#Lure Coursing

[doginprogress]

Ponzi got 1st place in Open at lure coursing today, snagging the last two points she needed for her Field Champion title!! 🎉

[intriga-hounds]

frolicking

[bandizoi]

Zsa Zsa at her first lure coursing trial

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

So proud of Myx for winning Best Junior Courser and earning her Junior Courser (JC) title today!

She won food and $20 so it’s great that she can finally help pay the rent! Honestly what a Girl Boss for winning money by Running So Fast and Good.

Also the reason she won is because there were plovers in the field and she still wanted to murder the plastic bag instead of the birds. I was kind of amazed we were awarded Best because I missed the “Tally Ho” twice due to Myx yelling for plastic bag murder in my ear.

The judge asked if I was hearing impaired in the nicest way possible and I was like “yes” because of my sensory issues. But anyone would be hearing impaired with the sound of a whippet banshee scream in your ear.

Just god’s perfect princess goblin living her best life 😍👍👑

[laur-rants]

Pup went and got her QC this weekend (Qualified courser). Chased that lure like she's been doing it her whole life. She ruuns in her first ever open tomorrow, and again in the next weekend. I couldn't be more proud of her; please enjoy this video of full on lure coursing!

[southerntchiorny]

Peach Blossom Cluster CAT pictures

[wyrddogs]

Lure coursing practice this weekend. The child has graduated to running half the course!

I need to come up with a better catching system. It's twice now that he's brought me to my knees and dragged me a few feet because he doesn't want to stop murdering the plastic bag. XD

[nekonotaishou]

Lure coursing image for Tokotas. Tally ho!

[stinkybrowndogs]

Ohohoho you can also grab one of these custom fastCAT/ Lure coursing bumper stickers for 25$ usd on my ko-fi here!

[whippetcrimes]

When you're finally up next

[doginprogress]

Ok. Let’s talk lure coursing safety.

A pretty awful accident occurred during the lure coursing at UKC Premier this past week. I wanna make it clear that I cannot and will not be passing any kind of judgement on what happened. I was not there, I do not know many details other than the owner themselves called it a freak accident.

And the truth of lure coursing is that even if/when things are done perfectly, this kind of accident is always a possibility. There is a certain amount of risk you must weigh and decide to take when you decide to let your dog lure course.

1. Mechanical Risks - like with this accident, there is always the possibility for injury when coming in close proximity to a thin, tensioned wire running at speeds upwards of 30+ mph. Line burns on paws and lower legs are not uncommon, and many dogs run muzzled to prevent them from cutting their mouths when trying to bite a moving line. Azula has gotten tangled and line burnt after the line, loosened by wet conditions, popped off a pulley mid run. I myself have scars from some pretty awful line burn after a freak accident while setting up the field.

To help mitigate this risk, the huntmaster should always have a knife or scissors on hand and should be closely watching the dogs running so they can cut the line and release tension at any sign of a tangle. The lure operator should be highly trained and also be keeping out for any sign of danger so they can stop the lure when needed. As a competitor, make sure you are aware of the line at all times. Not only where it is, but when it is and isn’t moving. I try to never move my dog over a moving line, and when I am moving over a line, I am either taking extra tall steps or stepping on it to make sure I don’t trip (but, DO NOT step on a moving line). Try not to grab a line unless absolutely necessary and never ever ever grab a moving line - you will cut through your hands.

2. Other Dogs - lure coursing is one of the few (maybe the only?) dog sports where multiple dogs are competing at the same time potentially hundreds of yards away from their humans. It’s a high arousal and highly competitive environment, and this can lead to conflict between dogs. Sometimes this can be mitigated with muzzles and sometimes the dog should simply not be participating in lure coursing. If it is your dog that is aggressive and putting others at risk, please do not run them in the Open or Specials stakes. Dogs can have just as much fun running in singles and no title is worth potentially endangering your dog and others by running a dangerous dog.

However sometimes the risk comes simply from dogs running together at high speeds. Dogs can unintentionally bump into or trip each other, I’ve seen dogs leap over another in the field, tumble into each other while slowing down, and run into each other when they’re paying too much attention to the lure and not enough to the other dogs on the field. Sometimes unintentional contact happens and it’s important to recognize that too. There’s really not much that can be done in those cases.

3. Field Conditions - heat, rain, snow, height of grass, dry ground, rocks, trees, and the course plan itself can all pose issues when running. The club running the event should be continuously assessing these and doing what they can to alleviate the effects, but there’s a lot that you have to judge for yourself and what you know about your own dog. Wrapping paws or soaking them in water can help minimize injury due to dry ground, soaking a dog in water can help keep them cool on hot days, and knowing how your dog may handle tight turns can help you evaluate whether you should enter based on the plan for the course.

Fields with numerous trees or other obstacles are dangerous for dogs who may be paying more attention to the lure than their surroundings. If you’ve never been to the field before I highly suggest talking to someone was has to get a feel for what to expect.

4. Honest to God Freak Accidents - sometimes shit happens. A dog steps into a hole no one noticed and breaks their leg. A group of deer pop onto the field and your dog takes off after them, disappearing for hours. A dog with no prior indications has a cardiac event mid run, and is gone before anyone can even process that they’ve stopped running.

Sometimes there is absolutely nothing that could have been done differently and things just happen. It unfortunately is part of life and something that can be so hard to accept. Occasionally, there is no rhyme or reason, no blame to lay. When you go to that coursing event and run your dog, you’re entrusting that a lot of the risk has been mitigated for you by those running the event. That’s why it’s so important to know who that is and what experience they have.

But beyond that, you are assuming some amount of gambling by participating in lure coursing. The sport itself has dangers that cannot be managed away. But so does agility, and flyball, and disc, and dock diving, and any other sport of any kind. This does not mean that any of these things should be discontinued, but that you should not take any of these lightly and consider the risks vs the rewards, both personal and for your dog. Lure coursing has unfortunately become fairly available to do on a whim in recent years when it is truly something you should be heavily educated about before choosing to participate.

[intriga-hounds]

ponzu practice

[petrichorpaws]

the process of a noodle

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

My happy girl on the lure coursing roller coaster! She loves this sport so much!

Photos taken by Janetsmaddogs (source)

[scrunglydogblog]

Run boy run!

Photos taken by our friend Megan Lundberg ❤️🌼