The Lurcher is a type of dog that has been around since the 17th century. It is a cross between a sighthound and another breed, most often a terrier or a herding dog like a collie. Lurchers were originally bred in Ireland and Great Britain by Irish gypsies, and were bred to work as poachers. They are adept at catching rabbits and other small mammals, and also serve as good family pets today. This article is all about people who breed lurchers, both at the onset of the breeding and today.
The history and information of the Lurcher breed is long and varied, and there are many interesting facts to consider. In the 17th century, the Irish Romany people began breeding the dogs as poachers. This method of illegal hunting caused people not only do disdain the gypsies who practiced it, but also to dislike the breed, as well. In fact, the name “lurcher” comes from the Romani word “lur,” meaning thief. Lurchers were originally bred not only to produce a dog with superior intelligence to a sighthound, but also because only royalty was allowed to own sighthounds such as Greyhounds, Irish Wolfhounds, and the like. The Romany people valued the Lurchers that were genetically mostly Greyhound, and looked down on other breeds as they didn’t see them as suited for the type of labor they were looking for. The Gypsies were looked down on for how they trained their dogs, as they started working them as young as six months old. These early Lurcher breeders used harsh training tactics in order to properly train the dogs to retrieve the rabbits and hares they wanted to catch.
Today, Lurcher breeding and training is much more systematic and less harsh. The dogs begin working at a later age and are bred to maximize the breed’s ability to hunt rabbits and other small animals. Lurcher breeders today are few and far between, and are mostly concentrated in Ireland and Great Britain, where the breed began. It is quite rare to find Lurcher breeders outside Britain, but a select few can be found in the United States.
Today’s Lurchers are prized as excellent family dogs, as they are fun-loving, affectionate, and loving to adults and children alike. There has been a resurgence in their popularity as the old negative images of them died out, and lurcher breeders are finding success in their breeding of this interesting and affectionate type of dog.
