Lurchers: 9 Amazing Things You Should Know


Lurchers are interesting dogs which provide hours of fascinating enjoyment to their owners. Many potential owners considering lurchers as a pet will undoubtedly have questions about these amazing dogs.

Let’s look at 9 amazing things you should know about lurchers.

1. Do All Lurchers Chase?

A lurcher is a mixed dog breed, mostly a greyhound crossed with a working dog. Lurchers are popular with farmers and hunters because of their intelligence, energy, superb senses, and speed. Some people keep lurchers in their homes as pets departing from their known role as hunting dogs.

So, do all lurchers chase? Lurchers love to chase small animals such as rabbits and cats. Chasing is an instinctive behavior that all lurchers have. Chasing is hard-wired inside their genetics; they will start chasing other animals at a young age.

A lurcher will find a target and sprint towards it hoping to catch it. Lurchers also have incredible energy and can maintain top speed for a long time until they catch their prey, or it gets away. Hunters use a lurcher’s ability to chase fast animals to hunt for animals such as rabbits and squirrels. Farmers can train their lurchers to chase and herd sheep.

Lurchers can start chasing at any moment; therefore, as an owner, you need to be alert whenever you take your dog for a walk. When you decide to keep a lurcher as a pet at home, you need to find a way to control its natural instinct to chase small animals. Read on to find out what animals lurchers like to chase and how to stop them from chasing.

2. How Do I Stop My Lurcher From Chasing?

Lurchers are energetic dogs, and there is no dull moment when you are spending time with them. Lurchers are hunting and herding dogs and will seek out opportunities to chase small animals. As a pet, their chasing skills are not necessary, and you might be looking for ways to stop your lurcher from chasing animals in your neighborhood.

You need to train your lurcher to stop chasing every small animal it sees. Training a lurcher to stop chasing is not an easy task, and it will take a while before your dog learns to control its behavior.

The first step you have to do is scan your dog’s environment and see what makes it want to chase other animals every time. Dogs with anxiety and fear use chasing as a coping mechanism. Find things that make your lurcher anxious or scared and remove them.

The second step is to control the opportunities. Check your lurcher’s primary target; it could either be a cat or a rabbit. If rabbits keep coming to your backyard, your lurcher will always chase them whenever it gets loose.

Your lurcher can even develop an addictive loop where they will be waiting every day for the rabbit to show up so they can chase it. Find a way to block the rabbit from getting inside your backyard or farm. If the lurcher cannot see the rabbit for a few weeks, it might stop chasing.

The third step is changing your lurcher’s target. Once you have controlled the opportunities, you need to change the target by introducing a new target. You should buy a toy and try to teach your lurcher to focus on the toy.

You can throw the toy across the room, and your lurcher will fetch it. Keep the toy special, do not let your lurcher have access to the toy at all times. When you show your lurcher the toy, it will get excited and pay more attention. Keep practicing until your lurcher is desperate to play the game.

Every time you play fetch with the toy, you should call “toy” to condition your lurcher to associate the name with the game. Call “toy” at random to see if your dog knows the meaning. Once it looks at you, throw the toy and let it fetch and retrieve it. You can test your lurcher’s behavior by taking it to the park.

When your lurcher starts to chase a cat, call “toy” and see if it stops chasing the cat. You can use several toys since lurchers only chase live animals. As soon as it finds the toy, throw another one to keep it distracted. You should be patient and persistent when training your dog. Playing the toy game will eventually make your lurcher ignore rabbits and cats.

3. Do Lurchers Chase and Attack Cats?

The relationship between cats and dogs is complicated at best; sometimes, they get along, and other times, they fight. Some people like to have more than one type of pet in their home. As a lurcher owner, you might be wondering if it will remain calm if you brought home a cat.

Lurchers do chase cats, and, sometimes, when they catch them, they inflict serious or even fatal wounds. Lurchers are hunters and will start to hunt animals smaller than them. Once a lurcher finds its target, it can be difficult to call it back.

