Lure Coursing. Put simply, this sport is the game of sighthounds where the dogs chase a lure–a plastic bag, in fact–that runs along a motor-powered line that a person operates like a remote-controlled car. Below is a video of a lure courser on her first run (BTW, that dog is not a sighthound, but she thinks she is one. Also, she was not supposed to run away after her race ended!) The course is staked out at a minimum of 600 yards. Some of the dogs wear basket muzzles during their races. While it is not restrictive for breathing, muzzles do keep the dogs from hurting one another and from mauling the lures.


Officially, lure coursing began in California in the 1960s. To read more history, visit the American Sighthound Field Association. The AKC regulates competitive lure coursing and your hound must be a sighthound to compete. There are 120 lure coursing clubs in the US. In NYC, you can find more information from the Big Apple Sight Hound Association. BASHA hosted a fun run on April 1st in Long Island and even non-sighthounds joined in the fun.
Go here to see the fun (Photo via Flickr by Wagongrrl)