Bark at the Park 2016!

We are finally back from Bark at the Park in Lancaster, California. This annual event crams the maximum amount of dog fun into a single weekend. I enjoy it a lot because it draws both serious dog sport people, and average pet owners. I was there to help run Tired Dog Good Dog's lure coursing program. American Diving Dogs hosted a dock diving competition. Disc Dogs in Southern California held a disc competition. Do More With Your Dog did a tricks demo. There were flyball demos and agility demos. Southern California Working Snow Dogs had an urban mushing booth. Doggie Fun Zone set up their...thing. There were contests of all sorts, from best trick to best singing dog, and vendor booths too!

Sisci Godzilla, Zip, and I tried out a few of the activities together. Godzilla and I have been trying to get the hang of urban mushing for a while, but she's just not ok with the concept of pulling and having anything follow behind her. Zip, on the other hand, is fearless. I figured I could probably harness both of them up together, and have Zip convince Sis that this whole setup was ok.

The urban mushing booth had harnesses in every size. They also had a two-dog line to attach to the scooter, and a neckline to attach the girls together at their collars. Sure enough, Zip was quite happy to run around with the volunteer holding the leash and me on the scooter. Sisci Godzilla still wasn't totally convinced, but she was a lot more comfortable with the whole concept. Progress!

Dock diving wasn't quite as successful. Despite both being tennis ball crazy and avid swimmers, neither of the girls took to it right away. We signed up for practice diving time with the instructor, who had me start by rolling the tennis ball down a ramp and into the above-ground pool. Zip was happy to walk down the ramp into the pool and grab the ball, but then she was more interested in swimming laps than coming back to shore for another round. According to Godzilla, that pool eats little cattledogs. She wouldn't set foot in it. Apparently several other dogs refused to jump that day, so maybe they knew something we didn't.

One week prior to Bark at the Park, I threw a couple of discs for Zip. She caught my terrible throws, so I figured we had better enter the disc competition the following weekend. We entered the Novice Toss and Catch competition, which involves throwing discs a certain distance and having the dog catch them and bring them back. Each round is timed, and you only get a minute to throw your disc.

I showed up early, got lots of disc-throwing pointers from the people in charge, and practiced as much as time allowed before the competition. It was super windy out there. In the first round, Zip caught one disc and Godzilla did not catch any. In the second round the wind was even worse. Godzilla still didn't catch any discs, but Zip caught five! I wasn't expecting to do anything at the competition other than have fun with my dogs, but Zip and I placed first in our class! Sisci Godzilla and I scored no points at all, but I'm told we were fun to watch. I always walk my dogs out of any competition like they just won the entire thing, no matter how we did.

New Coursing Ability Titles!

Sisci Godzilla and Zip got their first AKC lure coursing titles on Sunday! These are also their very first AKC titles, so I'm quite proud of them. The American Kennel Club started the Coursing Ability Test program a few years ago, previously lure coursing was limited to only sighthound breeds.

Photo by Clark Kranz

Sisci Godzilla has been lure coursing since she was a bitty baby, so she knew exactly what we were there for. She's super enthusiastic, and she also runs like a sighthound.

The AKC recently introduced a new competitive event called a Fast CAT. This is a competitive event where the course runs are timed. I think Godzilla may be among the top fastest Australian cattledogs in the country. Unfortunately, the closest Fast CAT competitions are an eight hour drive away. I'm told the timing equipment is quite expensive, hopefully the clubs closer to me can get equipped soon.

Photo by Clark Kranz

Zip had never seen anything like this before. I wasn't sure if she would be interested in chasing a plastic bag, but one of her litter sisters has quite a few CAT titles already. Zip watched Belle run and decided that this was a fun game. She ran the course perfectly on the first try, and on the second day got her first title!

Zip and Sis now have their Coursing Ability titles. Go girls!

The Halloween CAT

At the end of October, Brisbane and Sisci and I went to a two-day AKC lure coursing event. Brisbane did a total of four runs, two per day, and each was a qualifying run. This brought him up to ten AKC Coursing Ability Test runs, earning his Coursing Ability Advanced title. Go Brisbane!

