1. June 201410
Lure Coursing is a sport for dogs that involves chasing a me-
chanically pully-operated lure. Competition was originally de-
veloped for, and originally limited to purebred Sight Hound
breeds, but recently the AKC has identified pass/fail trials for ALL
breeds in which competitors can earn Coursing Ability Test(CA) titles.
“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 is between 600 and 1000 yards (548 to 914 meters)
long. 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. Sight Hounds generally have no need to be trained or en-
ticed to chase the lure since the desire to chase is instinctual.”
And, lo and behold, what we found was that Bouviers des
Flandres also need no training or enticement to chase the lure. That
might actually be an understatement!
When you arrive at a Lure Coursing event, each dog is evalu-
ated to determine whether it is sound enough to run the course*.
The dog must be walked up and back by the owner/handler while
two officials assess the dog’s gait. Assuming there is no evidence
of limping, or other gaiting problems, the dog is then “allowed”
to compete, and is inserted into the run schedule. Generally, the
club sponsoring the event will limit the participation to about 50
dogs, and each dog gets one run in the morning, followed by an-
other run in the afternoon. A dog must have 3 qualifying runs to
earn a CA title. A qualifying run is one in which the dog chases the
lure from the beginning of the course to the end of the course
within a specified amount of time.
We showed up at our first Lure Coursing event with 9 Bou-
viers. All it took to get our dogs excited was for them to see the
first dog run the course. No training was needed, and no practice
runs were needed. Apparently their Bouvier prey drive kicked in,
and each and every one of them could barely be contained as they
waited their turn.
As the first dog on the schedule is released to run the course,
the next dog is moved “on deck” (the starting point of the course).
At this point, we found the challenge to be holding back the dog
on deck – once they could see the dog on the course chasing the
lure; they had trouble controlling their excitement. It’s one thing to
hold back an impatient Whippet, but another entirely to hold back
an impatient Bouvier! Angie Motta had the difficult job of manag-
ing/controlling (hanging on to) each dog on deck, and, at the
judge’s signal, releasing the dog for its run. My job was to bring
each dog up to the deck for his/her turn, and bring them back to
the setup after they completed their run. Although hectic, my job
was easier than Angie’s job.
What we found was that our dogs absolutely LOVED Lure
Coursing. They could hardly wait for their turn, and it was a joy to
watch them run full-out chasing the lure. Each of them was com-
pletely focused on the lure, and their athleticism and intensity was
on full display.
There was a complete mix of breeds at each of the events we
attended, but there was a preponderance of Sight Hounds. All the
participants found it interesting to watch how our Bouviers at-
tacked the course – they did it with their own unique style. There
What happens when you take some string, a motor,
a few plastics bags and add in a dog?
WRITTEN BY DAYLE SULLIVAN
Lure Coursing
was a “bouvier-ness” about the way they ran the course, which al-
though different from how the sight hounds ran the course, was
equally successful.
Those of us in Southern California are lucky that we have sev-
eral Sight Hound clubs/venues that have embraced the CAT trials,
have opened these events to all breeds, and are running events on
a regular basis. In particular, we are lucky to have Southern Cali-
fornia Lure Coursing, which is collection of individuals and clubs
that pool resources for the benefit of lure coursing in Southern Cal-
ifornia. They have been generous to open up their sport to other
breeds. In turn, we got to introduce them to the diverse capabilities
and talents of the Bouvier des Flandres.
We have considered organizing our own (non AKC-sanc-
tioned) Bouvier des Flandres Lure Coursing event for some time in
the fall//winter (since Bouviers have no desire to run outside in the
heat of a summer day!). If you think you might be interested, let
us know. Contact either Angie Motta (bonideebouv@yahoo.com)
or myself (Sullivan.dayle@sbcglobal.net).
*Additionally, dogs must be at least one year old to compete;
and they must not be in heat. n
Anyone looking for new activities for your Bouvier
might want to try Lure Coursing.
www.scbdfc.com 11
Newsletters
GCh Quiche Kari Without Kompromise
AN INTERVIEW WITH
CLIFF RAYNOLDS
VENTURA & SANTA BARBARA
SHOW IMAGES
GETTING A PICKY
CANINE TO EAT
UPCOMING SHOWS/
LATEST WINNERS
TheBulletinAUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2014, VOLUME 42, ISSUE 8/9
Kimber
Southern California
Bouvier des Flandres
Breed Club Bulletin
OpenWorks monthly
4C, 4-page newsletter
using client provided
editorial.
Linda Haskell
4320 East Sahuaro Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85028 | 602.421.7347
Editor, art director of a 1C regional dog breed club’s monthly 24-page newsletter. Researched articles,
interviewed high profile breeders, compiled and displayed multiple images of show shots and
owner’s Bouvier des Flandres dogs. Used as a club communication and resource.
2015 philosophy newsletter