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Well lads, about a year ago some lads off here had a laugh about a comment I made about lurchers as cattle/sheep herders. :no:

Today I met a good friend of mine a real genuine decent oldtimer bachelor. Johnny is renowned in my village as the best sheepdog trainer in the area. Johnny has a natural skill with training sheepdogs and has been at it his whole life. He lives on the side of the mountain in his small cottage and tends to his sheep up the 800 meter mountain. He is up the mountain everyday regardless of weather. This fella is in his 70's and is as fit as a fiddle. His older 16 year old sheepdog is nearing the end of its working career. The old Irish sheepdog is still strong and alert but its time is almost up. Johnny decided a year and a half ago to bring on a new pup. He got himself a collie cross lurcher, dont ask me why, but Johnny knows his dogs and knows a goodun when hes sees one. Well in the words of Johnny, "I gots me self a lurcher. Hes besht dog I ever had. Hes brilliant, and dead smart. Hes working the sheep very well" The pup is learning all the tricks of the trade from the older dog. For Johnny to say that the dog is brilliant is an amazing compliment. I will try to get a few photos sometime. Its a nice handsome dog, tall with a sheepdog coat, with a high tucked tummy, deep chest, long legs, prick eared, and white and black coat.

Lurchers have to be the most versatile type of dog :clapper:

 

 

I would have to say Amen to that statement.. :clapper:

Edited by CHALKWARREN
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I don't see why they couldn't do the job.

 

Lurchers are pretty versatile, they do agility, flyball etc so why not herding too. Especially something with Collie in it or any other breed that was bred for that type of work in the first place.

 

Would love to see some pics. :thumbs:

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Ok, When I get them, I will post them here.

 

Does anyone else off here have a sheep/cattle herding lurcher?

 

 

If he does well with it in sheepdog trials maybe the ISDS will classify his lurcher as ISDS on merit....then he can enter Crufts with it as it'll be a pedigree Border Collie by default!!

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Two of my fathers uncles were cattle drovers who used to walk cattle as much as forty miles from Dublin into the docks in Dublin. They used Collie X Labradors as they needed a strong, heavy type to turn the cattle on a long journey.

Wasn't the original lurcher a drovers dog? The greyhound being added to feed drover and dogs on the journey.

According to the old stories the Wheaten was once a herding dog. I would well believe this as years ago the poor farmers of Ireland tended to keep one dog to do all jobs instead of many. A Wheaten was both a sporting dog and a farm dog. It wasan't untill the terriermen in the 60's started to fine tune it that it became the specialist dog we have today.

What I'm saying is is that the herding instinct in a dog is just a type of hunting instinct and in the hands of a good man a lot of breeds (not all) will probably herd to some degree.

Sheep dog trials is different.

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Sheep dog trials is different.

 

why is sheep dog trails different neil?

is that not the same thing, herding sheep??

even more so i would of thought, as todays border collies, are for ever herding.?

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Two of my fathers uncles were cattle drovers who used to walk cattle as much as forty miles from Dublin into the docks in Dublin. They used Collie X Labradors as they needed a strong, heavy type to turn the cattle on a long journey.

Wasn't the original lurcher a drovers dog? The greyhound being added to feed drover and dogs on the journey.

According to the old stories the Wheaten was once a herding dog. I would well believe this as years ago the poor farmers of Ireland tended to keep one dog to do all jobs instead of many. A Wheaten was both a sporting dog and a farm dog. It wasan't untill the terriermen in the 60's started to fine tune it that it became the specialist dog we have today.

What I'm saying is is that the herding instinct in a dog is just a type of hunting instinct and in the hands of a good man a lot of breeds (not all) will probably herd to some degree.

Sheep dog trials is different.

 

:clapper: Interesting post there Neil... :clapper:

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Sheep dog trials is different.

 

why is sheep dog trails different neil?

is that not the same thing, herding sheep??

even more so i would of thought, as todays border collies, are for ever herding.?

Good question,

Have you ever seen a collie try to turn a cow with a calf or take 300 sheep of a mountain.

I'm not knocking sheep trials by any means (I'm not qualified to do so) but in a trial a dog is disqualified for biting and a trial involves six sheep for a few minutes. Those sheep have no lambs and are not on their own patch.

I love trials and really admire the expertise of the handlers.

But I've worked with collies in mountain and flat country with 100s of sheep at a time. I've seen these dogs rammed, tossed in the air, kicked (sometimes by the farmer)and work damn hard. At the end of the day they get a lovely bowl of kitchen scraps.

I also realise there are trial dogs that work hard everyday.

A sheepdog trial to me is not hard work but is an exact form of handling and control that couldn't be done by any other type than the border collie.

Certainly not by a lurcher or wheaten,LOL.

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Two of my fathers uncles were cattle drovers who used to walk cattle as much as forty miles from Dublin into the docks in Dublin. They used Collie X Labradors as they needed a strong, heavy type to turn the cattle on a long journey.

Wasn't the original lurcher a drovers dog? The greyhound being added to feed drover and dogs on the journey.

According to the old stories the Wheaten was once a herding dog. I would well believe this as years ago the poor farmers of Ireland tended to keep one dog to do all jobs instead of many. A Wheaten was both a sporting dog and a farm dog. It wasan't untill the terriermen in the 60's started to fine tune it that it became the specialist dog we have today.

What I'm saying is is that the herding instinct in a dog is just a type of hunting instinct and in the hands of a good man a lot of breeds (not all) will probably herd to some degree.

Sheep dog trials is different.

 

Spot on mate what people class as herding is actually the hunting instinct or prey driven instinct of a collie. As long as the x stays close to the collie bloodline ie 1/2 x 1/2 or 3/4 collie 1/4 grey then you will have one smart dog.

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Sheep dog trials is different.

 

why is sheep dog trails different neil?

is that not the same thing, herding sheep??

even more so i would of thought, as todays border collies, are for ever herding.?

Good question,

Have you ever seen a collie try to turn a cow with a calf or take 300 sheep of a mountain.

I'm not knocking sheep trials by any means (I'm not qualified to do so) but in a trial a dog is disqualified for biting and a trial involves six sheep for a few minutes. Those sheep have no lambs and are not on their own patch.

I love trials and really admire the expertise of the handlers.

But I've worked with collies in mountain and flat country with 100s of sheep at a time. I've seen these dogs rammed, tossed in the air, kicked (sometimes by the farmer)and work damn hard. At the end of the day they get a lovely bowl of kitchen scraps.

I also realise there are trial dogs that work hard everyday.

A sheepdog trial to me is not hard work but is an exact form of handling and control that couldn't be done by any other type than the border collie.

Certainly not by a lurcher or wheaten,LOL.

 

ah yes, i know where your coming from now Neil, nice one, thannks.

that type you discribe, would go well into the cross..

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Interesting post. My Australian cattle dog cross has an inbred instinct to get behind cattle and move them, by heeling if necessary. I have no stock or cause to work them so I discourage it. Also I would not have a clue how to refine her instincts to make a useful working dog, but I am sure it could be done in the right hands.

It is good to hear about versatile dogs, probably many of the original lurchers had such a dual role.

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