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Rescued coyote hunter


pat

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We have previously been owned by 2 greyhounds so when a rescue group asked for someone to foster a greyhound we volunteered. (Up front I will say we were "foster-failures". Tesla now wears a tag with our phone number & address. ) We didnt know her history at that time but found out that the folks who finally caught her - after seeing her and another grey running loose in a field for about 3 weeks - think she came from a person who uses greyhounds to hunt coyotes. Judging from the number of scars on her it would fit. She was almost starved, just skin and bones, fleas and worms. Between the initial rescuers and us she is now at a healthy weight and her ornery side is starting to bloom. I have been reading and talking to whoever I can to find out more about these dogs. We think she may be a lurcher. Her chest is deeper and her legs are stickier than our first 2. She also seems to have more energy. One problem that has surfaced is that when she plays she is really rough, jumping and biting. She is 77 lbs now so this behavior is painful!  Our 2 smaller dogs tolerate her but will not accept her play invitations. Aside from playing rough she is sweet, gentle and loving. No food aggression. We are working on basic obedience - she picks things up really quickly - as well as other behavior responses. I'm wondering if anyone has any more general information on coyote hunting greyhounds. We live in western Nebraska, if that is any help. I am fascinated and looking to find out all I can. Thank you!

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Having fostered a ton of coyote hunting dogs I don't think coyote hunting or not made a difference in their behavior except the ones labeled "this dog won't hunt" were usually very  good around small dogs.  How old does your vet think she is?  I'm struggling with a year old boxer mix that plays with Maggie all day but plays way too rough with me. 

NGA greys were and may still be repurposed as coyote dogs all the time.  They are often "green eared" which is when the coyote hunters retattoo over their original tattoo to make them untraceable and their legs and sometimes belly and back are often scarred up from getting through barbed wire (called 'bob wire' in West Texas) fences.





 

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Ha! I noticed that I typed that her legs are "stickier", I meant "stockier."  Our vet thinks shes 4-5 years old. She was so quiet when we got her but, of.course, was skin and bones- literally. As she has gotten healthier shes gotten rowdier which is good and a  challenge at the same time. I wondered how track dogs would hunt since they are sprinters and coyotes can run all day. I suppose they may run them down quickly? I watched part if one video and it was so gruesome I couldn't finish it. It's a wonder that she is so sweet and gentle except for playing. That's interesting about their ears. We did look and couldn't see anything but debris at first. The rescuers think she was probably bred and born at the farm. I guess that's what this guy does. Sounds like condituons were tough. Thanks for your information, I really appreciate it!

pat

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If you'd like more info about possible history look up the Ohio (or American) Lurcher Project on the web.  They specifically deal with greyhounds and greyhound crosses used for off book and under the table racing/hunting.  They have all sorts of trials and competitions for their dogs and many get cast off when they aren't useful anymore, much like the galgos in Spain.

American Lurcher Project

You can also do one of those new dog DNA tests if you're curious as to what her make up is.  Not cheap, but super interesting, I would bet.

Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora)

52592535884_69debcd9b4.jpgsiggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr

Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly

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I'll look that up for sure! Thanks! I've been in contact, too, with a rescue group in Lubbock that sees a lot of Lurchers and they DNA test their dogs. I'll look I to that, too. Maybe it could be an early birthday present. 😁

Thank you so much!

pat

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We have 2 staghounds (greyhound/deerhound/sometimes wolfhound mix, bred to hunt coyotes) and had one before these 2.  All were failed coyote hunters, one from Iowa, two from North Dakota. All 3 are/were sweet, gentle, wonderful dogs, despite being bred and raised to chase, catch, and kill coyotes.  Our first girl had exactly zero prey drive (we completely understand why she failed as a hunter!) and was a calm, bomb-proof sweetheart.  Our newest two, who turned four today (we've had them for almost a year) do have a little prey drive but I couldn't imagine them going after a coyote...until one time one ran past our fenced yard at night.  Both girls tore down to the end of the yard and pogo-jumped up and down and wouldn't take their eyes off the coyote as it ran away. 

In general, our 3 really resemble fuzzy greyhounds, in personality as well as looks.  We've learned about statuing and roaching and rooing and all that other fun greyhound stuff!  Obviously they weren't raised like track greyhounds and our current 2 are a bit timid in new situations, but they do great with other dogs.  Kaja likes to play rough--rear up and smash into the other dog with noises that make you think she wants to rip their head off, but really she's just playing.  5 month old bird dogs are her best buds at the dog park!  Potter just wants to run and really doesn't get why her sister (they are littermates) wants to play. Both girls are tiny, just over 50 pounds--despite supposedly being part wolfhound--so they're not terribly intimidating even with Kaja's play style.

