Staffy X lurcher? Whippet? Staffy at all? Questions

Hi there,

I'm new to the forums so hopefully this will come out right...

We have a gorgeous pooch called Hazel and we are really unsure what cross she is.. She's a rescue dog and is now nearly 3 years old.. Here are some pics, could anyone identify her breeds?

Many thanks

Minou

Well a lurcher is a x breed so if she was whatever x lurcher it would still just be lurcher surely?

Can definitley see Stafford in her, to me she reminds me of a whippet in some ways too, could be whippet x stafford.

definetly see a little bit of staffy in that first piccy

she is lovely !!

Hi and welcome to the forum from me and my Gang. Have to say I agree with Laura I too see Staffie/whippet, but no matter what mix she is gorgeous so just enjoy her.

Coolies thanks for your help So if she is Whippet/Staff - does that make her a lurcher? I didn't know that Lurchers were a crossbreed - thought they were a breed in their own right- Doh! I love dogs, but this is my first one so not too clued up about all the combinations

We love her whatever she is, just curious

She is gorgeous. And definitely staffy in there and welcome along

She definately, without a doubt has staffie in her, and I'd say Whippet is a fair guess at the other parent.

As for Lurchers...Lurchers aren't a recognised breed.
Most people say that they are a cross between a sighthound e.g greyhound, whippet, afghan with any other type of dog. Some people specify which types of dogs they should be crossed with to be specified a lurcher. But some lurchers have been bred lurcher to lurcher for many generations and breeders develop standards.
Most dogs which are called lurchers in reality tend to look quite similar- roughly greyhound size, often scruffy haired and skinny (but can be smooth too). They also tend to have a standard kind of face.
I don't think the dog in question in question would generally be called a lurcher even if it is a whippet cross. You would probably just know it as a staffie/ or whippet cross- whichever breed is most obvious in it.

Any dog with any sighthound x anything else is indeed a Lurcher by definition :smt001

When they were originally purpose bred to work, yes there were usually a few select breeds for the mix, [ Sighthound to Collie or Beardie or Terrier most usually, and often tended to be 3/4 sighthound x 1/4 other breed ], but these days its far more general and any percentage of Sighthound is generally accepted as classifyining a dog as a Lurcher by modern definition, so a Whippet x Staffie which is what Haxel does appear to be, is every bit as much a Lurcher as a Greyhound x Collie.

There is no `standard` and they would never be formally recognised as a `breed` because there is so much diversity which makes a `standard` impossible.

Lurcher to Lurcher, [ Lurchers being classed as sighthounds ] are called Longdogs [ Longdogs being any Sighthound to Sighthound mix ] so they are different again and equally impossible to standardise or claim any kind of formally recognised pedigree for.

The type you are probably thinking of as having a similar general appearance would be the sort which look like the dog who played Alfred on Heartbeat [ I`m assuming thats the type you mean, my apologies if I`m off the mark there ! ], but those are just the most recognisable, [ mainly because of that program and perhaps All Creatures Great and Small ], but they are far from the most common in reality.
My own Lurcher [ very `traditional` crossing of Sighthound x Collie ], though tall and slender with a fine featured face, is also very silky coated and almost all white - thats frowned upon by the `working` Lurcher fraternity - but I`m anti-hunting so :smt019 to any of them for looking down on my lad for that - oh, and he would be equally if not more frowned upon by that ilk because he does`nt chase cats or other small furries

He loves doing Agility though, is very feisty, and 95% collie brained, so not the `typical` Lurcher `type` even though his parentage is among one of the most original to the `type` ;-)

Lurchers are often incorrectly referred to as Lurcher x [whatever breed ], as the `title` of Lurcher is the descriptive which already denotes the dogs as being crosses, so to call a Lurcher a Lurcher cross is in effect saying `this is a cross cross-breed` which is not fair in itself because they are mostly very happy souls and not usually cross at all

Hi Minou ! !

I have a stafie cross and think her cross is whippet, they are quite similar, what do you think?





The 1st one she is 17 wks and the last about 1 yr.

Hazel is beautiful, such strong vibrant colours on her coat :smt007 :smt007 :smt007

Lis x

Hey everyone!

Thanks Patch and 06DCC for the excellent information you supplied here- I had no idea at all about Lurchers and their background but it really is fascinating and thank you I did think for some reason that Lurchers in general had longer floppy ears - no idea why I thought that but it's good to be set straight.

That would explain a lot why Hazel is so curious about our Rabbit and Guinea Pigs but doesn't show that she wants to eat them, looks more like she wants to play together with them ... not gonna chance that though.

