Lurcher

History

Lurcher is an old English term for a crossbred dog; specifically, the result of mating a sighthound with a dog of another type, typically a working breed. The term was first used with this meaning in 1668; it is considered to be derived from the verb lurch, apparently a variant form of lurk, meaning lurk or steal. The tendency to "wrench" and "cut" rather than "course" was considered to be unfair and a violation of "The Law of the Leash."

In England from 1389, the right to keep a dog of any kind used in hunting was limited by law to those qualified by possessing lands, holdings, or income worth more than ten pounds per annum; in other words, royalty, nobility, the gentry, and the wealthy. This law, though repeatedly modified, remained in force until 1831. As a result, hunters and poachers bred sighthounds with breeds that could disguise their sighthound bloodline, often under thick rough coats, whilst adding other abilities including intelligence, stamina or turning speed. The dog chosen for this could be an available farm dog, often a collie or terrier.

In the nineteenth century, the word was used to describe some rough-haired regional greyhounds, which were banned from competition by coursing clubs such as Swaffham and Newmarket, due to the perception that they cut "turns" to kill instead of working the hare to gain points.

Description

A lurcher is a cross, generally between a sighthound and a working dog breed. Generally, the aim of the cross is to produce a sighthound with more intelligence, a canny animal suitable for poaching rabbits, hares, and game birds. Over time, poachers and hunters discovered that the crossing of certain breeds with sighthounds produced a dog better suited to this purpose, given the lurcher's combination of speed and intelligence. In more recent times, the crossing of different sighthound breeds with each other (e.g. A greyhound with a saluki) has become more common. These dogs were traditionally called longdogs but these days "lurcher" is applied to them as well.

Use

Lurchers were traditionally bred in England to assist poachers in hunting rabbits and hares. Around the world they are kept as sporting dogs and family pets, or to compete in sports such as lure coursing and dog racing. In the United States they may compete in lure coursing events through the AKC and the UKC. Cross-breeds are not registered and formally recognized by any major kennel club. In North America, the Canadian Kennel Club can deprive individual members of their club rights if they have been proven of crossbreeding any breed as in creating lurchers; in the US, lurchers can be registered with the North American Lurcher and Longdog Association.

Notes

As stated in an Act of Parliament: "None shall hunt but they which have sufficient living" in the Anglo-Norman and English of the time: null leverer, ne lerce, nautre chien pur chacer, translated as "no greyhound, hound nor other dog to hunt"

References

Bibliography

References

1. {{cite OED. lurcher. 38725421
2. {{cite OED. lurch. 38724696
3. Johnson, Thomas Burgeland. (2023). "The Sportsman's Cyclopaedia". Henry G. Bohn.
4. Kelham, Robert. (1779). "A dictionary of the Norman or Old French language : collected from such Acts of Parliament, Parliament rolls, journals, Acts of state, records, law books, antient historians, and manuscripts as related to this nation...". Edward Brooke.
5. Plummer, David Brian. (1979). "The Complete Lurcher". [[Boydell Press]].
6. "Why Lurchers Make Great Pets". Galway SPCA.
7. Drakeford, Jackie. (2003). "The House Lurcher: Care, rearing and training at home". Swan Hill Press.
8. "Lure Coursing". [[American Kennel Club]].
9. "Lure Coursing". [[United Kennel Club]].
10. "Constitution". North American Lurcher and Longdog Association.
11. (1763). "The statutes at large : from Magna Charta, to the end of the last parliament, 1761. In eight volumes". Mark Baskett, Henry Woodfall and William Strahan.