advice please

[tsteve9999 456]

Hi all,

I'd appreciate some advice from you about my next steps into the sport, seeing as I have no experience at all.

My son bought a cross lakeland pup 3 months ago, and lost interest almost immediately which is why I am the one now walking him each day and training him as best I can. He's 5 months old, quick to learn, and has been a pleasure to own the last few months, 99% on his recall, walking to heel for a minute or so till he gets bored, the same with sit and stay.( I presume he will get better as he gets older?)

I have no permission to hunt and have been walking him on a big area of common land near us which has a large amount of rabbits and an even larger amount of other dog walkers, so they tend to be rarely seen above ground. The warrens are hidden in bramble and gorse and would be difficult to ferret

without attracting unwanted attention, though I have found a couple that would be possible to slip a ferret into and not be noticed.

I've been encouraging him into bushes and he's got the idea, but I wonder if I should keep him away till he's older as he's obviously not going to get anywhere near a rabbit at the moment. He has found a couple in the last few weeks, but they were no more than 6 feet from a hole and dissapeared before he could blink.

I've had such good fun with him I've decided I'd like to get a small lurcher (bedlingtonxwhippet?) but would I be right in thinking I should wait until the terrier is trained properly before this? I'm a patient bloke so I wouldn't mind waiting for a lurcher to mature, but I'm wondering if the terrier will get bored of never catching anything.

Thanks for any info, Tom.

[sandymere 8,261]

The terrier is still young if three months so easy does it for a while. Terriers love bushing and if well bred will not tire of chasing rabbits etc. As for the lurcher it would be a good idea to wait till the terrier is trained to a good basic standered. If you have a terrier I'd go for a lurcher slightly bigger than a beddy whippet ie beddy greyhound to give a little more size to the pack.

Cheers s

Edited January 12, 2009 by sandymere

[tsteve9999 456]

The terrier is still young if three months so easy does it for a while. Terriers love bushing and if well bred will not tire of chasing rabbits etc. As for the lurcher it would be a good idea to wait till the terrier is trained to a good basic standered. If you have a terrier I'd go for a lurcher slightly bigger than a beddy whippet ie beddy greyhound to give a little more size to the pack.

Cheers s

Thanks for the answer.

The terrier is 5, nearly 6 months old, I meant I've had him 3. I don't push him other than geeing him on if he goes into the thicker brush, but it's a case of the blind leading the blind at the mo, hopefully he'll pick it up despite me being useless.

As for the lurcher, the ground I am walking is made up of big gorse and bramble patches with small areas of grass in between, so I was going on what people on here seem to suggest. Standing start speed will be more important than top end I would imagine, and it will need a thick coat. Would a greyhound cross be as nimble do you think?

When I get the lurcher, should I spent the first months on parks just training, and keep him away from the bunnies till he's of age? It seems obvious even to me that they will be really hard to catch and I'm scared of ruining it for the dog even before he begins.

Thanks, Tom.

.

[sandymere 8,261]

The terrier is still young if three months so easy does it for a while. Terriers love bushing and if well bred will not tire of chasing rabbits etc. As for the lurcher it would be a good idea to wait till the terrier is trained to a good basic standered. If you have a terrier I'd go for a lurcher slightly bigger than a beddy whippet ie beddy greyhound to give a little more size to the pack.

Cheers s

Thanks for the answer.

The terrier is 5, nearly 6 months old, I meant I've had him 3. I don't push him other than geeing him on if he goes into the thicker brush, but it's a case of the blind leading the blind at the mo, hopefully he'll pick it up despite me being useless.

As for the lurcher, the ground I am walking is made up of big gorse and bramble patches with small areas of grass in between, so I was going on what people on here seem to suggest. Standing start speed will be more important than top end I would imagine, and it will need a thick coat. Would a greyhound cross be as nimble do you think?

When I get the lurcher, should I spent the first months on parks just training, and keep him away from the bunnies till he's of age? It seems obvious even to me that they will be really hard to catch and I'm scared of ruining it for the dog even before he begins.

Thanks, Tom.

.

Yes i'd train before working and give the lurcher pup time to grow As for size/breed something around 22-24" as that should give a little more size while still having agility and early pace if it's bred right ie beddy/whippet to greyhound. There are many post on here that discuss various crosses that are worth reading but at the end of the day you have to like the dog so it comes down to your choice.

Good luck.