Anna Blom September 2006 (anna.blom@med.lu.se)              

What is Lure Coursing (LC)?

              Just a few words of introduction for those who have not come into contact with LC yet. LC is a simulated hunt where typically two hounds run after a bunch of plastic ribbons over a field for some 600-1000 meters. The ribbons are attached to a line that is dragged over several pulleys placed on the field and finally attached to an engine that is able to pull the 'lure' ie ribbons with great speed. A typical course contains several turns varying in sharpness and although the field must be devoid of rabbit holes and trash sometimes there are natural hurdles such as level differences, strips of high grass, hey-balls and small water enclosures. It is not always the fastest hound that wins as the judges give points not only for speed but also for enthusiasm, intelligence, agility and endurance. The hounds are required to run in muzzles to decrease risk of possible damage to wild animals that could accidentally appear on the coursing track and to prevent, unlikely for a wolfhound risk, that the dogs will end up in fight during the run or when they catch the lure. In order to participate in a competition, the hound must have a license proving that he is able to run in a correct manner. The license can only be given to an adult dog and in Sweden the hound must be 18 months old in order to perform his third and last license run in a company of an experienced hound.

Lure Coursing in Sweden.

              Lure Coursing has been introduced in Sweden at the end of 70-ties and to begin with it was organized by Swedish Saluki Ring to be taken over by Swedish Sighthound Club. This allowed other sighthound breeds to enter competitions - among them Irish wolfhounds. From January 1st 1999 it is possible for a wolfhound to obtain Swedish LC certificate and strive after the title of a Swedish LC Champion (given to a hound with at least three certificates won during at least two seasons and having at least one "good" grade from conformation exhibition) and an International LC Champion (no less than two international certificates - CACIL won in at least two different countries and a minimum "very good" grade from conformation exhibition). There are several sections of the Swedish Sighthound Club located in various geographic areas of Sweden and the two sections, which are the most active in attracting wolfhound competitors are the West and South Sections. There are several wolfhounds running in Sweden but the number of hounds actively training and competing seldom exceeds ten hounds in total. I have noticed certain increase in the number of coursing hounds over the last few years and I sincerely hope that this trend will continue. A difference could certainly be made by wolfhound breeders who could encourage their puppy buyers to try LC not many breeders in Sweden are interested in LC and if anything they would rather discourage from LC by giving mainly two reasons - possibility of injuries and uncomfortable increase in hunting instinct of a competing dog. I have all respect to differences in opinion but these arguments do not discourage me personally from competing with my hounds. I sincerely believe that healthy hound in decent physical condition does not run a bigger risk of injury during LC then when he runs free over the fields and forests and I certainly assume and hope that all wolfhounds are regularly allowed such exercise. The issue of hunting instinct is a more philosophical one and concerns the future of our breed. All three wolfhounds I owned run LC well and all three have well developed hunting instinct. Personally I do not think that they would care less about hunting if they did not run LC. On the contrary, I have sometimes feeling that my hounds would choose a plastic bag flying in the gust of wind over a cat hiding under the car. Wolfhounds are hunting dogs that in majority of cases retained their hunting instinct and allowing them to run LC is probably the greatest gift we can provide for them. However, our society has changed into one not needing hunting dogs anymore and perhaps we should strive in breeding after wolfhounds who are not hunters any more but function only as companion dogs. I do not think that there is an easy answer to this dilemma. Personally, I feel that wolfhound is an ancient breed and one of our tasks is to preserve the breed in the form it always had. I do not find it difficult to handle hunting instincts of my dogs, none of them ever injured any animal and all are very often running free. I do admit, however, that it requires careful choosing of the places where the hounds can be released and a keen eye that can spot a deer before the hounds do.

Why and how did we start with LC?

