Getting Started with Lure Coursing | Part 4 of 9 I received a message from Jamie, the owner of one of my Visalore puppies — Roo's mom — asking a question that I think every owner who has never coursed before eventually arrives at: how do you move a dog from zero to trial-ready in a way that's safe and in a way that may set them up for success? While all roads lead to Rome, I believe that starting with something like FastCAT, moving to solo coursing, introducing running wi

Getting Started with Lure Coursing | Part 3 of 9 This is the question I get asked most often, and it deserves an honest, nuanced answer. Readiness has several layers: instinct, temperament, off-leash training, physical development, and your own preparedness as a handler…and it's worth thinking through all of them before your dog ever sets foot on a coursing field. Reading Prey Drive Prey drive is the foundational prerequisite for lure coursing. The AKC describes sight

Getting Started with Lure Coursing | Part 2 of 9 There is a particular kind of loneliness and fear that comes with loving a niche sport when you don't yet know anyone who does it. You've watched the videos. You've read what you can find. Your Whippet has pressed their nose flat against the window every time a squirrel crosses the yard, and you know they were built for this. But you have no idea where to actually begin, or who to ask. In my experience, the lure coursing

Getting Started with Lure Coursing | Part 1 of 9 The first time I watched Zara chase a lure, I understood something that no photograph or video had prepared me for. The moment that lure moved, she was already gone. Locked on, eyes focused, every cell in her body committed to one thing. The field disappeared. The screaming dogs went on mute. There was only Zara, airborne between strides, impossibly fast, making galloping sounds as her paws struck the ground, in absolute jo

VISALORE WHIPPETS Field Notes INTRODUCTION: WHY THIS GUIDE EXISTS If you have just brought home a Whippet puppy, you have almost certainly already encountered some outdated advice about exercise. Some sources will tell you to severely limit your puppy’s movement until twelve to eighteen months of age. Others will suggest the now-famous “5-minute rule” that recommends five minutes of exercise per month of age. Your breeder may have her own protocols. Your vet may have differen

VISALORE WHIPPETS Field Notes There’s something special about watching a dog do what they were born to do. At Visalore Whippets, our days are filled with early mornings, open fields, wilderness trails, flying ears, and quiet moments of pride that are sometimes hard to capture in real time. So, I decided it was time to start writing it all down. This blog will be our space to share it all: field notes from lure coursing and show weekends, updates on our dogs, reflections on