# Lure coursing!



## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Renji had his first shot at lure coursing tonight, and even before we got him to the gate I knew he'd be a natural. While we were setting up, DF (Dear Fiance) held onto Renji, and the operator began to move the lure. Insta-focus! He zeroed in like a heat-seeking missile and began lunging and yipping. Good sign! Then all the dogs began to show up and it progressively got crazier and crazier, but Renji did awesome throughout. I'm proud and also astonished to say that he was one of the better controlled (both self and by us) dogs there. This is a HUGE brag for him as everything was much more loose than a normal class, so much going on, dogs lunging at the ends of their lines and barking, so for him to behave how he did was nothing short of a miracle. Good for Renji! 

At least one person had to run with their dogs to get them going. They did very well running the course.







The course was set up more like a Russell Racing course, not a sighthound course, so there were sharp corners, the lovely orange snow fencing, and low jumps. When our turn came, I just let him loose when the operator began to move the lure and holy moly did he ever know what to do. He raced along like a greyhound (or a hungry wolf on the hunt), on the first run I think he missed some jumps but on the second and third he got them all, and he ran like an old pro. On the final corner he did keep overshooting but once he saw the lure get away from him he gave a few big frustration barks and quickly got back on track, then made sure we had a difficult time catching him! But he ran well, and in between his turns he was stellar. 

Go Renji! I think we have another lure coursing addict.







No pics, though, we ran at night. Just in time for the cool breezes and the mosquito/harrier jet hybrids.


----------



## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

Awww, no pics, that's too bad! I love lure coursing and would love to see pics...
I've done some with my Golden (Ginger) but she is not very good, she will only chase the lure if I have them put it further out in front of her-- if she is too close to it she realized it's a plastic bag and stops.









We've also done the type that is like Terrier Racing. They called it "Steeplechase" and it was a lot of fun. However when we did it they had several dogs racing so every dog had to wear a basket muzzle and Ginger kept stopping halfway through the course to scratch at the muzzle. There was a Rottweiler at the event who was a natural and even when it wasn't her turn she kept trying to take off into the course!

Here's a pic of Ginger starting a course:


----------



## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Yes, what we did was steeplechase (one at a time, thankfully) so there wasn't really any good photo ops. Plus, Renji went too fast.










Ginger looks good on the course! Smart dog- I think if I realized I was chasing a plastic bag, I'd stop too! I would have loved to see a rottie run. There was a standard poodle on the course tonight but the owner had to run with the dog. It would have failed a lure coursing title but it would have gotten a beautiful BH heeling pattern.


----------



## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Hey - that field looks familiar!!











> Quote:if she is too close to it she realized it's a plastic bag and stops.


Tell Ginger we now use REAL bunny fur along with the plastic bag. Heck - I've even put tennis balls on the line!!

We'll do whatever it takes to get a dog excited about running.


----------



## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

A nice different post. My son's wild child did it for the first time this last weekend, and it was fun. Great to hear your dog did well.


----------



## nysirk (Apr 15, 2008)

What exactly is lure coursing? It sounds like alot of fun, We have been looking into some sort of sport for our pup Dexter, Dock diving and Shutzhund seemed perfect for him but theres no clubs or trainers in my aera it would be a good 2 hour drive to the nearest Shutzhund club, and dock diving with all the water around here i can't believe i can't find a club. Theese are things i would never try to teach on my own without an experienced trainer helping, Ha i betcha theres prob no lure coursing around here either, is it something that requires a good trainer to teach? Just wondering what exactly sounds like they work from there prey drive, which this pups got alot of. we can always do agility there are clubs for that around here, i just thought all that jumping would be bad on his joints and hes not yet full grown so we can pursue that one just yet. I Would love to learn more about lure coursing.


----------



## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: Lauri & The GangHey - that field looks familiar!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hey Lauri actually I'm pretty sure you were there when that photo was taken-- in fact I think you ran your group right after Ginger finished her run. Unless of course there is someone else in the area with GSDs and a dog named Winnie who feeds raw... That photo was from a few years ago.

Ooh I didn't realize they use bunny fur now... Now that might be something Ginger would get excited about! She loves to chase rabbits. It's too bad they didn't use tennis balls on it when I took my terrier mix, he loved tennis balls and maybe he would have chased it then.





> Originally Posted By: nysirkWhat exactly is lure coursing? It sounds like alot of fun, We have been looking into some sort of sport for our pup Dexter, Dock diving and Shutzhund seemed perfect for him but theres no clubs or trainers in my aera it would be a good 2 hour drive to the nearest Shutzhund club, and dock diving with all the water around here i can't believe i can't find a club.


Lure coursing is a lot of fun, it involves the dog(s) chasing a lure on a line around an open field. The lure is most often a plastic bag, but when it's zipping across the field many dogs think it is an animal. There is not really any training required unless the coursing area is unfenced and in that case a good off-leash recall is needed. Usually either the dog will chase the lure or they won't. It is traditionally a sport for sighthounds only, but recently there have been several groups opening to allow all dogs to compete. Even if there is no all-breed group in your area often the sighthound groups will have "fun days" where any breed/mix can try it out (just no titles.) Steeplechase is like lure coursing only the course is straight, there is usually a starting gate and then a sort of tunnel (usually a stack of hay bales) at the end. The dogs have to chase the lure over a number of jumps to the finish line. It is most commonly done with Jack Russells and is called "terrier racing" but some organizations have it available to all breeds.

You can find info on lure coursing here:
http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/activities/lurecoursing.html


----------



## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

http://mybitofearth.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/dsc03686.jpg

What we did looks a lot like that except the jumps were agility-style jumps with low-set bars and only one dog ran at a time. It's awesome.


