Lure coursing - harmless fun or ........

[wildhunter 3]

i carnt give an anser on the poll because i dont love it and i dont it hate but i dont mind it now and agen

[lurcher lass 9]

i am serious about working my dogs, come season both myself and my partner have said we'll travel to give our dogs as much work as poss and at times we work the dogs seperatly, we like having our dogs for a purpose and seeing them do what their meant to do, breed for a reason kept for a reason.

 

however there are times when we can't work them, season ends, dog gets injured, lack of permission etc and i must say come summer at a country show i enjoy giving one or two of my dogs a stretch on the lure, i don't take it seriously, i don't have a grump if the dog doesn't win and i have a giggle if a certain little bitch does a lap of honour after a run,, my working bitch wont chase a lure as she knows its not quarry and i'm sure my pups will soon do the same, but while they enjoy it i'll pay a pound or two let them run.

 

i do think it can be over done and could ruin a potential working dog if raced too much and the only reward the dog gets is the run rather then catching..

 

i would like to have a go at lurcher obedience and i'm sure my partner would too

[scent 509]

iv heard of good dogs being ruined over lure racing ,after too much lure racing they only coursed rabbits but would not try pick them

[poacher3161 1,766]

I still dont understand why people take it so seriouse imho i think more of its to do with the human social side of things than the actual dogs then again i am an anti social grumpy old feker that dosent suffer fools gladley so lurcher shows aint the places for me though i do attend and like non ped whippet raceing events were good dedicated people who race their dogs and dont claim they do anything else

[paddybarr 77]

I've nothing against it.

 

 

I would ask though, and am asking because I don't know.

 

 

If most shows are in the summer, and it's accepted that the risk of injury through running on hard ground and the warmer weather meaning dogs can dehydrate more easily, then don't those same things apply to lure coursing too?

 

I've been at shows where it's been red hot, I wouldn't even walk my dog far in it, but the racing is still on?!

 

That's the bit I don't understand.

 

greyhound racing, whippet racing horse racing, eventing + plus all manner of canine sports all held in summer, where does this urban myth amongst the lurcher fraternity come from? if a dog is fit they can easliy cope with hot and hard ground

[Guest stewie]

can easily teach a young dog to yap so dont like it myself

[Casso 1,261]

Anything that helps to show lurchers in a good light , having spent the last few years under the media hammer, is a good thing for us hunting folk in general, a little fun for the watching public, and is badly needed PR,,

 

 

[supersam 64]

Anything that helps to show lurchers in a good light , having spent the last few years under the media hammer, is a good thing for us hunting folk in general, a little fun for the watching public, and is badly needed PR,,

a few lads mentioned that for those that dont hunt in summer months for the sake of not wanting to run their dogs on hard ground is one of the reason i have never lure coursed mine.the other reason is i would get no thrill watching my dog run in a race trying to catch a plastic bag.

ok for some that treat it as something to do on the off season but there are many that do nothing else and treat it as a very serious affair and have bred lurchers for such a purpose which for me is the same as showing and it will be the downfall for alot of lurcher breeds.

lurchers for me are born to work and love nothing better and thats what i do.work em and work em hard.

i dont mean to offend anyone by this comment as its just my belief but i would not lower my dog to enter it in lure coursin event.

[Casso 1,261]

Anything that helps to show lurchers in a good light , having spent the last few years under the media hammer, is a good thing for us hunting folk in general, a little fun for the watching public, and is badly needed PR,,

a few lads mentioned that for those that dont hunt in summer months for the sake of not wanting to run their dogs on hard ground is one of the reason i have never lure coursed mine.the other reason is i would get no thrill watching my dog run in a race trying to catch a plastic bag.

ok for some that treat it as something to do on the off season but there are many that do nothing else and treat it as a very serious affair and have bred lurchers for such a purpose which for me is the same as showing and it will be the downfall for alot of lurcher breeds.

lurchers for me are born to work and love nothing better and thats what i do.work em and work em hard.

i dont mean to offend anyone by this comment as its just my belief but i would not lower my dog to enter it in lure coursin event.

