Conker and Juneau go Lure Coursing! (LOADS of pictures)
I was invited by @Sandrat888 to go up to Bend for a dog show that was holding some Coursing Ability Tests. I had never done it before, and was a bit reluctant to go, but I went anyways. I took all three dogs with, but only two rain, since Sasha's got no prey drive whatsoever. (The worst part of the four hour drive was me forgetting my tapes so all I had to listen to was fuzzy country radio, Pat Benetar, and Manhiem Steamroller Christmas music.)
I am really glad I went. It was a TON of fun, even though the majority of the time was spent sitting around (getting sunburnt, and rained on, in the same day) instead of actually doing something. But I got to see some dogs do agility, and a lot of breeds I haven't seen before or really like. I also met Joan Morningstar (Shiba breeder) from my town, and another dog blogger.
After the event, I took the three dogs to the Badlands and we hiked around for a while before hopping back home. I would have stayed in the Badlands for a bit longer, but Conker wasn't eating much, and I about ran out of water.
Anyways, here's some pictures of Conker chasing some plastic bags!
And here's a few of Juneau.
At first Conker and Juneau had no idea what was going on. Conker was kinda nervous about being in a strange place surrounded by so many people and dogs, but after a while, he warmed up to the event once he saw that the whole point was to CHASE! He surprised me a lot by letting a bunch of random people pet him, and he never once snarked towards another dog. (You aren't supposed to let the dogs get too close anyways, but some people didn't get that memo.) Juneau was into the bags at first sight, but wasn't quite sure about what was going on either. After she watched some dogs run, then got to run herself, she turned into a beast to control. She knew what was going down, what those bags were for, and when I took her out of the Jeep she'd lunge, bark, shake, and whine as the lure went past and when other dogs were running. Conker didn't do much of that except track the lure a bit, but when it was his turn to run, he was shaking with excitement.
And Sasha, other than whining every time I took Juneau out of the Jeep, was a champ and was perfectly content to loaf around and watch what was going on.
Both Conker and Juneau ran three times and got their CA (Coursing Ability) titles at the event. These are both of their first titles, and a pretty fun one to get.
Thanks Sandra for inviting me! We all had a blast.
I am really glad I went. It was a TON of fun, even though the majority of the time was spent sitting around (getting sunburnt, and rained on, in the same day) instead of actually doing something. But I got to see some dogs do agility, and a lot of breeds I haven't seen before or really like. I also met Joan Morningstar (Shiba breeder) from my town, and another dog blogger.
After the event, I took the three dogs to the Badlands and we hiked around for a while before hopping back home. I would have stayed in the Badlands for a bit longer, but Conker wasn't eating much, and I about ran out of water.
Anyways, here's some pictures of Conker chasing some plastic bags!
And here's a few of Juneau.
At first Conker and Juneau had no idea what was going on. Conker was kinda nervous about being in a strange place surrounded by so many people and dogs, but after a while, he warmed up to the event once he saw that the whole point was to CHASE! He surprised me a lot by letting a bunch of random people pet him, and he never once snarked towards another dog. (You aren't supposed to let the dogs get too close anyways, but some people didn't get that memo.) Juneau was into the bags at first sight, but wasn't quite sure about what was going on either. After she watched some dogs run, then got to run herself, she turned into a beast to control. She knew what was going down, what those bags were for, and when I took her out of the Jeep she'd lunge, bark, shake, and whine as the lure went past and when other dogs were running. Conker didn't do much of that except track the lure a bit, but when it was his turn to run, he was shaking with excitement.
And Sasha, other than whining every time I took Juneau out of the Jeep, was a champ and was perfectly content to loaf around and watch what was going on.
Both Conker and Juneau ran three times and got their CA (Coursing Ability) titles at the event. These are both of their first titles, and a pretty fun one to get.
Thanks Sandra for inviting me! We all had a blast.
Comments
and you got some great photos, too. I love the 2nd one of Juneau where her feet are all off the ground and her back toes are turned up. Go Girl!
Was it required that they run with no collars? When we went to the Fun Match, they could wear flat collars, but I have read at certain coursing things they want no collars.
With all the Lure Coursing posts, it really makes me want to get into it with London and Russell. I've always wanted to, but when I look up events and possibilities, the whole thing really frustrates me so I end up leaving it alone and never following through.
It was a pleasure meeting you, Conker and the girls. I was debating whether or not to drive 6 hours one way, so Koji can have his less than 2 minute run, but you guys coming made that decision easier for me.
The dogs all seemed to really enjoy coursing and the weather was mostly agreeable for the 2 days. Even for dogs that did not run, I think they (Sasha and Maluko) too enjoyed the outing.
Congrats again on the new titles - Conker CA and Juneau CA.... and that's not forget Sasha CGC!
No collar makes it looks neat though.
Yeah, these were "naked" runs. Probably because they were actual tests, maybe? I'm not sure. That made it a bit more difficult to control them while waiting to go on the field. Juneau had a false start on her third run since she slipped out of my grip while I was getting her leash ready for the release. There are some pretty dang cool collars for this type of thing with a quick release, and I might get one if I go coursing again to make it easier to hold onto them at the start.
@Crispy Juneau really loves running, and chasing, so I knew she'd think this was awesome. Conker is a little less enthusiastic about it than Juneau, but he got the hang of it right off the bat after his first run.
You should totally try London and Russell sometime! There are some places where you can do practice runs instead of actual tests, so I imagine that costs less, especially if your dogs end up not caring about chasing plastic bags for 600 yards.