The Challenge: Who's Got The Fastest Dog In Australia?

[Kirislin]

I havent' heard a whisper about this for NSW/ACT.

Over that distance, I'd expect the Whippets to do well. The bigger sighthounds would probably run them down at about the 300m mark.

Check with Skysoaringmagpie, she'll know if it's being run, or go ask here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1399559963621860/

Each dog runs by itself and will have 2 attempts and it's just a sprint of 100mts

Edited April 23, 2015 by Kirislin

[SkySoaringMagpie]

I havent' heard a whisper about this for NSW/ACT.

Over that distance, I'd expect the Whippets to do well. The bigger sighthounds would probably run them down at about the 300m mark.

Check with Skysoaringmagpie, she'll know if it's being run, or go ask here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1399559963621860/

Each dog runs by itself and will have 2 attempts and it's just a sprint of 100mts

This association is not active in NSW/ACT as far as I know.

There are basically two streams Australia wide. The ANKC recognised lure coursing stream, and number of old and new private clubs who are not ANKC recognised who run a variety of events including track racing and straight drag lure racing in addition to lure coursing. It's not just the hounds, there are a few terrier clubs for example.

The ANKC recognised stream only does lure coursing. The idea is to replicate as far as possible the behaviour of traditional sighthound prey in the field so speed is not the only consideration when evaluating a hound. Other attributes like agility, follow etc come into play and those things are much more challenging for the hound when the course jigs about.

There has long been debate, well before most of us got into this, about whether straight and/or track racing is good for the sighthound breeds if it becomes something you breed for. Because if you breed only for speed over comparatively short distances, you start to lose the other important characteristics of a coursing hound.

That said, there is plenty of track racing in Europe and a close relative of my Bahraini girl absolutely blitzes at it. So if your dog is fast and enjoys it, why not? But it's not lure coursing and the two should not be confused. Speaking personally, my goal is to train and breed athletic, true to type Salukis. To do that you have to balance (sustainable) speed with everything else so it's lure coursing and watching what they do in the paddocks for me rather than the fun events.

[BarbedWire]

This sounds like great fun. My small mixed breed flies. She has outrun a whippet and she can outrun a kelpie if there's a ball in it. Don't live in Vic though. A pity!

eta maybe 100m is a bit far for her though. :)

Edited April 23, 2015 by sarsaparilla

[Kirislin]

I havent' heard a whisper about this for NSW/ACT.

Over that distance, I'd expect the Whippets to do well. The bigger sighthounds would probably run them down at about the 300m mark.

Check with Skysoaringmagpie, she'll know if it's being run, or go ask here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1399559963621860/

Each dog runs by itself and will have 2 attempts and it's just a sprint of 100mts

This association is not active in NSW/ACT as far as I know.

There are basically two streams Australia wide. The ANKC recognised lure coursing stream, and number of old and new private clubs who are not ANKC recognised who run a variety of events including track racing and straight drag lure racing in addition to lure coursing. It's not just the hounds, there are a few terrier clubs for example.

The ANKC recognised stream only does lure coursing. The idea is to replicate as far as possible the behaviour of traditional sighthound prey in the field so speed is not the only consideration when evaluating a hound. Other attributes like agility, follow etc come into play and those things are much more challenging for the hound when the course jigs about.

There has long been debate, well before most of us got into this, about whether straight and/or track racing is good for the sighthound breeds if it becomes something you breed for. Because if you breed only for speed over comparatively short distances, you start to lose the other important characteristics of a coursing hound.

That said, there is plenty of track racing in Europe and a close relative of my Bahraini girl absolutely blitzes at it. So if your dog is fast and enjoys it, why not? But it's not lure coursing and the two should not be confused. Speaking personally, my goal is to train and breed athletic, true to type Salukis. To do that you have to balance (sustainable) speed with everything else so it's lure coursing and watching what they do in the paddocks for me rather than the fun events.

thanks for clarifying. I'm still finding it confusing who's who.... and whether they're friend or foe to each other.

