The Sporting Lucas Terrier is an energetic, intelligent, and friendly breed. But how do you know whether you are ready to purchase a pet and if this breed is right for you? This information is absolutely necessary in making the decision to purchase a pet.
History
The origin of the Sporting Lucas Terrier can be traced back to early 20th century Great Britain, when breeder Sir Jocelyn Lucas began experimenting with crossing various Terrier breeds. Lucas eventually crossed the Sealyham Terrier and the Norfolk Terrier, and the Sporting Lucas Terrier was finally born.
Throughout its history, the Sporting Lucas Terrier has been most commonly used for hunting, tracking, flushing out, and retrieving small game such as rabbit and raccoon, proving its superior abilities to work endlessly with providing enthusiastic and warm companionship.
Today, while the Sporting Lucas Terrier has attained an underground popularity as a hunting and companion dog, the breed remains rather rare outside of its native Great Britain.
Personality Traits
Best known for its energetic and outgoing nature, the Sporting Lucas Terrier prefers to keep busy with work and play during the day time. These dogs thrive on strong and dependable relationships with humans, love to receive attention and praise from their owner. This breed is very intelligent and generally easy to train. As a pet, the Sporting Lucas Terrier is obedient, loyal, loving, and affectionate. The Sporting Lucas Terrier is not suited for full-time indoor or apartment living, as it enjoys spending time outdoors, playing games such as fetch and tug-of-war, and having plenty of room to roam, run, and play.
Train-ability
Due to its eagerness to please and impress its owner and willingness to learn, the Sporting Lucas Terrier generally responds well to basic training and commands. This intelligent breed has the ability to learn to perform most any task its trainer is willing to take the time to teach.
Establishing immediate trust and respect is key to successfully training the Sporting Lucas Terrier. These dogs can be somewhat sensitive to criticism and respond best to positive reinforcement and reward-based training.
Benefits and Disadvantages of the Breed
There are many benefits to owning a Sporting Lucas Terrier, such as its no hassle, low maintenance coat. This curious and outgoing breed is always on the move, and is often quite amusing and entertaining to watch while at play. These bright dogs are obedient by nature, easy to train, and capable of learning to perform many impressive tricks and tasks. When properly socialized from a young age, the Sporting Lucas Terrier gets along well with children and other pets, known for its sweet and gentle approach to small children and its ability to make friends quickly with other animals due to its social nature. The Sporting Lucas Terrier is obedient, loyal, loving, and affectionate, making an excellent hunting dog, family pet, and companion alike.
Unfortunately, there are also disadvantages to owning a Sporting Lucas Terrier. These active and athletic dogs require large amounts of daily exercise and room to run and play outdoors. Anyone wishing to purchase this breed lacking the adequate amount of time and space to dedicate to the dog is strongly advised against doing so. A Sporting Lucas Terrier not receiving the proper amount of exercise and space will often act out by destroying property, chewing, digging, barking, whining, and ignoring basic training such as housebreaking.
The Sporting Lucas Terrier has a strong instinct to hunt and will occasionally indulge in a good chase. When on the run, these small dogs are surprisingly quick, and may pose a threat to other animals, neighborhood pets, and small woodland creatures. This breed must be leashed or properly secured at all times when outdoors.
As previously mentioned, the Sporting Lucas Terrier remains rather rare outside of its native Great Britain and can prove difficult to obtain. Individuals seeking to purchase this breed often encounter such challenges as inability to locate a breeder, extremely high prices, and being placed on long waiting lists.
Common Health Concerns
While the Sporting Lucas Terrier is typically known as a healthy and hearty breed, they may suffer from a few health problems, including: patellar luxation – dislocation of the knee, elbow dysplasia, entropian – folding inward of the eye lid, ectropian – folding outward of the eye lid, chronic ear infection, and various dental issues.
Now that you know all about the breed, do you think you are ready to own a Sporting Lucas Terrier? Remember, purchasing a pet is a big decision and should be discussed thoroughly and seriously with your entire family.
Sources:
http://sportinglucasterrierclub.com
http://www.puppiesanddogsforsale.com/dog_breed_info/sportinglucasterrier.asp
