If you want to do FastCAT, make sure that you have two people. Since it's a straight 100 yard run, you need one person to release him at the start and another to catch him at the end.

 

Ah, do you think that is something where I could ask someone to do on the spot? My kennel club is having one in December, so I know I would have help there, but the one in Nov is 2 hours away, and I doubt I can find anyone to come with me.

It is a lot of fun, so is the regular CAT! If you're not sure if he will chase the lure I would recommend asking to volunteer with a club doing a local Fast CAT and ask if you can do a fun run with him on a break.

If Ace is like most dobermans be aware that he will probably become totally nuts at the sight of the lure. Most dobes scream bloody murder and want to pull you down while they wait for their turn. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 people to hold a dobe when it's on deck.

BTW you can find upcoming trials on the AKC site's events search tool.

Yup, I used the AKC site tool to find the shows within 2 hours of me, and I have several coming up. I have never been to one though! Maybe I should just wait for the one in December that my kennel club is putting on, that way I have my trainers there.

My breeder does the Fast Cat with all of her dogs, and recommended playing with a FlirtPole first to see his interest levels. That arrives tonight! But I just figured it would be something fun for him to do.

Honestly, Ace's drive is not.... well... not really strong anywhere lol. He's not all that food driven. He loves his treats, but if there are people around, he could care less. He's not much prey driven either. He will chase after squirrels and birds, but that is rare. He usually just stands there and stares. He's like... people driven? Its the one thing you can't break his attention with. He loves meeting new people or friends, and that is when he tends to lose his mind. He just cant wait to get to them and say hello and get pats. I honestly thought that part of him would settle out by now, but its still the same, haha. Prey or treats cannot break his love for people.

So I have no idea how he would actually do with anything lure related. Its going to be interesting to see!

 

It is a lot of fun, so is the regular CAT! If you're not sure if he will chase the lure I would recommend asking to volunteer with a club doing a local Fast CAT and ask if you can do a fun run with him on a break.

If Ace is like most dobermans be aware that he will probably become totally nuts at the sight of the lure. Most dobes scream bloody murder and want to pull you down while they wait for their turn. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 people to hold a dobe when it's on deck.

BTW you can find upcoming trials on the AKC site's events search tool.

 

Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 people to hold a dobe when it's on deck.


OH boy ! I just watched one of these on You Tube ! Greenie - I don't know if any amount of guys or gals could hold back Mr. Business - lol

So is this a timed event ?

This would be right up Mr.B ally ! :grin2:

 

It is a timed event and you earn points towards titles (BCAT DCAT FCAT+) based on their average MPH. Most dobes run about 23-27mph. You can see doberman standings here. Hugo just made the top 20 :grin2:

https://www.apps.akc.org//apps/fastcat_ranking/index.cfm

More than anything it's just a fun no pressure thing to do with your dog.

 

Looks like a blast - I think I need to check and see if there is any of these in Indiana

Congrats on the top 20 !

 

According to those standings, a greyhound's top speed is 37-ish miles per hour, while a dobe's is about 30. That's about the same difference as that between a minpin (23 mph) and a doberman. Amazing!

A basset hound's top time is about 16...Australian Cattle Dogs are up there with the dobermans.

HDD and Hugo will have to have a match race.

That's rather an interesting list to scan. THX, GK

 

Chesa,

You might be surprised at prey drive and how and when it kicks in. Toad went to a regular Cat practice meet when he was around 6 or 7 (and Toad's favorite thing to do in Agility was to lose focus mid run and got to visit the timer or judge (it was infuriating for my friend who ran him), At the practice meet we let him watch two dogs run (and this was all Dobes--put on by the Mt Hood Club) and he was interested so he was third up--when the lure started he took three strides and started to scream--I can't tell you how surprised I was.

I caught him at the end and thought that he could do that but very shortly I found out why he couldn't do that and it was because of me--I'm really noise sensitive-Toad didn't just scream while running, he screamed as soon as the lure started--we moved him away so he couldn't see it because it was clear he was being a huge distraction to other dogs (and people)--then I moved him to where the van was parked--he could hear the motor start and the screaming started then--I walked him far, far down the access road and he could still hear things and screamed.

Eventually my friend ran the other dogs we had along and came and picked us up--she said that even though we were close to a mile away from the actual run area you could still hear Toad.

That was Toad's career as a Cat participant. It was way too much for me. I used to run my Afghan Hound occasionally--Afghan's are silent runners--I didn't have a clue when we went off to that Cat meet that my dog would turn out to be entirely manic.

