Lurche

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Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp. Arthur W. Coaten (1909). British Hunting: A Complete History of the National Sport of Great Britain and Ireland from Earliest Records. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co

Shannon, F.A. 1956. The reptiles and amphibians of Korea. Herpetologica 12 (1): 22-49 - get paper here But even then, they instinctively tend to want to hunt animals that are smaller than them and react inspire their training to sudden movements in their vicinity. This is a tendency that also makes them unparalleled ratters on farmsteads. Lurchers are not a good choice for first time dog owners because although they are lovely dogs by nature training a Lurcher can prove challenging at the best of times. As such they are better suited to people who are familiar with the breed and their specific needs. What about prey drive?Fukuda, Masaya & Akira Mori 2021. Does an Asian Natricine Snake, Rhabdophis tigrinus, Have Chemical Preference for a Skin Toxin of Toads? Current Herpetology Feb 2021 Vol. 40, No. 1: 1-9 - get paper here Takeuchi, H., Savitzky, A. H., Ding, L., Silva, A., Das, I., Nguyen, T. T., … Mori, A. 2018. Evolution of nuchal glands, unusual defensive organs of Asian natricine snakes (Serpentes: Colubridae), inferred from a molecular phylogeny. Ecology and Evolution 8 (20): 10219–10232 - get paper here It’s advised not to let pet lurchers off the lead, unless it’s within a closed area that the dog can’t run out off. Otherwise, the chances that the dog instinctively takes off in pursuit of a perceived prey are very, very high. Lurchers have an extremely high prey drive having been bred to "hunt" which is a trait deeply embedded in a dog's psyche. Even in a home environment a Lurcher would need to "express" themselves as they should for them to be truly happy well-rounded characters. What about playfulness?

Lurchers are quite independent thinkers but being highly intelligent it means in the right hands and environment they are easy to train. Their training has to start early because it would be a mistake to wait until a dog is 6 months old. With this said a Lurcher should never be trusted with any food that may be left out because they would not be able to resist helping themselves to it. In short these handsome dogs are known to be "thieves" at heart no matter how well trained they happen to be. Are they a good choice for first time owners? The name lurcher is a derivative from the Romany word lur which refers to a thief. The name ”lurcher’ is therefore for these dogs because they skulked around and aided poachers. Pad injuries result because of local trauma on the foot pads on the underside of their paws. Being so to speak designed for speed means that lurchers have very small to minimal pads of fat on the underside of their feet. This aids in their aerodynamics but predisposes them to injury. The result is that there may be rapid callus build-up and they tend to develop corns on their toes. These may require excision or bandaging to keep them soft.

They have an incredibly high prey drive

Unfortunately there are no genetic tests or screening available for Lurchers when it comes to a heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) which affects larger dogs and more especially Lurchers with Deerhound in their lineage. The condition sees a dog's heart becoming enlarged and it tends to affect dogs when they are middle-aged. More about gastric torsion Szyndlar, Z. 1984. A description of a small collection of amphibians and reptiles from the People's Democratic Republic of Korea, with notes on the distribution of the herpetofauna in that country. Acta Zool. Cracov. 27 (1): 3-18 Augstenová, Barbora; Sofia Mazzoleni, Lukáš Kratochvíl Orcid and Michail Rovatsos 2017. Evolutionary Dynamics of the W Chromosome in Caenophidian Snakes. Genes 2018, 9(1), 5; doi:10.3390/genes9010005 - get paper here Syntypes: ZFMK 8406, ZFMK 8407, BMNH 1861.12.27.9 (possibly additional specimens could neither be traced in RMNH nor in ZMA fide Böhme 2014). P. B. Munsche (1981). Gentlemen and Poachers: The English Game Laws, 1671–1831. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Lurchers are relatively easy to maintain dogs when it comes to grooming. Having one greyhound or whippet parent put a significant dent in the lengths of their fur. As a result, being brushed once or at the maximum twice a week is more than enough for them, even the long haired lurchers.They’re impressive to watch and will happily roam off the lead. For the most energetic Lurchers, we’re talking about upwards of 1-hour exercise a day and longer at times. For this reason, they are best at home on larger plots of land.