Some lurchers, especially those owned by hunters, usually chase cats, and once they catch them, they will bring back the cat to their owner. Lurchers with no experience hunting small animals will maul the cat and even turn on anyone trying to stop them.

If you are getting an adult lurcher as a pet, you need to check its history. If the lurcher was raised in a home without cats, it will probably chase and even attack your cat. If the dog was used for hunting, it will take time to train it not to chase and attack cats.

It is also important to inform your neighbors that you have a lurcher, and they should find ways to prevent their cat from coming to your home. You can also use a leash and muzzle to restrain your lurcher from chasing and attacking cats when you are taking it for a walk.

4. Are Lurchers Good with Cats?

Cats and dogs are the most popular pets kept by most people in the world. However, cats and dogs are from different species, and their personalities dictate how they interact with other animals. As a lurcher owner, you may want to add a cat to your home, but you are worried the dog might not get along with the cat.

Lurchers are only good with cats if properly trained to live alongside cats. Lurchers are social and affectionate dogs; however, their instinct to hunt small prey can be an issue if you have cats in your home. You can train your lurcher to coexist with your cat, and within a few weeks, they will be great friends. You can start first by introducing your lurcher to the cat but make sure all the interactions between the lurcher and cat are supervised.

Train your lurcher to obey commands such as “stay.” When they start chasing the cat, you can command them to stop. If your lurcher is still a puppy, you can let it learn the hard way. The puppy might try to chase the cat, and your cat will retaliate by hitting it with its paw. Your puppy will learn to respect the cat and will grow up knowing not to disturb the cat.

You should make sure the cat has different avenues to escape if your lurcher decides to chase it. Do not punish your dog for not getting along with the cat because punishment will only make things worse.

You should be persistent and patient while looking for signs showing your lurcher and the cat are getting along. Some of the signs include your lurcher staying calm and not chasing the cat, eating at the same time without fighting, sleeping or spending time together, and gently playing with each other.

Sometimes, the lurcher and the cat will not get along no matter how hard you try. You can create an arrangement where the lurcher and the cat live in the same house but do not interact with each other.

5. How To Stop Lurchers from Chasing Cats

Lurchers have the natural instinct to chase, catch and kill small animals. As a lurcher owner, you need to find ways to stop your dog from chasing cats, or else it might injure your cat or that of your neighbor.

One way to stop your lurcher from chasing cats is to train it to coexist with cats. Slowly introduce your lurcher to cats and watch its behavior. Stop your lurcher from chasing cats and reward it each time it obeys your command. You should also train your cat to coexist with the lurcher because some cats do not like dogs and will even provoke them.

If you do not own a cat and your neighbors do, try to block your neighbors’ cats from coming to your home. You can enclose your backyard with a fence. You can also place a flimsy plastic roll-up on top of your fence to prevent the cat from climbing over it.

Before you let your lurcher go to the backyard, make sure there are no cats in the garden. The last option is to place a muzzle on your lurcher’s mouth whenever you set it free or take it for a walk.

6. Do Lurchers Chase Small Dogs?

Most dogs get along with other dogs, but some are territorial and might resist interacting with other dogs. It is impossible to keep your dog from interacting with other dogs, and as a lurcher owner, you might be concerned about how your dog will react when it encounters your neighbor’s small dog.

Lurchers can chase after small dogs because they mistake them for prey. Lurchers are large dogs that can grow up to 28 inches tall. Some of the small dogs, including chihuahuas, Brussels griffon, Pomeranian, Yorkshire terrier, and Japanese chin, are all under ten inches, the same height as most cats.

Therefore, it is easy for your lurcher to mistake small dogs as prey, and most lurchers will start to chase immediately they see one. Some lurchers do not attack once they realize the target is a dog, while others can attack the small dogs.

If your lurcher likes to chase small dogs, you should always put them on a short leash when taking them for a walk. If your lurcher has a history of attacking small dogs, do not take it to the dog park or let it approach a small dog while walking on the street.

