| Nowadays, it seems that any dog crossed with a greyhound is considered to be a lurcher. Some say that traditionally, a lurcher is a greyhound-wolfhound cross, while others claim it is a greyhound-collie cross. Some of the more common lurcher crosses that are found today are greyhound-pointer, greyhound-lab, greyhound-collie, greyhound-bull breeds, and more. You can also include "longdogs" to be a type of lurcher, and they are any greyhound crossed with another sighthound. Among the more desired longdogs are greyhound-deerhound, greyhound-saluki, and greyhound-wolfhound. The idea of deliberately crossing a greyhound with another breed is to produce an excellent hunting dog with great speed. Lurchers come in all shapes and sizes, however, and sometimes you have to really look to "see" the greyhound in them; many of them might be two generations away from a purebred greyhound. What is interesting about lurchers for those wanting them as pets is that any dog with greyhound lines is not only likely to be fast. They are also found to be particularly clever - sometimes too clever! - as well as affectionate and loyal dogs. Some of them excel at agility, too. Because of the range of other possible breeds in a lurcher's background, they might pick up traits from that other breed as well - so some lurchers will be more relaxed than others, some will be more territorial, others might be barky and "busy" all day long. When adopting a lurcher, it is probably good to have some idea of your lurcher's possible breed combination. Even if he or she was a stray from the pound, asking a few knowledgeable people their opinion on the dog's possible parentage might give you some guidelines as far as what to expect from the dog behaviourally. Lurcher-owners tend to praise the traits of their dogs quite a bit, and chances are you will do the same when you find the lurcher who is the right one for you! Read more about this: |