Mid-Atlantic Hound Association

HoLure Trial Notebook: When Your Hound Misbehaves in Competition

Excusal

Under that ASFA rules, a hound may be EXCUSED during any course by either Judge for any one of the following reasons:

• The hound fails to run after the Tally-Ho is given in either the preliminary or final course;
• The hound is considered "unfit" to compete (e.g.. injured or exhibiting symptoms of possible injury);
• The hound courses another hound rather than the lure;
• The hound's handler or owner interferes with the Judges or other trial officials;
• The hound delays the course (e.g.. requires excessive time and effort to return to the control of its handler either before or after the course, or causes multiple course delays);
• The hound's handler willfully interferes with another competitor, another competitor's hound, or any trial official.

Under the AKC rules, by comparison, a hound may be excused, by either Judge, for any one of the following reasons:

• The hound fails to run after the Tally-Ho in the preliminary course;
• The hound courses other hounds rather than the lure;
• The hound delays the course.

Note that the main difference between the AKC rules and the ASFA rules is that excusal is not used as a penalty for exhibitor misbehavior in the AKC trials. Also, AKC rules apparently do not consider injury or lameness as reasons for excusing the hound from competition.

Once a hound is excused under either the ASFA or AKC rules, it CANNOT compete any further in that day's trials, but it CAN compete in successive trials held any time thereafter (remember, a weekend event consists of two separate trials, so if "Bullet" is excused at a Saturday trial, s/he can still compete in the Sunday trial). For this reason, excusal is the mildest of the three "ejection penalties" for trial behavior.

How are points computed when an excusal occurs? The excused hound is allowed to keep any points it may have won as a result of competition in the trial prior to the run resulting in the excusal because the prior run(s) were clean run(s). The excused hound will not count for points for itself or other hounds running in the same course in which the excusal occurred, however.

Dismissal

The next level of trial ejection penalty under both ASFA and AKC rules is DISMISSAL. A hound will be dismissed from the field, by either Judge, for the day, for interfering (aggressively or playfully) with the course of another hound. (Growling and/or barking, in and of itself does not constitute grounds for dismissal.)

What constitutes interference? It is perhaps easier to define what it is not. An accidental contact between hounds running closely together, say, as they take a turn, or even a collision between two hounds, even if it disrupts a hound's course, do not themselves constitute interference and will not result in dismissal, because of the accidental or unintentional nature of these occurrences. Likewise, barking and growling (as is the characteristic lure coursing style of the Ibizan Hound) do not constitute interference, even if the sound of the barking or growling disrupts or bothers another hound, provided the barking or growling is addressed to the lure and NOT to another hound. Growling at another hound, therefore, is grounds for dismissal.

While interference resulting in dismissal may occur because one hound takes a personal interest in another hound (due to dislike or for play), interference usually occurs because a hound becomes possessive of the lure. This hound is not coursing another hound instead of the lure, which would be grounds for excusal because the hound is not interfering with another hound, just chasing it (the pursued hound is not aware of what is going on behind it). Lure possessiveness, on the other hand, in a real hunt probably would result in the prey getting away. In lure coursing, then, such behavior actively interferes with another hound's performance.

Sometimes the interference is subtle, as "shouldering" another hound away from the lure when both are closing in on it. When a hound takes its eyes off the lure momentarily, while still continuing to course the lure, s/he may be about to commit interference with another hound resulting in dismissal or worse. Intentional eye contact alone can result in a dismissal if it intimidates another hound such that its course is affected. (Anyone who has studied canine psychology well understands the importance of eye contact in causal behavior.)

In a real hunt, which lure coursing and its rules try to simulate, the hound is expected to hunt as part of a team of other hounds, with the goal being of course to provide food for its master, and not for itself. In addition to not running for food, a hound should not run for its own glory. Since the prey belongs to its master, the hound should allow its hunt-mates equal hunting opportunity, and therefore should not interfere with their attempts to catch the prey when they are in a better position to do so. This behavior likewise should be exhibited in lure coursing.

So what are the penalties assessed for a dismissal? As with an excusal, the dismissed hound cannot compete further at the trial in which the dismissal occurred, nor does it count for points in the course run in which the dismissal occurred. Can the dismissed hound compete in other trials following the dismissal? Yes, but only under the penalty of having its privilege to compete withdrawn immediately after getting a second dismissal within six lure field trials. (If a hound is dismissed twice within six trails, s/he will have to undergo the Reinstatement process, which is discussed below, if the hound's owner wishes to continue its competitive career. Only if and when a hound is officially reinstated by the ASFA or the AKC as appropriate may it return to lure field trial competition with other hounds. The hound may, however, compete in any Singles Stake if offered at a lure field trial without having to be reinstated, because all Singles Stakes entrants are run alone.)

To avoid further penalty, a dismissal may be "worked off" by running clean in six subsequent trials. If a trial is to count as one of the six required, the fact that the hound is "working off a dismissal" must be indicated for each of the six trials by checking off the appropriate box on the entry forms.

Disqualification

The third trial ejection penalty occurs when a hound is DISQUALIFIED. Disqualification incurs the most sever penalties for hound misbehavior. Under both the ASFA and AKC rules, a hound will be disqualified from further competition, by either Judge, for an aggressive attack towards another hound during the course run: fighting, in other words. The hound who is attacked in the fight is not disqualified, because it has the right to defend itself.

As with an excusal and a dismissal, the disqualified hound's previously awarded points are not affected, while s/he would not count for points in the course resulting in the disqualification. But unlike a dismissal, a disqualified hound mau NOT run at any subsequent trial until it is reinstated, and thus the hound CANNOT "work off" a disqualification by running clean in a trial. Moreover, and despite any intervening reinstatement, a hound disqualified a second time is NOT eligible for reinstatement, resulting in a permanent revocation of its competitive coursing privileges. (A disqualified hound may be entered in trials offering Single Stakes.)

Uncontrolled aggressive behavior off the field (ie. not during a course run) but on the trial grounds by any hound toward any person or another hound is a cause for EXCUSING the aggressive hound by the Field Chairman, at his or her discretion, from further competition for the day only. If an excusal occurs in this manner, scoring would be affected the same as if the aggressive hound had been scratched or pulled from competition by the owner. It would not be subject to disqualification by the Judges because the incident did not occur during actual competition and therefore is not within the Judges' jurisdiction.

What does reinstatement for a disqualification involve? Allowing for minor differences in the written paperwork necessary, both ASFA and AKC require that the disqualified hound undergo a minimum of a calendar month of retraining as appropriate to the degree and type of aggressive misbehavior exhibited and that certification in writing be obtained from two Judges stating that the hound is running cleanly with two other hounds of the same breed. Remember, since the hound is barred from competition, the certification cannot be done during actual trial competition, as with dismissals. Since it is convenient to assemble equipment and the judges at the trial, however, certifications usually are done at the trial site following the conclusion of competition. The procedural requirements for reinstatement when a hound is dismissed twice within six trials are the same as for a disqualification.