Adding another dog to the family, lurcher/whippet

joey100

So in the next month or so we will probably be adding another dog to our family. Currently have a near two year old French bulldog, she is great with other dogs and we have looked after a few friends dogs while they are on holidays and after a bit of a settling in period they have all got on great. We will be going the rescue route this time, the last while we have met a few lurchers around the area, most of them bring in foster homes and have really liked them. On paper they seem like a great dog and a good match for our dog too.

But is there anything we should be looking out for? Anything we should know about them before we look at rescuing one? Ideally prefer a whippet (little smaller?)and are open to a pup, might help the settling in than bringing an adult dog into the house?

Idle Passerby

They are wonderful dogs. Ours is a rescue and has quite a sad past. It's doubtful she ever lived in a house before. There were frustrations with housetraining and chewing at the start but one year on she is a changed dog. She's confidant and playful, very gentle with other dogs and children, a great temperament. She needs excercise like any dog and enjoys a good ramble but they are not the high energy dogs you might expect. She's been a great addition to our family.best of luck with yours!

Edit to add: ours is an adult dog and was fully grown when we adopted her. If you have the patience to help a potentially mistreated dog come out of their shell you will have a friend for life.

aonb

I help at a shelter. We constantly have a huge number of lurchers - probably the most 'common' breed we get through our shelter - including greyhounds and whippets. To a dog, they tend to be gentle, calm, friendly dogs. They tend to be good with other dogs too.

If you are going down the rescue route, I would suggest that you bring your own dog to visit the new dog a couple of times. Bring them for a walk together. When you bring the new dog home, remove any precious toys or chews etc, so that there are no 'sparks' if the new dog picks up something. Feed them separately from each other until you see that they are ok together with food. Its all a little easier if you choose a puppy - the dynamic is different.

wandatowell

Whippets are weirdo's. Very funny in their weird way. They LOVE their comforts. Very pleasant dogs. I've my fella nearly 5 years now and there wasn't a bother with him. Very quick with house training and even quicker with tricks. I found he can be indifferent to you when you have him off the lead for a walk. My guy is very obedient in the home or on a lead but bring him out for a run off the lead and I'd spend the day calling him and he wouldn't listen to me. He has a very high prey drive. Loves chasing hares, rabbits, foxes (Well, he'll runs with foxes but wont attack them thankfully) so its something to think about when you bring him out for the runabout.

In the home my whippet is very good. He's not overly playful. He gets a burst of energy for 5-10 minutes, plays with his toys and then he just chills out. He really likes being around people. For example, he doesn't like lying on me or my wife but he will lie next to one of us on the couch and just as long as he's touching one of us he'll stay there for hours.

I'd sing the praises of a whippet all day long. Lovely dogs. Keep an eye on your food when your cooking. It has a habit of going missing when your not looking. Black pudding especially.

joey100

Cheers Folks, @wandatowell, that sounds like you could be describing our dog there, every single bit of it! I'd say we will probably go the puppy or very young dog route, think the whole integration might be a bit easier the. Kona has had a few other dogs stay in the house and have followed a lot of the advice given there about putting toys away and other points. Will try and keep this similar, Will probably be looking in around August so will put any pictures up if you adopt one.

Thanks for all the advice folks.

Choc Chip

I LOVE lurchers, and I'll sing their praises all day. I have a foster lurcher at my feet right now and just wanted to give a wee cautionary note: bear in mind what they're crossed with!

They are mixed breeds and you might get terrier tenacity, or collie intelligence in there with the sighthound genes. I've the same experience with them being lovely, soft dogs with a fondness for couches (every single one). But the one at my feet is cross-collie and bonkers. All day. She's only quiet now because of yesterday's extra long off-lead walk, morning fetch, and a big breakfast. I give it til lunch before she needs taken out again. And she sheds almost as much as my GSDx.

I've also had a foster bull-lurcher who would have been reluctant to back down if challenged by another dog (while still being a dote with every person and the vast majority of polite dogs).

