This past Saturday I decided to take advantage of the Lure Coursing opportunity just to see if Diva would have any interest. My expectations were pretty low, considering that it is just a plastic bag, but I figured that if she did take to it then it would be something fun we could do to relieve stress. There aren't many sporting opportunities that allow the dog to just run full blast as they please and with our training getting more advanced I am often adding a lot of pressure and dialing down on the obedience.
I was surprised at the variety of breeds and mixes that were there and even more surprised at some of the dogs who did really well! When it was Diva's turn I told them she had never done it before so they decided to do what the guy called a perpendicular run by release. Meaning that they zipped the lure right in front of her hoping to catch her attention and then I was supposed to release. As the lure came by Diva locked on, I let go, said "get it, get it, get it!", and that was all she wrote. Diva was off like a rocket and she tracked the lure around the course appropriately. After that first run she was very focused on the other dogs running and got excited when she saw the lure go by.
For the second run we did a regular start with the lure ahead of her. There was no hesitation on her part. She just took off and once again did a very nice course. I think that she was a bit confused about what happens at the end because she came in and kind of looked around like..."Now what?", lol! Regardless, it was obvious she enjoyed herself and because of that I enjoyed watching her get a chance to run fast for the joy of it. What I learned about documenting lure coursing is that it takes a second person to run the video camera/camera and that you better have one terrific zoom lens! Things happened so quickly that I never even had time to get the camera out. What I did get a picture of was Diva watching and waiting in between her runs. I think that the look in her eyes says it all ;-).
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