Sight hounds (Greyhounds, Salukis, Whippets, etc) participate in Lure Coursing, which is a sport that taps into their prey drive and chasing a “lure” – though in this case the lure is a white plastic bag! The lure is mechanically operated on a wire, set in a pattern that mimics what a jackrabbit might do – zig-zags and loops. While only sighthounds can enter Lure Coursing trials, all breeds can enter the AKC Coursing Ability Tests (CAT tests), which are non-competitive, scored Pass/Fail. The course is generally the same as an actual Coursing trial, 600 yards total in two separate loops of 300 yards each. The course time is 2 minutes. Smaller dogs and veterans run a shorter distance. The Coursing Ability (CA) title is earned for 3 qualifying runs. Additional titles are CAA (10 Qs) and CAX (25 Qs). Multiples of the CAX title are earned for each additional 25 Qs.

Another version of Coursing in AKC is the Fast CAT, which is a straight-line 100 yard dash chasing the lure on a wire, with the handler stationed at the end. The dog’s time is converted to MPH for a given run and the dog accumulates points corresponding to that MPH number. Titles are earned based on reaching 150 (BCAT), 500 (DCAT) and 1000 (FCAT) total points. FCAT multiples are awarded or each additional 500 points. AKC creates rankings of the fastest MPH for each breed every year.

Tervuren LOVE to run fast! They also generally have pretty strong prey drive, so coursing is a perfect sport for them. It is interesting to watch them run if they do the course more than once, because they are smart enough to anticipate the corners and will “cheat” to try to catch up to the lure. The lure operator can speed up or slow down the lure quickly though, to keep them in the hunt without reaching the lure. Fast CAT is a piece of cake for Tervs – chase the lure straight to Mom or Dad! The Tervuren breed rankings generally have at least one dog over 30 MPH!