Doggdina, thanks for the pics! Yes they do look extremely similar - yours is gorgoeous too! We never had Hazel from a puppy as she is a rescue dog, so it's lovely to see the puppy pic and have an idea of what she looked like

Thanks minou! Angel was a rescue too, the 1st pic is the 1st day I got her

Hazel is beautiful :smt049 she looks just like our old guy Ross who whe think was a Staffy x Whippet.

what a lovely dog mine is now 10 weeks old and also been told he staffi x whippet/lurcher?? he is just so cute ,look at my pic

Ive enjoyed reading this thread. I've kept lurcher's for a lot of years. I think that the general consensus is right , i don't see a lot of lurcher in there. Staffy, as every one else says, is self evident. It could be possible that the other side of its parentage was a H57 ,who knows. If you love what you have got, does it matter what its make up is. While on the subject of lurcher's Patch, what are your view on the recent trend of introducing bull blood. Lurcher's are renown for there gentle nature, they 'look' wrong for a start and is it necessary to introduce possible aggression into a dog that has for generation been capable of doing its job

Lurchers are also used for illegal racing in places where greyhound racing is illegal. That is their main use in the states. Lurchers are not commonly retired, because they don't want any evedence of racing to be "out". Racing lurchers are not tatooed. Lurcher racing is different from Greyhound racing, the lurchers are let loose in a field where they chase a raccoon until the raccoon is caught and killed. Naturally the people bet, and that's why it's illegal.

Lurchers' ears tend to stick straight out to the side of their heads, whereas a greyhound's ears tend to lie flat against their heads. Lurchers' toes are generally shorter and more "stubby", and the lurcher tends to have a somewhat wider chest.

A lurcher can be any sighthound mix. (usually whippet or greyhound). Usually they're sighthound / herding dog mix. Lurchers are sometimes mistakingly called long coated greyhounds, or wire coated greyhounds.

However, I rarely call Jenny a Lurcher, because many people know what I'm saying when I say she's a greyhound cross, but give me a blank stare when I say she's a lurcher.
While we're on the subject of lurchers can't help but post one of Jenny

She's probably either a greyhound lab or a whippet lab. Or no lab at all... lol.



Jenny has greyhound ears more then traditional Lurcher ears. Lurcher ears are more pointy then Jenny's (that would be the lab in her that gives her rounded ears)


And this is a Lurcher I know named Sadie...

Lurcher ears!

Hi John,

I will say without reservation is that introducing any aggression into any breeding, whether Lurchers or purebreds, is absolutely wrong, full stop.

To breed a dog which may have Lurcher speed or near to it but with more physical power as well, and if breeding in dog-aggressive tendencies ?
Might as well build an exocet missile and watch it disappear into the distance to attack with no hope of keeping up to stop it before serious damage is done to someone elses dog.
I`m assuming such breeders prefer to use likely aggressives to increase brute force type `work` capabilities against foxes or badgers etc ?
If so, anything I say would have to be heavily censored so that will give you an idea what I think of it.

There were reasons why certain purebreds were crossed to get working Lurchers, and being much heavier than the `traditional norm`, and with a bully type mouth are not consistant with what they were, [ and unfortunately still are ] traditionally purpose bred for [ as opposed to a accidental matings from which a Lurcher can end up looking little like a `traditional` Lurcher type but is still a Lurcher nonetheless ;-) ].

On a purely aesthetic level, people deliberately breeding considerably heavier breeds in, are, imho, sacrificing what a Lurcher is about in build / agility / speed / mouth etc, let alone working `aptitude` so it makes no sense to me to use large Bull breeds if they are wanting `working` Lurchers. Add to that the current trend for `designer` dogs and it smacks to me to be as much if not more about that than anything else whether such breeders would admit that or not.

Besides, Lurchers are nicknamed Pointies, not Chunkies, theres a reason for that lol !

I can understand Bull terriers being used to an extent in the past, [ at a push ], as they are terriers with terrier tenacity afterall, and many types of terriers were very commonly used to create smaller Lurchers for smaller quarry and different terrain to those built for open ground running, but I would think more than a 1/4 in a mix could risk the speed/agility quite a bit ?

Frankly though, the `job` availability / need for them these days is not as it was in past centuries so its not like there is a `need` to deliberately breed all manner of Lurchers especially when rescues are always overflowing with accidental Lurchers, [ the same as every other crossbreed imaginable ].

Some working Lurchers are still being bred with the intent on breaking the hunting laws so in that respect people should not be breeding them at *all* for the purpose of killing / hare coursing / poaching etc no matter what breeds are involved in the mixes.
If its for love of the `historical` type, their common gentle temperament as you mentioned, and maybe to do non-harmful lure as a hobby thats entirely different, but the fact is to breed specifically for an illegal OR purely hobby activity is a pretty thin reason to breed anyway no matter what goes into the mix.

My own Lurcher has zero `working` aptitude, his mind is almost all collie, [ the very tiny non-collie brain element is just a bit dense bless him ]. He`s a rescue who had been sold to a non-working Lurcher orientated home, just to make it absolutely clear I don`t have a Lurcher to work, nor could he if anyone had wanted him to, its just not his `thing` and my love for Lurchers is not based on the `work` ethic they were originally bred for but for general temperament, grace, nobility etc, all the aspects which are not about them actually killing anything iow.

Hello there Minou, I was searching google to try and find what breed of dog it was I had, and I came across Hazel. My dog and your dog are near enough identical. My dog is called Jaws and he is 6 months old, I shall add a photo for you to see the resembalance. David.

i have a staffy x labrador i think yours is a staffy x but not whippet i cant quite put my finger on it

yer i can see saffy in her

Awwwww bless your dog is lovely to and yer they do look alike