Husky Dog Breed

So back in the day they were all battery powered machines as most breeds will chase the lure for a couple laps and be done so the machine gets to rest and cool off. For huskies because of their endurance they can pretty much go all day when they’re in shape, chasing the lure so the machine couldn’t keep up with them because of the battery power. So after a lot of research and working with my team, which includes a master electrician, we came up with the idea to actually use a winch that’s electric powered (plug in) as it won’t be subject to getting as hot as the battery machines. I actually had a battery machine catch on fire, which was really crazy but not near the dogs. We had the machines isolated at that point for safety reasons, but the battery machine was drawing too much from the batteries and constantly running so they overheated! So my design worked for many years and it was super reliable. It just didn’t go quite as fast as real lure coursing machines will go over 40 mph as they’re designed for Sight Hounds and they can go 40 mph plus, my machine was probably 25 mph and huskies can run 30 mph or so. So today the brand I’m using here which is lucky dog makes an electric machine which is professionally built electric (plug in) to run for a long time without overheating like my machines worked. There’s also a company called Swiftpaws.com  I think they offer an electric one also but they also have a home version smaller which has little batteries, my machines used car batteries but now  I also use one of those little battery machines for my little dog, which is perfect, so depending on the dog, you’re running it might be all you need at least to start out…

With SwiftPaws I don’t think that’s anymore or less injury possibility than other equipment in fact it may be less as they’ve incorporated some safety measures to power down the machine if too much resistance is applied like a dog’s paw getting tangled. And because Swiftpaws is designed for more of a homeowner type machine it’s more finicky so it probably will power down quicker than professional equipment trying to avoid dog injury siding on the safety side. I actually prefer Swiftpaws pulleys over other professional brands as they have a wider mouth and clam shell design to allow for a lot of different lures (fur and rubber caps like Injoy brand pulley uses etc… and with their clamshell design like the Lucky Dog Brand pulleys (but wider mouth) they keep the line more stable and therefore less likely to jump off the pulley.

Keep in mind lure coursing/fast cat like anything you may do with your dog, needs to be done with safety being number 1 priority always. Anything can happen especially with a high speed sport like this so all must need to watch closely and understand how their dog is interacting with it to possibly train the dog (and be ready to act stopping the machine quickly if necessary etc…) if behaviors are subjecting he or she to injury. And also a big problem is a lot of dogs not conditioned can overdo it quickly! The biggest problem though still not common, I’ve noticed is the dog cutting its mouth, gums etc…even biting their tongue if it grabs the lure or is trying to. So again owner vigilance is imperative to protect their dog if it’s too mouthy in this sport. In the almost 15 years I've been Lure Coursing the only injury (not really an injury nothing I needed to address) was one of my dogs bit his tongue from the excitement of the lure. I consider it a very safe canine sport as long as you are vigillant!