Lure Coursing

[Guest redfeather2006]

Hello all! I was wondering if anyone here does lure-coursing with their Greys? I was looking into it as an energy outlet for my future potential greyhound so I figured I'd ask

[TheFullHouse]

There are several people here on GT who do lure coursing. We'd do it but there are no lure coursing events close to us.

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

I took 2 of mine about a month ago.

1 ran the full course and was fine. The other ran half the course as he has a known ankle injury that can flame up if he runs too hard for too long.

 

Heather V (Kennelmom) does lots of coursing and I'm sure will have tons of info.

 

Biggest thing you want to keep in mind. 1) know your dogs history. Meaning if they had any track injuries learn about those and educate yourself about them. For example just cause a dog tore a muscle while racing doesn't mean they couldn't course.

 

2) have your hound fit and ready to run. A non fit hound is going to be sore and can risk injury

3) listen to the other lure coursing people.

 

Injuries can and do happen while coursing. Know that ahead of time and ask yourself, are you willing to handle and take that risk with your hound.

Ducker, even running just a half course managed to totally rip off his dew claw.

Pooh ran the full course and had line burn on 2 of her ankles.

[Guest KennelMom]

Everything she said ^^^

 

I love it...just keep in mind it's not really a sport for a weekend warrior type of hound. You really do need to keep your hound in proper condition to prevent injury and, well, because it's a pretty physically demanding sport. The conditioning is probably a better outlet for an energetic hound than the sport itself. Good recall is also really important as most lure trials are not in fenced fields. I'm not sure where you are located, but it may also be something that involves travel to participate in. The furthest I've gone is about 18 hours to get to a trial...those were pretty special events though. Most of them are 2-3 hours away, which makes for really long days when you have to be there at 9am. I don't do two day trials often anymore, so a field trial day for me starts at 5am and I usually get back home around 7pm. But, it's a fun day for the hounds and I've met so many wonderful people, learned tons and had lots of fun.

 

Obligatory pic of my girl Echo. She's a fiend.

 

 

Sometimes you even win pretty ribbons and trophies

 

OTOH, I have a hound that retired from lure coursing after a pretty dramatic foot injury that ultimately required a toe to be amputated and lots of money spent with a specialist trying to rehab the foot. I still lure course, but injuries can happen and you need to be prepared to deal with them. Of course, we've had injuries at play group and in our own back yard....sometimes it's just the nature of owning an athletic breed who can do things their bodies can't quite handle. Darn phyics

Edited April 4, 2010 by KennelMom

[Walliered]

I am a new greyhound owner, but do not understand why you would lure course a dog when there is such a big chance of injury??

[Guest KennelMom]

Because it's fun. Because the dogs love it. As I said in my earlier post...we've had injuries at play group and in our own back yard. These are athletic dogs. ANY time they run, there's a chance they're going to get hurt.

[Guest redfeather2006]

Thanks for all the info! And great pic, KennelMom, she looks REALLY into it

 

I agree that no matter what the situation, a dog can always get hurt, just like I could get hurt falling out of bed just as much as doing a 6 mile ruck march (I do those...the army is crazy!) I think it's definitely something I'd like to get into in the future, but not right away.

 

KennelMom, what did you put around Echo's ankles? I imagine that's probably to help prevent line burn (which sounds painful), just thought I'd ask.

[Hubcitypam]

Just asked Elaine to chime in.

 

she and Laurel strive to have the most well rounded dogs -- show ring, NGA, lure coursing, etc. That is what having a sighthound is all about if you are dedicated to advancing the breed.

[Guest gecko_foot]

These are athletic dogs.

 

Can you remind Tumnus that he's supposed to be athletic? Almost every time I try to get him to run, he stares at me like, "I'm retired...Forget running!" He's a low prey drive kind of guy.

 

ANY time they run, there's a chance they're going to get hurt.

 

Tumnus is a clutz. I've seen him fall down a hill while running. It was muddy, and he was fine afterwards. I, on the other hand, was about to hyperventilate from laughing at him.

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

I am a new greyhound owner, but do not understand why you would lure course a dog when there is such a big chance of injury??

If you ever took your dog to a lure coursing event, even just to watch, it will quickly become apparent why people lure course their hounds.

They LOVE it, or should I say most do. They bark and jump and just plain go crazy at all the excitement and the thought of getting out there and chasing something. What they have been born and bred to do.