              When we got our first wolfhound we had no idea what LC was and to be honest I did not expect that much of a hunting instinct remained in a modern day wolfhound. We wanted to do something fun together with our wolfhound Tekla in order to develop good contact with her and to give her life of quality. So we became members of local club training dogs in obedience. It was a very useful and nice experience that thought me a lot about dogs and how to train them. Unfortunately Tekla thought it was excruciatingly boring. She used to learn every new trick fastest of all participants of various breeds but then she was loosing interest with every repetition and was clearly wondering why on earth are we doing the same thing again? Luckily at this time we heard about LC and that there were training possibilities in Southern Sweden. We went for the first training with certain degree of anxiousness that we will be laughed at when the owners of "real" sighthounds will see our Tekla. Here we were with our heavy hairy beast Tekla who, to be completely honest, spend most of her life in comfortable bed and sofas. Somewhat to our surprise all organisers and participants were extremely helpful and had very positive attitude to coursing wolfhounds. It turned out that they also knew how to make a wolfhound run and really helped us to get our Tekla to become interested in LC. I believe that majority of wolfhounds will enjoy LC as long as one has enough enthusiasm, time and patience. It is also important to make first introduction rather early when a wolfhound is still playful enough to enjoy hunting a plastic bag. Tekla, who eventually became a Swedish and Norwegian LC Champion and never broke a run was not a star at all during her first runs. She was the kind of wolfhound who does not like to leave her owner's side for a distance longer than a few meters. Therefore in the beginning Tekla run only short distances and was allowed to catch the lure in order to get a real appetite. What probably helped the most was that Tekla's favourite human being, Thomas, run beside her and loudly acknowledged that she was doing a really good job. Tekla would do anything for Thomas and after a couple of runs she realized what pleasure it actually was and how fantastic it was to feel the adrenalin pumping through her body. Afterwards she was unstoppable. She associated LC run with the muzzle and we had to hide it from her or else she would put it on herself. Thomas and Tekla won a lot of smiles during LC competition in Tammsvik when she put her head into a plastic bag with muzzle that Thomas carried and simply run over a very muddy field in a direction of a lure, plastic bag over her head and dragging poor tractionless Thomas behind. Without a doubt LC was the greatest fun in Teklas life and my heart was warm every time I saw her flying over the field. One has to certainly consider that growing wolfhound puppy is very vulnerable to injuries and simply can not be allowed to run for longer stretches particularly including sharp turns. However, a wolfhound youngster can easily manage to run for lets say 20-50 meters after the lure. When little Octan came to us we have always taken him to LC trainings and competitions and he was allowed to look at Tekla who was competing. When the time came for his first try when he was only several months old he was so proud and happy - he knew immediately what he was expected to do and galloped after his own lure with great enthusiasm. Afterwards he became an extremely able coursing hound. So little Ania who came to our family a few months ago was also allowed to test LC early and she too had no doubts of what was her role. During the European championships in Finland this year it was the first time I had to put double leash on my hound while standing beside the LC field. Ania was simply out of her mind seeing Octan compete, it was entirely clear for her that she should be there by his side.

Swedish wolfhounds who became LC champions.

              The first wolfhound in Sweden to obtain champion title was Westmount Varga whom unfortunately I have never seen running. I heard that she was an excellent courser with great stamina, speed and edge. Varga was also the first wolfhound to become Norwegian LC champion. The second one to follow in her steps was our Tekla (Bjärnarps Embla) who always showed great enthusiasm and used to accelerate at the end of a race. She learned with time how to take off her muzzle and used to demolish the lure at the end of the run. Her main fault was excess of intelligence, which resulted with time in certain tendency to cut corners and take chances, which is not very appreciated by the judges. During European LC Championships in Hoope, Germany in 2005 Tekla was possibly the only hound who similar to many others ended up in a little lake in the middle of a coursing track and still managed to cross it looking like a Loch Ness Monster and continued pursuing the lure. This show of intelligence and enthusiasm gave her finally sixth place between wolfhound bitches, which was a great achievement considering that Tekla was at this time 5.5 years old. Tekla was often competing in Sweden with Warlock's Promotor, a huge gentle black male wolfhound who despite impressive size was a very intelligent and enthusiastic courser. Sadly, he was not given enough time with us to become a champion but he placed as the fourth best male wolfhound during European LC Championships in Hotton, Belgium 2004. Afterwards it was time for our wonderful boy Warlock's Octan to enter the stage. At three years of age Octan was Swedish and Norwegian LC Champion having won nine official competitions in one stretch, had two CACIL (unfortunately both from Sweden and therefore not enough for the title of an international champion). He was placed as the second dog in European championships in Hoope, Germany 2005 and afterwards as the seventh wolfhound in Mustiala, Finland 2006. Octan is an exceptional courser, he is very powerful but still agile and elegant and he follows his prey with great focus. Octan does not stress at the start, he freezes into a focused statue only to start at highest speed on the command. Octan's two sisters are also great coursers. Warlock's Octala Pre-eminence has become Swedish LC champion in the spring of 2006 and her sister Warlock's Octavia O'gradi followed in her steps in the autumn 2006. Warlock's Octala Pre-eminence is always extremely enthusiastic at the start of the run and has impressive speed. She would achieve even more if she took it a bit easier at the start. A very enthusiastic hound who is hard too keep somewhat quiet before the start uses a lot of energy even before the run starts. Warlock's Octavia O`gradi is more similar to her brother as she is relatively calm at a start despite her enthusiasm. She runs with great speed and agility and is a very thorough curser following very closely the lure. Next one in a queue to become a champion is Gelert's Anthem whose speed and enthusiasm are exceptional for a male wolfhound and who has already gathered two certificates. Two others who will certainly compete for champion title in the close future are Askhult's Ailish O'Connor and Warlock's Viska. Most of coursing wolfhounds in Sweden come from Ingela Weinberger's kennel Warlock's and as the result she is only a few point shy of being granted a special award from Swedish Kennel Cub for breeding utility dogs.