A friend recorded one of his runs for me. Coursing Ability Tests are usually set up with two different courses, a longer one that most of the dogs run, and a shorter one for tiny, smush-faced, and older dogs. At ten years old, Brisbane is allowed to run the short course. He is willing and able to run the longer one, but keeping him in shape is difficult and he's not as fit as I'd like him to be. 

Usually I ask the judge which they'd like him to do, and so his first run was on the longer track. They both start out in the same place going the same direction, but the longer one turns to the right and the shorter one to the left. Brisbane likes to anticipate where the lure will go so he can get ahead of it. On this run, he expected it to turn right, so he runs the wrong direction briefly.

Sisci was three weeks short of her first birthday for this event, so she was not eligible to enter. However, they did do fun runs. These are not counted or recorded, and are a nice way to let puppies and unregistered dogs participate. Fun runs are also an inexpensive way to try out lure coursing if the dog has never done it before, and the handler isn't sure if they want to play. Sisci definitely wants to play.

After her run, everyone wanted to know why Sisci wasn't entered. The AKC requires all dogs participating in a Coursing Ability Test to be at least a year old. Sisci is now old enough to officially do AKC CATs, and I'm sure every run she does will be a qualifying run just like Brisbane's.

Stupid Lure Coursing Pictures

I love taking pictures of lure coursing, I always end up with the most amazing shots of dogs running intensely. The trick is to use a very fast camera, take several hundred pictures, and just choose the best ones.

This is what I'm trying to capture.

This, of course, means I end up with dozens are bad pictures for every good one. Sometimes I've focused on the grass instead of the dogs. Sometimes the background is full of equipment and bystanders who would really prefer not to be on the internet.

And sometimes the dogs look ridiculous. Not majestic. Not intense. Not athletic. Here are some of my favorite stupid lure coursing pictures.

I'm not sure what happened to Brisbane's ears here. They usually flop all over the place when he's running, but in this shot he is just holding a stay. A weird stay.

This is Sisci's dad Roscoe in the least flattering part of his stride.

The front end changed directions. The back end didn't.

Pretty much every shot of this pointer is absolutely ridiculous.

Just limbs and skin flying all over the place.

Such grace. Such poise.

And here's Brisbane running over Ru. They're both ok, it just made for a really silly picture.

Brisbane's First Coursing Title

Brisbane's first AKC lure coursing title certificate arrived in the mail! We can officially add CA to the end of his name! This is his second AKC title, the first is his Canine Good Citizen title. There are various certifying organizations that award titles, and some are awarded by one body and recognized by others. Newer organizations may not have their titles recognized by the AKC and other kennel club at first, but they can still be listed

Sisci decided she needed to be in the picture too.

To earn his Coursing Ability title, Brisbane had to complete three AKC lure coursing runs. Most clubs hold two "trials" on the same day, one after the other. This is because dogs are only permitted to run once per trial. Brisbane did his first two runs in the spring, so he got his Coursing Ability title on his first run in Hollister. This was a two-day event, so he did a total of four runs.

The next coursing ability title, Coursing Ability Advanced, is awarded for completion of ten runs. If we do another two-day event and Brisbane doesn't suddenly lose interest in coursing, he will get that one on his last run. After that, Coursing Ability Excellent is awarded for twenty five runs, CAX2 for fifty runs, and the number at the end of that title goes up with every additional twenty five runs.

Brisbane's official registered name is Brisbane Leave the Cat Alone CGC CA. Yay Briz!

Product Review: Fuzzy Wumpets Lure Coursing Slip Lead

Our Fuzzy Wumpets Lure Coursing Slip Lead was custom made just for Brisbane. This is a 4' leash specially designed to allow for a quick release that leaves the dog collarless and unencumbered. These collars come in three neck sizes and have a fleecy lining for comfort even on excited dogs. There are well over 100 choices of ribbon, and eight different colors of nylon.

Photo by Erin Koski

I bought this slip lead for our first AKC Coursing Ability Test. The trial rules state that all dogs are supposed to be release via a proper slip lead, but at our trial they didn't really enforce that rule. Still, this was our first one and I wanted to be prepared. Plus now I get to feel all fancy because I have the proper equipment.