 

Anytime you or your dog does something physical there is a chance of injury. You as the human just have to weigh those chances and make up your own mind for you and your dog.

It's not something for everyone and every hound and that's ok

[Guest KennelMom]

redfeather - that's just some vet wrap around her legs and you are right, it's to help prevent line burn. I actually rarely ever wrap her anymore and don't seem to have any issus with line burns, plus she runs MUCH better unwrapped. New dogs I usually wrap and if there's no difference in how they run, I will wrap them.

 

These are athletic dogs.

 

Can you remind Tumnus that he's supposed to be athletic? Almost every time I try to get him to run, he stares at me like, "I'm retired...Forget running!" He's a low prey drive kind of guy.

 

Sometimes it's just a matter of the right motivation. Echo will run like mad all on her own, just doing figure 8's in the yard. Bindi (in my sig) will only run if 1) she can chase something or 2) she can race another dog. I've only seen one retired racer who wouldn't lure course. Ironically, she was an AA racer and stakes winner from Wheeling.

Edited April 4, 2010 by KennelMom

[Sighthounds4me]

I have not done lure-coursing yet, but plan to later this month with my 'zoi puppy.

 

BUT, the best advice I ever got, about lure-coursing is, get the book Sighthounds Afield By Denise Como. It's huge, it's involved, but it has a TON of very important information, from conditioning, to first aid, and more.

[Guest redfeather2006]

Hmm, I figured that's what those wraps were for, but that's a good idea for just starting out!

 

I'm going to have to look up that book, especially if I'm going to take lure coursing seriously. I don't think I'll travel 18 hours to an event unless I absolutely have to, but something tells me I will anyways because it's fun

 

It all depends on what dog I get. I'm looking into senior dogs (for the local rescue, it's 8 years and older), since a lot of people seem to want the younger dogs, so we'll see what happens and who I get!!

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

One thing you may want to try to start with is LGRA (if you are worried about the chance of injury, or if your hound has particularly poor recall), it is lure coursing, except its a straight line drag. The distance is typically 150 to 200 yards in a straight line. I took my girl Olive to this about 6 months after she retired, she was a NUT!!! I had to put her in the truck when she wasnt running because whenever she saw other hounds running (whippets, afgan hounds, etc.) she would bark, lunge, spin, jump. She loves it. That is why people with retired greyhounds take their hounds to coursing events. I have 3 and foster 1 on a regular basis, and I am more worried about all 4 hounds running around my back yard then my one hound racing another in a straight line after a lure.

 

Chad

[Guest burgerandfrey]

We would love to get our hounds into some coursing, but yeah... it's about a 2 hour drive or so for us since most events around here seem to be south of Seattle. Maybe we will looking into it this Spring and Summer. It would be fun just to go and see the events. We walk, hike, and run our dogs regularly so they are in good condition... but yes injuries can happen. Our previous greyhound was very active and even as a senior she liked to chase the tennis ball. We knew her well enough to know when she had enough and it was time to call it a day. Our current greys are young and active, but we are still careful to watch for signs of slight injuries that could be made worse by more running. If we see even a brief limp that's it for the day. Our favorite place to run them is a fenced in baseball diamond. The ground is so perfectly flat and free of debris that they have fewer slips than they have in other parks and fields. It's also a huge place and we can use a ChuckIt to launch tennis balls off into the outfield. They just love it, but of course there are often teams practicing or playing and we have to go elsewhere.

[Maddiesmom]

The first time i took Maddie to lure coursing, I had to hold her very tight when the lure went off. She was ready to go right after it and it was not her turn. In between the times she was coursing she would be in her xpen and we would call her the "whack a Mole" as she would bounce up and down in the pen (like the game "Whack a Mole" where the mole bounces up and down in different spots) when the lure went off (and we were a ways from it) Finally we had to block her vision of the lure with cars as she was so excited to course.

 

It is fun, but it is long days (if you do day trips like we did) but you have a dog that having a blast and is so tired by the end of the end, they will sleep through the night (at Least Maddie did). We drove about an 1 1/2 hours to Camden, SC.

 

Here is a pic of Maddie lure coursing- she is the red fawn in the lime green.

