Superdog!! Jumping Agility Havanese

 Will Cosmo make it over the jump? He sure looks aerodynamic enough!

Photos by Phyllis Ensley

Wheeee! Made it! 

Lure Coursing for All Breeds

Cosmo got to try his paw at lure coursing during a fun day at The Canine Ranch in Canton, Ga. recently.

Lure coursing events and trials were created to offer sighthound owners a way to test their hounds' coursing instincts and those characteristics for which they were originally bred, to be able to hunt by sight. The sighthound breeds are: Whippets, Basenjis, Greyhounds, Italian Greyhounds, Afghan Hounds, Borzois, Ibizan Hounds, Pharaoh Hounds, Irish Wolfhounds, Scottish Deerhounds, Salukis and Rhodesian Ridgebacks.

Cosmo rests between lure course runs

Now, all breeds, including mixed-breeds, can enjoy the fun and excitment of lure coursing, just as Cosmo Havanese displays in his exhuberant run in the video above! This was Cosmo's first time on a lure course, though years ago he had the chance to try the Doggie Fun Zone, a lure-motivated obstacle course. Ever since Cosmo displayed an extraordinarily enthusiastic urge to chase the lure at the fun zone (his head about spun around), we wanted to check out an actual lure course.

Some other helpful links about lure coursing:

• AKC Launches Coursing Ability Test for all dogs
• AKC Coursing Ability Test Links
• Upcoming Coursing Ability Tests
• Getting Started in Lure Coursing - For Sighthounds

If you're in the Atlanta area, we thoroughly enjoyed our day at The Canine Ranch. The schedule for upcoming fun days and lure "happy hours" can be found here.

Havanese Agility: Cosmo's ASCA agility weekend

A few of the ribbons we earned last weekend and the
course maps for our two Jumpers runs

Last weekend we competed in an ASCA agility trial. ASCA stands for the Australian Shepherd Club of America and is one of several organizations that sanctions and hosts agility trials for all breeds of dogs.

We had a blast at last weekend's event and brought home four qualifying runs!... although as long as you're having fun with your dog it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, right?!

Here's a look at our Gambler's run. In this event, the handler (that would be me) must devise a strategy to maneuver the dog (Cosmo) throughout the course while accumulating points for each obstacle under a designated amount of time. The contact equipment and weave poles are typically worth more points than the jumps and tunnels (although they take longer). This part of the run is the opening sequence.

Then, in a closing sequence, the handler and dog complete "the Gamble" which tests the dog's ability to complete a series of obstacles at a distance. Here, you'll see me send Cosmo to four jumps at the end of the run, separated by a taped line in the dirt that I needed to stay behind. A whistle is blown once time has run out in the opening sequence, and the handler should then proceed to the Gamble. For some reason, I didn't hear the whistle in this run (you WILL hear it clearly in the video) but we somehow qualified under course time anyway! Take a look!

One of the fun things about agility is there are a variety of events that test different skills. This next video shows our Jumpers run, which is all about speed and accuracy, testing the ability of handler and dog to work as a fast-moving, smooth functioning team. There's a change of direction on this course that we execute with a rear cross, which means I send Cosmo on while I cross behind him. See if you can find it... it IS very smooth! Go Team Cosmo!

Some of our runs are less smooth than others, and while this Regular run is a little messy, we still qualified because we completed this course under time, and completed every obstacle in the designated sequence. AND, Cosmo successfully completed every contact obstacle without flying off above the yellow contact zone. Yay!!

Cosmo relaxes with a few ribbons between runs

Good job little buddy!

Now, let's go to the Pet Bloggers Hop!