Obedience
Obedience trials test an Italian Greyhound's ability to
perform a set of exercises. In each exercise, a dog/handler team
must score more than
50% of the possible points and accumulate a total score (for all of
the exercises) of at least 170 out of a possible 200. Each time
your dog
scores the 170 qualifying score, he has gotten a "leg" toward
his title. After three legs, your dog has become an obedience titled
Italian Greyhound. There are three levels at which your dog can earn
a title with the levels increasing in difficulty. The three levels of
competition are Novice, Open and Utility. The first level, Novice, results
in your dog earning a Companion Dog (CD) title. Your dog will have to
heel both on and off leash at different speeds, come when called, and
stay still for a simple physical examination and with a group of other
dogs. The second level, Open, results in your dog earning a Companion
Dog Excellent (CDX) title. At this level, the leash is off and jumping
and retrieving exercises are added. The final level, Utility, results
in your dog earning a Utility Dog (UD) title. The exercises at this level
are the most difficult and require a "thinking" dog. In addition
to the jumping exercises, the dog must now also perform scent discrimination
tasks.
An Italian Greyhound can be successfully campaigned in the obedience
ring. While he is a sighthound and most certainly not as easily trained
as most of the herding and sporting dogs one sees in the ring, working
an Italian Greyhound can be a challenging and rewarding experience. He
is a thinking dog and thinking dogs require thinking handlers. The old
method of putting a choke collar on a dog and jerking on his neck for
corrections will not work and would be detrimental to an Italian Greyhound.
After an Italian Greyhound has learned an exercise, there is usually
a reason why he may not perform it in the ring. A thinking trainer will
analyze the situation and come to some understanding before correcting
the dog.
An IG may never score a perfect 200, but some have scored as high as
199 1/2. Several factors may affect the ability of an IG to achieve
an extremely
high score. If an IG is looking up at his handler he will often turn
his legs to the outside to better balance himself. This may make it
appear that they are sitting crookedly, which requires a deduction
from their
score. Also, with his aloof nature and being a creature of comfort,
he will quite often not want to "down" on a cold or uncomfortable
surface. Most obedience shows are held in cool places to better accommodate
the breeds with coat and an IG finds this extremely uncomfortable and
unrefined. He would much rather be on a beach lying in the sun with
a nice cool drink beside him!
This author has trained IG's and found it to be a very rewarding experience.
There is mutual respect and admiration between the animal and the human.
Training an IG will certainly give the trainer more of an appreciation
for the charm and wisdom of this delightful little creature.
If you would like more information on obedience training, information
about the obedience rules, and to locate training clubs in your area,
contact the
American
Kennel Club (AKC).
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Lure Coursing
One of the most natural and exciting sports that Italian Greyhounds
can compete in is lure coursing.
Lure coursing competition attempts to create a simulation of a
hare's flight to evade a pursing hound. The hare's path is generated
by a continuous line looped through a series of pulleys producing
a set of straightaways and varying turns. Please don't be alarmed,
instead of a live bunny, a set of white plastic bags are attached
to the line to attract the IG's attention. At a competition, IGs
run in trios with traditional greyhound style racing blankets.
Judging is not according to time but rather ability to follow the
lure, enthusiasm, agility, speed and endurance.
Before you start lure coursing, make sure that your Italian Greyhound
is in good physical condition. The IG should be getting frequent,
vigorous exercise and its feet should be conditioned to a variety
of surfaces. We strongly recommended that your IG be run at several
practice events, alone, before entering a trial so you may gauge
its fitness, reactions to other hounds on the field, and interest
in coursing the lure.
An Italian Greyhound may compete in
American
Sighthound Field Association (ASFA) trials. The American Sighthound Field Association (ASFA)
is a national organization dedicated to preserving the function
and natural beauty of sighthounds. Contact the ASFA Regional Director
for your area or the ASFA Corresponding Secretary. A rule book
can be obtained for a nominal fee and ASFA publishes a bimonthly
magazine containing a schedule of trials to be held in the next
twelve months. Let the clubs in your area know you are interested
in receiving Premium Lists for their upcoming trials.
