Lure Coursing Question

[KismetKat]

A guy I know on another board, his daughter has a saluki she rescued in iraq - they are now living back in the US. I suggested to him she take the dog lure coursing and googled a club nearby where she lives. She thought it sounded fun but said "I have talked to other sight hound owners about it and they said that the dogs can get really ripped up on the wire. (45 mph and wire don't go well together)".

I've never heard of any injuries here. Does it happen? Is the difference that it is done competively in the US where here in Victoria it is just for fun?

[pipsqueak]

i would be very intersted in finding out more about this, as it is the one reason that I haven't taken my dogs lure coursing yet.

[poodlefan]

Are they talking about the wire the lure is attached to or something else?

[Kirislin]

Yep they can get terrible injuries when the wire is fixed, either an up and back loop or a twisty course were it goes around pulleys. They can also get injured in straight or circuit racing but I think the chances are greater with a fixed cable. I am on a US whippet forum and you read about some awful injuries there.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

I don't know about "ripped up" but I have heard of dogs getting cut on the wire/nylon. Toe injuries are more common - like any dog sport, injuries are possible.

If the track is not set up by someone who knows what they are doing and/or the dogs are not in appropriate condition some breeds can also suffer stress fracture injuries. And sometimes sh*t happens. A couple of links:

http://www.bathbrunswickvet.com/library/kneeligament2.html

http://www.dogsincanada.com/the-building-o...eat-lure-chaser

Ultimately it's a personal decision. I am less likely to put just any of my dogs on just any track now but would put them on a public fun day track if they were over the age of 18 months and perfectly fit.

[KismetKat]

So are fun day tracks simpler (and safer) than competitive tracks? I've never seen the sport done competatively so don't know how it is different from when I've gone to coursing days the Ridgie club hold down here.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

So are fun day tracks simpler (and safer) than competitive tracks? I've never seen the sport done competatively so don't know how it is different from when I've gone to coursing days the Ridgie club hold down here.

Don't know the answer to that one, only know that at the fun days I've been to in Sydney the emphasis has been on fun and no dog suffered anything more dire than a sprung toe. Perhaps one of the QLDers will add some words of wisdom.

OH has a heap of different track designs from old sighthound magazines that are labeled as good, bad or indifferent with the explanations about why. Can't link to them unfortunately, as they are all hardcopy. Based on the reading I've done, I understand the breeds that are prone to injury from poor track design are whippets and greys because their recent breeding has been more for straight track racing than the twists and turns you get on a coursing field (lure or otherwise).

[KismetKat]

Thanks anita. Certainly when I've been here the "track' was fairly simple and I suspect, the same one each time. A "run" for an adult dog consisted of two "laps" (for want of a better word).

It was intersting to see on of those links you posted earlier about the condition of the dogs and the need for training - makes me wonder of competitive tracks are also longer aside from being more complex. I also wonder if the injury rate in the US is a lot higher than it is here as I think the only place it is done competitively here is QLD.

Like you, I hope some banana-benders wander into this thread to throw some light on the question.

[MTD]

I am probably not expert enought to comment. I have been to 4 meets now In Qld, the course is a figure of 8.

I haven't seen any injuries to any dogs in those 4 meets, not saying injuries have not occured at other times.

[KismetKat]

a 'bump' in case more queenslanders turn up

[Keshwar]

This is the link to the 1st in a series of articles on safe lure coursing just click on the next installment link on the bottom of each page.

Fascinating reading.

http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/d/ddoggone/Homep.../1-rabbits.html

[Diva]

This is the link to the 1st in a series of articles on safe lure coursing just click on the next installment link on the bottom of each page.

Fascinating reading.

http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/d/ddoggone/Homep.../1-rabbits.html

A good article - I esp like the reference to thinking about how real prey run in designing a course.

Back in the late eighties/early nineties when I was more in touch with the breed overseas I heard of several Borzoi killed coursing, it was very rare but it did happen - sometimes from running into an obstacle or a bad fall. Didn't hear much about them being injured by the wire.

[Elfin]

We lure-course our dogs with the Deerhound Club of Victoria.

The dogs chase a straight lure, either in a paddock on some strong nylon, or at a greyhound track with a fixed lure.

Apart from the very occasional sprung toe or ripped toe-nail, I have never heard of any serious injury. There may be a higher incidence of injury on course that is not straigh, but I cannot comment on that as I have no personal experience.

We race competitively and there is the annual CAV Plumpton Cup, held each June, with some fantastic prizes.

All breeds are also invited to join us, and we have a lot of Borzois, Whippets and Jack Russells that really enjoy racing.

Unfortuately there is no Coursing Champion title here like there is in Europe. It is a great way to allow sighthounds (almost) perform their original purpose!

[KismetKat]

This is the link to the 1st in a series of articles on safe lure coursing just click on the next installment link on the bottom of each page.

Fascinating reading.

http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/d/ddoggone/Homep.../1-rabbits.html

That is fascinating - thanks for digging it up.