GreyhoundAngels promo work

Well it's been a long time between updates. Everything here has been rattling along nicely. Mouse has been progressing at obedience training, and we are aiming to enter a Dancing With Dogs (freestyle) trial in a couple of months time to show off her tricks.

There's also a dog show coming up on the 3 May with the Sighthound & Italian Greyhound club where they have specifically created a 'race-type greyhound' section which is open to all ex-racing greyhounds. I'm planning to enter both of my guys and it should be interesting to see how they are judged as they come in all shapes and sizes once they are retired. I'm hoping Mouse does well due to her nice body condition, but she is on the small side for a racing type standard. Barbie looks good too, but it depends on whether or not the judge penalises for lack of teeth!

Mouse has also been lure coursing as the season has started up again. The Fastest Dog in Australia competition will be running again this year and there will be multiple heats with the two WA clubs, so it will be interesting to see how Mouse goes this time around.

Lure Coursers Anonymous, 15 March 2015. Photo credit: Amy Joy (Studio Joy)

Barbie and Bender have been pottering along. Barbie really hasn't slowed down much but we do have to keep an eye on Bender and his activity levels. He loves to run and play but he looks miserable afterwards if he over-does it.

I am still having a go at Public Relations for GreyhoundAngels, and as a part of my role I've been looking at what I can do to get more air time for greyhounds in the social media space. I have been trying to make some videos of available dogs when I manage to spend some time with them, and I also made this little ad - hope you enjoy it!

Mouse's Lure Coursing Season (who was the Fastest Dog in Australia)

The sport of lure coursing is really in it's infancy in Australia. There are two clubs in Western Australia, Lure Coursers Anonymous and West Coast Dog Sports. I posted before about Mouse's exploits at the WCDS fun runs, but there have been a few meets since then.

There was a fun little contest being run called 'Fastest Dog in Australia'. Both clubs ran trials, LCA had one down south in a paddock, and another in Rockingham (Naval Base). Coursing is not serious at all yet here, and the Fastest dog was a 120m straight track which got people involved and excited, without requiring judges.

Through coursing we have met aspiring photographer Amy Joy, who has been at almost every event taking photos of the dogs. The photos have been almost the best part of coursing, after of course, the thrill of watching the dogs do what they love.

Photo by Amy Joy of Studio Joy

The LCA run in the paddock was the first time that I'd timed Mouse on a run. She didn't have a lot of competition, there were whippets, salukis and 3 other greyhounds. The greyhounds were Barbie, Rosie and Jim. Barbie was not interested in the lure at all - she wouldn't even look at it, so she didn't record a time. Jim decided to visit the people in the timing tent on his run, and Rosie didn't really 'get' it either.

As a result, Mouse won her first two trophies ever - fastest Greyhound and fastest dog on the day. Jim won the 'slowest greyhound cup'.

WCDS ran their own heats, and Mouse only got to run one of her two runs as we had to leave early for another Energetic Composition painting session at Billy's Daycare for Dogs. She ran a very similar time to her first LCA time, though it was human timed instead of with timing gates. I think she was actually very slightly faster on the nice smooth grass instead of the rough paddock.

She was the fastest dog on the day at WCDS as well, and this time she beat at least one serious greyhound, maybe a couple. 

There was a lot of buzz and hype building around the competition, and the LCA crew teamed up with K9 Rescue and Beagle rescue people to hold the Rockingham event. There were a lot more greyhounds and we knew the competition would be very stiff. Mouse's uncle Miles had his first go ever, and he loved it. 

Photo courtesy of Amy Joy of Studio Joy

I was feeling like death warmed up because I was coming down with the flu. Mouse didn't care, all she wanted to do was chase the lure. Of course Miles, being the big softy that he is, made sure that he looked after me.

Photo courtesy of Miles' mumma

A few people were having trouble keeping their dogs on their leashes. There were quite a few escapees as we watched the runs. After Mouse had finished her first run, a black greyhound in a coat joined her on the field romping around with a huge smile on her face (she is on the video at the end of this post). I caught Mouse and was thankful that it happened after Mouse had recorded her time.

