LURE COURSING

Lure coursing is a performance sport that was adapted from days of old when people used sighthounds to help them track and capture rabbits as a food source.

It’s a sport designed to showcase the breed traits and skills of sighthounds whose breeds include: Afghan Hound, Borzoi, Greyhound, Irish Wolfhound, Pharaoh Hound, Saluki, Scottish Deerhound, Whippet, Basenji and Rhodesian Ridgebacks.

Lure Coursing requires, as the name suggests, a lure – a toy or interesting object that stimulates the dogs desire to chase and a course –  often laid out in a random pattern with a rope.  The rope is organised through a series of pulleys and the mechanism is driven by a hand-controlled motor.  The course pattern is supposed to be random and similar to the way a rabbit or hare would be running if chased, changing direction in a blink of an eye.

Today Lure Coursing events are open to most breeds, however, the sighthounds certainly have an advantage with their natural instinct.  It’s essential that dogs participating in this sport have excellent fitness, great conformation and sound temperament.

Participants are judged on:

• Enthusiasm: how keen are they to participate?
• Follow: are they following the lure or just having a run?
• Agility: How agile are they in getting around the course? How do they negotiate the turns?
• Speed: How fast are they going?
• Endurance: Do they maintain the same speed around the course.

For more information, you can contact the Lure Coursing Association in your state or head to New South Wales Lure Coursing Association 

Why not attend a ‘Try out Day’, they are a great opportunity to see if your dog will run the course without the pressure of a ‘trial’.