I'm not trying to put you off them, they're fab dogs. But a rescue which uses foster homes will give ya a good steer as to whether they take from their sighthound genes or from terrier/collie/other genes in there. On the good side, the vast variety in them means that there's one out there for everyone.

ra0044

wandatowell wrote: »

Whippets are weirdo's. Very funny in their weird way. They LOVE their comforts. Very pleasant dogs. I've my fella nearly 5 years now and there wasn't a bother with him. Very quick with house training and even quicker with tricks. I found he can be indifferent to you when you have him off the lead for a walk. My guy is very obedient in the home or on a lead but bring him out for a run off the lead and I'd spend the day calling him and he wouldn't listen to me. He has a very high prey drive. Loves chasing hares, rabbits, foxes (Well, he'll runs with foxes but wont attack them thankfully) so its something to think about when you bring him out for the runabout.

In the home my whippet is very good. He's not overly playful. He gets a burst of energy for 5-10 minutes, plays with his toys and then he just chills out. He really likes being around people. For example, he doesn't like lying on me or my wife but he will lie next to one of us on the couch and just as long as he's touching one of us he'll stay there for hours.

I'd sing the praises of a whippet all day long. Lovely dogs. Keep an eye on your food when your cooking. It has a habit of going missing when your not looking. Black pudding especially.

Hi.

The above is exactly the same as our whippet. They are such a good natured dog in general and really misunderstood by virtually everyone we meet out walking.

My one piece of advice comes from looking after our neighbours daschund whilst they went on holiday. The daschund got very frustrated with Bert our whippet when he wouldn't play on demand and would pester and pester trying to get Bert up and at it. Whippets are very determined to sleep and Bert is no exception and got very stressed and irritable that he was being pestered. He didn't snap or bite but growled and stressed.

I would suggest like minded dogs are the best company for whippets. Also nothing as cute as 2 leggy skinny whippets curled up together contentedly using each other as pillows.

kylith

The only concern I would have is regarding playing with your current dog. All dogs are different and other people’s MMV, but IME sighthounds love nothing more than to chase and be chased. There is no way a Frenchie would keep up.

Also be aware that lurchers are cross breeds. You can get any range of traits from the parents. My fella loves to run, but will also take a 20km walk without a bother. We have yet to be able to tire him out, though he is generally good in the house occasionally he’ll dig up half the garden.

Vel

I echo what others have said - fab dogs!

It is very true that what they are mixed with will have an impact on personality.

In this regard, as you want to integrate with your current dog I'd actually be more inclined to get a young adult who has been in a foster home, rather than a pup as you know what you are dealing with. It will be easier to know what's in the mix there too as opposed to getting a pup.

Also my neighbour adopted a tiny lurcher pup who grew into the tallest lurcher I have ever seen so if you are concerned about size, again I'd avoid a pup as you can't predict just how long those legs will grow!

CircleofLife

Sorry for the late reply to this thread, but I've only just seen it. Sighthounds (lurchers, whippets and the like) are great dogs! There can be quite a large variety in the temperament, but they tend towards being goofballs! To be honest, greyhounds are my favourite. They are large, but they are also generally quite gentle and calm bar the few minutes of madness, so I would not hold size against them. I know of at least one or two rescues that often gets lurcher pups though, so would be happy to pm you the names of them.

Twoelles

They are so stooopid...... and it makes you love them even more. My vet actually thought that my lurcher wasn't all there, neither am I so it's all good. I had never had lurcher before but I will always have one now. The only thing to be wary of is have they been worked? A lurcher who is a working dog can have a very strong prey drive towards small flurries, so if you have cats (or other small furies) or your neighbours do, then make sure the dog has been tested with them.
Most lurchers are abandoned because they won't work.
I've had mine since she was 5 months and we have 3 cats 3 ferrets and chickens and she has never had any inclination to chase any of them.

puppieperson1

i have a two year old rescue whippet and he is adorable kind frienely and a goof ball loves his mad run and then sleeps and / or talks all day he was found in the embers of a fire in a hard stand, bald from mange, frozen and thin as a rake. The nicest dogs you could own they slot in very & love to be warm !!