Track or coursing greyhounds

[Guest Countryboyo]

Would you prefer track or coursing greyhounds breeding in your lurcher? The track is obviously more agile and turns better and the coursing more powerfull and faster on the straight sprint. I reckon more would go for track dogs but I dont like to assume.

[undisputed 1,664]

Would you prefer track or coursing greyhounds breeding in your lurcher? The track is obviously more agile and turns better and the coursing more powerfull and faster on the straight sprint. I reckon more would go for track dogs but I dont like to assume.

 

 

In my view it wont matter cause your dumming down by adding whatever x you put to it....in either case you may get a racy looking dog and some wastage. You dont need the speed of a grey to catch quarry otherwise there would be no need for out x'n

[lofti 579]

im no expert on greys,

but can a coursing grey not turn faster than a track grey?

 

lofti.

[Guest Countryboyo]

im no expert on greys,

but can a coursing grey not turn faster than a track grey?

 

lofti.

 

No

[Gin 501]

I'd expect them to turn the same on a rabbit or hare. I don't think it would make any difference using either in a Lurcher.

[inan 841]

Would you prefer track or coursing greyhounds breeding in your lurcher? The track is obviously more agile and turns better and the coursing more powerfull and faster on the straight sprint. I reckon more would go for track dogs but I dont like to assume.

Years ago a good mate of mine put his Hancock bitch to a straight Greyhound ,the coursing dog Straw Silks ,who won the Anglia Cup and ended up in Pakistan,they produced a decent litter of pups very fast ,as you would expect ,but lost a lot in stamina and brains.Personally, I would not put a straight grey to any dog. I beleive the second cross is tougher and better allround. Something to consider about coursing dogs is that a lack of mouth is actively encouraged, and any tendency to" layoff","run cunning", is also considered undesirable.With this in mind I would plump for a fast stud with say 3/4 grey blood in it,if I was looking to inject pace into my line. I once fielded a 3/4 grey 1/4 saluki in 2 handed coursing, Sonny won many stakes, he had terrific pace enough stamina for 3 hares ,turned well and had a good gob ,sadly I did not breed from him,as he died of kidney cancer at 7 years old.

[chartpolski 27,307]

Why would anyone not want a coursing dog to strike, ("lack mouth") ?

Cheers.

[bigdan 11]

i would say courseing if you get a good one there be more agile have you seen a dog course a hare they turn on a sixpunce a good courseing greyhound would be my choice for a lurcher

[doga 50]

alot of what comes over from ireland bred for track and field good big strong dogs,looking at it there dosnt seem to be alot of small greys about like their used to be.only what i see though and im not on track side or in racing kennels like some folks.

[Calli 93]

alot of what comes over from ireland bred for track and field good big strong dogs,looking at it there dosnt seem to be alot of small greys about like their used to be.only what i see though and im not on track side or in racing kennels like some folks.

 

 

True enough about the Irish hounds.

 

For stamina you need saluki blood - the muscles are long and thin and they certainly run on. The grey blood adds the bunched muscle for short bursts of intense speed. Think pheasant breast lol

 

 

Do you prefer the dam to be saluki or grey? Given a first cross... I reckon the dam genes predominant.

[bigdan 11]

i prefer the dam to be saluki

[sandymere 8,263]

If I was looking for a greyhound I'd go for a small track dog from a staying background. my thinking for this is that many coursers are bred for early pace ie first to the hare often wins and for this a tendency for large animals seems to prevail. There are still a fair few small track dogs and they will inject plenty of pace, will bring excellent biomechanics, larger hearts, increased Vo2 max capabilities, higher numbers of the oxygen carrying red blood cells and tremendous prey drive.

[inan 841]

Would you prefer track or coursing greyhounds breeding in your lurcher? The track is obviously more agile and turns better and the coursing more powerfull and faster on the straight sprint. I reckon more would go for track dogs but I dont like to assume.

