CAT & FCAT possible!

[Ravenbird]

Next weekend there is a FCAT on Sat and a CAT on Sunday. I'm going to make it happen! Biggest challenge will probably be the motel stay: noises, doors slamming, voices happening well into the night. Even a nice hotel has all that. All the plans to do this as a youngster never happened due to the pandemic, so here we are. Here's an intro to CAT video for fun:

 

[Rits]

Good luck and have fun! Will there be a photographer there so there will be awesome pics of Asha running full bore?

 

[Kaiser2016]

Sounds like a fun adventure! Take her bedding or something that has the smell of home. What I learned after our first stay in a hotel is that this dog is way more adaptable than I thought he could be. None of the nightmare scenarios happened, so that is how I measured our success

 

[LifeofRubie]

Oh, you're going to have so much fuuuuuuun!!!!!

 

[Skb]

Im jealous!! I have wanted to try this with Skynyrd. I think he would do awesome. Arent dobermans one of the fastest breeds? I cant wait to hear all about it

 

[Viemarangelrock]

Wow, can’t wait to hear how she gets on. Have fun!

 

[jazzies mum]

I second the familiar bedding idea for travel, plus her cover blanket that I know she likes! You will probably find she adapts surprisingly well.

What fantastic fun! Asha will love it and I just bet she will be one of those that cuts corners to ambush the lure! Have to say that watching that video had me in stitches with all the different tactics to get the prize, and those corgis!

 

[Ravenbird]

Thanks guys! I'm not worried about her being nervous in the hotel, I'm worried about her explosive barking every time she hears a noise! She'll have her bed, her blanket, & me! I will also take her inside & out from lobby to halls to stairways & up & down the elevator. Learning never stops, right? @Rits, yes a photographer but I saw some of the previous pics from an event s/he shot & they were good but not spectacular. Maybe Asha will make it spectacular LOL. @Skb look at AKC events and find one nearby and do it! All the dogs that have a little prey drive love this game. No training needed if they like a flirt pole. Fastest breed, not really. Sighthounds rule. We live with a Dutch Shepherd got clocked at over 27 mph. Asha has big clunky feet, not those fast hare feet, that Dutchie can run circles around her. But you just go to have fun, the dogs have a blast. And AKC does have a chart of the fastest for each breed every year, so there is that. To clarify the Fast Cat is a 100 yard straightaway with MPH figured in. The CAT (Coursing Ability Test) is actual coursing with curves or loops at a 600 yard distance, no timing, just ability to follow the lure throughout the course, within time constrictions. Most of all, we're going for fun. Years ago I had a motto: "If you aren't having fun, what ARE you having?"

 

[LifeofRubie]

I KNOW it's not the THE most important things but I was kind of disappointed with some of Rubie's pictures from our FCAT trial BUT the Photog has all of 15 seconds to get multiple pictures of a dog running toward them at over 20 mph... Once I really thought about that I was like, OH THESE ARE GREAT Dogs with very little loose skin and no ears and tails to bounce around do manage to make almost any picture look regal!

Lure coursing they have more opportunities and I think that's where I seen some really great pictures.

Rubie has been in hotels a few times and is a BARKER. If we're in the room with her, she usually stops over the top reacting quickly enough but always a little on edge.

So excited to hear all about it!

 

[Ravenbird]

So we had friends come over for cocktails on the porch the other day... Asha when the car drove up:

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Im jealous!! I have wanted to try this with Skynyrd. I think he would do awesome. Arent dobermans one of the fastest breeds? I cant wait to hear all about it

They are one of the faster breeds yes. They're supposed to be the most perfect combination of speed, strength and agility. One thing I honestly wonder about is the size of Dobes' front paws. Seems so many of them have front paws that are quite large. I'm confident this slows Oji down. Otherwise, he is a great candidate for being an exceptionally fast Dobe – working Dobe at 28" and 70 lbs.!

