About lurchers

Here at Fall in Love with a Rescue, we mainly save abandoned Sighthounds and Lurchers.

Unlike the Sighthound, a Lurcher is not a specific breed of dog, but rather the result of crossbreeding a Sighthound with another breed of dog – usually another type of herding or working dog, such as a Collie or Terrier. 

Although they can vary in height, length and coat depending on what they have been crossed with, Lurchers tend to take after their Sighthound heritage, and will be gangly with a lithe frame.

Lurchers are typically friendly, calm, kind and affectionate and make a great family addition. As a general rule, they are quiet – almost lazy – and usually non-destructive when indoors. Despite this, they do have a strong prey drive (the instinct to give chase and catch smaller animals) and do need recall training to stop them from running off. Lurchers are also prone to short bursts of energy and can be exceptionally fast runners, so they do need to be kept on a leash when out on walks – or anywhere that is not a securely enclosed area – as they may bolt. This will vary slightly with each Lurcher depending on what breed they’re crossed with – for example, a Lurcher with a high energy dog might be more active than one crossed with a calmer breed of dog. If you’d like any information about the individual temperament of a dog you are interested in adopting, please email, call, or come down and visit us.