Basc Northern Ireland Game Fair

[streaky]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Thanks for the correction Miss Madam & Dukie, as i said i was told the story in the pub and there was much guinness involved. Although i'm still pretty sure there was a black lurcher in the film called Franco. One day i'll hear the true story when i'm sober and i'll let you know.

As for racing, Miss Madam you said you the dog to a track for a run at a lure.......is this easy to organise, what track, i take it there are only certain days they'll let you do this and is there a charge.

 

[Miss Madam]

Well were abouts in N.Ireland are you as there are greyhound tracks all over the place, i take my dog to a track in dungannon, they dont hold racing at it anymore but they have training, schooling, trialing on a saturday morning every week, and i think you just turn up and its £3.00 a run which is ok if your only doing it now & again, they never say anything to me as my dog is a whippet/greyhound and she just looks like a smallish greyhound so i think they just persume she is a greyhound,lol

but i think any track would let you run your lurcher as long as they are getting their £3.00 i dont think they would care what goes round the track,lol :thumbsup:

 

[Macha]

I'm in Derry and there is a greyhound track here, but I don't know anything about using it... assume they must do training sessions

My lurcher also looks like a smallish greyhound (male, 24 inches) - and was described by the rescue people as a greyhound/whippet cross, but I believe there is a bit of something else (collie?) in him. My whippet is obviously a whippet and might have a hard time running with greyhounds (he sometimes get knocks over by the lurcher when they are playing/exercising)

I suppose they have to wear muzzles. Are the fabric type okay or would I need to get the type with a plastic basket around the muzzle?

The organisers at Moira say you just turn up on the day and enter. Would that be the same for Randalstown?

There will also be coursing at Moira, with some kind of lure, not a live animal.

another question about the lurcher show ring - is it or is it not the done thing to trim the dogs? My lurcher is short coated. In the kennel club shows if you were exhibiting a whippet or greyhound, you would do a bit a of trimming of the longer hairs on the neck, hindquarters and the tail feathering. My whippet is very sleek; it seems sort of unfair that the dog with heavy tail feathering will appear the same as my smooth dog once they are shaved. ... Do people trim race dogs? I've seen male racing cyclists shave their legs supposedly to increase speed.

...I'm thinking probably trimming isn't necessary for lurcher showing because it sounds like it's rather informal and because a lurcher is supposed to be a hardier dog than a whippet or greyhound, a hunter more than a racer, and thus a thicker coat is more desirable.

Well were abouts in N.Ireland are you as there are greyhound tracks all over the place, i take my dog to a track in dungannon, they dont hold racing at it anymore but they have training, schooling, trialing on a saturday morning every week, and i think you just turn up and its £3.00 a run which is ok if your only doing it now & again, they never say anything to me as my dog is a whippet/greyhound and she just looks like a smallish greyhound so i think they just persume she is a greyhound,lol :but i think any track would let you run your lurcher as long as they are getting their £3.00 i dont think they would care what goes round the track,lol

 

[Macha]

ps - if they don't use traps, how are the dogs started

I hope we aren't expected to slip our dogs; it would be one thing to throw a 20 lb whippet, another to throw a 40-50 lb lurcher (and 29 inch Fergal would weigh much more than that, but my 24 inch lurcher is just over 20 kg, ~ 45 lbs or less)

 

[Miss Madam]

Hi Macha, no you dont have to trim your dog for the show ring as its not as serious as the kennel club shows, for example i have seen lurchers scared from head to toe winning the champion show title many times as it is a working dog show it is not expected of you to to go to all that bother of trimming and tidying etc, you will know what i mean when you go to one of these shows and see all the other lurchers and terriers,

however it would do no harm to give the dog a good grooming with a grooming brush before you go :thumbsup:

as for the start of the races there would normally be 5 to 6 dogs in each heat with some shows providing numbered racing jackets and some shows dont,

then the dogs are all in a line with the owner hand slipping their dog when the lure takes off, however for simulated coursing they only race 2 dogs at a time and a live animal is never used for any type of lurcher racing. they normally just use an old rag or something similar.

