Lure Coursing in Michigan

[PhocoenaGirl]

Does anyone know about any lure coursing trials happening in Michigan? The Detroit B club doesn't have any future events posted for lure coursing. Actually, I'd just like Beegin to get to run and chase the lure even if it wasn't for qualifying and was just for fun.

[tanza]

Have you checked out www.asfa.org or www.akc.org for events?

[kiroja]

Where in Michigan are you? I'd be happy to help you get involved in lure coursing. Myself and one other lady are probably the only ones who do any lure coursing around here. lol There's a couple other folks starting to join the bandwagon too.

There's a trial next weekend in Manchester. After that, there's a trial in Gibraltar in May. Then there will be another in Metamora around the 4th of July. Then back to Manchester in September and Gibraltar (well Flat Rock) in October. And that's about it around here. Depending on where you're at, there are some trials in NE Indiana and central and NE Ohio that are a reasonable distance too. Most of the time the clubs will hold practice on Saturday afternoon after the trial. No practicing on Sunday. I believe the Metamora trials the practice is on Friday after a couple breed specialties. Saturday they do a big pot luck and stuff afterwards. There really isn't any other opportunties to practice. Once in a blue moon someone has an informal practice at their farm or something. And there is one place, http://www.arboroads.com/ that used to have a couple fun runs a year, but I don't even think they've had any in the last year or two.

But even if you can't make it on a Saturday afternoon, if you can come check out the event at all during the weekend, just getting your dog out and about and seeing/hearing the lure and equipment will start to get him ready to run! There are always lots of people around that can give newcomers a hand in learning the ropes. And for folks who have multiple dogs, you might even be suckered into helping them release their hounds for a little practice.

Like Pat said, you can go to AKC and ASFA's web sites, and they have complete calendars of all the events going on across the country. From there you can get contact info for the clubs that are holding the events and they will send you the premium list, or info packet for the event. If you would like to contact me, you can go to my website and email me, and I will send you the info for the next couple events. I already have them on my computer already and am hoping to be there, at least part of the days. My job is kinda a pain the rear to work around. lol

Also if you need any other help with anything, don't hesitate to contact me.

PS…the Detroit B club is not "active", and especially not in lure coursing. We don't do anything other than support the entry at one of the local shows each year.

[ComicDom1]

Kelli, Miranda and I are interested in Lure Coursing also. We are located in IL so we will be looking here and in the surrounding states for events.

ComicDom1
Jason

[kiroja]

Good to hear Jason! Looking forward to seeing Roo running someday. Take a look at the ASFA and AKC sites for lure coursing locations/dates and club contacts. I know that IL, WI and IN all have lure trials throughout the year. I usually don't travel that way for coursing, but sometimes I might go to NE Indy.

You are in luck though, there are also some race meets in the area, that's our absolute favorite thing to do! lgra.org and notra.org are the racing associations. They also have calendars and contact info on their sites. There are usually races near Indianapolis, and also Northern Illinois near the WI border. If you head to the race meets I am hoping to get out to some of those again in the future. And I know you'll see one of my other kids there, Jada.

Don't hesiate to contact me if you need any help figuring out what to do.

[ComicDom1]

@kiroja:

Good to hear Jason! Looking forward to seeing Roo running someday. Take a look at the ASFA and AKC sites for lure coursing locations/dates and club contacts. I know that IL, WI and IN all have lure trials throughout the year. I usually don't travel that way for coursing, but sometimes I might go to NE Indy.

You are in luck though, there are also some race meets in the area, that's our absolute favorite thing to do! lgra.org and notra.org are the racing associations. They also have calendars and contact info on their sites. There are usually races near Indianapolis, and also Northern Illinois near the WI border. If you head to the race meets I am hoping to get out to some of those again in the future. And I know you'll see one of my other kids there, Jada.

Don't hesiate to contact me if you need any help figuring out what to do.

Yes it looks like we are located in a good place at least to travel from to attend some race meets. I just have to get him registered with all the organizations so he can participate and then learn the rules and what is any thing I need to work on with him. I did do some searching on the net but not so sure if the places are still there because of the lack of updates I saw on the websites. As far as figuring out what to do, I really need to figure it all out. I actually have no clue so I am starting to read as much as I can to get a feel for things.