Good luck--I'd think you could find someone to hold Ace for the start--the people who were at that meet we went to were all very helpful.

dobebug

 

Richter SCREAMED and howled as soon as I took him out of the car and put on his lure coursing lead back when he was running in CATs....I had to basically ride him like a pony because he bucked and twirled and I could barely hold him. Once he actually pulled me over and I fell at the start line (managed to keep hold of him, barely!)... Everyone at the club knew Richter, LOL. He earned his CAA but I had to retire him after that because he had foot injuries. We were never sure if he got them from lure coursing or they just were made worse from it. It was his most favorite thing ever but it did have some repercussions with prey drive in the rest of his life, so just be aware of that possibility....

I will say my rehab/sports medicine vet isn't the biggest fan of lure coursing. She sees a lot of injuries.

I haven't done it with Sypha. I've pondered FastCATs because they are straight line, so less risk of injury, but...I'm a bit gun shy. And her prey drive is much lower than Richter's. Maybe we'll try one some day.

This is how I got to "enjoy" lure coursing with Richter. Note that we're still inside the building... He hasn't even reached close to his full scream.

I literally just busted out laughing at work. Not a story I was expecting!!! I have never been around other Dobermans, nor many AKC events so I never know what to expect. But that is CRAZY they get so entranced with it! I can totally see Ace being a screamer. He isn't one for barking, but he definitely is a talker!


Meadowcat you make a great point about the repercussions. It will mean if we do do this more than once, I will definitely need to keep training and reinforcing his recall. Right now it is great, but I can see how allowing him to do this could put a strain on that.

This honestly sounds like a fun event though! I think for now we will try the FastCAT's just for something simple. But coursing still seems fun!

 

Richter SCREAMED and howled as soon as I took him out of the car and put on his lure coursing lead back when he was running in CATs....I had to basically ride him like a pony because he bucked and twirled and I could barely hold him. Once he actually pulled me over and I fell at the start line (managed to keep hold of him, barely!)... Everyone at the club knew Richter, LOL. He earned his CAA but I had to retire him after that because he had foot injuries. We were never sure if he got them from lure coursing or they just were made worse from it. It was his most favorite thing ever but it did have some repercussions with prey drive in the rest of his life, so just be aware of that possibility....

I will say my rehab/sports medicine vet isn't the biggest fan of lure coursing. She sees a lot of injuries.

I haven't done it with Sypha. I've pondered FastCATs because they are straight line, so less risk of injury, but...I'm a bit gun shy. And her prey drive is much lower than Richter's. Maybe we'll try one some day.

This is how I got to "enjoy" lure coursing with Richter. Note that we're still inside the building... He hasn't even reached close to his full scream.

 

Looks like to me that MC needs to start eating Wheaties ! Lacking a little horse power to me >>>>>

 

We have some folks that set up lure courses north of us...........
BUT .....I was hesitant ...worried about set backs in Hoss's training to not chase cats, squirrels, possums, and sometimes RED vehicles.
What is is with RED ???? Anyway......
Hoss has mellowed ....with the exception of our neighborhood free roaming cats ..........
Sure would love to go watch a run like that though............love dogs sports.........so much fun to see them in a full run.

 

I think you are wise to be cautious if you have issues with prey drive that are tough to deal with. Richter was not a huge squirrel chaser prior to lure coursing. He certainly showed interest and would chase them, but not intensely. Now, he has nearly gone through the glass door on the porch to get at them. No exaggeration. He's pretty well trained, but I don't consider it safe to walk him without a prong collar, because he absolutely LOSES HIS MIND over prey. If he spies something before I do and it's too close I'd be on my face or he'd be loose. He's nuts. I'm a pretty decent trainer and it's been YEARS since he coursed.

I literally just busted out laughing at work. Not a story I was expecting!!! I have never been around other Dobermans, nor many AKC events so I never know what to expect. But that is CRAZY they get so entranced with it! I can totally see Ace being a screamer. He isn't one for barking, but he definitely is a talker!


Meadowcat you make a great point about the repercussions. It will mean if we do do this more than once, I will definitely need to keep training and reinforcing his recall. Right now it is great, but I can see how allowing him to do this could put a strain on that.

This honestly sounds like a fun event though! I think for now we will try the FastCAT's just for something simple. But coursing still seems fun!

It took ONE time for everything to start with Richter, so... be ready On the other hand, I have more than one friend with Dobermans who watched the bag fly away on the lure and went...meh. Totally uninterested. So...you never know.

 

Love that video MC. I see what you guys mean about the screaming...I wasn't expecting quite that high a pitch. I always thought about trying that out with Capri, but couldn't find a place to go. Good thing though, because she did end up with a wrist injury that probably had its roots in a conformation problem. Coursing would probably have exacerbated the problem a lot earlier.

 

Oh goodness, MC, that made me lol so hard! Good job hangin on to the boy.

 

I gave you 10 likes on this one Bonnie - I have been over at the shop LMRO :grin2::grin2::grin2: