, so is the perfect lurcher out there I do not know because they all have there little faults, but what ever pleases, you and its doing the work and giving you pleasure stick with it, my ones are not world beaters, but they suit me, my companions, I was angry yesterday though, but today was another day,,,

[mad4it 694]

good post fuji, as been said on others post the colliex are the landrovers of the lurcher world i tend to think that collie x is the dog for me as the saying gos one man meat is another man poison

[nothernlite 18,028]

It gets better we are all against them now it's the land rover of working dogs ffs I would rather go japenese heard it all now

[Dewclaw69 484]

always a subject that seems to generate plenty of opinions. I reckon a lot of it is down to whats in fashion at the minute. a lot of die hard dog men love the collie cross and won't be swayed, but the popularity now of bull x and saluki cross lurchers seems to mean unless you have a lurcher of those types its no good.

same seems to have happened with deerhound crosses. just not mainstream dogs any more. that said, I reckon most lurcher x lurcher matings will still have a smattering of dh or collie or both in em.

i'm running my first collie cross ( 3/4 gh 1/4 collie) at the minute and loving it.

[s.e.s.k.u 1,893]

The collie gets a rough ride on here sometimes...It doesn't bother me in the slightest ..im happy with mine most of the time lol..

[nothernlite 18,028]

Lol if a was boring a would have a land rover of dogs the high and mighty Cur with a capital C lmao at you terrain