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What is "Lure Coursing"?Lure Coursing is an event that was created for sight hounds to closely simulate the work that they are required to do in the hunt.It has a lure that runs around a course with many turns and attempts to simulate how a rabbit would run while it is pursued by dogs.
Can Jack Russells do it?Yes, most of them love to do Lure Coursing. Most JRT's love to chase rabbits and this is close to the same thing.Should I let my Jack Russell Lure Course?There is some historical evidence that Jack Russells were allowed to run with the hounds after fox. This would require quite a bit of endurance for a smaller dog to keep up with the hounds with much longer legs. In my opinion, of all the events that are held at JRTCA trials, the racing (while fun) is the least like anything that the Jack Russell would ever encounter in the real world of the hunt. Lure Coursing is more like something that a Jack Russell would encounter in a hunt than racing is.Will all Jack Russells do Lure Coursing?NO! Some racing dogs will only run out to the first turn and then they will come back. The first leg of the Lure Course is usually longer than a normal racing track and some racing dogs are confused and think that it is over. Other dogs that may be working dogs won't do it either. I have one that goes nuts about it, but if she ever gets close enough to the lure to smell it, she quits. She has two certificates to a Bronze and unless it is living, breathing flesh and blood, she isn't interested.Do they have to run with Muzzles?We have been running mostly unmuzzled and haven't had any dog fights. There are some dogs that will attack the string and pulleys. This is dangerous and those dogs should always be muzzled. The string can move up to 50 MPH and at that speed the pulleys can spin up to 12,000 RPM. The string can cut and the pulleys can break teeth if the dog bites them.Is the fastest dog the winner?No, Not necessarily, the dogs are judged on five factors: speed, agility, enthusiasm, endurance and follow. We haven't been judging our Jacks, just letting them run for the fun of it. There are some that definitely follow the lure and the course better than others. Some will try to take huge shortcuts and will cut the course to get to the lure.Where can I try "Lure Coursing"?There are many Lure Coursing clubs around the country. Many of them only allow "Sight hounds" to lure course. Sometimes they will have fundays and allow anybody that comes to run. Some of the sight hound clubs don't have the time or inclination to allow non-sight hound dogs to run lure coursing. Most of them would be amazed at how well a focused JRT can do on a Lure Course.More and more JRT people are getting into this great sport with their Jacks and there might be opportunity to run a Lure Course at your next local JRTCA trial. I want to set up my own course!There is only one place that I have found on the net that sells this equipment. It is called Injoy. Tom Bianchi at Injoy has been doing this for over 20 years and knows all the ins and outs. He sells some very good equipment and even has pages dedicated to the person that would rather build their own lure machine. Check out my ordering recommendations.
How is the course set up?The Lure course is different than a racing course in that the lure course is a continuous loop. The string is not simply wound up by the machine, but the machine is hooked to a pulley that runs the lure around the course. The course has a minimum of six pulleys that change the direction of the string and the lure. The pulleys are secured to the ground with nails or spikes.Can I use my "Safe Chase"™ Lure Machine?No. The "Safe Chase"™ Lure Machine is made specifically for racing fairly short races. It has no way to attach the pulleys required to run a continuous loop lure course. Besides the smaller golf cart motor that it has would probably not be up to the type of abuse that Lure Coursing puts on a motor. You could use the "Safe Chase"™ Lure Machine to run a small to medium sized drag lure course. However, that is really a pain, because it has to be restrung after every run.
What do I need to get started? |
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