As a by-product of possessing good dogs, many Doherty bred lurchers and longdogs have been produced over a span of nearly 30 years.

DEERHOUND X GREYHOUND
This first cross longdog is probably the most versatile F1 and breeds truer to one type than any other first cross mating.  Aesthetically they are exactly what would be expected from the mating of deerhound with a greyhound.  There are only two colours that can come from this mating, brindle is dominant but blacks can appear. Brindle colourations can range from various shades of brown to grey. Bill & John never produced any three quarter bred hybrids, as they believed the first cross was a more versatile, sounder longdog, but this in no way bemoans the three quarter bred, as some longdogs from this mating are excellent workers, and useful all-rounders.

  The size of first cross deerhound x greyhounds is always going to be large, but the average height and weight can range depending on the breed of the deerhound and the size of the greyhound.  DOXHOPE bred first crosses were always smaller than their contemporaries, mainly because the smaller, lighter DOXHOPE male deerhounds were always used as studs.
Coat ranges from short/broken to a longer broken coat, ideal all weather protection, with the skin below it hard/tough which doesn’t tear easily.
There is probably less litter waste-age in litter of this first cross than from any other first cross hybrid. Temperament in most cases throws to the deerhound side, and they are never aggressive or suspicious making this cross a favourite, safe, excellent pet or companion as well as worker. Deerhound x greyhounds can make useful all-rounders, but rarely great all-rounders, but again when compared to other first cross matings, they rank near the top.  First impressions to some, they may appear "soft", but soft they are not, they are demon takers of foxes, probably one of the best first crosses for this vocation, possessing speed to out-strip any fox and the stamina to take many in one nights work or a number of outings per week.  Unlike some other first cross hybrids, deerhound x greyhounds rarely give in or "quit".  They possess the temperament to run rabbit after rabbit on hard nights on the lamp.
Deerhound x greyhounds usually do well at lurcher shows, epitomising the term, "longdog" as they are rarely short-coupled.
A lot of lurcher owners can get disillusioned with these crosses when they are young, they are by dint of nature, slower to come on, especially when compared to some of the smaller available first cross composites or lurcher x lurcher matings. A great many sapling deerhound x greyhounds must have been sold on before the age of 12 months, only for the new owner to reap the rewards of securing a dog that was just about ready to go to work. Most examples of this cross will take hares, especially in areas where grit, determination, speed and agility replace stamina.

Two Doherty bred lurchers, the black bitch is Yella, mother to the fawn.

LURCHERS x LURCHERS.
Bill Doherty not only kept good lurchers, he produced them too, where his original aim was to breed lurchers that would be classed as "all-rounders". That is, dogs that could perform most of the tasks and hunting vocations Bill was interested in, such as lamping, ferreting, net work, bushing/mooching, taking hares/foxes and deer. In the county of Northumberland there is a very large cross section of game available to the aspiring lurcherman, so it is not viable for most hunters to possess one dog for rabbits, one for hares and so on. Lurchers living in this area when Bill started were produced to cope with this myriad of hunting disciplines. These dogs are, by all intense and purposes, "all-rounders". Within this type there are however good and poor examples, as there are in any type of dog. Bill Doherty’s original lurchers were noted, by many, as being good all-rounders.

Another mother and daughter pair of Doherty bred lurchers

Bes, the start of Bills line bred lurchers
The strain began with Bes, a bitch bred from a first cross deerhound/greyhound mated to a very useful lurcher x lurcher (with collie blood) noted for her stamina and brains. His first breeding alternative was to mate Bes to one of the best local stud lurchers of that era, Billy Mercel`s dog Paddy. This breeding approach worked in the short term, then Bill, guided by his father John, began to line breed his dogs, this technique helped to consistently produce what Bill was after.
On average, bitches from Bill’s strain level out around 22-24 inches at the shoulder, and weight between 40-45lb when fit, ideal sizes for all-round lurchers. Dogs from the breed were slightly larger.

Bill regularly states he has only witnessed 5 dogs over 30 years that he would class as "great all-rounders", and all of these were lurcher x lurchers, or "Bitza`s" as some people call them, but his standards are set high, "better too high than too low".

From the union of Paddy and Bes, Bill retained a black rough coated bitch that he named Kit. Although this lurcher was only twenty-four inches at the shoulders, she was a demon when hunting larger quarry such as roe deer and fox. Kit was barren and never came into “season”. Her hunting reputation grew, and this was to be her downfall, she was stolen in 1990.
To continue his line of all-round lurchers and a breeding plan coached by his father, Bill obtained a black bitch pup from a litter sired by Kit’s litter brother, Cap. This bitch was called Yella, she was a reincarnation of her grandmother Bes, and for a long time she was one of the top lamping bitches in mid to north Northumberland. In a nights work she accounted for over fifty rabbits on no less than thirty occasions. Yella possessed incredible stamina and speed, traits pre-potent in Bills lurchers; she was kept mainly for the hunting of this humble quarry, so it should be no surprise that she accounted for less than twenty hares in her working career.
Bill obtained a number of litters from Yella; the best puppy was probably a blue bitch that he originally kept back for his self, Sophie. This bitch was later passed on as a favour to a very good friend, Kevin Hale from Bedlington in Northumberland. Kevin was keen, and his enthusiasm reminded Bill so much of his when he was just branching into the world of ‘lurcherdom’. Such a blend of pure raw passion, dedication and a well-bred dog saw Kevin take Sophie into pole position in the local lurcher world. This little blue bitch still holds the record tally of rabbits taken on one nights work with the lamp in the mid to north Northumberland area, eighty-one! On the same night this phenomenal haul was taken, her mother Yella, at the ripe old age of eight took eighty. Indecently, Sophie also accounted for two hares on that same outing.
 

An example of Bill’s standards set for his dogs. 

As a typical example to the amount of work done by Bill Doherty and his fellow lurchermen, and the volume of game taken by their dogs (some tallies which still remain as records in the mid-Northumberland area) here is an extract from one of Bill’s many record books, which have been religiously maintained since the 70`s. These not only hold Bill’s own dogs records, but also every dog belonging to others which he has had the pleasure to have hunted with.

1995, September.

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NB. Mention of hunting any quarry other than rabbits, was done before the ban of hunting with dogs acts came into force.