# staffy x lurcher



## redroses2106 (Aug 21, 2011)

ive just been offered a staffy x lurcher 6 week old pup,
i have to be honest in saying this is two breeds i have done little to no research on and never researched it as a cross breed 
does anyone have one of these and if so what is the temprament and how big do they grow
i know staffys get alot of bad press but i have to say that ive met about 3 well trained staffys and fallen in love with them! 
also what health problems could arrise in these dogs? and how much do they cost to feed etc?


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## foxyrockmeister (May 30, 2011)

Can't advise on the breeds I'm afraid, as I dont have experience of either but just wanted to say that 6 weeks is too young for a puppy to be separated from its mum and littermates. They should be at least 8 weeks old


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## littleangel01 (Jul 3, 2011)

hopefully you wont have the pup till at least 8wks 

rio is lurcher x staff her mom was a whippet x and her dad a staff.

size can depend on the type of lurcher as rio is not very big 22tts but i have seen a staff x greyhound lurcher that was greyhound size.

if you have never owned a lurcher befor then you should read up on how to deal with chase instinct - not all lurcher have a high chase drive tho, lexis is very high but rios isnt.

also be careful with bull lurchers as with all the badly bred staffs around at the moment you could end up with health problems ect although lurchers are mainly healthy (not sure if there are any main health problems i no you dont have to health test to breed) but i no alot of lurchers can have heart problems. 

there are prob people on here who could give you better advise then me


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## Horse and Hound (May 12, 2010)

foxyrockmeister said:


> Can't advise on the breeds I'm afraid, as I dont have experience of either but just wanted to say that 6 weeks is too young for a puppy to be separated from its mum and littermates. They should be at least 8 weeks old


Again, this has been debated loads on here. There are some people that have had a pup aged 6 weeks, some 7 and some 8.

But, back to the original question, can't comment about lurchers, but Staffs are wonderful dogs. Loyal and very, very clever. (even if they give off the impression of being thick). Harvey is wonderful. Likes to play, and can get a bit boisterous so they do need firm but fair training.

You'll get booted off your couch though...


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## Sheen and Eli (Mar 28, 2010)

Vet seems to think our Loki is part staffy.
He has a beautiful nature, very comical, very very licky to the point of it being like ectoplasm.
Loves to curl up right on top of you like a cat.
Hes very fast running off road through long grass and uneven ground, Eli our other is beardie greyhound cross and likes to run on flat grass.
Loki is 23.5"tts so smaller than Eli, but BIG in personality.
Heavier set than Eli, and thicker skinned.
I admit the staffy bit worried me at first not knowing anything about the breed, but since getting to know them and Loki I now know what a loving missunderstood breed they are.


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## 2Hounds (Jun 24, 2009)

Lurcher Link is a good resource for all things lurchery, they have quite a few bull lurchers up for adoption, guess it depends what mix the lurcher is but they usually end up with a chunky head and slightly bulkier sighthound body looks wise. whatever the breed/mix make sure this breeder is someone you want to be supporting with your money.


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## Horse and Hound (May 12, 2010)

Sheen and Eli said:


> Hes very fast running off road through long grass and uneven ground,


Harvey is soooo fast its untrue. He can catch Rupert now on a straight line...but if Roo turns Harvey tries and although the front part of his body turns, his back end doesn't and he usually ends up doing about 5 roly-polies!!


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## redroses2106 (Aug 21, 2011)

hi thanks for the comments
im more worried about the chase instinct and how easy they will be to handle, i might refuse this pup just as i dont feel i have the experiance or knowledge, apparently some have a high chase drive and some dont, the person who messaged me about it said she will probably be quite a small dog based on parents 
i do have an indoor guinea pig and although i would never have her out for her run with the dog in the room i wouldnt like for the dog to always be trying to get in at her cage to eat her! lol 
ive had lots of other dogs around when shes in her cage and they never really seem to bother with it though, they sometimes wine and paw then get bored, but from what ive read a lurcher is a racing/hunting dog so perhaps this would irritate the dog more than usual.
she does look like an adorable little puppy though and i am very tempted to go see her, perhaps with the right training and being brought up around a smaller animal she would lose some of the hunter instinct.
i would also be taking any dog i got to training classes mostly to socilize it but also for me so that i could make sure it was as safe as possible around children etc.
i was hoping someone here might of had a lurcher x staffy and know how they are but it seems its perhaps not as common as i had assumed it would be.

