2010 1st edition. Quiller. Shrewsbury, Shropshire. Large 4to. Pp148. Colour paintings, b/w photographs & ills, bibliography. Green boards. Mint in dust-wrapper.
Notes: A detailed and wide-ranging examination of lurchers and their history as working dogs. Chapters include, historical introduction; the hunter's ultimate performance dog - looking at lurchers, judging a lurcher, selecting the blood, genetics and hybrids; perfecting the blend - value of collie blood, value of deerhound blood, Bedlington input; bull lurcher, boar lurcher, wolf lurcher; sources of speed - hunting by speed, the greyhound, saluki, the whippet, loss of the English deerhound; fielding the lurcher - the show ring dog, hunting the rabbit, bobbery packs, shouldering responsibility, learning about loins; lurcher skills overseas - lurchers of the desert, lurchers of the Mediterranean littoral, lurchers of the Steppes, lurcher of the United States, Australian lurchers; conclusion, keeping the faith - the remarkable survival of the lurcher down the centuries and the need for its maintenance in the future. "No previous book covers comparable hunting dogs worldwide. The book sets out the essential physical and mental characteristics which make a successful lurcher. 'Perhaps the most important living writer about dogs'".
