Who has more fun as dogs chase lures?
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May 19, 2016
Diana Zimmerman
A proud owner carries a mischievous Basenji back to her quarters after a race.
Despite the gray skies and wet weather this weekend, dog enthusiasts showed up at Judy and Howard Brawn's home, Misty Rivers Plantation, on Puget Island for a little competition.
It was another American Kennel Club (AKC) All Breed Lure Coursing Tests and Trials event, and there were members from the Willamette Valley Basenji Club and others on hand.
It was really hard to tell who was having more fun, the dogs or their owners.
The Brawns had their own little tent set up in front of the 10 acre course where they could sit and watch the dogs.
A remotely controlled lure is attached to a line that sits level with the ground. The dogs watch the white flagged lure take off and speed off after it. Most of them, anyway. Two little hounds couldn't be bothered and spent more time sniffing some bushes nearby.
Diana Zimmerman
Personalities are on display in the event as some dogs blithely follow the lure and others are more strategic, taking short cuts across the field to get ahead of the lure. Cheating, Howard and Judy Brawn laughingly call it.
There are the dogs who faithfully follow the lures all the way around the course. There are the "cheaters," as the Brawns like to call them. They quickly get a feel for the course and figure out where the lure is going to go before it gets there. They simply cut across the field instead of following the line.
Judy remembered the time someone brought a dog that would stop periodically and lift its paw. It turned out she was part pointer. Then there was the time someone brought an English Bulldog to the event. The dog was ungainly, rolling across the field, but he chased that lure with a wild passion anyway.
On the weekend of May 28-29, there will be an AKC sanctioned Coursing Aptitude Trials. The event is open to all dogs, including mixed breeds, who are one-year-old or older.
This means that even local residents are welcome to bring their dogs to take part in some of the fun. There is no entry fee and there will be events in the morning and afternoon.
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