 

[Oh Little Oji]

But yeah, I'd like to try this with Oji. Is the only obedience requirement not running over to other dogs on the sidelines?

 

[Skb]

But yeah, I'd like to try this with Oji. Is the only obedience requirement not running over to other dogs on the sidelines?

Ive marked out the 100 yrds and tried to time Skynyrd on it. I had some one hold him at the start and I went to the end. Im sure he would be even faster with a squirrel. It crossed my mind to pick up a roadkill Squirrel and tie a rope around it and pull it!

 

[Skb]

I was watching a competition on tv like a month ago and at the end the dog (bulldog) grabbed the lure. It took like 3 people to pry it out of his mouth. They had to go to a commercial! Lol

 

[Oh Little Oji]

I was watching a competition on tv like a month ago and at the end the dog (bulldog) grabbed the lure. It took like 3 people to pry it out of his mouth. They had to go to a commercial! Lol

Yes, our American Bulldog/Pit Bull female grabbed a roadkill squirrel on a run with me. I had to employ an old trick to get her to let go.

 

[Skb]

Yes, our American Bulldog/Pit Bull female grabbed a roadkill squirrel on a run with me. I had to employ an old trick to get her to let go.

I shouldn't admit this but one time there was a freshly dead squirrel in front of my house and i always wondered what Skynyrd would do if he actually caught one so I picked it up and leaned it against a tree and then let Skynyrd out. I think he was confused bc it didnt run away from him!

 

[Skb]

What was the old trick by the way?

 

[LifeofRubie]

But yeah, I'd like to try this with Oji. Is the only obedience requirement not running over to other dogs on the sidelines?

The courses use that orange construction fence type stuff to keep running dogs in and other dogs out. Generally speaking, people keep their non-running dogs far enough from the fence so as not to interrupt or distract the running dog. Rubie wasn't quite sure what it was all about for her first run but just me jumping around and calling her from 100 yards away was enough to get her going! Then she discovered there was something to chase

 

[Ravenbird]

But yeah, I'd like to try this with Oji. Is the only obedience requirement not running over to other dogs on the sidelines?

What @LifeofRubie said. Also for Fast Cat, you have to have one person release on one end and another catch at the end since it's a 100 yd straightaway. The CAT that's 600 yds is a loop so one person can release & wait there and the lure will bring your dog back to where you are. After one or two runs and they figure out the fun, some dogs can be really hard to hold at the start. And the crew wants you to catch your dog pronto and get it off the field when the lure stops. The one event I went to with Reckless the Dutchie they got pretty cross at dogs that couldn't be caught. Reckless is really bad hard about her prey drive and will bite if you tried to yank her off the lure at the end, so her owner figured out real quick to just call her name and throw a ball toward the out-gate. Reckless drops the lure and runs for the ball & brings the ball back to her owner & can get leashed up without a fight.

Rubie wasn't quite sure what it was all about for her first run but just me jumping around and calling her from 100 yards away was enough to get her going! Then she discovered there was something to chase

Do I recall you had to have a stranger from the crew hold Rubie at the start? Any you were worried about her reaction? How'd that go? I'll have to go find your thread.... I may have to do that, I'm not sure my friend can hold her (strength-wise), but she will stay with her since Asha knows her. Was Rubie looking for you instead of looking at the lure when it started?

the size of Dobes' front paws. Seems so many of them have front paws that are quite large.

It's like running with boots on! I'll have to get a picture of Asha & Reckless's feet side by side.

 

[Ravenbird]

Ive marked out the 100 yrds and tried to time Skynyrd on it. I had some one hold him at the start and I went to the end. Im sure he would be even faster with a squirrel. It crossed my mind to pick up a roadkill Squirrel and tie a rope around it and pull it!

Get a flirt pole and tie a white plastic bag on the end. If you ever get a chance to go, Skynyrd will recognize the lure instantly from the fun he's had at home with you. Dogs like squirrels more for their darting movement & the chase. Plastic bag much easier to handle.