Hi all,

I'm new to the forums and to whippets in general—we just got our first in October, he's now 7 months old and I want to get him into lure coursing. I have no clue how to even get started and was hoping some of you pros out there could give me some advice
I live in Kent, Ohio, near Cleveland, so if anybody knows of any clubs, etc. around here, that would also be very helpful!

Thanks,

Rachel and Phantom

Coarsing is alot of fun. That's what we were working un before Gris - Gris had her mishap (unrelated). I started by using a milk jug tied to a lunge whip for horses. If you look up State Line Tack you can probably get it on line. I try not to use plastic bags, because that's what they use in competition and I want to keep her fresh. At seven months I would try to avoid any tight turns and building up to much speed. In retrospect of her injury, I don't think that I would have let Gris - Gris develop so much muscle and speed at such a young age. I did what the vet said was ok, but it's just a personal thought. Make sure your, dog is well conditioned, walking, jogging etc., don't practice for more then five, or so minutes in the beggining. If you can afford a lure machine get one. They're $1,000 plus, so I never did get one. I would start by talking to your breeder (if your dog was purchased), or other breeders in the area. I know that our Detroit Kennel Club had a demo on this. You may have to Squirrel about a little bit to find a club. We have alot on the western part of our state. I found that in the Midwest, this stuff is not as easy to find as on the East Coast.

So funny- I asked this same exact question last year!! Still haven't had any luck getting involved though. There's a very active club in Dayton but the Columbus club didn't really have any events this year. Not sure if there's anything further north... If you find anything let me know!

I know that there are in Michigan. I'll try to connect with a lady I know that does this. I know that it is divided up by breed, so it's one of those things that if there are no Whippets, there is no Whippet lure coarsing. I'll try to see if I can chat with her in the next few days. A friend of mine does it with her Afgahns, but she does it at meets with other Afgahns, she wasn't really that helpful, other then getting me started on training for it. The same with ralley. I really had to sniff out the people who did it. I know that we have a lure coarsing society, or some kind of group like that here. I emailed them last summer, but no answer came. I'm not sure about other states, but I am quickly finding out that in Michigan, dog stuff is very political. The show people don't talk much to the flyballers, the agility people are their own group. I've had trouble getting it figured out. I'll try to get ahold of Dee this week and see if she can give us all some info.

How funny I asked this question not too long ago myself! Lol
It seems that with dogs, sometimes you can run into a lot of politics. Kind of a bummer, but whatever.
I know that for me I found SOME activities but it is 5 hrs away... so we couldnt even really practice. I dont know. I think at one time there was a small club around springfield, mo but there just wasnt enough to keep it going. In the US, at least where I am, it seems whippets/sighthounds are an oddity. Which makes having one really cool but hard to find cool stuff to keep them busy! LOL

Thanks so much for your input. I've already experienced the silly politics with other whippet owners at the dog park...I really just don't get it! I had one person look down on my dog because he's a "show" whippet and not a "coursing" whippet....excuse me??

Haha but anyways, I guess I just need to keep looking. I found a website that may be a club in this area but I haven't been able to locate anyone that would be able to get me any information about it.
Thanks!

Apparently there's an AKC coursing group called Northcoast Coursing Club of Ohio. They have an event coming up on 5/25 on Ravenna. The only other group I can find in Ohio is OKIGO which is based in Dayton and they do both AKC and ASFA but they don't seem to have anything scheduled until fall... which is weird because they're usually very active.

There's info for the Northcoast event here: http://www.infodog.com/clubs/2008264002.htm

And the OKIGO site is easy: www.okigo.org


Good luck getting started!! Both are too far for me, I'm right in the middle!

I'm still waiting to hear from someone I know about this. They had a couple of litters born, so I think they're to busy to talk with me now, as they're up to there ears with puppies!

There is a difference between show Whippets and coursers, but I wouldn't let it stop you. The coursers have a thicker bone mass. You can really see the difference in the occasional Whippet flat racer that you see. The key is to take the training very slow. Lots of walking, jogging and stretching. There is a slight chance that a show style whippet could be more injuriny prone then a coarser. because of structural breeding, but again I wouldn't let it stop you. Horses are the same way. I have made many beautiful and agile jumpers from racers, it just takes care and training. You should take time to read up about the kind of injuries that can occur, just so you have that knowlege. It's hard to completly escape broken toes, skin lacerations and ACL injuries in our breed even without sports. It's because when our guys play, they play HARD and they don't quit. I think we have the Lacrosse players of the dog world The other thing that you really want to know alot about when doing canine sports is obedience, especially recall. Coursing is done in an open field, many times without a fence, so you have to be really sure that you have ful control to bring him back. I think that this is where many coarsing dogs have the edge. The breeders really breed sport dogs a little bit more for brains then show dogs. When my girl's litter was born, her breeder said he noticed that they were alot smarter then the other litters that he had bred in the past. Later on, I spoke with her Dad's owners and they said that the intelligence was in the coursing line. Anyway, as soon as I see them again I'll ask them if they know how you can get started.

They have them here in Louisiana. The bush area near bogalusa. I don't ever go because I was aware of them till last year. My MIL lives near there so maybe I might check it out. I'm more of a show type of girl.