Why Long Dog?
A frequent question posed by many needleworkers who purchase Long Dog Samplers is "why call it Long Dog?". The answer is simple. The Long Dog or Lurcher happens to be the breed of dog - more accurately cross-breed of dog - favoured by designer Julia Line. During the 1970s and 1980s Julia owned a number of Lurchers. It wasn`t until 2009 that another joined the family. Although rare outside Great Britain and Ireland, Mouche was bred in the south of France in the Gers Departement. According to Lurcher folklore she has now progressed through the "tyke" and "sapling" stages to become a fully-fledged adult Lurcher.
The arrival of Mouche prompted Julia to commission this superb watercolour from English artist Elle J Wilson whose ability to capture the spirit of an individual dog is quite uncanny. Elle`s website is a must-visit for any dog lover and can be reached by clicking on the link below
In the foreground can be seen the family bears - Faithful and Faith`s Daddy. You can discover more about them at:
The lurcher is a hardy crossbreed sight hound noted for its intelligence and speed. The name derives from the Romani “Lur” which means thief and is a noted characteristic of this type of dog as the photo above illustrates which was taken shortly after an ice cream carton went missing. There are no set rules for this type of dog which can be as small as a whippet or as large as a deerhound. Typically male lurchers weigh in around 30 kg while females are around 25kg. While lurchers are thought to have been around since the middle ages, it was Queen Elizabeth I who banned commoners from owning greyhounds - deemed to be a hunting dog suitable only for nobility. As a result greyhound crosses became the choice of commoners as they were not thoroughbred and, therefore, valueless.
A Long Dog is more specifically a cross between a greyhound and a deerhound - two sighthounds. They originated in Ireland and were often favoured by Irish tinkers for poaching purposes. Lurchers on the other hand are usually a cross between a sighthound and a non-sighthound. The Saluki greyound is especially prized for hare coursing, while the deerhound/greyhound cross is the favoured choice for fox and deer hunting in the British Isles. The most common combinations are the Greyhound/Collie and the Greyhound/Terrier crosses. Mouche is classed as an Exmoor Lurcher because she has a Greyhound/Deerhound/Bedlington Terrier ancestry.
Video: click here for Mouche and the sprinkler
Video: click here for Mouche and a snowy day
Video: click here for Mouche and her adopted puppy
Above: Julia Line and her Long Dog camionette called "Chalky" now used as a mobile kennel.