              Swedish LC champions:

       Westmount Varga (also Norwegian Champion and Swedish Conformation Champion)
       Bjärnarps Embla (also Norwegian Champion)
       Warlock's Octan (also Norwegian Champion and Swedish Conformation Champion)
       Warlock's Octala Pre-eminence
       Warlock's Octavia O'gradi (also Norwegian Champion)

How do wolfhounds run LC in comparison with other sighthounds?

              There are usually two hounds during each LC run unless the number of participants is uneven and one hound must run alone. Wolfhounds usually run at relatively large distance from each other. To me it appears that they are cooperating at hunt by securing own side of the lure and are well prepared to counteract when the lure is turning. Since the lure is turning is different directions, wolfhounds often switch several times between the leading and the second position during each run. Wolfhounds can also appear somewhat hesitant during parts of the run and then suddenly pick up the pace and continue with renewed enthusiasm. Probably because of their size wolfhounds do not try to attack the prey unless they are convinced that they have very good chance to actually catch it. Wolfhounds are usually very aware of their size and limitations as well as abilities. Therefore, normally a coursing wolfhound has excellent control of its body and very seldom looses control and falls, which can much more often be seen with other sighthounds that take more risks and dive more often after the lure. During six years of observing wolfhounds at LC I have witnessed maybe two cases of a wolfhound slipping and falling. In both cases the hound immediately stood up and continued the chase. Accordingly, wolfhounds usually do not make very sharp turns when lure alters its direction although they are able to do so if they choose to. A coursing wolfhound appears to run rather slowly but in reality he runs as fast as most other sighthounds because he is making huge leaps when galloping. At the end of chase some wolfhounds try to grab the lure whereas some ignore it. It is very seldom that wolfhounds come into a conflict with each other when running LC.

Future perspective.

              It appears that we will be able to see several good coursing wolfhounds in the coming future in Sweden. In the South section we have now four promising young bitches that are training for their licences now. Two are imported from Norway from kennel Ballygran´s namely Ballygran´s Brenna Breagg and Ballygran's Berneen Babd. Both these girls run LC very well from the first trial. Warlock's Cionne O' Gradi did not think at first that lure was worth leaving her owner for longer stretches but recently her interest matured and she has completed LC run in a very good style. The youngest one is little bitch from Switzerland, Aine of Cnoc Greina, who has shown great interest in the lure from the first trial. There are also two dogs that may obtain licence in the near future: Knallasen's Qing Of Soul and Ascending's Hercules.
              I hope to see more coursing wolfhounds in the future. Based on my personal experience I see only advantages of letting a wolfhound run LC. It is a fantastic experience to be able to watch your happy hound leap across the field in a pursue of a prey. I believe that it strengthens the bond between the hound and the owner as they are doing together what the breed was meant to for hundreds of years. Furthermore, having actively coursing hounds makes you exercise them regularly in order to keep in good condition despite the lack of time and rainy weather. Finally, all owners of coursing wolfhounds that I met so far in several countries were extremely friendly and helpful creating a very relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere during the competitions. I really look forward to meeting them again soon.

Swedish Top LC Wolfhounds.