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[blissed4ever]

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Hi I'm going to be getting my first lurcher in a couple of weeks. He'll be very young (6 weeks) so will be carried out and about to begin with when I walk my other dogs, a lab/collie who looks and behaves like a long dog and a working cocker.

I would like to work the lurcher when older possibly for rabbits and maybe some lure work. I don't like clicker training and am having difficulty finding puppy socialization classes that don't use this. Is socialization essential for lurchers?

At what I age can I start asking him to chase quarry? And can I work him with the cocker using her to flush the quarry for him? How easy is it to get permission from a landowner to work a lurcher on their land?

Is it possible to get insurance for a working lurcher? Most insurers throw a wobbly when you tell them that your dog works.

Any advice would be very welcome, I've learnt a lot just reading through the posts.

Thanks

Janet

 

[mally]

Firstly i believe socialising is essential for any puppy, this dosn't need to be done at puppy class's you could visit fun dog shows in your area and take the pup to training classes when it's older. Not all trainers use the clicker method, like you i'm not keen on this method for working dogs. I train all my dogs to the whistle, the normal stop,sit, recall and direction commands. I'd have a look through the yellow pages and try and find a dog trainer that uses a method of training that you like. Afterall it's your dog and obviously you want to train it in a way that suits your needs.

Now to the 'what age can i start working the lurcher' this all depends on the breeding of the lurcher some mature earlier than others. i.e a bedlington x whippet will be mature and ready for starting at around 10-11 months old where as a deerhound x greyhound i wouldn't start working it until it's at least 15 months old.

I have never seen a dog ruined for entering it late but i've seen countless ruined by starting them far too young, hence all the adverts for dogs at 10 -16 months old in the countrymans weekly and on the internet. many of which will have very serious faults.

Now to the insurance,,, never,never mention the dog is a working dog as they will never offer you an insurance policy. With yours being a lurcher just insure it as a cross breed. i.e medium sized x breed. This way your premiums will be much lower but you will still be covered. If in the event your dog does get injured chasing surely it was chasing a cat on the village field wasn't it . All my dogs are insured and i have third party liability insurance too with the scottish association of country sports.

I do hope my post helps a little. If you require more help please pm me your landline number and i will be more than happy to call you..

Goodluck with the pup, i'm sure it will see plenty of rabbits with you having a cocker spaniel, just don't let it chase too early....

 

[blissed4ever]

[Thanks Mally, lots of good advice.

I'm really looking forward to getting the pup its 5 years since we had a pup in the house!

I hear what you say about insurance - that's the way we got the cocker insured and there's always the option of buying an add on policy to cover her for injuries whilst out shooting. All her injuries have been out on ordinary exercise - including an adder bite this year. It just seems unfair that insurers won't understand that a well trained dog in any field of activity presents a lower not higher risk.

Thanks again

Janet

 

[Mark Roberts]

if your looking for insurance to cover you whilst out hunting rather than health insurance the Countryside Alliance offers cover.

 

[Nubian]

Is six weeks not a little young to be taking the pup from its mother?

I don't claim to be an expert but six weeks seems a little young to me!

 

[blissed4ever]

Hi Nubian, yes it is young but the guy has got 2 dogs, 9 pups, 2 kids and his partner's just left so he wants the pups to go before Xmas. I'll give plenty of TLC, warmth, milk and cuddles as well as suitable food. We're not doing Xmas this year as I lost both my parents this year and don't feel very Christmassy.

Pups are well grown and eating well so hopefully all will be well. My first ever dog left her puppy farm at 5 weeks, was crated from Aberdeen to London and spent 5 weeks being fostered before I bought her. She had to have arrowroot custard before each meal to stop the food going straight through for several weeks, but survived and lived to 14.

I'm going to see my boy on Sunday, can't wait to see him again. I've got him lots of goodies already - what a great excuse to spend money!

Janet

 

[jinnyfizz]

9 pups! All to go before Christmas

What area is this chap living in, Janet? It sounds as though he could do with some help!

 

[blissed4ever]

Hi Jane he's near me, I live at Cheddar - looks like you've got your hands full already!

I don't know if he's advertised yet, a week ago he'd homed the 4 bitches so had 4 dogs left after I chose mine. I think most will go by word of mouth, the stud dog is well known in this area.

I expect he'll manage if there are a couple of pups left - he just can't imagine Christmas with 11 dogs in the house/kennels.

 

[jinnyfizz]

That's not too bad then :sweating:

In the past, I've looked after litters of pups for their breeder as I have plenty of space ..... but it's easy to fill it up quickly :lol: :lol: :lol: