A N K C Now Recognises Lure Coursing

[Kirislin]

I saw this on facebook. Congratulations to all who made it happen.

The ANKC Lure Coursing Working Party announced that the National Lure Coursing Rules have been adopted by the ANKC, to commence in January 2015 (refer to Item 20 of the minutes now available on the ANKC website). This now means that Lure Coursing will now be an official sport in Australia, with rules based on the ASFA system, and were modified to suit local conditions and dog populations.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Kirislin

[Steph M]

That is just so fab!

[Rebanne]

exciting!

[CrazyCresties]

Yes I saw this today too, very exciting indeed :) Unfortunately non Sighthounds apart from Rhodesian Ridgebacks and Basenjis can't compete for Lure Coursing Titles, but they can obtain Coursing Ability titles.

eta link to the rules http://www.qldsighthoundassociation.com/lure-coursing-rules-and-regulations-proposed.html

I'd encourage anyone to have a go, it's a great fun sport and certainly in our club in WA all breeds are welcome and have a great time :)

This is Poppy and Chewy running as a pair at our most recent meet.

Edited November 11, 2014 by CrazyCresties

[grumpette]

I saw this on facebook. Congratulations to all who made it happen.

The ANKC Lure Coursing Working Party announced that the National Lure Coursing Rules have been adopted by the ANKC, to commence in January 2015 (refer to Item 20 of the minutes now available on the ANKC website). This now means that Lure Coursing will now be an official sport in Australia, with rules based on the ASFA system, and were modified to suit local conditions and dog populations.

That is brilliant. It takes so much effort and time to get overseas sports recognised here in Australia. It is the same when you are trying to get different breeds included as eligible breeds to compete. It took over 10 years for Rottweilers to be allowed to compete in herding.

Again a brilliant effort by all those involved. Roll on January 2015.

[trinabean]

Yes I saw this today too, very exciting indeed :) Unfortunately non Sighthounds apart from Rhodesian Ridgebacks and Basenjis can't compete for Lure Coursing Titles, but they can obtain Coursing Ability titles.

eta link to the rules http://www.qldsighth...s-proposed.html

I'd encourage anyone to have a go, it's a great fun sport and certainly in our club in WA all breeds are welcome and have a great time :)

This is Poppy and Chewy running as a pair at our most recent meet.

It looks like so much fun CC. Friends of mine are regulars at the West Coast lure coursing, mainly running Boxers (plus the odd Frenchie or Rotti added to the mix). I keep meaning to take Bruno for a try, haven't made it there yet.

[CrazyCresties]

You should come along Trina, it is always such a fun day. The boxer gang did so well with their fancy dress at the last meet :D The next meet is members only and the last one of the year before the summer break, but keep an eye out on their website and fb page for the start of next year's season.

http://www.wcds.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/242717789174231/

[Tibbie_tabbie]

Trina - I think I know your friend....and may have met you...

Are you a boxer breeder? Did you come to WA earlier this year for the Rugaas seminar?

If not ignore me haha!

Chewy loves racing with Poppy :) Much more fun with a friend!

[trinabean]

Trina - I think I know your friend....and may have met you...

Are you a boxer breeder? Did you come to WA earlier this year for the Rugaas seminar?

If not ignore me haha!

Chewy loves racing with Poppy :) Much more fun with a friend!

Tibbie_tabbie I'm not a breeder and sadly didn't attend the seminar but the friend who lure-courses did.

She is a rather awesome Boxer breeder. It sounds like you've met. :D

[Penny Loves Cavs]

Hi all!

I read the rules for Lure Coursing with great interest, as I am always keen to try new things to do with my Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

We got to have a go on a lure today at our big canine Christmas market at KCC Park, and my middle boy, who has zero prey drive, went after the lure like the clappers! It was funny and sweet to watch!

My question is:

Someone advised me that it would be unwise to do lure coursing with an Obedience dog (I participate in Obedience and Rally with my guys), as it could stuff up their Obedience work completely.

Does anyone here have any thoughts or advice on this?

I have no experience of lure coursing outside of the little "fun run" we did today, and I would hate to ruin my guys for the Obedience ring.

[Starkehre]

Yes I saw this today too, very exciting indeed :) Unfortunately non Sighthounds apart from Rhodesian Ridgebacks and Basenjis can't compete for Lure Coursing Titles, but they can obtain Coursing Ability titles.

eta link to the rules http://www.qldsighth...s-proposed.html

I'd encourage anyone to have a go, it's a great fun sport and certainly in our club in WA all breeds are welcome and have a great time :)

This is Poppy and Chewy running as a pair at our most recent meet.

It looks like so much fun CC. Friends of mine are regulars at the West Coast lure coursing, mainly running Boxers (plus the odd Frenchie or Rotti added to the mix). I keep meaning to take Bruno for a try, haven't made it there yet.

And the Rotti would be Haley's Chaos. I know he is doing really well and they are having a blast :)

[Starkehre]

Hi all!

I read the rules for Lure Coursing with great interest, as I am always keen to try new things to do with my Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

We got to have a go on a lure today at our big canine Christmas market at KCC Park, and my middle boy, who has zero prey drive, went after the lure like the clappers! It was funny and sweet to watch!

My question is:

Someone advised me that it would be unwise to do lure coursing with an Obedience dog (I participate in Obedience and Rally with my guys), as it could stuff up their Obedience work completely.

Does anyone here have any thoughts or advice on this?

I have no experience of lure coursing outside of the little "fun run" we did today, and I would hate to ruin my guys for the Obedience ring.

Dogs understand context very well. These sorts of comments are thrown around often regarding all sorts of disciplines ruining others... Herding dogs can't track, too much stock in paddocks. Show dogs shouldn't be taught to sit, cause then they won't stack properly. Can't do agility with herding dogs because agility is pointing, herding is blocking. It all absolute rubbish.

If a trainer/handler is good at what they are doing then the dog should have no issues adjusting to doing any amount of different disciplines simultaneously. I've always mixed disciplines and never had any problems. In fact it is a great way to test your training skills :D

Edited December 14, 2014 by Starkehre

[SkySoaringMagpie]

Someone advised me that it would be unwise to do lure coursing with an Obedience dog (I participate in Obedience and Rally with my guys), as it could stuff up their Obedience work completely.

Does anyone here have any thoughts or advice on this?

I have no experience of lure coursing outside of the little "fun run" we did today, and I would hate to ruin my guys for the Obedience ring.

Actually, I think the reverse can be the issue. Lure coursing was designed by sighthound people who wished to test their dogs' field ability without live prey. For a sighthound, the willingness to work independently at a distance from its owner is critical to being successful. We have found that dogs who have already been obedience trained to rely on their handler for cues, particularly those breeds bred to work closely with humans, can find it tricky to transition to lure coursing. For example, I have witnessed a mutli performance titled RR get onto the field and once the lure started running, he turned back to his owner for guidance. This dog is no dummy, but he is so close to his human, and so used to working with her in more structured contexts that he found just belting after the plastic bunny a step too far. With some short runs, and some careful management he eventually realised he could "go" and it was OK.

Also *wave*. If you are in NSW, I am your rep for lure coursing on the NSW Sporting Committee. You can join the FB group for NSW here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/880871155286150/

I will send the link to this thread to the Chair of the ANKC lure coursing committee, I know help is needed in all states except possibly QLD to get things moving. There will no trials in individual states unless people are prepared to pitch in to get it going.

[silentchild]

Actually, I think the reverse can be the issue. Lure coursing was designed by sighthound people who wished to test their dogs' field ability without live prey. For a sighthound, the willingness to work independently at a distance from its owner is critical to being successful. We have found that dogs who have already been obedience trained to rely on their handler for cues, particularly those breeds bred to work closely with humans, can find it tricky to transition to lure coursing. For example, I have witnessed a mutli performance titled RR get onto the field and once the lure started running, he turned back to his owner for guidance. This dog is no dummy, but he is so close to his human, and so used to working with her in more structured contexts that he found just belting after the plastic bunny a step too far. With some short runs, and some careful management he eventually realised he could "go" and it was OK.

This is so what my dog would do. I was watching the lure coursing today and there was a whippet that, halfway through running after the lure, realized he was getting a bit too far from the handler and turned to run back for guidance. I thought out loud to myself I could completely picture my girl doing that as she never likes to stray far from me.

Penny, we might be going along to a few of the lure coursing sessions at KCC next year to try Breeze out on it, you should come along. :)

[SkySoaringMagpie]

Yes I saw this today too, very exciting indeed :) Unfortunately non Sighthounds apart from Rhodesian Ridgebacks and Basenjis can't compete for Lure Coursing Titles, but they can obtain Coursing Ability titles.

I cannot trial my Salukis in a range of ANKC recognised breed specific disciplines (herding, RAFT, earth dog etc). I think this is completely appropriate. My Salukis were not bred for any of those disciplines, and those disciplines would not add anything to my breeding program, especially to my assessments about whether my Salukis were fit for function.

Lure coursing is not just chasing a bag on a string. It was designed by sighthound people for sighthounds, for their physical characteristics and their breed specific aptitudes. In most countries the only breeds who can compete are sighthounds. I think some respect should be shown to the sighthound people who worked hard for recognition, because they were prepared to include an all breeds stream, understanding that other breeds had an interest. They could easily have just put up a proposal that was sighthound only.

Edited December 14, 2014 by SkySoaringMagpie

[WoofnHoof]

My sibe loves lure coursing, I wish the club was closer, he thinks it's awesome to actually be able to chase stuff, not much opportunity for that at home :laugh:

[Kirislin]

something I've wondered about with lure coursing is the way the turns are set up. Do the course setters try to mimic how a hare or rabbit really jinks or do they just put corners in to suit the field and if so is there more or less likelihood of a dog being injured by the way the course is designed as compared to if they were chasing live game? I also worry about the line and pulleys at the corners. Do dogs injure themselves much on them. I've only ever tried on whippet on lure coursing and she was so good she took the driver by surprise and caught the lure several times. That was my (now departed) Penny who was a very successful racing whippet and naturally very agile.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

something I've wondered about with lure coursing is the way the turns are set up. Do the course setters try to mimic how a hare or rabbit really jinks or do they just put corners in to suit the field and if so is there more or less likelihood of a dog being injured by the way the course is designed as compared to if they were chasing live game? I also worry about the line and pulleys at the corners. Do dogs injure themselves much on them. I've only ever tried on whippet on lure coursing and she was so good she took the driver by surprise and caught the lure several times. That was my (now departed) Penny who was a very successful racing whippet and naturally very agile.

Lure coursing is not risk free, but there are ways to set up turns and courses to minimise the risk of injury in a fit, well conditioned hound. Very sharp corners should not be used because not even hares and rabbits jink the way some courses are set up. Corners are not put in just to suit the field, the track is laid with a view to minimising injury and maximising performance - so, for example, there is usually a combination of long stretches and shorter stretches with turns to test the five things lure coursing judges are looking for: Agility, Endurance, Speed, Enthusiasm & Follow. When setting the track allowance also has to be made for the terrain and the weather conditions. We are using the guidelines for course design published by the American Sighthound Field Association, unfortunately this document isn't publicly available because ASFA keeps a tight hold on its copyright but I think there are other articles online which talk about the good, the bad and the ugly of course design.

One thing I will mention is that injury risk is heightened if the dogs are unfit and/or overweight just as it is in sports like agility. This is a really taxing sport, and no matter how good the course design, if the dog is not fit and strong, the likelihood of injury will go up.

Sorry, forgot to address the pulley/line injury risk aspect. While I have seen dogs kick the line off a pulley I have never seen a serious injury, tho' doubtless they may have occurred at some point. There are a lot of people watching the runs, including the lure operator and the hunt master and the judge. The minute there is a problem the line is stopped. But as I mention above, lure coursing is not risk free, nor is any other dog sport risk free.

