lure coursing – The Greyhounds' Yarn

March 13, 2017March 13, 2017

A Day of Lure Coursing

Blogging can be a challenge. I get bloggers block and have trouble coming up with interesting Greyhound topics when this happens I turn to my husband for inspiration. He suggested a chronicle of a day in the country lure coursing. I thought that he was onto something. I hope that you all enjoy this post and folks who haven’t been to the field decide to come out for a day of fun in the country.

Lure coursing is a weekend event. On Friday night I begin packing the van. I feel more organized this way. To aid me in my OCD organization I bought plastic bins that are organized with first aid supplies, leashes, blankets, and other lure coursing accouterments. I have crates for all the Greyhound set up in my car. I have learned my lesson about having loose Greyhounds in the car after Jethro locked me out of the car and jumped out through the sunroof!

I leave my house with plenty of time to get to the field. I generally pick up breakfast as oftentimes I am very busy at the trial and have a hard time bringing myself to eat.

The trial begins with inspection and check-in usually around 9AM. At large trials like the International Invitational, inspection can start before the sun is up! This is when the inspection committee watches your Greyhound’s gait and checks for lameness. They also check the bitches to make sure that they are not in season.

After inspection, the field secretary completes the “draw” or the running order of the hounds. This is a blinded draw of the coursing hounds with a separate draw for each stake, open, field champions, and veterans.

While the draw is going on I usually walk my hounds. It is important to let your hound poop and pee prior to running—just ask Sashi – when nature calls, it calls. I also like to stretch the hounds and warm them up, and the walk helps with this.

After the draw is posted the trial begins to get underway. I take a photo of the running order because I will forget—it is not fun to be at the line in the wrong blanket! I then head back to the van to get the hounds ready for their run. If the hounds are running on continuous loop I will wrap vetrap around the Greyhounds’ legs up to their stopper pad to prevent line burn. Also, if the ground is hard and dry I will tape their pads with elastikon to prevent a blown pad. When it is our turn I head to the line with my hounds in a slip lead and regular lead. I get in position, holding the slip lead with my right hand and place my left hand under the Greyhound’s tuck. Some people do not like to hold a Greyhound under the tuck but I find that it gives me more control of the dog. The lure starts to move and the Greyhounds lose their minds! The hounds are not released until the hunt-master says “Tally-Ho” when the lure is far enough in front of the dogs.

I let the Greyhound go as soon as I hear “Tally-Ho.” Then I get to watch my most favorite thing: a big beautiful Greyhound doing what they are best at, chasing.

The Greyhounds are moving so fast it seems that the entire course only lasts seconds.

Once the Greyhounds are back at the line, I grab mine and hurry back to my van to remove any tape or vetrap and check them for any lameness or tenderness. Once the vetrap is removed I use a pressurized sprayer with water to rinse out their nail beds. When dogs run on turf they can get a build-up of debris in their nail beds. This can be painful and a potential cause for infection. If there is a little blood in the nail bed, that is okay and it should be cleaned with the sprayer. I do not give water at this time. After they appear to be sound I walk them until their breathing becomes more normal and they are able to close their mouths. Then give them a small amount of water.

After all the dogs have ran in prelims the entire process is repeated, generally after lunch, which gives a nice break for the hounds. Once all dogs have run twice, the top hounds will run for best of breed. After best of breed is completed, all the breed winners are able to run for best in field.

Once all the running has been completed, awards are given out and photos of the winners are taken. Most often the placing dogs will get a toy (my hounds are very pleased with this).

After socializing with friends and some photos, we pack it up, head home, ready to repeat the following day.

Feature image credit: Cindy Frezon

January 5, 2017March 6, 2017

Amateur Running Sports: Lure Coursing

By now you are probably aware that I think greyhounds are much more than 45 miles per hour couch potatoes. You may be thinking, I would love for my greyhound to have a more active lifestyle, but where do I start?

When I first adopted Jethro I was in the same boat. I knew about lure coursing but the other greyhound running sports were a mystery to me.

I am going to create a three-part series about amateur running sports in America. I am going to give you the details on: lure coursing, LGRA, and NOTRA. I hope that you will better understand the various options of running sports and find one or two that are best suited for you and your hound!