----------



## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

Lure coursing is a ton of fun, and as someone after me mentioned it you know what that is all about give it a shot. Around my neck of the woods there is little or no charge for entering your dogs. 

The SCH training is great, and a two hour drive is probably worth it if you think that is the type of shepherd you have.

Dock Diving, expensive, unless you have a high end jumper.

My son,s labs and I have been in all three, 

For just plain fun, go with lure coursing.

For SCH, you need a German Shepherd that is great in four different categories, and the training can be expensive.

ditto with Dock Diving, but if the Dog likes water few Shepherds are involved, and he/she could do well. They have a best of breed contest and it could bode well for the GSD.


----------



## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: Chicagocanine
> Hey Lauri actually I'm pretty sure you were there when that photo was taken-- in fact I think you ran your group right after Ginger finished her run. Unless of course there is someone else in the area with GSDs and a dog named Winnie who feeds raw... That photo was from a few years ago.


It's a good bet I was there ... it's MY house!









Was it at a BARF on the Farm party? That was the first time our gang was introduced to the lure. Our boy Tazer loved it so we ended up buying the equipment and starting our own club!!

[quote = nysirk]What exactly is lure coursing?[/quote]
Lure coursing is a sport that was designed to test the natural abilities of the sighthound breeds - greyhounds, whippets, salukis, etc. These are dogs that were bred to have the desire to chase things they saw moving (hence the name SIGHThound). The lure (usually a plastic bag but we also use rabbit fur and toys) is attached to a continuous loop of string that is run around pulleys and over a motor. The pulleys guide the line and the motor makes it go.

A sighthound course usually starts at about 600 yards. (Our field can only do about 150 - 200 due to the limited size.)

The dogs are judged on several factors - speed being only one of them. The fastest dog isn't always the winner.

Most sighthound clubs will not allow non-sighthounds to run. Non-sighthounds cannot compete in AKC or ASFA events.

But ANY dog that has the drive to chase can run the lure! That's why we started our club. And this year we had our first trial!

You can see videos of our boy Tazer running on our website: http://www.lurecoursingfanatics.com/lurecoursing.htm


----------



## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: Lauri & The Gang
> It's a good bet I was there ... it's MY house!
> 
> 
> ...


Oh I didn't realize it was your house LOL... Anyway I think you were right there-- I think you brought your dogs into the field just as Ginger finished her run. 
It was the Shiba rescue fundraiser, I think it was the first year? Possibly the second.

Dog Scouts of America also offers a badge in lure coursing (steeplechase too) and they are open to all breeds/mixes. Unfortunately when I tried to get Ginger to earn the badge at Dog Scout Camp she decided she only wanted to race until she got to the last turn and then she stopped each time, so we didn't get the badge.


----------



## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

We went again on Monday and Renji is getting completely overstimulated by the sight of the equipment. If the bag so much as twitches, I have a lunging, whining, SCREAMING maniac on the end of the leash. It's a struggle to control him but he does manage to keep his wits about him until it's his turn...

...man, that sucker takes off like a catapulted fighter jet from a carrier and flies through the course LOOOOW to the ground. Even the lure operator was amazed at how close to the ground he gets when running after the lure. I really need to find a camcorder so I can video him running. Oh, I finally got to see afghans run the course! I couldn't see them at their full, natural speed as the course is very small, not at all like a true sighthound course, but they are gorgeous and possess great hunting instinct! They anticipate and cut corners like a good hunter, but of course that's not what they want in lure coursing. However, if they ever needed to hunt down some deer or antelope, they'd have no problems.


----------



## TRITON (May 10, 2005)

That sounds very fun...I'm sure my Parsons would love it


----------



## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

YES Trish. The course is modeled on terrier racing. And judging by how fun it is to watch on TV, I think your russells would go gonzo over coursing.


----------



## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO (Oct 4, 2006)

that's so cool!! go renji showing those sight hounds how its done!

i've been wanting to try it...where did you go?


----------



## jake (Sep 11, 2004)

I felt soo great when I brought my retired racing grey to his first lure cousing-I never saw him so happy.Never realized GSD did coursing too.Will def see what is out there although I am sure my dog would chase a real rabbit not so sure he would chase lure especialy AFTER first try!


----------



## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

a club in southington ct used to have a fun nite monthly, and offered lure coursing,,my gsd's LOVED it,,it was tons of fun watching all the different breeds participate, wish there was more of it offered around here!


----------



## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Mikko, we go to The Canine Center in St Cloud, the link is in my signature. They have it every other Monday right now but they may move it to every other Friday, I'll find out when we actually start going on a different day.







$5 if you already take classes there, otherwise it's $10 for three separate runs. I know it's a bit of a hike for you but hopefully you can come down sometime to try it. 

Ttalldog, ANY dog can lure course so long as they have the prey drive present, the desire to chase. Lauri and the Gang's cocker spaniel lure courses like a pro.







Jack Russells excel at it, cattle dogs, any dog, just so long as they enjoy the chase. If yours will chase a rabbit, there's a fair chance he'll chase the lure. 

Diane, lure coursing definitely needs to be more widespread. The equipment can be pretty expensive, unfortunately. I looked at some the other day and a good set up can easily cost a grand, plus there's the issue of having enough field space to course (SAFE field space- must be fenced high enough to contain the larger sighthounds). Ours is a small one, definitely designed more for the medium-sized dog and smaller. It is a blast watching the dogs, especially at the starting line! It's great to see who goes gonzo at the start, and it's also funny to see the handlers that run alongside their dogs, jumps and all, just to help them through the course.


----------