Edited December 14, 2014 by SkySoaringMagpie

[Kirislin]

something I've wondered about with lure coursing is the way the turns are set up. Do the course setters try to mimic how a hare or rabbit really jinks or do they just put corners in to suit the field and if so is there more or less likelihood of a dog being injured by the way the course is designed as compared to if they were chasing live game? I also worry about the line and pulleys at the corners. Do dogs injure themselves much on them. I've only ever tried on whippet on lure coursing and she was so good she took the driver by surprise and caught the lure several times. That was my (now departed) Penny who was a very successful racing whippet and naturally very agile.

Lure coursing is not risk free, but there are ways to set up turns and courses to minimise the risk of injury in a fit, well conditioned hound. Very sharp corners should not be used because not even hares and rabbits jink the way some courses are set up. Corners are not put in just to suit the field, the track is laid with a view to minimising injury and maximising performance - so, for example, there is usually a combination of long stretches and shorter stretches with turns to test the five things lure coursing judges are looking for: Agility, Endurance, Speed, Enthusiasm & Follow. When setting the track allowance also has to be made for the terrain and the weather conditions. We are using the guidelines for course design published by the American Sighthound Field Association, unfortunately this document isn't publicly available because ASFA keeps a tight hold on its copyright but I think there are other articles online which talk about the good, the bad and the ugly of course design.

One thing I will mention is that injury risk is heightened if the dogs are unfit and/or overweight just as it is in sports like agility. This is a really taxing sport, and no matter how good the course design, if the dog is not fit and strong, the likelihood of injury will go up.

Yep, I understand the risks of injury in any dog, but more so, an unfit dog (I successfully raced whippets for years and was a professional greyhound lure driver) but I have wondered about the course design at some events. Whether the person setting it up really knows what they're doing. I couldn't say I'd recognise a good design from a bad one. I'm not criticising the lure coursing being recognised as a sport, in fact I'm pretty thrilled about it. That's unfortunate the ASFA doesn't want to share their course info. You'd think in the interests of dog safety and the promotion of the sport they'd be happy to.

[DeltaCharlie]

Yes I saw this today too, very exciting indeed :) Unfortunately non Sighthounds apart from Rhodesian Ridgebacks and Basenjis can't compete for Lure Coursing Titles, but they can obtain Coursing Ability titles.

I cannot trial my Salukis in a range of ANKC recognised breed specific disciplines (herding, RAFT, earth dog etc). I think this is completely appropriate. My Salukis were not bred for any of those disciplines, and those disciplines would not add anything to my breeding program, especially to my assessments about whether my Salukis were fit for function.

Lure coursing is not just chasing a bag on a string. It was designed by sighthound people for sighthounds, for their physical characteristics and their breed specific aptitudes. In most countries the only breeds who can compete are sighthounds. I think some respect should be shown to the sighthound people who worked hard for recognition, because they were prepared to include an all breeds stream, understanding that other breeds had an interest. They could easily have just put up a proposal that was sighthound only.

Just to add to this, people need to realise that it was designed for sighthounds, to test the suitability of dogs for breeding programs and to offer a more breed specific avenue for breeders to take (similar to herding, earthdog etc). It is the best simulation possible without using live rabbits (or lions :laugh: )

Taking note of that, people with other breeds do need to be vigilant. The courses are set to minimise injury risk to sighthounds, corners etc are placed with this in mind. My BCs love lure-coursing, and I enjoyed taking them when I lived in Sydney. However, they do not run in straightlines after the lure, they are constantly trying to "herd" it and will cut corners in anticipation and find themselves running a line that would never have been anticipated by the person who set the course. It can bring them through large holes in the ground etc that may never have deliberately been avoided (if it wasn't for the pesky working dogs!) Just something else to keep in mind. They have been generous enough to allow all breeds to participate, but never forget that this is not what the other breeds were bred for, it is just a fun activity for them. I think it is great that more and more breeds in Australia are having breed-specific sports to participate in :)