Coursing slip leads are very different from regular slip leads. The collar portion has a D-ring on either end so the leash can be threaded through it in several different patterns.

Photo by Erin Koski

Threaded through one way, the slip lead is a secure leash. Threaded another way, it is ready for a quick release. While it is very secure for most dogs, I found that the coursing slip lead got progressively tighter but did not loosen when pressure was relieved. This meant that it just kept cinching down on Briz until I pulled it loose again.

I also found that the lead was a bit difficult to switch from secure to quick-release on a crazy-excited dog. There is an alternate secure pattern of threading the leash back and forth, but that was also very difficult to pull loose. I ended up just putting the leash in slip-mode and holding it that way until it was time to go.

Photo by Erin Koski

Of course, my issues with the coursing slip lead have to do with the nature of this type of leash, and are not the fault of Fuzzy Wumpets. I am very pleased with the quality of my slip lead, it is strong, safe, and beautiful. The collar is nice and wide, so it distributes pressure over a larger area when Brisbane is screaming and flailing with excitement. I love the fuzzy purple lining, it's made out of a fabric called 'microplush' that is soft and breathable.

Pros: Meets requirements for AKC lure coursing trials. Soft, strong, comfortable. Infinite color combinations!

Cons: I wish the collar could come in custom sizes. If ours was an inch bigger, it wouldn't choke Briz when it tightens all the way up.

Bottom Line: This was my first choice for a lure coursing slip lead. Nothing else looked as soft or pretty. I'd like to get Briz one of their limited slip collars next.

The AKC Coursing Ability Test

Brisbane and I went to our first AKC Coursing Ability Test a couple of months ago. I just finally got the pictures from Brisbane's runs, the photographer categorized them with pictures from a previous event so I didn't see that they were up for a few weeks. Briz did two runs and got two legs toward his Coursing Ability title.

Photo by Clark Kranz

I love how intense Brisbane looks in every photo. He is more insane about lure coursing than he is about anything else, including sheep and Chuckit.

Photo by Clark Kranz

High-speed photography also gives me a lot of insight into the way Brisbane moves. He very rarely gets all four feet off the ground long enough to be captured doing it.

Photo by Clark Kranz

He uses his magnificent tail as a rudder when he turns, sometimes spinning it like a pinwheel.

Photo by Clark Kranz

When Briz runs really fast the air flips the tips of his humongous ears backwards.

Photo by Clark Kranz

I always marvel at pictures where all his weight is being supported by just one or two joints. So glad he has solid wrists, pasterns, and legs in general.

The rest of Brisbane's pictures can be found here, I thoroughly enjoyed looking through them but had to just pick a few to buy.

Lure Coursing and the AKC

Lure coursing is one of Brisbane's most favorite things in the world, something I discovered nearly ten years ago at a medieval reenactment event. For several years, this was the only place where Brisbane got to chase the bunny. There were a few sighthound clubs doing lure coursing in California, but at the time it was very much a Just for Sighthounds sport. I had hoped to have the opportunity to run my dog for fun maybe at the end of one of their practices, but none of the sighthound people ever replied to my emails or returned my phone calls.

In 2010 the AKC started their Canine Partners program to allow mixed breeds to compete and title in a small number of performance events. In 2011 they added the Coursing Ability Test for all breeds including mixed breeds.

It took me four years to get around to participating, but yesterday Brisbane and I went to our first AKC lure coursing trial! He got to do two runs and qualified in both. When he qualifies in a third run at our next trial he will have his first AKC lure coursing title. We now have two shiny orange "Qualifying Course" ribbons from the Southern California Ibizian Hound Club. (There were no Ibizian Hounds at the trial, but we did get to hang out with a gorgeous Pharoah Hound!"

Brisbane did really well, mostly because I crated him in the car far away from the action. I set my trademark lime green sun shade up over the hatchback of my car and that kept us pretty cool despite the 88-degree weather.

His Hurtta cooling coat also helped a whole lot, and I was pleased to find him napping and resting comfortably whenever I checked on him. Using his Road Refresher bowl in the crate kept him from sticking his feet in the water and soaking his delicate paw pads.