It is just a fun event, I would hope people wont start breeding a type just to win this kind of event. Although I would think it better to breed dogs that can run than breeding purely for trotting around a show ring which I believe many breeders have done for generations without ever testing the ability of their dogs. Back in the day, whippets were required to hunt and race, so I suppose they were dual purpose. These days not many do either. The non pedigree race bred whippet looks different to the pedigree that has evolved to look impressive when it's stacked out and at the trot. Anyway, it's a whole other subject better discussed in a new thread if anyone wants to.

Haredown, you can run your own event if you want, just contact them and they'll send you the information.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

thanks for clarifying. I'm still finding it confusing who's who.... and whether they're friend or foe to each other.

Like any dog pursuit there are politics. Put 3 dog people in a room, get 5 opinions, and all that. Someone in show world said to me a while back that each relationship you have in dog world is your own, not someone else's. So whether they are friend or foe when it comes to each other shouldn't matter, particularly if you are careful to keep it professional. I think the politics would drop back a lot if everyone just concentrated on making what is close to their heart work in their corner of the world and stopped worrying about what others were doing.

[Keshwar]

This sounds like great fun. My small mixed breed flies. She has outrun a whippet and she can outrun a kelpie if there's a ball in it. Don't live in Vic though. A pity!

eta maybe 100m is a bit far for her though. :)

If 100m meters is a bit far over what distance did you dog outrun a whippet? Just wondering.

[Salukifan]

thanks for clarifying. I'm still finding it confusing who's who.... and whether they're friend or foe to each other.

Like any dog pursuit there are politics. Put 3 dog people in a room, get 5 opinions, and all that. Someone in show world said to me a while back that each relationship you have in dog world is your own, not someone else's. So whether they are friend or foe when it comes to each other shouldn't matter, particularly if you are careful to keep it professional. I think the politics would drop back a lot if everyone just concentrated on making what is close to their heart work in their corner of the world and stopped worrying about what others were doing.

Amen to that. It's not Highlander ("there can be only ONE") and people who seem to think there is only enough room for one "right" way to do things have limited vision. If you don't like what a group is doing, do your own thing - there's room. Just don't get into "us and them" turf wars that profit no one and confuse the hell out of a lot of dog owners. Just recognise and respect that different people have different goals with their dogs and different motivations and move on.

Even the idea of a "fastest" dog has a range of possible outcomes. My Whippets would probably do very well over 100m. Over longer distances, they'd be overtaken by the big sight hounds fast enough!!

Edited April 23, 2015 by Haredown Whippets

[BarbedWire]

This sounds like great fun. My small mixed breed flies. She has outrun a whippet and she can outrun a kelpie if there's a ball in it. Don't live in Vic though. A pity!

eta maybe 100m is a bit far for her though. :)

If 100m meters is a bit far over what distance did you dog outrun a whippet? Just wondering.

Yes at the dog park after a ball. I think my dog has border collie in her mix. I can't recall seeing a whippet doing flyball and some of those dogs are fast over a short distance.

eta probably around thirty metres

Edited April 23, 2015 by sarsaparilla

[Kirislin]

thanks for clarifying. I'm still finding it confusing who's who.... and whether they're friend or foe to each other.

Like any dog pursuit there are politics. Put 3 dog people in a room, get 5 opinions, and all that. Someone in show world said to me a while back that each relationship you have in dog world is your own, not someone else's. So whether they are friend or foe when it comes to each other shouldn't matter, particularly if you are careful to keep it professional. I think the politics would drop back a lot if everyone just concentrated on making what is close to their heart work in their corner of the world and stopped worrying about what others were doing.

Amen to that. It's not Highlander ("there can be only ONE") and people who seem to think there is only enough room for one "right" way to do things have limited vision. If you don't like what a group is doing, do your own thing - there's room. Just don't get into "us and them" turf wars that profit no one and confuse the hell out of a lot of dog owners. Just recognise and respect that different people have different goals with their dogs and different motivations and move on.

Even the idea of a "fastest" dog has a range of possible outcomes. My Whippets would probably do very well over 100m. Over longer distances, they'd be overtaken by the big sight hounds fast enough!!

I agree, I just want to see lure coursing get up and running and hope clubs in all States can share knowledge and information with each other. Some have been doing it alot longer than others and their knowledge will be of great help to the States that are just starting out. But we digress, back to "Who's got the Fastest Dog in Australia" :)

[Podengo]

Yes at the dog park after a ball. I think my dog has border collie in her mix. I can't recall seeing a whippet doing flyball and some of those dogs are fast over a short distance.

eta probably around thirty metres

Whippets and whippet mixes are some of the most popular flyball breeds :) Do a youtube search for whippet flyball and you'll see thousands of great videos!