Years ago a good mate of mine put his Hancock bitch to a straight Greyhound ,the coursing dog Straw Silks ,who won the Anglia Cup and ended up in Pakistan,they produced a decent litter of pups very fast ,as you would expect ,but lost a lot in stamina and brains.Personally, I would not put a straight grey to any dog. I beleive the second cross is tougher and better allround. Something to consider about coursing dogs is that a lack of mouth is actively encouraged, and any tendency to" layoff","run cunning", is also considered undesirable.With this in mind I would plump for a fast stud with say 3/4 grey blood in it,if I was looking to inject pace into my line. I once fielded a 3/4 grey 1/4 saluki in 2 handed coursing, Sonny won many stakes, he had terrific pace enough stamina for 3 hares ,turned well and had a good gob ,sadly I did not breed from him,as he died of kidney cancer at 7 years old.

Inan out of interest how do you train or discourage a dog from using its mouth? A dog with drive even when muzzled will try and will strike at its quarry.

Greyhounds that ran under NCC rules are awarded points as follows.The Run Up,one ,two or three points according to the superirority of speed shown.The Go Bye,when a dog coming from a clear length behind his adversary,passes him and reaches the hare a clear length in front,two points,or if done from the outside of a curve three points..The Turn,when the hare is turned back from her line at more than 90degrees, one point.The Wrench,when the hare is turned back from her line but at an angle of less than 90 degrees, half a point.

The Kill ,not more than one point.The Trip when the hare is thrown off her legs,or the dog flecks ,but fails to hold the hare,one point.

A dog that uses its mouth ,ie, kills its hare,may very well kill to lose.

I have seen a lot of dogs do this ,where the other dog has done the early work ,picking up the points,but started to fade a little,then the following dog gets in and picks up ending the course but failing to amass enough points to win the flag.

This is of course just the sort of dog you want as a lurcher the one that can use its gob, as you arent running for points but sport and possibly the pot.Greyhounds that were run often on hares sometimes learn to run cunning ,ie hang back letting the other dog do the work ,just waiting for the right time to strike and catch their hare .Such dogs become proficient hare catchers ,but in doing so also become rather useless as doubled up dogs ,run under rules as they will let the other dog do all the donkey work ,and also pile up the points.

You find that" clever " dogs are not wanted for breeding ,the same with dogs that kill quick ,that is what I meant when I said DOGS THAT USE THEIR MOUTH ARE NOT ENCOURAGED.My bad phrasing .The dog that springs to mind as an exception was a male dog , called Peasedown Erin,trained by John Bromiley,this dog killed virtually,if not all ,its hares ,most on the run up,not allowing its competitor to "get in".It was, I believe a track reject ,barred for fighting,it was the most exceptional catch dog,and I and the guy I referred to earlier tried to use it as stud over a bitch ,but she would not have anything to do with it.

To illustrate my point from the other angle,one of the regular posters on this forum and a weekly contributor to a well known sporting periodical had a Black Bitch called Midnight,I'm talking about lurchers now, This person won just about everything in our club with this dog, it won every week ,it had enough wind for three courses ,was as fast as anything in the club at that time ,and amassed loads of points when run doubled up.,solely because it had the worst gob I have ever seen on a dog.I think I am correct in saying that during its working life it only picked up one hare. Yet many far superior hare catchers pulled down to lose to this bitch When it came to the single handed club championship ,the owner brought out a different dog ,one that knew hares, how to run them ,and how to pick them up.

 

I haven't seen much of Irish coursing but the little I have leads me to beleive the emphasis is all on the run up ,hence a big powerful dog is required ,and some of them are very big indeed ,but this size is often bought at a price and the price is agility,the ability to follow its hare without overshooting and running mindlessly by. the compact little dog epitomized in that legend Master McGrath , seems to be a thing of the past . No I would not breed again from a pure greyhound ,but that is just personal taste,each to their own.

[shephound 19]

id prefer coursing blood gives that extra bit of stamina and strenght

[Guest Countryboyo]

id prefer coursing blood gives that extra bit of stamina and strenght

 

Coursing dog more stamina? doubt that. Extra strength yes. most coursing greys will take fox with ease but some track dogs struggle.