also the dog isnt from a breeder its from someone who bought the dog but her other dog dosent like it very much so she has to give it up


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## AmberNero (Jun 6, 2010)

My lurcher had a very, very high prey drive when I first got her- she had been used for coursing- but I managed to train her, as I have two cats, and now they are fine together-

you have two positives here- one, the pup is young and at a trainable age and 2) hasnt got previous experience of chasing and catching small furries.

Probably worth meeting the pup at least, and then you have an inkling of temperament?


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## 2Hounds (Jun 24, 2009)

Often prey drive varies from indoors and outside too, many ex-racers go on to live with cats and learn to accept their little pack member they may still see wild rabbits/squirells or cats on walks as fair game or be totally uninterested.As its a young pup it should be easier to get it to accept the guinea pig but obviously with any dog its best not to leave them with access while unsupervised. 

It is a bit worrying that the pup is 6weeks old and being rehomed, how long has current owner had it? Do you have dogs currently or will this be your first?

Lurcher is a type not a breed (sighthound x) so those with whippet x staffy or greyhound x staffy have bull type lurchers, try lurcherlink if you want to hear from more owners.


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## Sheen and Eli (Mar 28, 2010)

My two will ignore anything thats around in the house ( had an old cat)
but when out and about Eli doesnt bother chasing anything wereas Loki will go chasing anything (birds, bunnies recycling bags) Eli will start to chase if anything moves quickly in his field of vision, its more like an unconcious impulse, then he stops as quickly as he started. (mopeds coming up from behind)


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## Phoenix&Charlie'sMum (Oct 12, 2009)

I have a staffy x whippet. I must say he is the best behaved dog out off all four of mine. He has the staffy "need to please" and the whippet speed.

Phoenix is 23inches TTS. We had him from around 4/5 weeks old and had to bring him up. I had rabbits when he was younger which, with slow introduction he was brilliant with. It is easier when they are younger to train them i believe. The OH now works all our dogs, so because he has been taught to work then for now he cannot be around rabbits, but if perfect with the ferrets.

Every dog is different and has differetn prey drives. I have a saluki x greyhound who will kill anything outside the house, we have to muzzle him off lead as he has attacked a sheep. But at home we have ferrets and he isnt bothered by them at all now. When we first got them he was a little keen to say the least, but with a stern NO and lead him away he soon got used to them being there and now ignores them. Although i would never leave them alone together.

Depenidng on the breeding you can get very different shapes and sizes of bull x's. Pheonix is 1/4 staffy and 3/4 whippet. So you can't see alot of staffy in there apart from the staffy smile!

A lurcher is normally a terrier x sighthound - or the original is a sighthound x collie. I think to get a clear view of the traits of the dog you need to find out what mix the "lurcher" side is. Alot of people think a lurcher is just a mongrel and a crossbreed of anything, so this staffy x lurcher may not havfe any sighthound.

IMO - the Saluki and Collie X's can be the more difficult of the breed. Saluki's for their selective hearing and collie's for the energy levels.

This is Phoenix:


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## littleangel01 (Jul 3, 2011)

Phoenix&Charlie'sMum said:


> I have a staffy x whippet. I must say he is the best behaved dog out off all four of mine. He has the staffy "need to please" and the whippet speed.
> 
> Phoenix is 23inches TTS. We had him from around 4/5 weeks old and had to bring him up. I had rabbits when he was younger which, with slow introduction he was brilliant with. It is easier when they are younger to train them i believe. The OH now works all our dogs, so because he has been taught to work then for now he cannot be around rabbits, but if perfect with the ferrets.
> 
> ...


pheonix is like rio looks more like a whippet but has the staffy smile  and she is a lot better to train ect then lexi

she is 22tts and has a very low prey drive.

i also agree with the collie xs being hard to train lexi has collie and lab in her and has way to much energy 

pheonix is loverly by the way. i may be coming to dognap at some point 

this is rio


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