Photo courtesy of Amy Joy, Studio Joy

I found out later that the escaped hound's name was Abigail. She ran really well and I thought that we certainly had some competition for the fastest dog title. Abigail's mum was really nice and though she lives on the other side of town I'm sure we will organise some doggie dates in future so they can have a proper play together.

Abigail, courtesy of Amy Joy of Studio Joy

Seeing greyhound after greyhound run, I had no idea who was fastest. I knew that it would come down to fractions of a second. Mouse was really naughty and trashed her soft crate to try and get out after the lure. I can't blame her, it was a pretty stimulating environment for all the dogs.


LCA all fired up from Jet Ska on Vimeo. After all the dogs had run we stuck around waiting for the results. It was harder than it should have been for me, as I sat bundled up and curled up in my camp chair. When the names were read out, Mouse was only third fastest. We were expecting the best times to all come out of this heat with a smooth paddock and electronic timing, so I knew that Mouse probably didn't win the Fastest Dog in Australia title.  Abigail was the fastest dog on the day. We all waited on Facebook the night the Australia wide results were to come out with our fingers crossed that Western Australia would come out on top. With all the hot competition I thought we would.... and I was right! Abigail received the title. Mouse came third with the fastest Queensland greyhound coming after her.  The biggest winners out of this were Miles and Mouse, discovering how much they love each other!

Can you see the family resemblance?

Cuddles time!

West Coast Dog Sports - Lure Coursing in WA!

Finally there is a lure coursing club in Perth, and it's Mouse's new favorite sport. We have been two 'fun days' so far with a new lure coursing club, West Coast Dog Sports. Mouse has shown a lot of keen enthusiasm. The lure is just a bunch of yellow plastic dog poo bags with a weight on a line which is driven by an electric machine. Greyhounds here are often trained to race with plastic bags so I didn't have to explain anything to Mouse.

Mouse in her new harness

After that very first run, she tried to run off after the lure every time it went past while we were waiting in line. I even got her a new harness with a single buckle and a handle on the back for lure coursing. I use the handle whilst waiting in line, and the single buckle is great when getting her harness off at the start and back on at the end of a run.

Photo courtesy of West Coast Dog Sports

So far we have only done 100 metre straight runs. Mouse goes a bit crazy when the lure disappears though and goes running around looking for it. On the first fun day she ran off twice after the lure disappeared. She escaped out of the run area and I had to sneak up on her to grab her. They run naked so that makes it a bit harder as well. Good thing Mouse loves being touched so much that as soon as I get my hands on her she stops.

Photo courtesy of West Coast Dog Sports

On the second fun day she did a crazy zoomie after her first run, but on the second and third runs she stopped and let me catch her. 

Photo courtesy of West Coast Dog Sports

All sorts of dogs have been attending the fun days, and the committee seem to all be in to their Rhodesian Ridgebacks. There have been a lot of sight hounds including Greyhounds, Salukies, Whippets and Italian Greyhounds as well as Afghan and Pharoah hounds. There was also a West Highland White Terrier called Angus who really loves the lure. He is so adorable springing after it with his white locks streaming behind him! 

This is a video of Mouse and her greyhound buddy Sam doing their runs on the very first fun day.  

West Coast Dog Sports are having a full run set up on the 17 of May and I can't wait to see Mouse tackle a course with corners.

I have also just become aware of another club in the countryside south of Perth called Lure Coursers Anonymous. They are holding a 120 m Canine Sprint event in May so we are trying to get down there for that. I think it would be a fun weekend away and Mouse would love to have a go at getting the title 'Fastest Dog in Australia'. I expect the competition will be stiff, especially as she isn't actually a fast greyhound, but I will be interested to know how quick she actually is over a straight 120 metres. She is such a good traveller that I know she will love the whole thing, and Barbie and Bender will come along for the ride.

If you aren't getting enough Mouse news in your day, Mouse now has a Facebook page, which has daily photo updates. If you would like to follow her go 'like' her here.