He started life as a racing greyhound. He retired from racing and became a blood donor for a vet clinic in Nebraska. And now, Lucky Louie starts a third career: lure coursing! I brought Louie along last weekend to fill the entry I’d submitted for Bodhi. Louie is one of our more active hounds and he has a nice, solid build (with fantastic feet!) so I figured he could handle one run after the bunnies. And being a very social boy, I knew he’d love the experience. He definitely knew how to work a crowd , as he moved from hand to hand getting ear scritches from just about everyone. One thing he definitely needs to work on is learning that the world is not his pee post! He managed to “hydrate” someone’s lawn chair and one of the poles of the food tent when I wasn’t paying attention….little Stinker!!

Most retired racers will chase…but it’s never a sure thing. And being off the track for so many years, I wasn’t really sure what Louie would do. My questions were soon answered! When he first saw the lure go round the course, he went absolutely bonkers. There was no question he’d chase! In fact, it took nearly all my strength to hold him back! He was entered in Singles because that stake does not require any certification since the dogs are running alone. His first course went beautifully. Despite being a large dog, I thought he handled the turns quite well. Not exactly the speediest hound of the day, but he loved every second he was out there and that’s really what it’s all about. After a short time to rest, he was ready to go again….and I’m sure he would have run a second time. But, I felt he’d done enough for the day and scratched him from the final run. Better to leave the field with a healthy, sound hound that still wants to come back for more!

Pictures from his run on Saturday…

He did so well on Saturday and recovered so nicely, I decided he could handle one more run on Sunday. I asked if he could be the “test dog” used to test out the lure on the course before the first official course is run, and the Field Trial Secretary, Robin, offered up her whippet to run a certification run with Louie. A certification is required for any dog to be entered into Open or Veteran competition. The new dog must run a course of at least 500 yards with a hound of a similar running style to prove that they will chase the lure (not the other dog), won’t interfere or fight…that sort of thing. Once they do that, the judge signs off and the dog can be entered in future field trials.

I muzzled Louie as an extra precaution, but it turned out to be unnecessary. He could have cared less about his running mate…He was focused on the lure the entire trip around the course. The judge signed his certification and now Louie will be ready to run when the lure coursing season starts up in the fall! Because of his age, he’s eligible to run in Veterans (dogs over 6), but he can also be entered in the Open Stake (dogs who haven’t earned their Field Champion title). I’ll probably run him in veterans, but we’ll see how things go this fall. Louie is in fantastic shape and, with a little bit more conditioning, I think he’ll have a nice career on the lure coursing field. I know he’s going to love it!

Stay tuned for more adventures of Lucky Louie the Greyhound!

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