Lure coursing

Lure coursing is a sport for dogs that involves chasing a mechanically operated lure. Competition is typically limited to dogs of purebred sighthound breeds, although the AKC has a pass/fail trial for all breeds called the Coursing Ability Test (CAT).

In lure coursing, dogs chase an artificial lure across a field, following a pattern that is meant to simulate live coursing. A typical lure course in the United States is between 600 and 1,000 yards (550 and 910 m) long. In Europe, as well as the rest of the world, the course length can be over 1000 meters, and often incorporates some obstacles or jumps. The course must have a minimum number of turns in order to simulate prey (the jack-rabbit or hare) changing direction in a chase. The fields can be fenced or not. If a dog is lure focused they will typically follow the lure from start to finish and not run off course. Dogs with some considerable lure experience, termed "lure-wise", may try to anticipate or "cheat" by attempting to cut off the lure instead of trying to capture the lure using follow, speed and agility. Sighthounds generally have no need to be trained or enticed to chase the lure since the desire to chase is instinctual.

Some breeds do, however, require lure play at a very early age to encourage them to follow an artificial object with enthusiasm. Dogs must be at least one year old to compete; the hard fast turns are tough on a dog's developing joints, and intense and frequent competitive lure coursing before the age of 12 months may cause joint problems later in life. Dogs at an earlier age do require a moderate but essential introduction to the artificial chase to: stimulate their normal mental and physical development, to prepare and improve their capacity to perform physically with enthusiasm without hurting themselves - as is the case with the mutual, voluntary athletic play of littermates.

In American Sighthound Field Association (ASFA) competitions, a dog must be Certified in order to compete in the Open category of the breed. To certify, a dog must run clean (not interfere with the other hound and pursue the lure) with another dog of similar running style and be certified by a qualified ASFA judge. Dogs used for certification do not have to be certified themselves, nor do they have to be a sighthound, and judges can certify two or three hounds at the same time. In American Kennel Club (AKC) coursing, a new rule was passed in early 2010, making the certification process similar to the ASFA certification process. A dog must run cleanly against another dog of similar running style in order to earn its QC title before it may compete. Dogs can still earn their JC (junior courser) title by running a minimum of 600 yards (550 m) with four turns twice, in two separate trials, under two different qualified AKC judges. The dogs run alone, and once they complete both runs, they earn a Junior Courser (JC) title. The JC title, however, no longer allows them to compete against other dogs.

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