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!