IG's are also eligible to compete in
American
Kennel Club
(AKC) lure coursing. AKC rules and a list of AKC approved lure
coursing clubs is available from the AKC web site, as is a searchable
schedule
of events.
The following is a list of sources of further lure coursing information:
Coursing and Racing Your IG - info
pdf
NOTE: Adobe Reader is needed to view and print
PDF files,
Click
here for the FREE Adobe Reader download.
Field Advisory News (FAN)
Coursing magazine for the American Sighthound Field Association
Editor: Vicki Clarke
P.O. Box 399
Alpaugh, CA 93201
(209) 949-8649
$30 Bulk mail $42 First class
So You Want to Run Your Sighthound
Handbook of competitive hound events
Author Denise Como
$15.00 plus $2.00 S&H
PO Box 137
Cassville, NJ 08527-0137
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Racing
The Large Gazehound Racing
Association, (LGRA) recognizes IG's
as well as many other non-whippet sighthound breeds. IG's are eligible
to compete for the GRC (Gazehound Racing Champion) title and Supreme
GRC title. LGRA racing is 200 yard straight track sprint racing.
In addition,
National Oval Track
Racing Assoc (NOTRA) also recognizes
IG's. IG's are eligible to compete for Junior Oval Racer (JOR),
Senior Oval Racer (SOR), Oval Racing Champion (ORC) and Supreme
ORC titles. NOTRA holds 300-400 yard races on an oval track.
Please note that all IG/whippet racing is amateur racing only.
Dogs compete only for titles and ribbons, not for money. Mostly
though, they compete because they love to run! In LGRA and NOTRA
race meets the dogs chase an artificial lure pulled by a small
battery operated motor.
If you have not raced or coursed your IG before, the dog needs
to practice running on the lure with other dogs prior to entering
a race meet. Your dog must run without interfering with other dogs,
or he will be disqualified and not allowed to race for one year.
Dogs must also have racing blankets with the approved LGRA/NOTRA
colors/numbers and must run muzzled. Dogs must be registered with
LGRA and/or NOTRA prior to racing.
Contact the club nearest you for assistance with information on
practices, blanket information, muzzles etc. Remember that all
these clubs are run by volunteers, most of whom have very busy
dog lives of their own. Be patient if it takes a few tries to reach
one of them.
When you show up at a race meet, be prepared to learn, and be prepared
to start pitching in and helping with setup etc. Start learning
the procedures, and before you know it, you'll be asked to "line
judge" races that your dogs are not running in.
Good Sources of Information:
Coursing and Racing Your IG - info
pdf
NOTE: Adobe Reader is needed to view and print
PDF files,
Click
here for the FREE Adobe Reader download.
Sighthounds Afield: The Complete Guide to Sighthound Breeds & Amateur
Performance Events (With a Comprehensive Chapter on Adopted Ex-Racing
Greyhounds)
Denise Como. Available from
authorhouse.com
Check both the
LGRA &
NOTRA web sites for more information
and event schedules. There is additional information on the
NOTRA
Other Breed Racing website.
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Tracking
The greatest thing about AKC tracking is it is a competition
that is based only on pass/fail. There are no "scores" or "placings",
so the competition is truly between you, your dog and the track.
Everyone at a test is pulling for each dog to succeed. Even though
an IG is a sight hound, he has instinct to use his nose to find
the game to chase. Tracking is as much instinct as lure coursing
to the IG with one bonus--the human half of the team can participate
in the track. Tracking trials allow Italian Greyhounds to demonstrate
their natural ability to recognize and follow human scent. Yes
folks, they can track! Unlike obedience events that require three
qualifying scores, an IG must only successfully complete one track
to earn his title.
The titles are Tracking Dog (TD), Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX)
and the latest addition, Variable Surface Tracking (VST). An IG
earns a TD by following a track laid by a human from 30 minutes
to 2 hours before. This is usually a 440 to 500 yard single track.
A TDX track can be aged from 3 to 5 hours and will measure anywhere
from 800 to 1,000 yards with the dog having to overcome physical
and scenting obstacles. A VST dog will demonstrate his ability
by following a 3 to 5 hour track that may take him down a paved
street, through a building and other areas exhibiting urban settings
as well as the wilderness.
