Lurcher Or Terrier?

[tombong1]

Which do you prefer for a ferreting dog.

[coasty]

Terrier defo for me , Cant beat a Jack Russel,,, Best ferreting dog I ever saw was a Jack Russel. Lost count of how mant time s the little b,,,,,,, bit me.

[tombong1]

I use a staffie personaly, very, very game dog

[epops]

jack russel x lakeland was the best one i had hard as nails great little ratter too

[C C]

Always used Russel types me, best dog i had was 3/4 Russell 1/4 Fox terrior name of Tod. Nose like an hound, retired him to my mates kennels for the females My current worker is a Russell type, she looks an image of Plumbers old Beltane, she has loads of brains and personality. I also got a Sprocker and a Staff x ???, which are pets.

I did have a Gould line Black bitch, she wanted to do other things, so i had to part with her And thats where the andvantage of a Lurcher comes in, they don't go to ground like the Terriors.


Regards Christain.

[tomomoto17370]

Originally Posted by epops

jack russel x lakeland was the best one i had hard as nails great little ratter too

Agree, have a parsons terrier x lakeland, very game dog, squat and solid, perect for flushing game up to fox size. Also have a parsons terrier x border terrier, a little smaller and more nimble than the lakeland x, an exellent vermin dog.

[DOXHOPE]

I like a good lurcher, bolting rabbits is so easy for them, just as easy as lamping rabbits. With the right dog many, many rabbits can be expected on a days ferreting

[gez]

In the ops question prefere,, the answer has to be a small lurcher!. As for a game terrier for working with a ferret ...come on why.?
use nets & have a lurcher to pick up rabbits that miss nets or holes that cant be netted.
Also much better trained in the heat of the hunt very rarly will a lurcher go in to smash a rabbit.
Re terriers being game please rem you dont need that now so watch what you write on here.!

[astle9]

As i have both plus a springer, why not both.

[Putorius]

If you are rabbiting, a suitably bred calm and biddable lurcher with a good nose everytime.

A marking (indicating whether the burrow is occupied) lurcher will generally do so quietly. I have owned one quiet, subtle terrier, but generally a terrier will almost always scratch, dig and whine at the entrance to the hole, telegraphing it`s presence to the rabbits below ground. Hardly conducive to persuading the rabbits to bolt. You will end up digging.

A well bred and suitably trained lurcher will retrieve rabbits live back to hand. If you are a softy like me, you can then release a heavily pregnant doe. If you want to eat your rabbit, it is not damaged. A terrier will kill every rabbit that it does manage to catch and render it none too fit for eating.

A small lurcher can accelerate incredibly quickly and catch a rabbit on the run. A terrier has little chance of catching other than in deep cover.

A lurcher can also be taken lamping and secure a decent haul of live caught undamaged rabbits. If you took a terrier lamping it would be a complete and utter waste of time.

Lurcher pups are very easy to break to ferret. Terriers take a good deal more effort.

So, the choice is a dog that is easy to break to ferret, can subtley mark the rabbit`s presence without giving the game away, catch rabbits in the open, retrieve undamaged rabbits live to hand and also be taken lamping.

Either that, or a dog that is significantly harder to break to ferret, is likely to let the rabbits know you are there when marking (therefore increasing the likelihood of you having to dig), is extremely unlikely to be able to catch a healthy rabbit in the open (so whats the point in it being taken ferreting?) and will mangle a rabbit on the occasion that it does catch one (so not worth eating). Also, a terrier can dissapear unexpectedly down fox earths, badger settes and goodness knows what else. A lurcher does not present that problem.


If on the other hand you intend doing a spot of organic pest control and are pursuing rats with ferrets, a stock broken terrier that is absolutely rock steady with ferrets (it takes a lot of time and effort to get a terrier to this point) will do the job of catching the bolted rats.

Remember though that "Lurcher" is a sweeping statement! There are lurcher types that are ideal for ferreting and then there are other types that are less suited. Too large a dog for example may be faster in the open than a smaller dog, but often by the time a larger dog has got into it`s stride, the rabbit has reached safety. It`s the acceleration of the smaller lurcher that makes if more suitable for the rabbiting job.