LURE COURSING FOR SIGHTHOUNDS
AN A-LURING PROSPECT
Those fortunate enough to be owned by a Borzoi have opportunities for activities enjoyable, interesting, and beneficial to both. These versatile sighthounds do well as therapy dogs, enjoy working agility courses, often like to swim, are intelligent enough to achieve in obedience when trained with motivational methods, and are a thrilling sight to see in the conformation ring with their lovely and varied colours and flashy coats.
Where does the sport of lure coursing fit in? In Canada and a number of other countries and states, the rugged Russian hunting practices formerly enjoyed by Borzoi are forbidden. We might dream of setting our "gentleman's brace" of Borzoi on a fleeing wolf that servants have flushed out of the forest for our entertainment. However, the pounding horse's hooves, the thrill of the chase, the groans of the wolf as it is mauled by three Borzoi and stabbed to death with our dagger are sounds foreign to the ears of to-day's gentler kinder owners. Blood sports persist in the U.K. and some American states, but are strictly beyond the pale where we live. It is illegal to kill any animal with any kind of hound (but quite all right to use arrows or guns!). In Farley Mowatt country, we gain no popularity by stressing how our Borzoi tore up wolves in the past. If we were to entertain visitors by having our Borzoi solo wolf killer kill a captive wolf , our next visitor would be the local SPCA and charges of cruelty would surely be laid.
Lure coursing is designed to let modern Borzoi (and other acceptable sighthounds) experience the thrill of the hunt without its forbidden fruits. For the novice reader, lure coursing consists of slipping no more than three hounds, wearing colours of pink, yellow, or blue in the form of jackets, on a signal, to chase three plastic bags tied to a continuous loop system powered by a motor. The length of the course varies, as does the layout, to suit the terrain and any obstacles such as groves of trees, hillocks, or objects like park furniture. The course is illustrated and described in the prospectus for entering the field trial. It may be modified on the day of the trial after the course is walked and a test dog run if there are any hazards that were not apparent when the course was first designed.
Your Borzoi cannot enter this activity to obtain points unless it is registered with the appropriate venue. To obtain a CKC F.Ch. Or F.Ch.X, American dogs would have to be Canadian registered or obtain an event registration number (ERN). Canadian dogs would have to be AKC registered. Different groups supervise the events. In Canada, coursing titles like any other title such as Champion or Companion Dog are obtained under events authorized by the Canadian Kennel Club and hosted by various clubs who must get approval for date, venue, and judges well in advance. These events are published in the official Dogs in Canada list of events. In the United States, the AKC sponsors titles of Junior Courser and Senior Courser. ASFA conducts other more challenging events, leading to Field Champion certificates and the prestigious Lure Courser of Merit, which can be added onto continuously for LCM II and so forth. In the United States there is also an opportunity for rescue Borzoi without proper papers to enter these events with a special registration, and a move to a similar system is being considered by the CKC, though not presently in place. Entries are put in by the dog's owner or agent, just as for other events.
If your Borzoi is registered and you are its owner or have an event certificate for it, the next step is to seek out opportunities for practice. Some coursing clubs hold special practice days, and others will offer practice time at the end of a coursing event, time and weather permitting. If it is a two day event, usually practices are at the end of the first day. If your Borzoi is a puppy, the practice will consist of a straight run of a moderate distance. Older Borzoi will be run on a greater distance with some turns. Your Borzoi must be obedient enough to return to you and must be run without a collar with its identification. How much practice is desirable depends very much on the Borzoi's keenness of interest. Usually experts at the practice can advise you on whether the Borzoi is ready to be run with a test dog. If your Borzoi will follow the plastic bags with another dog of the same breed with no interest in the other Borzoi's activity, and with no hostility when each finish the course and grab the bag (hopefully two different ones!), you can then ask for a certificate that your dog has coursed cleanly. Find out what individuals are authorized to give this certificate. You will be asked to state in applications for a trial that your dog has not attacked other dogs or humans at a trial, the exact wording varying with the registry.
If your dog does attack another dog or interfere with its activities, your dog will be excused or dismissed. For some offences, more practice might rehabilitate the dog, but often you will have to give up the idea of coursing and turn to other types of competition or recreation.
How to get your Borzoi ready for coursing will vary with age. If you have a litter of puppies, you can test for interest by purchasing a buggy whip and tying a plastic bag to the end of the whip. Tease the puppies with this device briefly but not so long that they lose interest. If you plan on keeping one just for this activity, work it alone on the device, and graduate to a drag line often used outside a line fence. When obedience training your puppy, avoid marine drill tactics that punish the dog for leaving your side. Work more on a reliable recall. Never work the dog so that it only goes a fixed distance before being called back. This will pattern train it so that it will turn off the lure when that distance is reached. Avoid at all costs turning pups out to play to fight over items, as they will usually challenge another dog for the lure on the field. Use your obedience training to stress good behaviour with other dogs, and work with a variety of sizes. After each trial's Best of Breed has been determined, you may be invited to run for Best in Field, and your Borzoi must not try to eat a Basenji!.
