Hey Ya'll! Murphy here! It is May, already and that means dog sports are going outside for the year. That means happy dogs pursuing their sports in the sunshine while owners and handlers cheer them on. Throughout May, I am going to tell you all about the different dog sports in Western Washington. Maybe your dog will take a shine to one of them and you and your pet can have a great time together!
This week, we are going to start with Dock Dogs. We have mentioned this sport before. It is a very straight forward sport. The dog runs the length of a dock and leaps into the air after a toy that the owner throws into the air ahead of the dog. The toy needs to float. In most competitions, the dog wins by jumping the farthest before splashing down into the water. Some awards are given for big air, as well. There is no breed limitation - the dog just needs to be able to jump off of the dock and swim. A fun, wet sport for a nice warm summer! Here is a link to the local dock dog association for more information: http://www.pugetsounddockdogs.org/PSDD/welcome.html
The second sport we are going to talk about today is lure coursing. In this outdoor sport, the athlete chases a white lure as it moves around a course, set up for the competition. The course is a line/cord that goes around pulleys and a small motor to drive the cord. The course is not round, but instead has multiple corners, turning dogs in both directions, imitating how a rabbit would run, rather than a simple oval or rectangle.
Lure coursing is typically confined to breeds which are called sight-hounds. Sight-hounds visually follow their prey, rather than following their noses. These breeds include Greyhounds, Whippets, Irish Wolfhounds, Scottish Deerhounds, Salukis, Basenji's and a number of other breeds. It truly is amazing to see how excited these dogs get when they are ready to run! Owners and dogs have a great time. The doc used to lure course with the greyhounds he used to have. He says those were great times!
For more information regarding lure coursing, here is a link to the local lure coursing group: http://www.cascadecoursing.org/
Check out these great sports and have a great time! Go outside and play!
