Any tips on getting a Lurcher working?

I've been toying with this idea for a long time, been watching him when he's on walks, and assessed his coat type and his instincts, you see he has a good coat and thick skin, this has become more apparent since the other dog has a thin coat and skin and is forever getting cut when she follows him, touch wood he hasn't yet.

He has caught, but not killed before, anything from mice (I know there not the most hardest, and no he isn't a cat lol) to catching pheasents, but he holds them in his mouth and when they get realised there is never a scratch on them.

He is use to guns, walking in the country side since he was a puppy he has become accostumed to them, and totally blanks them whenever they go off, and I have tried to get a cheap air rifle of someone to test him out with that when he is next to, and to practice shooting around local areas with targets (not animals, I would never use a gun on a animal until I have confidence that I have good aim) but the ******* took my money and gave me no gun, one lesson for the future eh.

I don't want him to ever be a killer I would be the one to dispatch the animals myself, so I want him to retrieve live to hand, as he allready keeps animals he catches live its just really a case of getting him to bring them back now.

And I also have land where I could get permission for him to be working, so thats all above board

The only thing is he's just turned three, could this be too late for him to learn, or would he be ok still to learn?

Any tips welcome oh and he is quite a nervous chap to, so I'm hoping that there is a load of positive ways to do training, as I don't think that negative would work for him, and that if I did that I would run the risk of him shutting down, and not being able to shape him into a good worker.

I know that this is a lot of questions, and I'm sorry that there is so much. At the moment I'm looking for someone local to help, but I think that the more people who are able to give experience or tips of training dogs the better as then I could take more of what I think would suit Diesel better

Mmmm. What "work" were you considering?

3 is a bit old to begin any real work, as any "bad habits" will be hard (not impossible) to break.

There are many Lurchers that will catch and retrieve without breaking or killing their quarry, but soft mouths and retrieving are taught from a very early age. The cross in your Lurcher is also very important to what work will suit, or what it will be best at doing.

Before you consider ANY work, you must make 100% sure that your dog is SAFE around livestock 100% of the time, thats Sheep, Cattle, Horses etc... That he/she is very obedient and will stop and return when you tell it. That he/she is fit and well and carries no injuries. then, Id suggest you contact a local Lurcher club in your area, and ask for some one to one training or advice as thats the ONLY way IMO that you will know if its what you want to do and if your dog is a suitable candidate.

Oh, and by the way, its illegal to hunt Mice with Dogs!

Oh No! My old Pointer was better than any cat. We never had mice till he went deaf and part blind. I even lent him to friends so he could show them where the mice were getting in. Am I a Criminal then?

Well you would be now, but of course if it were before the ban it was perfectly ok then.

Surely it's only illegal to hunt mice with more than one dog? Setting up organised mouse hunts with packs of mousehounds across country etc..

Of course there's always ways around the ban. I'm sure if you were to take along a small bird of prey, like a kestrel, then you can use the dog as long as either the kestrel makes the kill, or you feed the mouse to the kestrel afterwards...

Also as long as you do not actively train or encourage the dog to hunt, it is not illegal for the dog to naturally kill non protected species, so house mice and filed mice are ok, but dormice are illegal

he was a bit keen on birds too so I don`t think the kestrel would have lasted long. He worked on his own initative, having begun by presenting his trophies to me alive and kicking at first.
After a couple of years he got fed up with me just letting the furious creatures go and despatched them first. So I think I`m probably safe. Phew!

Thanks everyone, borderdawn I do find some of the hunting laws silly, I mean its only rabbits and rats that a dogs allowed to kill isn't it? What about cats then, are the breaking the law to lol.

We have been taking him to a local small holding where there is chickens, geese, sheep, goats and horses and at the moment on a long line he is doing ok, we just want to make sure that he is 100% on a long line before letting him off, as the owner shows all his livestock, so Diesel would not be in any ones best books if he even looks at a animal funny.

Oh and he is 3/4 Greyhound, 1/4 GSD, but is quite small for that cross, only about 24 at the shoulder

The only other thing is that I have no idea where any Lurcher clubs are around me, although I'm sure a quick google search would help

Actually, it's illegal to hunt and/or kill ANY mouse with one or more dogs. Though of course if you did not intend to hunt or kill the mouse and any parties who witnessed what your dog did cannot prove 'intent' I doubt you'll end up behind bars

OMG would my Reg & Jaq be in trouble when they enlist the help of Joedee/Roodee/Loukar in mouse hunting ??? Would they be up before the Catistrate for sentencing ?? My lil moglets up before the"Beak" Noooooooooooooo

Funny how the law doesn't apply to cats eh?? Something about being unenforceable lol