Contacting Lurcher Rescues, hoping to adopt a bonny, bouncing lurcher, can be an exciting and joyful time, but it also needs thought. So today we offer some useful notes (fortunately, ‘useful’ is not a legally binding term) on finding your new companion.

You may be seeking a four-legged friend for lively runs and exercise, or an addition to the family that won’t shove you straight into a care home when you get a slight cough. You may want to explore the countryside at leisure, or fancy having a large dog which steals all the bed clothes and leaves you shivering on the sofa. With lurchers, there are so many choices…

First of all, though, bear in mind that Lurcher Rescues are run, rightly, for the benefit of the dogs. They are not there to provide status symbols, or something for your friends to gawk at and your kids to poke. Rehoming is a tough job, often poorly funded and undertaken by dedicated people. Some of the dogs have had a very hard time up to the point they got to the Rescue. Amazingly, lurchers are very affectionate animals, and will still hope for human love.

So recognise the dog’s needs first. For reference, all our dogs have been rescues, and not all of them have been easy, though we wouldn’t backtrack on a single one.

Approaching Lurcher Rescues

Rescues try to cover a wide area, and they may have some ability to help transport dogs, but it’s easier if you can find one in your vicinity. Think over why you’re going down this path, and then make that phone call.

The Rescue staff will ask you a few basic questions. They will start with difficult things, like “Are you sure you want a dog?” and “Are you positively, absolutely sure that you want a dog?” This is to weed out people who have come to them by accident, such as those delivering the milk, or dropping off the post. Or you may merely have called to give them the Good News about something, which means you hadn’t planned to take away a wolfhound crossed with a Great Dane at that particular moment.

Once you have shown sufficient signs of being genuine, the Rescue will snap into action. It is normal to be asked if you have any previous experience of lurchers and sighthounds – or any other animal which suddenly runs at 40mph but then only wants to lie upside down as if it has had a coronary for the rest of the day. Lurchers and sighthounds do have slight differences from other dogs which go beyond immediate appearance, some of which are anatomical, other behavioural. A little pre-contact research helps.

Most Lurcher Rescues will have a website or Board where you can see photographs of dogs which need rehoming. Remember that although virtually all the animals will look tempting, a website gives little indication of size, history or temperament. Try not to get smitten with a lurcher which turns out in practice to be quite unsuitable for your circumstances. Wait until you can meet them (see later below).

The Details

The Rescue will want to know about your home. First of all, we’re afraid that it helps if you have one. If you live on a ship, such as a Russian trawler, they may be dubious. If you live in a designer windowbox in Chelsea, they may feel your conditions are a little cramped. Gradually, they will tease out the details, first by asking you (they’re cunning like that), and then often by sending a trained paramilitary home assessment operative to examine your domicile in more detail. Do not be fooled if the operative who visits you is a friendly woman with a distracted look and muddy wellingtons. These are the most dangerous.

Be polite, show them round – and don’t mention how you once mistook the family shih-tzu for a mop-head and started washing the garage floor. If you have dogs in the house anyway, don’t let the home assessment person see them drinking heavily, smoking, or playing poker. Don’t point at the overweight dog and say “If only they were all like him.” Also, shouting out “No, get back Sabre, this one has a lawyer!” is not recommended.

Time and Company

Lurchers like people. They don’t necessarily do a lot around the house once they’ve fully matured, but they like the presence of people in the vicinity. It’s best if you can explain that someone is at home most of the time, or that you have arrangements for reliable extra dog walking and companionship when you’re not there. A lurcher left alone all day is lonely, even if some may seem to tolerate it.

And if there’s more than one dog, who needs extra trouble by leaving them unsupervised too long? We still haven’t got the bloodstains off the bathroom wall from where two relatively chummy dogs got themselves trapped together one evening – and panicked (it was one of those copious but minor ear bleeds, if you really want to know).

Be honest about your time. If you’re away a lot, due to work, family or other commitments, you may be better getting (we can hardly bear to say it)… a cat.

Other Animals in the Home.

Pre-planning at assessment time is important. If you already have cats, children, rabbits, guinea-pigs or a lot of soft toys, these will need to be taken into consideration. Children are the easiest, because they can be pushed outside and told that sleeping in the cold frame is ‘character-building’. Plus lurchers are on the whole very tolerant of children. They are also quite good with goldfish, unless you keep the goldfish in the dog-bowl.

If you have small children, discuss it beforehand. Be aware that you will need to explain the situation to the kids, and instruct them on a range of security matters, both for them and the new dog. Even teens can take things for granted and do the  wrong thing. Old ‘Wuffy’ may have liked having his ears pulled and his nose poked. A new lurcher may jump at being touched, and accidentally reduce the number of fingers available for such indignities. Even placid lurchers can snap if alarmed, though they rarely mean any harm.