Tracking training should be very positive. Each attempt is successful
even if the handler helps the dog achieve its goal. Even in tests
after a fail, the tracklayer stays and helps the dog find the track
and the article. The length, age, and terrain difficulties are
added slowly. Even when a dog is advanced, he is given an "easy" track
to keep motivation high. Since a human doesn't have the ability
to scent tracks like a canine, corrections should be scarce.
Tracking is a great sport for the younger and older dog. The best
time to start tracking is 8 weeks old. Remember the puppy had to "track" his
mother to receive nourishment when he was blind and deaf. Puppy
tracks are short and fun with the little one killing or playing
tug with the article. This sets the foundation for longer tracks
later on. The older veteran that can't participate in obedience
or dog shows loves to get out and get praise for pleasing his owner.
Tracking is a sport that the dog controls the pace. Arthritic older
dogs can walk the tracks at their own speed (there is no time limit).
Although it is a well known fact that IG's love their inside comforts,
they will brave the fields to find that elusive "glove" and
receive their reward. The best bonus a tracking team receives from
the sport is the ability to communicate. The handler learns to
read the dog's body language to know if the dog is looking for
track, found track, or just shopping and doing some recreational
scenting. Since the handler does not know where track is, he must
develop this ability to read and trust the dog. This ability is
an asset in obedience, agility and just every day cohabitation.
For more information on tracking, check
the
AKC
Tracking Page.
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Agility
Agility is a relatively new sport on the horizon of the dog world
that is taking that world by storm! The sport is right up the IG's
alley because it combines speed, agility and fun! Agility is like
obedience in that exhibitors can make it as competitive as they
wish. Some people get hooked to the sport by just "having
fun" with their dogs at a class and surprising themselves
by picking up a qualifying leg at their first trial. There are
several AKC agility titles available. Fo more info on AKC
Agility go to the
AKC
Agility Page.
The maximum score is 100 points and to qualify the dog must pass
with a minimum score of 85 points and not receive any non-qualifying
deductions. Three passing scores (known as legs) are required to
earn a title.
In addition,
United States Agility
Association (USDAA) and
North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC) offer agility trials
with
slightly different sets of rules.
The classes have a minimum number of obstacles such as A-frame,
pause table, dog walk, see-saw, high jump, broad jump, open and
closed tunnels, tire jump and weave poles. There is an allocated
time to run each course. Point deductions are given for every second
over course time, refusals, outside assistance, running the course
wrong (out of set order) or jumping off the pause table before
the mandatory 5 seconds. A non-qualifying deduction (0) is given
for knocking down an obstacle or jump, failure to perform an obstacle,
missing a contact zone (jumping on or off the A-frame, dog walk
or see-saw), handler touching the dog or obstacle or the dog fouling
the ring.
The fun part of agility is the work. It is positively motivated
and often at the trial you see the dogs motivated by just getting
to run the course. Agility is great for the older dog because it
teaches confidence with praise, praise, praise for each attempt.
When looking for help in training your dog, make sure to find an
experienced instructor emphasizing safety techniques and using
sturdy equipment. Make sure "spotters" are used (aides)
when teaching the A-frame, dog walk and see-saw. High obstacles
are always taught at a low height then gradually raised. Confidence
and control is taught before asking for speed. Simple obedience
commands are helpful, but not necessary when starting an agility
class.
Another benefit to this sport is that the handlers tend to get
into shape also. They must direct their dogs to the different obstacles.
For IG owners, this means fast thinking because outrunning their
dog would be very difficult. Have fun!
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Versatility
The Versatility Award Program is designed to reward those IGs who participate in multiple Venues, from Conformation to Performance. The system is cumulative, meaning the wider the range of activities, the higher the value of the Award given. Choosing just one venue and gaining higher and higher titles is not the same as earning titles in multiple sports. Remember the word is 'Versatility'. The IG is a wonderful being who enjoys participating in many things. These awards are given to the dogs and owners (team) who try new things and excel in many of them.
So venture out there and enjoy your dogs and all they are capable of!
Click
here for further information about Versatility.
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