Fox Hunting with Lurchers...

[Dan McDonough]

This will redefine fox hunting, coyote hunting and quite few other forms of hunting. This is the footage that proved to me that I was on the right track thinking I could catch a pile of cats with lurchers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpGEsb7VTPU

[stevemac]

Not sure that promo shows what hunting with Lurches is really like, Hunting with lurchers or what we prefer here in Australia is our running dogs to hunt like a gun dog , run and catch like a greyhound. whether its rabbits or feral pigs or feather.

[al baldwin]

if that type hunting is what one enjoys, great. Here where I hunted bobcat in south western, Oregon, don/t believe you could catch a sack full of cats with Lurchers. However to each his own & hope you enjoy.Al

[OWZ]

Is there more to the video? Can't tell much from what we see there!

[Dan McDonough]

I bought 1 & 4, they're DVD's. The link is for the site to order them if you would like to see them. They used to be on YT for free but their not now.

[oneguy828]

Where's the link? I tried to find the DVDs without any luck. Post a link that's dummy proof for me.

[Dan McDonough]

http://foxhuntingwithlurchers.co.uk/

[ands]

I,ve been lucky enough to see a few lurchers that can hunt well and sometimes hunt at a serious pace. It definatly brings more results putting foxes under pressure through the shear speed of the hunt rather than just a long old hunt that suits the fox. Be great to see how a lurcher with a good nose might help out hunting cats (which i know nothing at all about) Is there less scent to cats than a red fox?

[Dan McDonough]

You hit the nail on the head. It's the pace. Once a good dog gets in range, everything happens so much faster. It's not just the physical ability of both sides of that breeding, it's the ability of the border collie brain to process what's going on at a high level of both speed and complexity.

Cats leave quite a bit less scent but the dogs don't seem to mind. I haven't seen one that would be considered a cold trailer, at least not by my measure, but I'll bet the farm that I'll eventually get one that will.

The cat or fox doesn't have the usual luxuries of thinking of what to do next. I've seen some impressive nose work on jumped game. It's just not the same way that a hound would work in the best of cases though I have seen a couple exceptions. The nice thing about the lurchers is that is doesn't seem all that hard to get that style in the same way that it's not hard to find a bird dog that is naturally attracted to birds.

It's no for everyone...and folks aren't shy about telling you that. It comes down to the choice of wanting to catch cats by hunting than with hounds or wantin to catch cats with whatever dog does the best job.

Dewey has made the point on many occasions that the right pack will give you the tools you need to catch cats and spending all of your time looking for one dog that will do it all is the slower way to be good at filling the fur shed (paraphrasing). I'm not anywhere near to saying that I've found the new best all around cat dog. What I am saying is that they can do certain things much better than the average "good cat dog" and they aren't hard to make.

The nice thing is, like other intelligent breeds, they can be told to do thigs much in the same way that you can tell a 10 year old boy to go and get the big yellow handled hammer out of the garage. Adding that level of handle on a good cat dog (particularly in high population areas) makes things easier and gives a serious dog man a lot more options of "things he can do" with his dog. Most hound guys are pretty happy if their dogs will just come, load and cast in the direction you point. This is levels beyond that and what's funny is that it's been rather difficult to convince some folks that more can be done with a smarter, faster, more agile dog.

It's not hard to imagine what a cross between a stag and a border collie would be like. They really are just about how you would imagine them to be as long as you've had experience with both. I have two stags that can catch anything that is relatively warm but they don't have anywhere near the handle and brains of the lurchers. I'm just adding brains, coat and agility. Now if I can get the tree in there I'll have this thing whipped. Ultimately, there are other things that can be added but I don't want to seem greedy.

I do have the idea to cross a first cross lurcher with a hound but I'm not doing it yet.

[eskinner45]

Where would you get ahold of some of these lurcher dogs i would love to get a couple to hunt coyotes with.

[eskinner45]

Where would you get ahold of some of these lurcher dogs i would love to get a couple to hunt coyotes with.

[Dan McDonough]

If I were going to hunt coyotes with them but still wanted the extra brains I would go for a 3/4 stag, 1/4 collie. Many of the first cross collie lurchers will no have enough sand to take a beating from a coyote and keep giving. Plus, you get nearly every ounce of speed back that you would loose in a first cross. It's not a lot but every m.p.g. you can pick up helps.

I am the only one I know of that has plans to make this cross in the near furture. The problem is that the few that I don't keep are spoken for already. Your best bet is to get the ingredients and start making some. Your welcome to check in with me. I may hear of something along the way.

Dan
507-261-9121