 

 

[Guest LindsaySF]

I don't do lure coursing (yet?), but I do LGRA. If you are worried about line burns LGRA might be a better choice because the lure and the string stay up ahead of the dogs and the dogs don't travel along the line when running. There is still the potential for line burn or getting tangled in the line at the end when they "catch" the lure, but they aren't running alongside the line like in coursing.

 

Good luck on your future adoption.

[gazehund]

I have not done lure-coursing yet, but plan to later this month with my 'zoi puppy.

 

BUT, the best advice I ever got, about lure-coursing is, get the book Sighthounds Afield By Denise Como. It's huge, it's involved, but it has a TON of very important information, from conditioning, to first aid, and more.

 

Doggie Dodger's next event is at Denise's house here in upstate NY.

Lindsay............no greyhounds pre-entered as of yet.

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

Doggie Dodger's next event is at Denise's house here in upstate NY.

Lindsay............no greyhounds pre-entered as of yet.

Want me to drive up with Duck and Pooh?

And Nancy, don't be a wimp with the heat. DD says the heat in NY is nothing compared to AR so he's game if you are

 

And Lindsay, question on the line burn. Is there no line behind the lure?

I've never been to a LGRA event so have no idea what they are like.

[Guest LindsaySF]

And Lindsay, question on the line burn. Is there no line behind the lure?

I've never been to a LGRA event so have no idea what they are like.

Correct, no line behind the lure. The line is in front of the lure and at the end of the track there is a pulley to bend the line 90 degrees, and then another pulley off to the side of the track (behind the border tape) to bend it another 90 degrees. The line returns to the lure machine which is also behind the poles and tape.

 

At the end of each race someone has to walk the lure back to the starting position (I believe in lure coursing and in NOTRA the lure machine just has the lure continue on and make a full revolution around the track to the starting point).

 

 

In this photo Nancy took you can see the line bending (the first pulley is right before that orange cone). The lure is stopped way before the cone but some dogs have a long run out and reach the line.

 

 

 

 

 

In this photo (from 2008 but the same race site) you can see the ladder where the lure operator stands, it's about mid-track on the left side. Next to this ladder is where the lure machine is and where the line starts. (The starting box is right behind where they are hand-slipping this dog for a practice, and the finish line is where that woman wearing black is way at the end on the left).

 

 

 

 

So the only place the dogs will encounter the line is at the end when the lure stops. Most dogs go right over the line during the run out, the problems happen when they start grabbing the lure with their paws and then they circle around it before you can pull them off, sometimes they get tangled there (Teagan is notorious for this ). I hope this helps!

 

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

[Maddiesmom]

My mistake - we do the LGRA- not the lure coursing- I get the two confused all the time.

Edited April 6, 2010 by Maddiesmom

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

It does help and thanks.

I was trying to figure it out and wondered how they got the lure back to the starting point if it wasn't a continuous loop.

Makes total sense now

[Guest KennelMom]

You can find the rare club that will run a drag lure for lure coursing. It takes longer because the course has to be restrung after every run and you have to have a 4 wheeler to do it so it doesn't take forever...even so it takes a lot longer than continuous loop takes to run. That can be a challenge if at a large trial or if the days are shorter like in the fall/winter. LGRA is just a straight line and much shorter so it's a lot easier to run drag in that set up.

 

They ran drag at the ASFA greyhound specialty last year...

Edited April 6, 2010 by KennelMom

[gazehund]

Doggie Dodger's next event is at Denise's house here in upstate NY.

Lindsay............no greyhounds pre-entered as of yet.

Want me to drive up with Duck and Pooh?

And Nancy, don't be a wimp with the heat. DD says the heat in NY is nothing compared to AR so he's game if you are

 

And Lindsay, question on the line burn. Is there no line behind the lure?

I've never been to a LGRA event so have no idea what they are like.

 

YES!! Does DD know either Ducker or Pooh? I want to say they were all at different tracks. Well, I know Pooh was.

Yep, I raise my hand and confess I am the wimp with the heat. Hate, hate, hate it. DD walked right out easy peasy after his race and shower.

Me? Not so much.........

Everyone is expected to work the event and I totally agree with that. Standing out in a hot sun is not something I look forward to. Yep, wimp all the way.

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

Duck and DD ran at SL at the same times so they do know each other.

Pooh, she was at Mobile and B'ham

 

and Ducker might give DD a run for his money in straight line.