Why Run With A Drag Lure?
We believe a drag lure propelled by a battery-operated lure machine is worth the extra effort.
Why? Because it produces a more realistic and safer coursing experience.
1. In the wild, there is nothing behind the “prey” except, (hopefully for the prey), distance. The most successful hunter is the dog that is the most efficient, i.e. that follows the prey in the most direct way. This is directly behind the prey if the prey is running in a straight line. This is not possible with continuous loop because the dog is “running on a loop of string”, and stepping on the string is, at best, distracting or uncomfortable.
2. A drag lure system produces a more life-like experience because there is no prey entering from behind, no noise from the whirring pullies that propel the lure, and there is no line on the course behind the lure to distract the dog.
3. With continuous loop, if the dog gets tangled in the string, it can become injured. This is rare but there have been reported injuries. Dogs, particularly dogs new to the sport, may step on the trailing line and become discouraged from running at all.
4. A battery-operated drag lure machine allows for more control of the lure because the lure machine has more torque. The motor allows for more rapid acceleration of the lure which allows us to run the lure customized for the dog. This is especially valuable for sighthounds due to acceleration, speed, and fragility of highly developed racing and coursing dogs. For clubs allowing squawkers, the drag lure machine can handle owner’s own squawkers and pelts.
5. Other straight racing organizations agree that the battery-operated machines and drag system is better than continuous loop. The vast majority of sighthound sanctioning organizations for straight racing do not allow an AC motor to propel the lure, and sometimes, they do not even permit a continuous loop driven lure. See Whippet Racing Association Rules. (straight racing). “The lure machine may be hand-wind or battery driven.; www.whippetracing.org/Rules/2023Rules/2020_Section_6-Updated-1-1-2023.pdf; see also Continental Whippet Alliance Rules. (straight racing) “The lure machine shall be battery driven and capable of pulling a lure at a consistently smooth and steady pace 10 yards ahead of the racers.” docs.google.com/document/d/1390urKQ8zOhg2Wrsf4aJrCYB9A9a7uwmPc2EWiNXVnU/edit?pli=1, see also American Sighthound Field Association. (coursing around a winding course). The following must appear in the premium list: “Type of lure machine. (Examples: battery-powered take-up reel; or battery-powered continuous-loop system.)” www.asfa.org/rule/ASFA%20Rulebook%20Website%20Copy--08-01-23.pdf, see also Large Gazehound Racing Association, (both straight and winding coursing) “The lure machine shall be battery driven and capable of pulling a lure at a consistently smooth and steady pace 10 or more yards ahead of the racers…. Continuous Loop lure designs will NOT be used for LGRA sprints.” lgra.org/sites/default/files/2023-12/rule_book_23.2.pdf
6. Finally, the trailing line in a continuous loop system presents a special problem for smaller dogs that does not exist with drag systems. Most courses are only reasonably flat. There are dips in almost every course. A bowl-shaped dip of only six or eight inches over a one-hundred-yard course may present a particular hazard for smaller dogs. They can be injured by the (to them) high line on the continuous loop string that is under tension. With a drag lure, the lure is pulled along the ground even if there is a dip in the running field, and of course there is no line to interfere with the run.
To us. the efficiency of running continuous loop is not worth the possibility of injury. We have seen reports of dogs injured by interacting with the trailing “return” string. Indeed, we have experienced it with our own dogs. We can run well over 300 dogs per day using the drag lure and drag lure return system, which is competitive with even the most efficient continuous lure propulsion systems. We have repeatedly done it in the Midwest and in Orlando. The clubs that we work for think it is worth the extra bit of effort to provide what we regard as a better and safer experience for our – and your - dogs.