 

 

sam , pup here is mustard, fitted straight in no bother, not a squeak out of him, jack russel dont know whats hit her,,

[supersam 64]

Anything that helps to show lurchers in a good light , having spent the last few years under the media hammer, is a good thing for us hunting folk in general, a little fun for the watching public, and is badly needed PR,,

a few lads mentioned that for those that dont hunt in summer months for the sake of not wanting to run their dogs on hard ground is one of the reason i have never lure coursed mine.the other reason is i would get no thrill watching my dog run in a race trying to catch a plastic bag.

ok for some that treat it as something to do on the off season but there are many that do nothing else and treat it as a very serious affair and have bred lurchers for such a purpose which for me is the same as showing and it will be the downfall for alot of lurcher breeds.

lurchers for me are born to work and love nothing better and thats what i do.work em and work em hard.

i dont mean to offend anyone by this comment as its just my belief but i would not lower my dog to enter it in lure coursin event.

 

 

sam , pup here is mustard, fitted straight in no bother, not a squeak out of him, jack russel dont know whats hit her,,

i had a feeling he would,a little bottley fecker he is

was well handled like you asked

reminds me alot of his dad.

that russel of yours will be terrorized

[Strong Stuff 2,171]

I've nothing against it.

 

 

I would ask though, and am asking because I don't know.

 

 

If most shows are in the summer, and it's accepted that the risk of injury through running on hard ground and the warmer weather meaning dogs can dehydrate more easily, then don't those same things apply to lure coursing too?

 

I've been at shows where it's been red hot, I wouldn't even walk my dog far in it, but the racing is still on?!

 

That's the bit I don't understand.

 

greyhound racing, whippet racing horse racing, eventing + plus all manner of canine sports all held in summer, where does this urban myth amongst the lurcher fraternity come from? if a dog is fit they can easliy cope with hot and hard ground

 

Not sure about urban myth?

 

Have seen dogs go down with my own eyes, and I'm not what you'd call lurcher fraternity and was really surprised when I saw it, it was simply through overheating, and I wouldn't say it was possible to condition a dog for running in the heat, no matter what you did their core temp would always increase despite even a high level of fitness.

As for running them on hard ground, are you sure? Delicate feet + ground like concrete = disaster in anyones book doesn't it?

[Pops 19]

can't speak for lure coursing on your side of our pond, but over here it is done pretty much entirely w/pure AKC dogs. the rules don't help the damage done by breeding for show, they penalize a dog for cutting corners or grabbing the lure. and the saddest part is these knobs think the lure coursing is preserving the working ability in the dogs.

[david2363 42]

can't speak for lure coursing on your side of our pond, but over here it is done pretty much entirely w/pure AKC dogs. the rules don't help the damage done by breeding for show, they penalize a dog for cutting corners or grabbing the lure. and the saddest part is these knobs think the lure coursing is preserving the working ability in the dogs.

I know they are big into it over in the US Pops. - Afghans, Deerhounds, you name it, all AKC reg.

It makes me chuckle when these people say it preserves the "working ability" of the dogs.

Earthdog in the US is even worse - they call their dogs "workers" if they go up a pipe and bark at a rat in a cage.

If it wasn't so funny it would be sad.

[chartpolski 20,874]

can't speak for lure coursing on your side of our pond, but over here it is done pretty much entirely w/pure AKC dogs. the rules don't help the damage done by breeding for show, they penalize a dog for cutting corners or grabbing the lure. and the saddest part is these knobs think the lure coursing is preserving the working ability in the dogs.

 

 

That's the part I don't understand....... a dog that runs like a "Lurcher", cutting the corners and getting to the rag first, gets penalised, yet the dog that simply follows the rag thru' the gates wins !!! Nothing against people lure coursing, but I can't see how the best dog wins under those rules ?

 

Cheers.

[wirral countryman 2,110]

not all lurcher's will actually run a lure,I've tried to time my dogs on many occassions down the year's with my mates greyhound lure and have never had a lurcher that would run it,my mate the greyhound trainer reckons once they have run a lot of live quarry you are wasting your time trying,I suppose if you ran them from a pup and they knew nothing else it would work,so my question to you lure courser's would be,"do any of you run live quarry regularly?"this is not a criticism but a genuine question and would like some honest answer's,yis,wirralman