Lure Coursing tomorrow

Joey did so well And my little spaz mutt got a chance to play after all the sight hounds went, and she loved it as per usual.

We got lucky with a gorgeous day of low 60's weather. Perfect for hanging out in the rolling hills of Leesburg!

Random question - how do you know if your dog will be interested?

Boo loves to chase (and sometimes catches) squirrels, but has little interest in chasing toys. Do you ever see people who bring a dog and the dog just looks at the lure like "whatever" and ignores it?

Sounds like a fun day though!

YES. TONS of dogs show no interest, or run for 20 yards and then turn around and run back. A lady had a couple Salukis today who didn't even flinch when dogs raced past them chasing the lure.

Lucy has very little interest in toys, but would jump off a cliff to get a squirrel. She LOVES the lure. Try it once and see what Boo does!

You should definitely try it once. Wait till you see the video of Joey... he doesn't take off after the lure right away. I ended up running with him to get him going and then he realized he's supposed to chase it. He was quiet for the most part earlier in the day when dogs were running... it wasn't until after he had his chance to run that he decided to bark excitedly watching the next couple runs.

There were quite a few sighthounds there that didn't chase it at all or went a little bit and then came back like Caliterp said.

You take them and give it a try

Some adult dogs who haven't been exposed to chasing games or who've had a lot of training need more than one exposure or to run with my experienced dogs to get their confidence up that they are allowed to chase it all the way.

Savvy got his first two CA legs easily but failed one run last weekend because he stopped chasing half way through, pooped and came back to me LOL. The second run he did better but he still tends to want to check back with me when he gets too far, probably because I have been really working on his recall/checking in lately. When he's chasing, he's really fast and intense so with him it's just a matter of exposure and him knowing what he's supposed to do. He did get his CA but I ran him again with Whim, who is very keen to chase no matter what to encourage him to see it was ok to be so far from me. The local coursing people here are very friendly and helpful, if you have a dog with the interest and instinct but who is having a hang up they will try to help you work with them.

Jagger used to go coursing years before it was an all breed sport but hadn't been for a long time when we went to the first CAT. His recall is extremely good and the first try he was excited and started real strong but you can almost see him go..."wait a minute...not allowed to do this" and turn back to me. I started him again and told him "ok get it!" and he easily passed. I just have to remember to release him with "ok get it", so he knows he is allowed So different dogs are different and need different things. Some dogs start easy, fast and only get better and better with each new try. This is how most of the Belgians have been. Some dogs who start slower or have a lot of interest but not confidence in it being ok to go so far away need more exposure but can become great at it. And some dogs are really good at it but develop issues down the road. A friend of mine has a Beardie who does love it but he gets very distracted by the pulleys and stops dead to inspect them every time he notices them. He requires the lure operator really keeps the lure at an optimal distance for him, to keep him interested in moving.

hmm it sounds really interesting! Is this a weekly thing? Also, what's the protocol with sighthounds vs. non-sighthounds? Sorry for so many questions! I'd love to see the video

They're fairly few and far between. The only venue non-sighthounds can officially compete in is the AKC CAT (Coursing Ability Test). Everything else is sighthounds only, and most allow everybody else to just play afterwards for a nominal fee (but with no chance of titles or anything).

CAT events: http://classic.akc.org/pdfs/events/coursing_ability_test/CAT_Upcoming_Events.pdf

Otherwise, I'd just find a lure coursing club in your area, and stalk the local events. This one was put on by CHAMP (Coursing Hounds Assoc. of the Mid Potomac) http://www.champlurecoursing2.org/

I was wondering the same thing -- I really don't think Jackson would care about it, but he could surprise me. He is VERY interested in squirrels and rabbits, etc, and will chase them, but not so sure about something non-living.

Had a great time? How was Joey's performance? Wish there were pics/videos.

As said, there's the AKC CAT but the Mixed Breed Club also offers a mixed breed junior courser title and local chapters work with local lure coursing clubs to put on tests and fun runs. I would check the Mixed Breed Club website to see if there is anything in your area. Here in St. Louis, they offer runs in the spring and fall.

Some clubs will let you practice after one of their events, although I don't feel right about just showing up, expecting to run, I'd rather volunteer during the event. The advantage is meeting a lot of nice people, seeing lots of cool sighthounds and learning the ins and outs of coursing.

Riley is the first dog I've owned who's shown any interest in chasing the lure. All of my other dogs had no interest in chasing a piece of plastic on a string and they all had pretty high prey drives - they just wanted real prey.

I was wondering if my dogs would be interested. Upon arrival, I walked over to the fence separating the course from the parking lot. My dogs saw a little dog chasing something and they were ready to go! It's a good thing I had a gold hold on them. They could have easily overpowered a weaker person!