Cats, rabbits, guinea-pigs and stuffed toys can cause problems. Lurchers raised with a cat may get used to it, and even bond with the family feline. Lurchers introduced to new cats, etc, are less reliable, and even those which tolerate a cat in their pack may go for any moggie outside the house. Rabbits and the rest are best kept in secure hutches, to avoid tears at bed-time. Unless you plan a new line in family meals.

If all your other dogs are what we call ‘sandwich-sized’, you may want to check with the Rescue, though this isn’t normally a problem. Dogs tend to know what a dog is.

Soft toys may be cuddled, or they may be treated as vicious intruders who must be de-stuffed at the first opportunity. Mr Spotty the Elephant may be safer being moved to a high shelf, before he becomes Mr Spotty the Dish Rag.

The Garden

Having a garden is important. Having a big garden is nice, but not always essential. The make-or-break point can be the nature of it. If it is a large muddy wasteland with a destroyed lawn and random holes in it, then you clearly have already had lurchers, so that’s fine. If it is nothing but one large pond with a concrete lap and a bucket of fish, you probably have seals or penguins, which is less good.

What surrounds your garden is usually the sticking point at assessment time. Lurchers can also be leapers. A reasonable height of boundary is essential. If you have six foot fences, or dense shrubbery and wire, around the garden, you will get a silver star. If you have an eight foot reinforced wall and guard posts every thirty feet, you will get a gold star.

If your garden is secure but otherwise woefully small, make it clear that you are either a) fully committed to regularly taking your lurcher(s) to local fields and on countryside walks, or b) already living in a hut in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales. Some remote Scottish islands may also count.

The Actual Lurcher

At this stage, you may be offered a chance to walk or play with the lurcher in question. Try to impress the Rescue staff with a few basics, such as:

• Knowing which end of the lurcher is in, and which is out
• Not immediately rubbing your face in the belly of a strange dog and yelling “Who’s a squidgy widgy boy then”. Especially if the lurcher is not a boy lurcher.
• Basic familiarity with leads and other gear, such as basket muzzles and coats.

If you are considering a lurcher pup, you need to be aware that a) they are utterly mad, and b) they need a careful exercise regime in order for their joints to form properly. If you are taking on an older dog or retired racer, you need to remember that even the most placid, mature sighthound type may occasionally realise what sort of dog it is and hare off like greased lightning because it’s seen something more interesting than you.

A good question early on is “What is it?” Lurchers range from slender whippet crosses which could thread a needle to large, bull-like hounds which could move a haystack. If the Lurcher Rescue knows what mix is in the dog you fancy, this can be useful information.

(People still get confused. If the dog you like has sighthound in it, it is a lurcher. It’s as simple as that.)

Some lurchers, known as longdogs, come from two lines of sighthound, and are strong, athletic creatures. Saluki crosses, for example, bring with them a proud, sensitive nature, and an enduring desire to drag down grown antelopes for you. Deerhound crosses are generally rubbish at fetch, and make worse guard dogs than a deaf tortoise. Not that we’re bitter.

Others have a lot of working dog in there. You must watch out for Collie crosses developing habits like rounding the family up and trying to get you all into a sheep-pen. Collies like something useful to do. Bedlington crosses are generous with their fur, and don’t mind leaving it in your dinner on a regular basis.

Note: Despite appearances, there is rarely any significant amount of kangaroo genetic material in a lurcher. Apart from Django.

Other Dogs

You’re getting to the serious stage now. It’s good to introduce a potential new lurcher to any dogs you already have in a neutral, comfortable environment, before you commit yourself. A very large quiet restaurant might do, with a piano in the background and rare steaks all round, but in practice, this might be done in a paddock near the Rescue, or in a convenient field with no other visitors at the time.

• If the dogs run or play together with no apparent stress, this is a great start.
• If they circle each other, sniff a bit and stay somewhat disinterested, that can work as well.
• If one of them brings out a concealed weapon, you may want to reconsider.

Watch for dog body language. Remember that just shoving a new, nervous dog into another dogs’ home without gentle introduction, planning and monitoring, is asking for trouble. The guy you know at the petrol station who says,”Hey, it’ll be fine,” is not your best source of advice.

But hopefully, they will see each other as potential companions, paving the way for you to move forward.

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At each stage, try hard to work with the Rescue. You may not always agree with their assessment or views, but they may err on the side of caution. Make changes if you can realistically do so. They’re probably under pressure, and they can’t deal with dogs being constantly returned or getting into trouble. They won’t want you to have a bad experience and be put off dogs, either.

And that’s our opinionated penny-worth. We must leave it up to you and specific Lurcher Rescues to finalise the details, because each Rescue has its own system. There may be trial periods, discussions about veterinary cover and so on. Fostering or dog walking is another way of getting to know a Rescue’s dogs – and if you can’t find a fit at the time, you might always be able to help at the Rescue itself. The staff will talk it over with you.

We wish you, and any lurchers you may meet, good fortune.