I am going to start with my most favorite amateur running sport, lure coursing.

First things first, what is lure coursing? Lure coursing was created the mimic open field or hare coursing– I am not sure that lure coursing creates this but it does create a nice athletic event to evaluate your hound’s ability. The idea is that the course should represent how a hare would behave in the open field. To create this, two to three white plastic garbage bags (lure) are tied to a line, and then the line with the lure attached is pulled by pulleys that are propelled by a generator throughout the course. There are two main ways to move the lure around the course: continuous loop and drag operated. Continuous loop courses allow running of multiple dogs quickly, as the line never comes off the pulleys, creating a continuous loop. However, in some long straights of the course the line can “ride high” and cause line burn or other injuries to the hounds. Drag operated lure does not cause line burn and some feel more engaging for the hound to chase. I prefer running my dogs on drag lure. It does take additional time to restring the entire 600-900 yard course. However, this is minimal and does not usually slow down the trial.

Now that you’re looking forward to a beautiful day in the country, what does you Greyhound need to do? All dogs competing in lure coursing will get two opportunities to run. If they win their stakes they will have the opportunity to run for breed and if they win their breed they would have the opportunity to run in Best in Field. Your Greyhound might potentially have to run four times in a day – that’s a lot of yards!

Prior to beginning any amateur sport, your Greyhound needs to be in tiptop shape. The Greyhound needs to be at their racing weight and well conditioned. It is important that you know if they had any injuries while on the track as that could impact the decision to lure course them or not. As always, discuss this idea of running sports with your vet to make sure your Greyhound is healthy enough to compete.

So where do I go to find a trial? The good news is that there are lure coursing trials just about every weekend somewhere in the U.S. There are also three main organizations that host lure coursing events: American Sighthound Field Association (ASFA), American Kennel Club (AKC) and the National Lure Coursing Club (NLCC).

American Sighthound Field Association (ASFA) is the original lure coursing organization. Mirroring ASFA, the AKC also holds lure coursing events that function in a similar format to ASFA. Both organizations have three stakes: open, specials (AKC)/field champions (ASFA), and veterans. Both organizations judge on enthusiasm/overall ability, speed, follow, agility, and endurance. Generally, three dogs will run together. There are two points to consider when running AKC. First you have to apply for an AKC registration number, as AKC does not recognize your Greyhound’s NGA registration and you will need a purebred alternative listing (PAL) number from AKC. Secondly, even if your hound is certified by ASFA, the AKC requires them to be recertified unless the Greyhound has obtained their field championship title with ASFA. I do not understand the AKC certification rule; it seems silly that a certified hound must have to recertify, as any dog that competes in ASFA long enough should be able to obtain their field championship.

The final lure coursing organization is the National Lure Coursing Club (NLCC). This organization runs a brace elimination format. Again the hounds will run at least twice and up to four times. The brace elimination format calls for two hounds running together at a time. The loser of the course will fall into the B bracket and the winner will move on in the A bracket. The beauty of NLCC lure coursing is the judging. Lure coursing is a subjective running sport; however, NLCC makes it as objective as possible. Scoring is in a tally format meaning that the dog that wins the run up (distance to first turn) is awarded 2-3 points, the hound that gets to the next turn first is awarded 1 point, if a hound passes another hound they are awarded 2 points, and the hound that gets to the stopped lure first is awarded 1-2 points. I like this format, as it is easier to assess how your hound is doing on the course and understand the judge’s pick.

Another important point is that all these organizations have a singles stake. This is very important to beginners. The singles stake allows hounds to run without another dog. This allows the hound to become accustom to the lure and running longer distances. These hounds are scored by the criteria per the organization that they are running with. Generally hounds compete in singles a few times prior to getting their certification to compete in the open stakes. I recommend running in the singles stake as it gets you, the handler, in a competitive mind frame. You are no longer waiting for breaks or the end of the meet to run your hound but part of the meet and you have to follow the order of the meet. Placements are awarded for this stake as well.

I hope that now you know more about lure coursing and the options in your area. This is an incredibly fun sport for you and your Greyhound. I hope to see you on the field soon!

Hope you check back next week to learn more about amateur running sports for your hound.
Photo credit: Cindy Frezon Photography

December 15, 2016March 6, 2017

Why Performance Matters: A Simple History of Greyhound Coursing

Feature image from The Greyhound & the Hare

For many years it was thought that the Greyhound originated in Egypt and the Middle East. However, there were written accounts in the 1800’s stating that the Greyhounds originated from Celtic lands. In 2004 this was proven. The paper titled “The Genetic Structure of the Purebred dog” evaluated the molecular structure and differences in 85 breeds of dog. This study proved that the Greyhound, along with the Borzoi, Irish wolfhound, and other herding breeds, were of European descent and in fact were genetically different from the African and Middle Eastern sighthounds.

There are accounts of the Greyhound noted throughout British history. In Shakespeare’s play King Henry V, Shakespeare uses the Greyhound in the King’s monologues prior to battle. Henry V said to his men, “I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, straining upon the start. The game’s afoot.” Shakespeare compared Henry V’s armies to Greyhounds because he knew the keenness, tenacity, and passion of the Greyhound.

The Tudor family was also fond of the Greyhound. Henry the VII’s coat of arms included both a red dragon as well as a white Greyhound. Henry the VIII had a great love of coursing, then called hunting. It is noted that he converted some of his land into a course and it was used by two coursing societies. However, that land has now been repurposed into a golf course.

In the sixteenth century Queen Elizabeth I and Lord Norfolk developed the first coursing rules, “The laws of the leash.” These rules formalized the rules for coursing, focusing on the scoring of the Greyhound’s performance, rules for the slipper, and the handling of the hare.

Coursing focuses on the Greyhound’s greatest skill, the speediness of the chase. More points are awarded to the Greyhound for speed and ability to pass another Greyhound than actually taking-out the hare.

Throughout the Tudor reign, the Forest Laws were in effect; these laws were established in the middle ages and strictly enforced by William the Conqueror. People and dogs caught breaking these laws were mutilated and often times killed.

Coursing continued to be a sport of the nobles, waxing and waning in popularity throughout the reigns of Charles I and II. During the reign of George the III, in the eighteenth century, coursing no longer was a private sport for the nobles but a sport for gentlemen. Most of the participants coursed either Greyhounds or Whippets and made wagers on their hounds.

In 1776 The Lord of Orford in Swaffham, England created the first coursing club. The original “laws of the leash” created by Lord Norfolk were still in effect and used. Interest in coursing grew and more and more clubs originated.

By the time of the industrial revolution, more people had free time and money to participate in hobby sports. Coursing was also much cheaper than foxhunting. Greyhounds and Greyhound coursing took off. Participants of the sport realized that if they had a winning hound there was additional income for breeding and selling puppies. While these breedings were documented within the kennels, there was not an official Greyhound stud-book until 1882.

So why is this a big deal? Coursing gave us the modern day Greyhound. The competition of coursing created a well-engineered dog that was thrilling to watch and fast. The history of our beloved Greyhound gives us more insight into why people continued to breed Greyhounds and created the Greyhound that lives with us today.

There is still more to the story. With the invention of the mechanical lure Greyhound Racing was created. I will talk about racing in part two of this series, stay tuned!

Sources:

Alchin, L.K., Elizabethan Era. e.g. Retrieved December 3rd, 2016 from www.elizabethan-era.org.uk

Parker, H. G., Kim, L. V., Sutter, N. B., Carlson, S., Lorentzen, T. D., Malek, T. B., … & Kruglyak, L. (2004). Genetic structure of the purebred domestic dog. science, 304(5674), 1160-1164.

Shakespeare, William. King Henry V. Retrieved December 14th, 2016 from http://shakespeare.mit.edu/henryv/henryv.3.1.html

Winters, Jane. Early English Laws: Forest Laws. Retrieved December 3rd, 2016 from http://www.earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/reference/essays/forest-law/

December 8, 2016March 6, 2017

Why all the chatter about breed standard?