The racing classes are any lurcher under 23" then any lurcher over 23" the weight of the dog doesnt matter and if there is enough whippets on day they sometimes would hold a separate race for the whippets,

and most of the time putting a muzzle on your dog is optional but i would take one with me just incase it is essential. any muzzle should be ok, i would use a wire racing muzzle as it is lighter but it doesnt really matter what type you use.

and you just enter on the day at all the lurcher shows.

ps. i wouldnt worry about comparing your dogs weight to a much larger heavier lurcher as sometimes a lighter smaller lurcher could have the advantage over a larger heavier dog, in some cases

 

[dukie]

Hey Rose,

Do you think I need to bring a muzzel for Alfred :- " :- "

And to think of the hours I spend grooming my little whippets (w00t) (w00t)

Can't wait for the Moira show, it's a real good fair now, getting bigger every year, will have my new border pup there aswell!! Hope the weather stays fine, and if you've never experienced the Harrier Jump Jet before it's an awsome sight!

See you soon,

dukie

 

[Miss Madam]

Em,lol, just maybe dukie,lol, :- " only messing im sure he'd be fine,

yeah looking forward to Moira as i always have a good time at it, i like the simulated coursing especially, it will suit our wee bedlington lurchers :thumbsup:

ps. Whats the Harrier Jump Jet?

 

[dukie]

Hi

It's an RAF fighter plane, it does a display over the area of the show. It can hover above the main ring, it's great but it scared all the dogs the last time!!!

 

[Miss Madam]

Oh yes i remember them now, they did realy good displays with different coloured smoke coming out of the back of them and they did twirls and all, yes they were really good,

will be taking the Saluki's with you to Moira, i have always had a soft spot for the Saluki :- "

 

[Macha]

Dukie - the organisers told me the dogs will have to be muzzled for the racing at Moira. My dogs aren't used to muzzles and will paw at theirs, but I can see the sense as the dogs might snap at each other in their competitiveness to catch the lure. Although I've never seen simulated coursing, I am glad that only two dogs go at a time because I think injuries are more of a risk on a tortuous circuit with the dogs likely to bump into each other.

I hope you will bring your whippets as well as Arthur; maybe if there are enough whippets they can have a separate race and/or show class. I was told my whippet was too young for the racing but could enter a puppy show class but I wonder about that as he is obviously a pure whippet not a whippet-cross lurcher.

Miss Madam - When I mentioned about the weight, I was thinking of the old way of slipping whippets - picking them up by the scruff of the neck and the tail and throwing them out so they land on their feet. A real art, and anyway I'm not going to try it with a 20 kg lurcher. So is it just a matter of holding on to your dog and releasing your restraint on signal? I reckon my dog and I are going to loose out due to our inexperience.

Dungannon track may be more open than the Brandywell track in Derry. I asked someone who has greyhounds and he says I wouldn't have a look in, even though my lurcher is very greyhound-like in appearance. He says they would examine the ears for the tatoo numbers. I didn't even find out when trials and practice runs are held.

Derry City Council owns a fenced in dog-run at the Earhardt park, about half and hour's walk from where I live. I got the name and address of the person to see about getting keys. Dog owners/handlers have to pay £20/year for a key and they have to supply their own equipment. Apparently there was a lure apparatus at the practice runs at one time but it was abused and now trainers have to bring their own. So I'd need equipment and another person, one to handle the lure and one to slip the dog/s. It doesn't sound like it will be worthwhile unless I can find a cooperative greyhound handler to let my dog run alongside his. I will make enquiries but I expect I will be going to Moira with a completely inexperienced dog.