Of course he launched into hysterical screambarking as soon as we got near the field. There's no silencing him. For all the calming down that he's done in the last few years, he's still absolutely roiling with energy when he gets excited.

Lancaster Bark at the Park

Brisbane and I spent the weekend in Lancaster so we could attend the annual Bark at the Park. It's basically a dog festival, complete with vendors, demonstrations, disc and dock diving competitions, contests, raffles, and even carnival games for dogs. And lure coursing, which is the entire reason we were there.

This was a two-day event with a total of twelve hours of lure coursing across both days. Brisbane spent a minimum of twelve hours across two days either running, or screaming because someone else was running. I learned some new things about Briz in those two days.

1. Brisbane doesn't hurt his feet when he is running, he hurts them when he is not running. He always sticks his feet in his water bucket, ensuring that his feet, any bedding, and the floor of his crate stay wet the entire time he is screaming and tapdancing in there.

2. A 3' tall x-pen, staked to the ground, beneath a short sun shade, is enough to contain Brisbane even when the lure machine is running.

3. Brisbane's paw pads remain intact when he spends a coursing event standing on grass instead of a plastic crate pan or soaked bedding.

4. While Briz appeared to be fine wearing his Ruffwear Grip Trex boots off and on through the first day of the event, on the second day he protested when I tried to put them on. The boots had caused sores to form under his front dewclaws, and putting them on two days in a row was too painful. I am planning to get Briz some Neo-Paws boots because those can be adjusted enough that the strap will not put pressure on the dewclaw.

5. Two days spent screaming, miles of running, and plenty of downtime around the equipment failed to make Brisbane any less obsessed with the lure. Sunday evening he continued to stare at the equipment intently until every last bit was packed up and put away.

6. Brisbane will bark at the lure continuously for at least half an hour without losing interest.

7.  I am unwilling to let Brisbane bark at the lure for more than half an hour because nobody has time for that, even when we're fiddling with the equipment.

8. At the end the event, after all of that running and screaming and barking and hysterics, Brisbane is still perfectly willing to try out dock diving.

9. Despite my lofty expectations, the Prozac had no effect on Brisbane's behavior at the event. Apparently this kind of crazy doesn't respond to medication.

10. Nobody else's dog is as obsessed, intent, or hysterical as Brisbane. Dogs that are better behaved are either less driven, less interested, or belong to people with the time and means to work with them in the presence of the equipment.

A lady with a lovely, well-bred young cattledog cheerfully told me that training would fix Brisbane's behavior at the event. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was thrilled he hadn't seriously considered biting anyone in the last two days. I'm well aware that intensive training could potentially turn him into a dog that thinks about other things in the presence of lure coursing equipment, I just don't feel the tradeoff is worthwhile. We only get to do this a handful of times each year, and I am normally helping run these events. I don't know how many of these precious opportunities we would need to use for training instead of playing, helping, and participating in order to teach Brisbane to chill out and behave himself. We might not even get there while he is still healthy and sound enough to run. I could avoid this level of crazy by simply not lure coursing any more, but I feel it's worth putting up with it in order to allow him to do something he is that crazy for.

RuffWear Grip Trex versus Lure Coursing

Last time I took Brisbane lure coursing, he tore his feet up pretty badly. Last weekend we had another Tired Dog Good Dog event, and I wanted to protect his feet while letting him run until his legs fell off. Briz has several different sets of dog shoes, ranging from $10 Old Navy rain booties to $70 RuffWear Grip Trex.

I usually have a couple of sets of Briz-shoes in the car, so I started him in his zippered Gooby Epiks. Three out of four Epiks went flying at the first turn, I didn't even get a chance to take a picture before they were all scattered around the field.

For the next run, I wrestled Brisbane into his RuffWear Grip Trex. Briz is very intense when lure coursing, so I didn't have high hopes for these boots either. Happily, they stayed on for the entire three laps without slipping or twisting.

As soon as I put him back in his crate, Brisbane dipped one of his front feet in his water bucket. I had read some reviews from people who had difficulty keeping wet Grip Trex boots on their dogs, so I was prepared to go hunting for lost boots on the course.

On his second run, every single boot stayed put again, including the wet one. Brisbane normally hates wearing shoes, but lure coursing is so exciting that he forgot all about them. He wore the boots just fine in his crate for a couple of hours between runs without losing or twisting any boots, except the one he managed to get wedged between the bars of his crate. He was fine and I was right there to see it happen, but this was a possibility I had not anticipated.

Safety Tip: Don't leave boots on an unattended crated dog.

Brisbane also wore his RuffWear Webmaster harness to make handling him easier. Briz cannot think in the presence of lure coursing equipment. I would feel worse about my unruly and untrained dog if I didn't see pretty much every other cattledog owner carrying their dog off the field too. The Ruffwear Harness just makes it easier because it has such a convenient handle.

Peeled Paw Pads

On Sunday we went to another Tired Dog Good Dog lure coursing event. It was absolutely marvelous, Brisbane got to run to his heart's content. He might even be starting to settle a little bit at events as he gets to run until he is well and truly tired. This time he overdid it a little, and hurt his feet.

See that flap of skin?

Around the time the batteries were running down, we noticed Brisbane was limping. I checked his feet, and found that each paw pad had a flap of skin peeled off the bottom. Some people call this a "slipped pad", it's basically a friction injury. Dogs can also get this same peeling effect from walking on hot ground. Brisbane's foot injuries are only mild, if it were worse he could have lost all the tough skin on the bottom of his feet.

Some people would take their dog to the vet for this type of injury, but I am comfortable treating it at home. Since it is only the outer layer of skin, I've left it alone and let Brisbane rest. Holding him down and cutting the flaps of skin off wouldn't help him heal faster. There is no exposed pink flesh, and the wounds are dry, so I've left them unbandaged. If the yard were wet or muddy I might bandage them, but I think we're all happier this way. I have limited Brisbane's activity while he heals, no rowdy games, no walks, and no unlimited access to the outdoors. He has had a few low-dose aspirin, but not too much because he is more likely to limit his own activity if he hurts a little bit.

So totally worth it! Photo by Pawz in Action.

Lure Coursing!

Much like flirtpole, lure coursing is an incredibly lazy way to exhaust my dog. Obviously laziness is why I get up before dawn and drive for hours to spend all day helping run lure coursing events. Brisbane runs with Tired Dog Good Dog all-breed fun lure coursing. Tired Dog Good Dog events are usually held along with agility trials and other dog events in the greater Los Angeles area. Tomorrow we will be at Woodley Park in Van Nuys.

Photo by Pawz in Action

What is Lure Coursing?

In a nutshell, lure coursing is chasing a bag on a string. 

The sport was invented as a way to simulate a running rabbit, originally as a way to test sighthounds for their hunting ability. Chasing live rabbits is complicated, difficult, and cruel to the rabbits, plus it's highly imprecise. How do you accurately compare one hound's ability to run versus another? 

Photo by Pawz in Action

The answer is to make the 'rabbit' run the same path for each dog. The lure is almost always a plastic grocery bag because these look the most like a running animal. Some lure coursing machine have a long piece of string with a bag on the end, and a motorized wheel that can wind the string up very fast. This is called a drag lure. Drag lures can go in a straight line, or they can make turns by going around pulleys. The drag lure must be unwound and reset for every run.

Photo by Pawz in Action

Tired Dog Good Dog uses a continuous loop lure course. There is one giant loop of string, 600-800 feet long, turned by a wheel on a motor. The string runs around several pulleys in the field, and can go around and around without stopping so the dogs can run until their legs fall off. The top-of-the-line machines can also reverse effortlessly, so dogs that aren't confident enough to go around the entire course can run back and forth while get the idea.

Photo by Pawz in Action

I help out with TDGD events so Brisbane can run until he is well and truly tired (also because I love all the other people involved and their dogs). We know that, unlike most dogs, Brisbane does not actually lose interest in the lure. He eventually gets tired enough that he walks instead of runs after it, but even when the batteries and Brisbane are both completely drained, he likes to lay there and stare at the lure just in case it starts moving again. Briz also never quite gets tired enough to quit stealing food, but he still loves Tired Dog Good Dog lure coursing.