So Teasel my first Deerhound type is a proper moocher on and off the lead, and so far it seems has no prey drive at all!
She just mooches and if she can be bothered has a little sprint & looks at the beddy girls tearing about & beating each other up as if its all beneath her

We have seen a few rabbits out and about, but apart from a small trot towards one this morning she really is not interested at all, she would just rather walk by my legs and have her ears scritched!

I have been doing a huge amount of reading since getting her, and have had lots of lurchers in the past, but mostly terrier x's (my beddies arnt that bothered by rabbits either!) and it seems that DH's are much like lurchers in either that its pot luck as to if you get one who can be bothered to chase or not, is that the case?

So have i just struck gold with my babe of a rescue girl who's manners we really cant fault or is this pretty normal once they have got over puppyness?

We love her so much, now we cant work out why we havent had a DH sooner

I think its pritty normal for some,
Layla whos only 9 months isnt intrested either, at the game show last sunday
i showed her some baby ferrets, she wouldnt go near them at all,if i had of had my lurcher there she would have wanted them
Laylas just one big wimp, she will however chase motorbikes - as we found out last night
over the fields, the young lads faces was a picture, good job i know them,
Layla will also play chase with other dogs if given the chance, but hates dogs that are ruff with her.
One thing she does love - is her soft squeeky frog, she will play and chase that for hours,
well she did till our chocky ripped it apart lol

Perhaps some deerhounds are hunters & some arn't. Amy is a hunter. She will chase & catch anything that runs/fly's (pheasant, rabbit, etc)in the garden & has done so since she was a pup. When she was a pup she even brought a rabbit that she had just caught into the house , then even worse into my bedroom ! She even sniffs out moles then digs them out - so I have mole hills & Amy craters in my lawn.

Not a bad thing really saves you chasing after them. Mack is interested but Daisy as usual has her nose stuck to the ground and sees nothing. So much for being a sighthound.

Alfie (deerhound cross) refuses to mooch. He is constantly scanning the horizon - real sighthound behaviour.

Bailey (bull terrier x greyhound) and Brodie (pure greyhound) seem to constantly have their noses in the grass and will dig out voles.

They would all catch and kill rabbits if allowed.

I am ashamed to say that a rabbit actually ran through Murrays legs the other evening He was like Doh..whats that!! Carys just copies everyone else and smokey is the only one that sees anything

Given half a chance my two would case anything, on or off lead, makes for some interesting walks! Gx

Our first bitch was very keen, right from the start, but the (younger) dog had to learn it from her. Once he knew what to do, he really got going, so much so that he caught a wild boar. So my guess is that some have a basic instinct, and others have to be taught, although it could be that our dog was just a little slower and would have understood what to do all by himself in due course.

Ben's also a moocher, he likes nothing better than to go for a walk where lots of other dogs have been and just sniff around. As his nose is always on the ground he raely see's anything. If he does then he'll give chase but only half-hearted as he seems to know that they'll reach the hedge before he can. He is very interested in rabbits smells though. He has caught a few rabbits in his time but seems to think that they're squeaky toys.

The terrier is totally different and a walk to him means kill, kill and he usually does, nothings safe from him and woe the neighbour's cats if they're around.

Eris prefers squirrels, Merlot will chase anything,but the puppies have not seen any rabbits yet.

Xena and Lockie have very strong prey drive and will hunt anything that moves. Bree will join in the chase but if on her own we have seen her play and pat a wallaby and escorted it off the property She is such a sweetie

Here it is a mixed bag , too - though 4 of the 5 I had/have all enjoied hunts - 3 are/were really good hunters with lots of drive for most animals , with personal preferences - some prefer bear over deer or coyoyte over everything else a.s.o. , Disa gets the craziest about racoons , will sit long times out in the yard at night to get to chase them up a tree / or keep them up there ( I do have a dogdoor , so she can choose ) .The only one who never really hunted - other than alerting very well to wildlife ( having the best nose of all ) is Na'lee , my most consistent lurecourser , funny enough - went gaga for the plastic and did well , despite not being very well build for that kind of activity . She managed to be top lurecoursing deerhound in Canada for 3 years - now retired though . She caught a few mice when she was younger and chased a few deer , and once a bearcub which she had mistaken for a dog and wanted to say hello to ( I am sure ! ) .
I love to see , when they take of and give chase , it is so beautiful , that I get really emotional and am transported out of any " dark mood " I might be in - much more beautiful than any lurecoursing could be . Despite needing good nerves I am really , really happy , that mine have pretty good instincts still ( 3 have more or less Nelungaloo blood in them , which of course should make them good hunters ) .
I am blessed though to live her , where they do not have a big chance to get much - the bush is so dense and they take off so early/far away , that they loose side usually early on - got to see a few hunts on open hillsides and that is incredible . I am personally not a huntress , do not even eat meat (....) , but the sheer beauty gets me almost addicted to seing them go.

I agree: I hardly eat any meat myself, although I love game, but the chase - be it hare or something else - is a glorious sight; the kill less so.
We had a bitch who used to stalk rabbits, that was downright funny, but then she was a very funny hound, she had sense of humour too!

Our old lurcher laddie taught our dh dog blue to chase and hunt but the instinct was there already and in turn brodie is learning from him although she is still to young (8mths) to be allowed to much freedom on that aspect. I have to keep her in check as she wants to tear of to the horizons in pursuit of blue