Other types of preparation for successful field trialing might include:
| Training the Borzoi to eliminate on command. Stopping to relieve itself in the field not only can lose a course, but is a disqualification for JC status. It must do its business in advance of the run. |
| Get it accustomed to wearing clothes like a raincoat or wet coat (used for cooling after the run), and put a jacket on it regularly. |
| Hose it down at intervals, and get it used to being cooled wet. |
| Travel with it, and accustom it to the type of accomodation to be used, whether tent trailer, RV, small tent, or motel room. A car-sick dog unaccustomed to travel won=t run well. Arriving the night before is often a good idea. |
| Get it used to being crated, tied up, and resting in an X-Pen (these can be dangerous if your dog is a jumper and should be used with caution when near high traffic areas). |
| Do lots of dog socialization where the dog focuses on you or a task, and avoid at all costs activities that encourage the dog to frolic with every strange dog it sees. |
| Teach your dog to share toys and food with the others and punish strictly any attempt to guard food or growl over toys or bones. A crabby selfish Borzoi will likely fight over a plastic bag. |
| Conditioning for an event can include road working a Borzoi. Usually two people are required. We worked ours with one person sitting on the back of a van with doors open, holding the Borzoi on a lead, and holding a whip (in case of attack by a farm dog). We used a gravel road that was gently rolling, and worked our way up to four kilometres, with a pause at the far end. On the advice of our veterinarian, we varied the speed from 10 kilometres to 20. Using a gravel surface toughens the pads. Where this is not feasible, a new device called a Springer can be attached to a bicycle, and road work can take place anywhere a bicycle can go. With this gadget, the dog cannot get under the wheels, nor get out into the traffic. It goes without saying your dog should be in hard slim condition for an event. |
Before leaving for an event, check that you have your registration certificate, certificate that the dog is not a hazard to others, & rabies certificate (for U.S. to Canada, the certificate must be no older than one year and no newer than 30 days to be valid. Rabies is a severe threat in Canada).
Take food, a large supply of your own local water are needed, plus a first aid kit that might deal with such items as cuts from the line. A flexi-lead is excellent for pre-coursing exercise. You will need a set of official colour coats, well checked for any loose connections. We like ones made of spandex which are flexible to the dog's movement. A wet coat can be made out of a towel, and should be put on the dog after the run while you are walking it out to cool off. Some venues will have a hose and water supply, and others only a wading pool, or nothing. Several events we have attended have swimming facilities, which are excellent. In very hot conditions, run your Borzoi wet and with a soaked coursing jacket as well. It will come in dry! We use a repellent for ticks and fleas, and in some areas where natural terrain coursing is done (such as the Grand National in Colorado), purchase a supply of a product such as New Skin. Two coats applied to the pads (like putting on nail varnish) will prevent raw pads. You will need to put it on before each run. Be sure that you have a first class slip lead, and any other comforts your dog will need. Now available are plastic mesh dog beds, nice for hot weather in their crates, but for cold events, get a nice fleecy blanket.
Dogs should not be fed before the event, but should be given moderate amounts of water on a controlled basis after running. Walking before each event to limber up, and walking out to cool are essential. Most experts advise waiting until nine or ten that evening to feed.
My qualifications for writing on this topic are based on successfully coursing three female Borzoi and a Saluki of my own, and one neutered male Borzoi owned by an American. A number of others were tested and tried and two were dismissed and withdrawn from the activity. A brief outline of the history of these Borzoi may help you to evaluate if in this activity, the flame is worth the candle.
Timidity or failure to course as a young dog does not mean it will not do it later. Our Sally would course, but not anywhere with a crowd or a gallery. She was never entered into competition. Our Domovoy, just finished his ASFA title under the supervision of Vickie Sharp, never showed promise as a puppy, but tackled the activity with vigor at five years. Our CanAmCh. and CGC Saluki was afraid of the lure machine's noise and was too timid to try it until four years old. While watching a practice in Michigan she began to scream and jump at the lures. Allowed to attempt it, she consistently coursed with some doubts on occasion about coursing into a gallery. Once she became unsighted and followed the other Salukis in, and we were advised to practice her more. She ran consistently in the top of the heap at single stakes, and was retired after getting a top in event score running as the only Saluki at ELF, and going out as Triathalon winner at the Greyhound Club of Canada event. She never ran away, never was aggressive, and would pull up if strained (on one run). We were afraid of her overtaxing herself, going on for ten, as she would not slow down on these runs, and would run herself at amazing speeds. Though timid, she went berserk at the line, squeaking and trying to back out of her collar to get at the lure. Running her was one of the most exciting and interesting activities I have done. We still consider than she may obtain a CD, given her good health and long life of Salukis. She is a litter sister to one of the top winning male Salukis, CanAmCh. Zahir's Zanzibar and a truly amazing all-round sighthound. She is highly intelligent, and extremely typey and showy, finishing in the U.S. under Ann Rogers Clark with a BOS out of the classes over a large entry of specials. We do not know if her puppies from her one litter will course, as we are following our practice of showing and obedience work before coursing testing.
