A lurcher is a crossbred dog resulting from mating a greyhound or other sighthound with a dog of another type such as a herding dog or a terrier. The lurcher is not a "breed": the term is a generic descriptor of a diverse group of dogs. They're known for being loyal, fast, and versatile. For hundreds of years, lurchers were strongly associated with poaching; in modern times, they are kept as hunting or companion dogs.

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Lurcher is an old English term for a crossbred dog; specifically, the result of mating a sighthound with a dog of another type, typically a working breed. The term was first used with this meaning in 1668; it is considered to be derived from the verb lurch, apparently a variant form of lurk, meaning lurk or steal. The tendency to "wrench" and "cut" rather than "course" was considered to be unfair and a violation of "The Law of the Leash."

In England from 1389, the right to keep a dog of any kind used in hunting[note 1] was limited by law to those qualified by possessing lands, holdings, or income worth more than ten pounds per annum; in other words, royalty, nobility, the gentry, and the wealthy. This law, though repeatedly modified, remained in force until 1831.[1] As a result, hunters and poachers bred sighthounds with breeds that could disguise their sighthound bloodline, often under thick rough coats, whilst adding other abilities including intelligence, stamina or turning speed. The dog chosen for this could be an available farm dog, often a collie or terrier.

In the nineteenth century, the word was used to describe some rough-haired regional greyhounds, which were banned from competition by coursing clubs such as Swaffham and Newmarket, due to the perception that they cut "turns" to kill instead of working the hare to gain points.