At any rate, I love love love staghounds.  I try not to think too much about how they were raised or how they hunt because I think it's pretty brutal, and all 3 of our girls are/were such sweet, loving, gentle dogs and I'm so glad we were able to rescue them and give them the life they deserve!  Good luck with your girl!  The rescue we got ours from gets quite a few lurchers (greyhounds mixed with scent hounds, as I understand it).  They tend to be used for a specific type of hunting race, whereas the staghounds tend to hunt coyotes.  I have heard that hunters will also use ex racing greyhounds to hunt coyotes, and I believe our current girls' father was an ex-racer (or had a parent who was).  The lurchers we've met from our rescue are cool dogs! Very greyhound looking but, as you say, a little stockier, while the stags tend to be fuzzy, which I think is unbelievably adorable! Here are our two with their birthday toys...

uTL9g_wWdvkAqyMYn8-L9jJGg9srbC27B-z4jwRtmfDF6DdVLdjoklJlpx0gP0xr5wQH0OsG9MB74G9lpnvoHI1q_VVeTDb-rL2Kh6DtwZr_Ypqt3IxK-HFIzvrYf2cFzQWLgz6VJP8IshXb2f5vKjuneiy0G_a_H4BJzoWPLH8cjrFsyfdExv8zoIKNf_4UmDq4XFvxMtVXWcleuCYXyg6gpytQ4Cqhiz5l0ZnpgrgLqfU3N0BZ4RzP9qHk1J0WW4nxXLKvJx-TSC1X-2HEr25oe2w9UQnSyydCBKjyiz__vPM9L-pQzpRUbuQgVka5VzBP-bfcXhBQf0mOLtv8RfuK_GtwJBdFuoLIXFGN35tttZZwLO5YaHU3SoCxikVOeCYaJiOFALoIELvdzBqbzhZhODFk2vhsr8uORKii8Of9H2tqoFLl-tWxuMkD4zsbTn1gmc2WjJMCmJ1GOEKqk4aqrsQD2bLcIo52_zGmp9-X9bqpsRLYIBybk9OoYa62Zbb6DgmvkGHwPr_4aNdVmBq0YE9R88DWN7yM6_qFs-Cui4MbRrJ3f11ZIfZyUs0W3Yo1ssAn39bVP9TLHV3cpZaj58yun6Cx9zlsoeHzblWCmItNsiBeu1YJnRxDFuHMu70FgoDVJ3jWiuiDNpycWrwnTGGfCe-uDTKHKHPpJNr97CKO42wGB7M=w457-h609-no

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It was fun to read your post. It's funny that you said your pups are fuzzy. ( I cant see the pic and dont know if its bc I'm using my phone...) but our girl ,Tesla is softer than any other dog we've had. In the past couple of weeks she has started shedding like nothing we've ever seen before. The term "blowing her coat" suddenly has new meaning! If she lived where her rescuer suspects she was outdoors all the time with only tent like shelter. It gets bitterly cold here so we're hoping that this industrial shedding is the result of moving indoors and that she doesnt get as heavy a coat next winter.  She keeps trying to entice our other 2 to play and Digby, our Aussie mix, has made some tentative play overtures but then gets scared. Maybe this will just take a long time. I would love to see your pups. Do you ever post on Greytalk Facebook page? Thanks for your reply!

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On 2/24/2020 at 10:48 AM, greysmom said:

If you'd like more info about possible history look up the Ohio (or American) Lurcher Project on the web.  They specifically deal with greyhounds and greyhound crosses used for off book and under the table racing/hunting.  They have all sorts of trials and competitions for their dogs and many get cast off when they aren't useful anymore, much like the galgos in Spain.

American Lurcher Project

You can also do one of those new dog DNA tests if you're curious as to what her make up is.  Not cheap, but super interesting, I would bet.

So I followed that link and guess what? I have been to that site and its fascinating! Thank you again for your help!

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22 hours ago, pat said:

It was fun to read your post. It's funny that you said your pups are fuzzy. ( I cant see the pic and dont know if its bc I'm using my phone...) but our girl ,Tesla is softer than any other dog we've had. In the past couple of weeks she has started shedding like nothing we've ever seen before. The term "blowing her coat" suddenly has new meaning! If she lived where her rescuer suspects she was outdoors all the time with only tent like shelter. It gets bitterly cold here so we're hoping that this industrial shedding is the result of moving indoors and that she doesnt get as heavy a coat next winter.  She keeps trying to entice our other 2 to play and Digby, our Aussie mix, has made some tentative play overtures but then gets scared. Maybe this will just take a long time. I would love to see your pups. Do you ever post on Greytalk Facebook page? Thanks for your reply!

I just posted a pic on the Greytalk FB page for you...check out my fuzzy girls! I'd love to see a picture of Tesla!  I hope your other pups start to enjoy her energy and to play with her...I have that hope for my two as well because, despite being littermates, they aren't really in sync with their play styles.

Keep us posted on how Tesla does; I love hearing about other ex coyote hunters enjoying their new lives!

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11 hours ago, pat said:

Have you been watching the response to your pic on Greytalk? It's been really fun. I love all the pics and stories! Thank you for sharing your picture!

Yes!  I was amazed at how many people commented. I love seeing other people's staghounds, too.  We had one stag before these two, Keira, and she convinced us that staghounds are the best dogs ever.  So we were determined to find another after we lost her at age 11 a couple years ago, but we knew they are pretty rare.  So we were thrilled to find our 2 (and now the rescue we got them from gets stags pretty regularly from North Dakota, which is wonderful) and we always love seeing pictures of others!

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On 3/1/2020 at 4:03 PM, pat said:

Do your staghounds shed more than greyhounds? Tesla sheds like nothing  I've ever seen!

I've never had a greyhound so I can't compare, but they really don't seem to shed too much.  Kaja has a longer, thicker coat and Potter's is more sparse and wiry, but neither is what I would consider a huge shedder nor was our first Staghound.  We'll see if any "spring shedding" happens, but so far so good!

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