A sport undertaken with the people on horseback or in cars (Almirall, undated)
Other animals used in coursing include rabbits, deer, wallabies and kangaroos
In all coursing the hound, rather than its human owner, is the killer of the prey (Salmon, 1977)
Lure coursing
Like live coursing, lure coursing is undertaken outside of arenas such as those used for Greyhound racing but a lure is used as a replacement for a live animal (Mehus-Roes, 2009)
Greyhound racing
In Greyhound racing the live hare of coursing is replaced by a mechanical lure. The sport emerged out of America, where the first track was opened in 1921 (National Greyhound Racing Club and Genders, 1990)
Greyhound hurdling
Never as popular a sport as Greyhound racing but undertaken at the same venues
Whippet racing
The racing of Whippets is only undertaken on an amateur basis
Afghan racing
Differs from Greyhound racing in that it is an amateur sport without any formal betting industry involvement
Dog sledding
Involves the pulling of a sled by a number of dogs (the specific number varies across different races) guided by a ‘musher’. Racing occurs over a range of distances including the ultra-long iconic events that are examined later in this chapter
Skijoring
‘a driver on a pair of skis is pulled by a team of one, two, or three dogs’ (Flanders, 1989: 96). It is in effect a combination of cross-country skiing and dog sledding (Mehus-Roes, 2009)
Pulka racing
A low-profile sled (pulka) is pulled by a dog or dogs with musher skiing behind attached by a long bungee (Hood, 1996)
Lead-dog contests
A test of gee/haw skills used in dog sledding by requiring ‘dogs to negotiate a set course successfully’ (Hood, 1996: 384)
Stampede/scramble races
Dog mushers begin the race lying in a sleeping bag, must then pack sled, harness team, then go (Hood, 1996)
Weight pulling
Dogs pull sleds or carts on wheels or tracks onto which weights are incrementally placed. As with human weightlifting, dogs are categorized by size to allow all dogs to compete (Hood, 1996; Mehus-Roes, 2009)
Events that focus on the demonstration of the required traits for specific types of dogs depending on what role they have been traditionally bred to fulfil
Sheepdog trials/herding
The former is focused on the herding of sheep while the latter can include other animals such as cattle and ducks (Mehus-Roes, 2009)
‘Dogs are tested on their ability to save multiple victims, take a boat line from one boat to another, tow a drifting boat to shore, and rescue an unconscious victim from under a capsized boat’ (Mehus-Roes, 2009: 27)
Dogs must run through an obstacle course as quickly and with as few faults as possible (Mehus-Roes, 2009)
Flyball
Involves a team of four dogs and handlers, with the dogs running a fixed length, catching a ball that they cause to pop out of a box and returning with it to their handler (Mehus-Roes, 2009)
Obedience
Is defined as: ‘A natural extension of basic dog training’ but one that goes well beyond the level of obedience training associated with the average pet dog (Mehus-Roes, 2009: 24)
Rally
‘Dogs follow a course with a number of stations; at each one is an instruction to perform a specific [obedience] command’ (Mehus-Roes, 2009: 25)
Canine freestyle/dog dancing/ heelwork to music
‘Dogs and their handlers perform choreographed routines in time to music, sometimes with props and costumes’ (Mehus-Roes, 2009: 19). There are an estimated 90 clubs in the UK offering dog dancing activities (Copping, 2012)
Disc dog
Involves the throwing of a disc by the handler and catching of it by a dog. The sport incorporates two events: distance and accuracy, and freestyle, with the former being self-explanatory
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