A late starter wasBorzoi Rokaro's Foxy Femme, again shown the lure as an adult. She ran absolutely amazingly, and would run the course more than once unless retrieved at the finish. She ran the line rather than the bags, which was very interesting to see. Tragically, she had an accident on wet grass that dislocated her elbow, and was retired. She is in a pet home, and suffers from arthritis in the joint to some degree. She was slim and trim in build, and was not shown owing to a wry bite and no other reason. She was never bred for the same reason.
Stevie, a Borzoi from West Virginia, was the only male I ever coursed. He also started late, and though large and lumbering and not well-built for the activity, ran on enthusiasm and never interfered with other Borzoi. He returned home and is an excellent retirement home as a companion.
Our most excellent Borzoi in all round ability was Ch. Calle Del Fantasia of Rokaro CGC. She was obedience trained and shown to her Canadian Championship before being shown the lures. At first view she pulled me off a picnic table head over heels to get at the "bunnies". In a minimum of practices and tests she was off and running. First weekend out she had scores equivalent to the famous 'George'. She was knocked down by a large male at an event in Michigan. She rolled five times, came up at a run, in first and BOB. From that day on she never ran the same. She ran hard and never quit, but ran with one eye on the others. She is a fine obedience dog and our only genuine triathalon type Borzoi. She had an exceptionally pleasant nature, and absolutely avoided aggressive behaviour at the kennel and on the field. Her intelligence was a handicap, as she remembered being hurt, and also tried to memorize the course. When they reversed it in the afternoon, she was in trouble! She runs carefully because she is smart, and never injures herself. She had her Canadian F.Ch. and most of the points for an ASFA title. She finished her CD, CGC, and won the Triathalon held by the Greyhound Club of Canada. She was a conformation champion, but slightly choppy in her movement on the field. Her ability appeared to be hereditary, with a F.Ch. sister Lily, some of it coming down from the famous Birchwood coursers. Interestingly, her sister Fame and Glory was dismissed. The interest was there but the good attitude was not.
CnCh Calle Del Fantasia of Rokaro F.Ch. CD CGC JC Major ASFA Pointed
GCC Triathalon Winner for Borzoi, September, 1998
Deceased Sept. 1998 following spay surgery (see obituary)
Finally, we have the sad story of Windhound's Obi Orbit Rokaro F.Ch. After a steaming career begun at two (after she was debarked), and a F.ChX and ASFA title, she slipped and fell on an impeccable course, flat, dry grass, no obstacles, and not a collision. As she rolled, she put out her paw to brake and fractured all four metacarpals. After $1500 orthopaedic surgery and plates on the two central fractures, she was retired from the only activity she cared about. It was a tragedy for her and for me. She had one litter of five surviving, in which the girls won't course and the boys will. Why did this accident happen? Obi was a death-defying courser, with only one goal, getting the lures. She did not finish her roll, like Fanta, and get up to win. Most interesting of all, while an aggressive dog around the kennel, she never once fought or interfered on the field. She loved people and was extremely friendly to them. While trainable for obedience, she had no real aptitude for it as did the other coursers...just a one-trick pony. She lived a good long life.
We have had no luck raising our own home-bred young coursing puppy, and no puppy of Fanta courses yet. . We are thrilled with the achievements of Domovoy who in a late start at six got his LCM title and was on the way to an LCM2, most unexpected to all concerned. Infanta is qualified and very fast, but wants to play on the field. As she is now the proud mom of 10, they may carry the torch.
How will you acquire a coursing Borzoi? Will it course without getting hurt? You can raise your chances by going to a specialty coursing kennel and shopping for one, but there are no guarantees that it will continue to show interest as an adult, that it will not become aggressive, or that it will not get hurt in the activity. Fortunately few sighthounds are killed coursing, but each individual owner will have to weigh the risks. Our kennel has a triathalon mind set, with a high interest in obedience foundations, and thus works on a training, showing, and coursing test mode. Other kennels have other goals and would work in a different order. From a practical point you can course a ring or obedience champion, but if you lame one coursing, no other options are left open. That is a personal opinion and not a criticism of others who do differently.
Can you breed for coursing? . A good Borzoi recipe should strive for proper structure, nice coat, excellent reach and drive, trainability, friendliness with people and other dogs, and of course, an interest in the thrill of the chase. By keeping a balance, breeders will keep true to the spirit of the Russian Hunt, while still raising Borzoi suited to modern home life and current restrictions on blood sports.
As a new or experienced Borzoi owner, if yours has coursing talent, it will be the icing on the cake. Every Borzoi can be trained to be friendly and co-operative. Hopefully the best built, and finest moving ones will win in the ring given time and training. The hunting talent is found in almost every Borzoi. Remember that going coursing is not experiencing the Perchino Hunt in the grand old days, and don't be saddened if your Borzoi scorns plastic bags and only perks up for cats or squirrels. Keep testing and training your Borzoi from pups to mature dogs, but remember that for the coursing duds, there are still many other types of enjoyment for you both. For the owners of triathalon sighthounds, you truly have it all and will remember those above all others...fast, beautiful, smart, well-behaved and loving. Enjoy!
COURSING...The Good Old Days