Juno, the bionic comeback kid Terv, has scored another big first for AKC and the Belgian world in lure coursing. Having been the first dog of any breed to earn the AKC's new CA or Coursing Ability title, Juno has now become the first dog to earn AKC's CAX or Coursing Ability Excellent title.
To earn the CAX, Juno had to successfully complete 25 coursing runs. All runs were about 600 yards long and had to be completed in under 2 minutes. As owner/handler Sharon Webb puts it, "Juno competed in a wide range of conditions. From sunshine and mid 50's to scorching heat in the high 90's. She ran in wind blowing at 30+ mph and calm beautiful days. The terrain varied from flat and sandy to gently rolling hills with grass."
The lure coursing community puts heavy emphasis on safety and care of the dogs. Racing in the South, meant some hot , muggy days. "I felt that the days where the heat index was over 100 were difficult but with the help and advise of experienced Sighthound people we were able to compete safely and happily." Sharon is always careful with Juno after all the trauma she went through as a young dog with her badly broken leg.
Juno shows excellent coursing style - running very similar to the Sighthounds. Chasing "the bunny" - actually white plastic bags on the lure line - is an intense passion for Juno. When asked about keeping Juno in shape for this demanding sport, Sharon reported, "Juno's conditioning program includes herding practice a couple times a week and daily rough-housing with her house mate BSD "Abbey"."
Sharon would like to emphasize how much fun the sport is and how wonderful it is that all breeds can now participate and earn coursing titles. "A big THANK YOU goes out to AKC for incorporating this program into AKC Events. Almost without exception, all the dogs and handlers that have tried this have had a great time and come off the field (eventually !) with a smile and ready to go again." Officially, Juno is now CH Bijou Luisant Jono Moneta At Starr Creek CAX. Certainly Juno isn't ready to hang up her track shoes yet - she will go on to run for multiple CAX titles.
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