As for general fitness, we have plenty of sheep-free parkland and my lurcher has good recall so the dogs get a good run in the fields every day as well as some walking on lead. They are very time consuming, I spend an average 2 hours a day exercising them, with a good walk/run both before and after my day-job.

 

[Miss Madam]

Dont worry about your dog not being used to the muzzle because my 2 lurchers hate it aswell but there mind is soon taken of the muzzle when they see the lure moving,

and last year i took my younger lurcher to Braid country fair when she was only 10 months old and i decided id give her a run on the lure for her first time just for a bit of experience and she ended up being the over-all racing winner :thumbsup:

so i wouldnt worry to much about inexperience.

and yes you just hold on to your dog yourself and let it go when the lure moves, turst me its not that hard :thumbsup:

 

[siona]

Don't worry too much about being inexperienced, you may have read about our embarrassing experience at Ballywalter earlier in this thread- it's all just for fun really. I was worried that there would be lots of serious owners who would be annoyed if we didn't know what we were doing but nobody cared - it was all really good craic!!

I don't think Fergal will take too kindly to a muzzle either, he hates Halti s and spends all of his time trying to rub them off rather than walking in a straight line and as we found out at Ballywalter, he's not that interested in the lure, so i don't think we'll be racing at Moira!!

 

[siona]

oh by the way, the showing was pretty much the same, i get the feeling that we would have been unplaced but there were only 3 dogs in our group so we got a nice big shiny yellow rosette which i'm extremely proud of (who needs to know there were only 3? :- " )

 

[streaky]

I'm living in glengormley just north of belfast and i don't know of any tracks in the area. Do you know of any tracks in the area Miss M? Theres no way my lurher would pass as a greyhound, she has too many collie markings and is only about 24". There is a greyhound run near the valley leisure centre but you need to key to get in and the runs is only about 50-60 yards.

Interesting words from macha about cyclists shaving their legs - maybe there could be a shaved legs class for owners!!

 

[Miss Madam]

Hi Streaky Im not sure of any greyhound tracks about Belfast, as im from Armagh and i only really know the tracks near me, but im sure if you got talking to some of the greyhound people who use this small track you mentioned, you could maybe ask them to let you have a few practice runs, even if it is only 50/60 yrds, its still practice :thumbsup:

Hi Siona did you have a good time at B'walter? i went down on the sunday, my dog did quite well she got a 1st & a 3rd in the showing and she got reserve racing champion, & my older dog like yourself came 2nd in the veteran class, so not a bad day

so did you meet any other k9 members then?

 

[Miss Madam]

Sorry what i meant to say was my older dog came 2nd in the veteran class even though there was only 2 dogs in the class,lol :- "

 

[dukie]

I think there are certain days that Ballyskeagh greyhound track will let whippets and lurchers have a trial. You would need to ring and ask, but I remember finding out about this a few years back and they didn't seem to have any objections.

Hey Rose, what about organising a K9 get together at Moira, so that we can all put faces to the names (w00t) (w00t)

dukie

 

[Miss Madam]

Yeah Dukie that would be a good idea,lol :thumbsup: well im sure we'll all meet each other at some point or other,lol

I never realised there was as many members from N.Ireland and members that didnt even know about the lurcher shows and racing, (w00t)

 

[siona]

Had a really good day at b'walter, wish i'd been able to go sunday too, don't think i'll be able to make it to many of the other shows this summer - will be busy toilet training etc!!!

Congrats on your wins at b'walter miss madam,

I did meet someone from k9, but i was so taken aback/weirded out to meet a "cyberperson" in the flesh - i forgot to ask who he was!!! I felt so rude after - but then it seemed a bit weird to say "oh yes, i am siona from k9...sorry but who are you". Just wasn't sure what to say really, sorry!!!

Anyway have tried to work out who it was and can't, so, who were you?

 

[Miss Madam]

Oh you should still go to the shows and take your new puppy with you as there are puppy classes, and what better way to show off your new puppy :thumbsup: