Lure Coursing

Many sighthound owners participate in lure coursing with their dogs. This sport simulates the dogs' original rabbit-hunting purpose but uses plastic garbage bags dragged along a wire as the lure instead of live animals. It satisfies the dogs' urge to run and provides a certain amount of competition and reward. The American Kennel Club and the individual breed clubs of each sighthound breed offer titles for coursing dogs.

A lure course is best set up on a large tract of gently rolling land. The lure is mechanically operated; it runs along a wire a few inches above the ground and is controlled by a hand-held remote unit. It can be stopped and restarted if the dogs lose concentration and veer off course.

The course has a specified number of turns depending on the level at which the dogs are working. The lure operator starts the plastic bags along the wire at the judge's signal, and the dogs are released on command. Two or three dogs may run together, just as they would if coursing rabbits in the field. The finish line is a few feet from the starting line; if the dog stays on course, he returns to his handler as the lure comes to the end of the line.

Each run is timed, and the dogs are scored on their speed, agility, and tenacity on the course and their ability to work with other dogs.

Norma Bennett Woolf