A few days ago I wrote an article about what it means to adopt a Greyhound. Overall this article was well received. However, some comments I found thought provoking. I also reviewed other posts throughout social media and there continued to be a theme: what is the standard for a greyhound and why that matters to you as an owner.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) judges each breed of dog based on a written standard. You can review the AKC written standard for greyhounds below.

Head – Long and narrow, fairly wide between the ears, scarcely perceptible stop, little or no development of nasal sinuses, good length of muzzle, which should be powerful without coarseness. Teeth very strong and even in front.
Ears – Small and fine in texture, thrown back and folded, except when excited, when they are semi-pricked.
Eyes – Dark, bright, intelligent, indicating spirit.
Neck – Long, muscular, without throatiness, slightly arched, and widening gradually into the shoulder.
Shoulders – Placed as obliquely as possible, muscular without being loaded.
Forelegs – Perfectly straight, set well into the shoulder, neither turned in or out, pasterns strong.
Chest -Deep, and as wide as is consistent with speed, Fairly well sprung ribs.
Back – Muscular and broad.
Loins – Good depth of muscle, well-arched, well cut up in the flanks.
Hindquarters – Long, very muscular and powerful, wide and well let down, well-bent stifles. Hocks well bent and rather close to the ground, wide but straight fore and aft.
Feet – Hard and close, rather more hare than cat feet, well knuckled up with good strong claws.
Tail – Long, fine and tapering with a slight upward curve.
Coat – Short, smooth and firm in texture.
Color – Immaterial
Weight – Dogs, 65 to 70 pounds: Bitches, 60 to 65 pounds

If you are like me when you read this, it sounds very similar to what you see in a National Greyhound Association (NGA) greyhound. First, what is the difference between the AKC and NGA? Both are registering bodies; however, the NGA is special as they only register greyhounds. All American racing greyhounds are registered with the NGA. The NGA doesn’t have a written breed standard so to speak; rather, NGA greyhounds are bred to a performance standard, meaning they are judged on their ability to excel in running sports. When we look at the AKC written standard for the breed, the NGA greyhound fits the description in that standard. So why do we find ourselves disagreeing on the breed standard again and again? The answer is rather complicated. I think that show breeders thought that breeding a greyhound with exaggerated structural features was sexy and the dog would be able to compete in the group and best in show ring at dog shows. They succeeded. There is no functional purpose or advantage for the exaggerated changes we see in most greyhounds that compete in the show ring.

Actually, dogs that are exaggerated are not good for our breed and here is why. These dogs are not functional in that they are deficient in athletic ability. They are able to participate in running sports but unable to compete on the same level with coursing-bred greyhounds or racing greyhounds. If you read into the written standard above you will understand all these qualities are desirable because they improve the greyhound’s speediness and athleticism. By exaggerating the structural features called for in the written standard we are taking the functionality and the most important part of the greyhound away.

I have listened and read comments about show greyhounds and see things such as “isn’t she beautiful” or “she’s living art”. I appreciate these opinions but I want to know if they have ever seen a greyhound running after a lure or quarry. Have they ever seen true poetry in motion?

I am not sure that I will ever feel that a hound standing in a ring is more lovely than a hound doing what they were bred to do for centuries. I will never see how loping in a ring can be more beautiful than raw power on the coursing field or sand being flung all over the track by a hound that can scoot.

I understand that dog shows are a lot of fun to a lot of people. I wish we would see more functional dogs at these shows. I proudly support the breeders that are promoting functional hounds and I hope that in the future at Greyhound specialties you will not see a dog win breed in the ring that is not able to compete in the field but instead a Greyhound that can win in the ring and on the lure coursing field.

As stewards of our breed we must advocate for functionality. Our focus should not be on what can win the group and best in show ring but what can make a hare turn and break track records. We simply must focus on the raw power of our breed; after all, it’s why they are still with us.

Official Standard of the Greyhound. c/o The American Kennel Club. Retrieved December 1st, 2016 from http://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/Greyhound.pdf_ga=1.268297802.576806201.1479637347

October 25, 2016March 6, 2017

My Greyhound’s leg is broken, now what?

About 10 months ago Jethro broke his leg lure coursing. It was a beautiful December day and we were in Moreland, Ga. Jethro ran his first course and looked very strong and was having a blast. I decided to run him in his second course because he looked so good and was having such a nice day. During the end of the second course, he came up lame. His left wrist was extremely swollen and he was not bearing weight. I was very concerned by to looks of the injury but tried to tell myself it was OK. I examed his wrist and felt crepitus (boney cracking) and my fears were certain he had broken a bone in his wrist.

I called my vet and told him that I thought the leg was broken. He advised me to stabilize the leg and come in the next morning.

Overnight the swelling had increased and was causing Jethro a lot of pain. We went to the vet and had x-ray. His stopper bone was broken. We discussed an experimental surgical technique to stabilize the bone with a small screw or splinting and stabilizing the joint for 8-12 weeks.

I decided to splint and stabilize the joint.

Jethro is a very headstrong dog. He had other plans than lying around the house for 8 weeks. He wanted to be running and playing with his pack. Keeping Jethro calm was incredibly hard and we ended up have to give him trazodone to keep him calm as he busted out of two crates and wrecked multiple x-pens.

While he was in the splint he developed a pressure ulcer on his elbow. I was at my tipping point!

The pressure ulcer was extremely painful for Jethro. I called the vet thinking we were going to have to begin antibiotics ( I am a nurse after all) but dogs are amazing creatures and their infection threshold is much stronger than humans.

I read all I could about pressure ulcers in dogs and found this article about a “doughnut dressing”. This was a dressing shaped like a doughnut causing the pressure of the splint to be distrusted evenly around the wound allowing no pressure to be on the ulcer. After a week of using the doughnut dressing the ulcer was healing and you could no longer see bone.

Jethro was such a good patient and supper lucky to have two nurses taking care of him.

After nine weeks in a splint, Jethro was free! Clint and I were pushing getting the splint of ASAP due to the pressure ulcer. I was so glad to hear the bone had nice regrowth and looked stable.

After the splint was off Jethro still walked like he was splinted. It took him about a week to resume a somewhat normal gait.

After the splint was off the hard part began. We had to rehab a dog. He had lost a lot of muscle and was was stiff from the splint. We began doing stretching and strength training. I knew that the rehab was key in correcting Jethro’s gait.

This video shows some of the rehab techniques I used to help Jethro to regain strength and balance in his leg.

Jethro had a great outcome due to a great vet, serious human support, and his will to be able to run again. If you are ever in the situation, I hope this post helps you and your hound.

Photo credit: Cindy Frezon

November 8, 2014March 6, 2017

ASFA Greyhound Speciality

ASFA Greyhound Specialty 2014

After much deliberation and my on-call schedule aligning with the stars, I was able to attend the ASFA Greyhound Specialty. The Greyhound specialty is a wonderful event hosted by the Southeastern Greyhound Club, the main event is ASFA lure coursing. There is an informal conformation show as well, which can be a lot of fun for the dogs. My dogs feel that anything that evolves food and attention it is fun!

Unfortunately, Darla decided that she needed to wrangle with an opossum the week prior. She lost a tooth and had to have surgery on her mouth, she was unable to run, but enjoyed an abundance of treats and smells within the show ring.

I also brought the kid, he loved getting to play show dog. As you can see he is an excellent sitter. Unfortunately the judge did not find this as cute as I did.

I am so biased about this little cutie! Really, isn’t that the cutest face ever!

I did run Jethro in the Lure Coursing trial. I was very pleased with his performance. Jethro always runs with a lot of heart. He loves the lure and loves being out in the field. He broke his hock during his pro career and his rehab continues. I am quite sure he was the oldest dog entered in the open stake and he tied for 4^th place. He was very stiff after his two runs, so I opted out of a run-off and we happily accepted NBQ. He always thinks he is the best and I enjoy spending time with him. It was a win-win. His stiffness resolved within a day, he was demanding his hike the next morning.

I greatly enjoyed this event and the dogs had a wonderful time as well. It is always nice to be in a field full of greyhounds, doing what they are best at. Hopefully we will return next year.

Photo credit: Cindy Frezon