Kuyu earned his AKC Lure Coursing Field Championship on March 21, 2015.  Like his mom Kayta, his dad Kanzu and his littermate sister Kaia he is an intense lure courser.  He loves nothing more than to chase the bunnies.  His intensity and enthusiasm make him well-known (dare I say infamous) among the human lure coursing community here in southern California as it can take more than one experienced handler to get Kuyu to the line and off the bags.  Many thanks are owed to all the friends who have helped get Kuyu to and from the line so this title was possible.  With this new FC title combined with his AKC Conformation title (CH), Kuyu becomes an AKC Dual Champion (DC). SoCalCoursing awards a lovely medallion for a new FC.  This medallion was especially sentimental and meaningful for us since one of the 3 dogs on the medallion is Kuyu’s dad, Kanzu running back in his prime.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Like his sire and dam, Kuyu continues to show intense interest in lure coursing. Given his parents intense interest in ‘chasing the bunny’ it seemed a sure thing that Kuyu would share this passion. It has turned out to be more than any of us expected. He is exceptionally insistent on coursing. Unfortunately he seems to wear himself out screaming to get to his turn. By the time he gets to the field he is exhausted from howling and jumping and trying to find any possible way out of this crate to get to the field when other dogs are running. Gradually he is learning that when his lure coursing jersey is put on it means it is time to run. He has also learned now that when he gets to the line he doesn’t have to jump and lurch to try to get to the lure. With experience he is learning that going to the line means that the bunny will move soon and if he just waits fixed on them they will move soon and he will certainly be released so he can chase them. These leanings have made Kuyu easier to handle and get to the line. Next he had to learn to run with 2 other dogs and to not be intimidated by other dogs on the field at the same time with him. He also has had to have some ‘doggie manners training’ to shape his behavior for when he comes back in to the lures at the end of the run. It is hard with the young dogs to give them some behavior shaping without dampening their enthusiasm. One year ago he completed his first AKC lure coursing title, the Junior Courser (JC). This year we have focused on conformation and so Kuyu has only had the opportunity to enter 4 days of lure coursing. It has been a formative year giving him experiences designed to expand and shape his lure coursing skills and behaviors.This year at the annual So Cal Turkey Run he finished up the requirements for his Senior Courser title (SC). In order for a sighthound to earn this title they must compete in 4 lure coursing trials and receive qualifying scores of at least half the available points. In all 4 of these SC trials Kuyu has won points or tied for significant placements only to loose the run-offs to the lighter weight and hence faster girls. But watch out now ladies. Kuyu is more experienced and is no longer intimidated by group running.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like his mom and dad, Kuyu has always shown a keen interest in lure coursing. Since he was a very young puppy he has demonstrated a crazed passion for the lure during practice runs. After his 1 year birthday he became eligible to do his first official run. At the So Cal 2012 Turkey Run he had his first opportunity to show his potential and he earned what we hope will be his first of many lure coursing titles. This first title is the AKC Junior Courser (JC) title. This title is available to sighthounds only. In order to earn the JC title the hound must be at least 12 months old and must run two courses of at least 600 yards with a minimum of 4 turns under two different judges. For the JC test, the hounds run alone. Kuyu ran two days during the Turkey Run and earned his title on the Orange Coast Rhodesian Ridgeback day of the weekend. This is Kuyu’s first AKC title and he will now have the JC suffix added to his name.

 
 
For videos of Kuyu’s JC run for Saturday Click here  and for Sunday Click here