6 minute read
Lure Coursing
AFGHAN HOUNDS
– Julie David, Secretary Dogs Queensland (Lure Coursing Subcommittee)
Man has been hunting game with the help of his dogs throughout history and coursing has a long history. Paintings in 4,000 year old Egyptian tombs depict coursing with long-legged hounds.
Lure Coursing is currently one of the fastest growing ANKC dog sports, with dogs of all breeds competing in trials.
The modern version of Lure Coursing was developed in the early 1970’s by Lyle Gillette and other California Sighthound fanciers whose developed coursing with a mechanised lure as a safer, more controlled sport, recreating the physical requirements of open field coursing, and allowing them to continue testing the functional capabilities of their dogs.
Lure Coursing in most countries is limited to Sighthounds – dogs that traditionally hunt by sight. In Australia, Lure Coursing is not restricted to Sighthounds only and allows for all breeds to compete (including mixed breeds). The lure used in Australia is made of strips of white plastic bags tied to a rope which is run around spindles and pulleys on a mechanised loop, especially designed for this task. It is a continuous loop which travels in a pattern,
dogs hunted jackrabbits in open fields. They imitating the zig zag movement of a rabbit or hare being chased over an open field and ends up back at the starting point.
A course is usually run over 600 metres – 1,000 metres and the dogs are judged against five scoring criteria, to give a total score out of 100: • Enthusiasm (15 points); • Follow ( 15 points); • Agility (25 points); • Speed (25 points); and • Endurance (20 points).
Lure Coursing is a wonderful sport for fit, healthy dogs that have a love of running and the ability to sight and follow a lure.
Lure Coursing has been running in Queensland since the 1980’s and it was the founding members of the Queensland Sighthound Association, formed in 2012, who played a large part in the development of the rules and regulations which were first recognised and came into effect on 1 January 2015. After working with the first edition of the rules (with minor amendments) for five years, the current set of rules came into effect on 1 January 2020 and are available on the ANKC website.
The ANKC Lure Coursing Rules have been written to include two streams in Australia: the Sighthound stream and the Coursing Ability (CA) stream for all other breeds. The rules also allow for dogs on the Associate Register to compete in the CA stream.
The Sighthound stream includes the following breeds: Afghan Hounds, Azawakh, Borzoi, Deerhound, Greyhound, Ibizan Hound, Irish Wolfhound, Italian Greyhound, Pharaoh Hound, Saluki, Sloughi and Whippet. Basenji and Rhodesian Ridgebacks are also included in this stream and are eligible to compete for Sighthound titles.
Lure Coursing is a sport where you can train pups from young to be excited by chasing a plastic bag, but for the most part, it’s pure instinct.
There aren’t too many physical requirements for the handler at a coursing trial, but you must be able to hold your dog back at the start to avoid them breaking early, and with some dogs it’s like holding back a steam train! It’s also very important to have reliable recall so that you can call your dog back at the finish of the course.
All dogs compete to pass the Junior Courser title. This is a prerequisite for all other titles. The dogs are not scored, but rather the Judge decides on a pass or fail basis, on the dog’s ability to lure course successfully.
All dogs must qualify with a minimum of two JC qualifications, then be able to show that they run clean (e.g. not try to play or interfere) with another dog to be eligible to compete in Lure Coursing trials.
PORTUGUESE PODENGO
WHIPPETS COURSING IN TRIO
RHODESIAN RIDGEBACKS HUNTING THE LURE
BADGER WAS TITLED IN LURE COURSING IN THE USA, SO WAS ABLE TO ASSIST THE FIRST AUSTRALIAN ANKC LURE COURSERS TO QUALIFY
SALUKIS
SALUKI
COCKER SPANIEL
AMERICAN STAFFORDSHIRE TERRIER
The Sighthounds compete for titles from Senior Courser, Field Champion (Singles, Open, Veteran), through to Lure Courser Excellent (Singles, Open, Veteran). Dogs in the CA stream compete for titles from Coursing Ability through to Coursing Ability Master.
Chasing an artificial lure is not an instinctive behaviour for some dogs. Some breeds were bred to hunt live game, not plastic bags, and some were not bred to hunt at all. Genetics seem to play some part, so you might look for a litter where there are proven lure coursers in the pedigree, but this is still not a guarantee.
Perhaps a better guide is the dog’s personality and attitude. Is your dog active and alert and confident? Does your dog watch leaves blowing along the ground and other quick moving objects? Are they keen to chase them? If the answer is yes, there is a good chance that you may be watching a future lure courser. This isn’t fool proof though. Some ball mad dogs lure course, some don’t. Some dogs who don’t ball chase, lure course like speed demons!
There are now several clubs affiliated with Dogs Queensland that will be running ANKC Lure Coursing Trials: • Queensland Sighthound Association Inc • American Staffordshire Terrier Club of Qld • Belgian Shepherd Dog Club of Qld
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BREED FEATURE Labrador Retriever p8 SEPARATION ANXIETY Helpful tips p14 FIRST AID Choking p16 DOG AGILITY Canine Fun p18
AZAWAKH
Dalmatian Association of Qld Inc
Whippet Club of Queensland
Brisbane Lure Coursing Club Inc
As with other Dogs Queensland activities, the Lure Coursing enthusiasts have had to cool their heels in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we are happy to say that we are slowly working at getting back to a “new normal” with some training days and hopefully even trials in the coming months. The various clubs have been able to source other grounds to run training days and trials and we are all looking forward to being able to run on the Lure Coursing Field at Durack in the near future.
SPECIAL BREED FEATURE ADVERTISING Breeders* are invited to advertise in the following Breed Features for the remainder of the year. Cost is only $100 for 1/4 page. For more information and bookings, email barbara@dogsqueensland.org.au
SEPTEMBER 2020 BOXER
OCTOBER 2020 PAPILLON
NOVEMBER 2020 WHIPPET
DECEMBER 2020 SCOTTISH TERRIER
*Special rate only applies to breeders who advertise in the applicable Breed Feature.
DOGS QUEENSLAND SHOP
During the COVID-19 pandemic orders can be placed for Royal Canin and Eukanuba dog food by phoning the Dogs Queensland office on 3252 2661 during office hours (except on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings). Once payment has been received, orders are placed in the Royal Canin designated pick-up zone for collection.