Any help will be appreciated. We most likely can make the Indy events. Its about 2 1/2 hours from here so we will plan on that if we can fit it into our schedule. It looks like this summer will be a choice of sailing, cycling, and Roo. Guess who will win out?

ComicDom1
Jason

[kiroja]

Jason, once you get your PAL number for Roo from AKC, you should be sitting pretty good. For the lure coursing events, you will just need to hand in a copy of his registration when you enter your first event. You won't have to do anything ahead of time regarding paperwork. For the racing organizations, they have their own system with numbers they assign you. But you don't necessarily have to do anything ahead of time. If you want to you can send them a copy of his registration, and I believe it is $2 to "register". Then they will mail you back with Roo's racing number. Or you can just wait until you enter your first race meet. Again you can just turn in your registration then and give them an extra $2 with the entry fees and they will forward it to the appropriate association when they turn in meet results. Then you can just use "pending" on your entry forms until you hear back what Roo's number is.

My suggestion is go to each organization's website and download the rule book. Read through it (yes I know, kinda boring reading…lol) and you will learn a lot about how the events are run, how the dogs are scored, and what types of things they earn. Also you will learn about things you are/are not supposed to do. Then the only other thing you can really do is go to the events and watch and learn. There are some things that are "unwritten rules" that you will learn as you go, and from talking to people. But it's one of those sports that you just gotta go see to learn. And going to the events will give you an opportunity to practice with Roo. There's not much you can do at home. Swinging a bag around on a fishing pole is about it if you want to do that. Or you could also feed them their dinner on top of a plastic bag or anything else that would make the bag very "exciting". lol But otherwise this is just something their brain is hardwired to do, and once they see it a bit they're either going to do it or not. There are things you can do with the lure operator to adjust behaviors or performances and help coach them along, but basically they're either gonna do it or they're not. The thing you CAN do at home is just general stuff to get them in shape for running. Lots of walks like you're already doing is helpful. Biking them so they can jog for long distances is excellent. Jogging up hills is also nice. If you've got one of those rare Basenjis that like to play fetch, there's an excellent game to play in the yard to build up their muscles.

As far as equipment goes you won't need anything for practicing. You can just take his leash off, and hold onto him until you release him, or you can let him run with a collar on for easy catching. In lure coursing they're not allowed to wear anything but in racing you can use collars if you want to for easy loading/catching. They just can't have any danglies on them. I just keep a cheap plain set of nylon leashes/collars in my gear bag that I can throw on everyone at the meets. In racing it won't matter what you use, but in lure coursing you will need a special lead/collar combo called a slip lead that allows you to keep control of your dog, but release them quickly so they are nekkid when they're on the course. You can get this later. They also have colored/numbered jackets that they wear in competition but again you won't need those for practicing. There's usually a vendor selling these items at most of the trials/meets and also places online you can buy them if/when you're ready. The only other thing you would need is a basket type muzzle for racing. They are optional for coursing, but required for racing because there are 4 dogs and only 1 lure, and everyone is usually so bunched together. Sometimes muzzles are used to keep dogs focused who like to play, others use them for easy catching since it distracts the dog at the end, and others use it as a safety feature so they don't hurt their jaw on the pulley if they lunge for the lure at the wrong moment.

Your best bet for practicing would be to attend the race meets. Often at lure coursing there's only practice on Saturdays after the event, and that's if the equipment is still holding up and the people too. lol But at race meets they often find more time to squeeze people in, and can do practices throughout the day during down times and on Sundays too. They don't have as much stress on the equipment, and not as much to do for clean up afterwards. But it would be good to attend both to learn the ropes and get in some good practices.

If you have any other questions, fire away!

[Nemo]

@ComicDom1:

Kelli, Miranda and I are interested in Lure Coursing also. We are located in IL so we will be looking here and in the surrounding states for events.

ComicDom1
Jason

If you are not far from the WI border, the BCOSW club is having a coursing fundraising event at Lurecoursing Fanatics on May 9th in Somers, WI. It's fenced in and it's just for fun and open to any breed. $5 for one run, $8 for two. I'm bringing Zoni so she can do a puppy run or two. The info for the ASFA field trial in Belvidere, IL is also on the BCOSW website.

http://www.bcosw.org/ (go to the events page)