You can also use a muzzle when you take your lurcher to an area where there are small dogs. You should also train your lurcher to get along with small dogs to avoid ugly situations in the future.

7. Do Lurchers Chase Sheep?

Lurchers have a high prey drive and will chase anything they deem to be prey. Lurchers are also great workers and can be helpful if you are a sheep farmer.

Lurchers can chase sheep, and some can easily take down a large sheep. Guiding sheep around the farm can be a difficult task if your lurcher keeps chasing them. If the sheep are not yours, you have to find a way to keep your lurcher from chasing the sheep.

You can build a tall fence around your home to prevent your lurcher from going to your neighbor’s farm and chasing the sheep. You can also avoid using the road next to a farm with sheep when you take your lurcher for a walk.

If you keep sheep on your farm, you need to stop your lurcher from chasing them before it is too late. Once a lurcher starts to enjoy chasing sheep, it will be difficult to make it stop. You can also train your lurcher to stop chasing sheep. Stock breaking is one way of ensuring your lurcher will stop chasing sheep and be a useful worker around the farm. Stock breaking works well if you start training your lurcher while it is still a puppy.

8. Do Lurchers Chase Rabbits?

Most dogs love to chase little furry animals. Lurchers are excellent hunters and will start chasing small animals without command. If you live in an area with lots of rabbits, you might be wondering if your lurcher will be spending most of its time chasing them.

Lurchers chase rabbits and will kill them as soon as they catch them. Hunters prefer to use lurchers to hunt rabbits because of their tenacity and speed. Rabbits are fast and cunning animals and can get away easily if the dog chasing them is too slow.

Lurchers are very fast and can reach speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. If you are keeping a lurcher as a pet, chasing rabbits whenever they see them can be frustrating because every time your dog starts to chase a rabbit, you will worry about its safety.

If you are using your lurcher to catch rabbits, you have to train it properly. Usually, when a lurcher catches a rabbit, it will kill it, bury it, or bring the dead rabbit home. You can train your lurcher to always bring the rabbit to you once it catches it. If you own more than one lurcher, train them not to fight over a dead rabbit.

9. Do Lurchers Chase Chicken?

Most farmers like to keep chicken, either through the free-range method or the caged method. The free-range chickens will freely move inside the farm and will interact with other animals such as your dogs.

Lurchers do chase chickens because they see them as prey. Lurchers will instinctively start to chase any small animal near them, and chickens are not an expectation. Your lurcher can cause a lot of damage if you do not train it to coexist with the chicken.

Your dog needs to know that chasing and killing chickens is a bad thing, and you can command it to stop as soon as it starts chasing the chicken.

If your lurcher does not stop chasing the chickens, you can either protect the chicken by building a fence around their enclosure or retrain your dog each time you let the chicken roam free. Even after training, do not leave your dog unsupervised around the chickens.

You cannot fully train your lurcher to stop hunting, and one day, the urge to chase can be too strong for it to resist. If you are not there to control your lurcher, you will find a few chickens dead.

Finally

Lurchers make great family pets; however, there are a few things you have to know before taking one home. Lurchers have a great hunting instinct, and this article can help you understand how lurchers interact with other animals such as cats, rabbits, and chickens. Lurchers love to chase small furry animals; therefore, you have to be careful when taking it to walk in the park.

There are numerous ways to restrain your lurcher from chasing and killing small animals. You can use a leash, a muzzle, or you can spend a few months training your lurcher to control its chasing instincts.

Lurchers learn best if you reward them for good behavior rather than punishing their bad behavior. If your lurcher chases and kills a chicken, punishing it hardly helps it stop the bad behavior. You should avoid using shock collars when training your dog to stop chasing small animals.

Bal Kang

Bal Kang is an owner of several pets including reptiles, cats and dogs. An avid writer, who loves to share her insights into caring for pets.

Recent Posts