Ex working lurcher - no recall

[jlg006]

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Apologies as I'm new and not sure if this question should be here or in the working dog section. And more apologies as its quite long.

I rehomed an ex working lurcher, Spike, over 2 years ago. Despite my best efforts he has no recall whatsoever in the face of any animal scent but especially deer. To the point where he cannot be let off lead due to his disappearing for hours at a time. On 2 of these occasions he needed veterinary attention as a result of whatever he had done in the course of his pursuits. He has minimal interest in toys and food, for him the reason for being is track hunt kill and eat. For obvious reasons I would like to change this but I recognize the enormity of the challenge hence the 10meter lead he goes out on, to keep him and the local wildlife safe. However he is quite a high energy dog and it would be nice to let him have a blast ever now and then. We have no enclosed spaces nearby (other than the garden) where he couldn't escape. Any kind of fence less than 5 feet high poses no problem for him. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm happy to keep him forever safe on the long line but he isn't getting enough exercise this way and I would really like to be able to give him some freedom. Thanks for any help you can give.

We live in fairly rural Northumberland and deer are quite common.

 

[eingana]

Hi jlg006, and welcome to DogForum

I'm afraid that the welcome may be the only thing that I can provide as a positive in my response to your Spike query, because sighthounds are notoriously hit and miss with recall, even those who weren't trained to go after prey. I home check for a selection of rescues and when we have sighthounds in we have to sit people down and 'have the talk' about recall, or lack of it, how much distance a sighthound can cover in the time that their red mist descends, and how much danger/damage they can put themselves through during the time that they are chasing prey.

It's really not uncommon for dogs to end up breaking legs, running out into traffic if the cat/dog/squirrel/whatever they're chasing does the same, and it will probably be of no consolation to you at all to know that the world doggy high jump record is held by a greyhound, and it's 68 inches without touching the jump at all.

If Spike was a youngster who hadn't been trained to hunt I'd suggest trying to find the most exciting thing that you could do to get him back, but clearly the only hting that you could do to rival hunting would be for you to have something small and squeaky which would run away on command hidden about your person!

Most sighthound owners let their dogs off in basketball courts, tennis courts, enclosed fields or playgrounds which are leased by the hour, and the cost of that is covered by a whole number of people letting their dogs off to play together at the same time, but if you're in a rural area that may not be a working suggestion either.

Had you thought of seeing if Spike would take to lure coursing or amateur track racing? If he would then there are a whole selection of sighthound clubs that hold events around the country for that. Northumberland Greyhound Rescue may have information available for those looking to entertain sighthounds in your area, or may be able to put you in touch with walking groups or similar which would increase Spike's social circle (and yours) and could make up a group to borrow someone's tennis court or manege.

If you could get Spike interested in coursing after a rabbit skin or whatever then you are likely to find that after a blast around for 20 minutes he will sleep for a week My mum and dad had friends who had afghans that they used to take racing at the weekends, and they swore that the dogs would sleep until at least Wednesday after a good racing session.

If you have open spaces that you want to allow Spike out in but still be relatively safe, I'd recommend putting him in a harness and getting a steel cored washing line (you can get really long ones) to attach to the harness (not to his collar, just in case) and then attach something big like a wooden runner off a block and tackle on the other end. That should enable you to let him off to have a charge about as long as there aren't too many obstacles that he can get himself caught up on, and he can work in a really big circle around you and all you need to do is to be able to put your foot on the block on the end of the line to pull him up. It's not a great solution, but it's better than not getting to have a run about at all.

Good luck on finding Spike somewhere to let off his steam. Please come back and share any information that you find out that would be of benefit to others in your area