[BarbedWire]

Yes at the dog park after a ball. I think my dog has border collie in her mix. I can't recall seeing a whippet doing flyball and some of those dogs are fast over a short distance.

eta probably around thirty metres

Whippets and whippet mixes are some of the most popular flyball breeds :) Do a youtube search for whippet flyball and you'll see thousands of great videos!

Okay I stand corrected. I don't do flyball. :)

[Diva]

[quote name='Kirislin' timestamp='1429831489'

I agree, I just want to see lure coursing get up and running and hope clubs in all States can share knowledge and information with each other. Some have been doing it alot longer than others and their knowledge will be of great help to the States that are just starting out. But we digress, back to "Who's got the Fastest Dog in Australia" :)

Yes that is one of of the great things about the ANKC recognition for lure coursing, that national mandate gives some structure to the sharing.

I am not much into the short straight racing but am very happy to see it getting people engaged. I have friends in the US who both lure course and straight race, they are pretty different really. But some dogs really enjoy both and I reckon anything that gets people out with their dogs is good.

Edited April 24, 2015 by Diva

[Sayreovi]

Yes at the dog park after a ball. I think my dog has border collie in her mix. I can't recall seeing a whippet doing flyball and some of those dogs are fast over a short distance.

eta probably around thirty metres

Whippets and whippet mixes are some of the most popular flyball breeds :) Do a youtube search for whippet flyball and you'll see thousands of great videos!

Okay I stand corrected. I don't do flyball. :)

In Australia they aren't popular, so it's a safe assumption to make but overseas they are bred for flyball and quite rightly are the fastest dogs running and sometimes are mixed with Borders as well :)

[hankdog]

I'll bring Jake then no one will hear the tollers noise and everyone will run faster. Those pics are beautiful. There's something special about a flying dog.

[Nubbly5]

Our club in WA, LCA, has run 2 "Do You have the Fastest Dog?" Sprints so far this year and will run a couple more. We also hold monthly Lure Coursing for all breeds (and xbreeds too). We basically run the Fastest Dog thing as a fun event and for what the ALCA envisaged it to be - a way to introduce people to the sport of Lure Coursing proper.

It's a great fun sport for any dog that loves to chase. Our guys have an awesome time. There is something so very right about the happy tired dogs after a day of coursing.

Edited May 3, 2015 by Nubbly5

[Kirislin]

Entries closed for our Fastest Dog comp coming up next weekend.

Getting exciting!

An email will be sent off tomorrow night to all those we received entries from. We have 28 dogs entered, so it will be a big day. If you don't get an email by Monday, but thought you had put entries in on the website, please email Belinda at [email protected]

[Kirislin]

A great idea. Hope it leads to lots of pics being posted!

Not sure if I'll be able to take photos. I think I'll be doing other stuff on the day, it's going to be busy. With every dog getting 2 runs we'll be doing at least 56 up and backs, and there's sure to be a few that need more time or an extra run due to technical problems so I expect it will be a very long day.

[Kirislin]

oooh it's getting exciting now. Entries have closed and we've got alot, if we start at 11am we expect to finish around 4.30pm (ish) . It's going to be a long day. Bel's worked out our roster and I'll be able to take photos Yaaaay! Weather forecast is for 19C and SUNNY!! If it stays that way it will be perfect.

[HazyWal]

I had decided to sign Maddie up until I read it was not a fenced area she could end up back in Sydney if she doesn't have a fence to stop her!

[Kirislin]

come along as a spectator and see what you think. It is mostly fenced, it's just that a really determined and disobedient dog could find a way out. To date we've never had a dog escape and we've been there for a few years now. We just tend to err on the side of caution and tell people it's not fully fenced.

If you think it is OK then you can come back for one of our fun days and give them a run.

In case anyone is thinking of coming to watch we wont be doing a bbq this time so you'll need to bring your own picnic lunch as well as chairs, picnic blankets etc. The conditions are very basic....to non existent :laugh: