How will they fall with a muzzle on?

On the 13th September, while participating in a lure coursing event at a beautiful field within the Barossa Valley, each of my Italian Greyhounds tumbled at speed. 

Dogs sometimes tumble at speed while lure coursing. Sometimes they appear to misjudge a tight turn. (The course is designed to mimic the path of a rabbit fleeing a predator, with tight turns, changes in direction, and long straight sections.) A new field may also challenge a dog’s ability to find their footing and follow bags over a slight rise and amongst ground cover. Especially small dogs. In this case, the field had slightly undulating terrain, with a network of ~2 cm deep tractor tyre tracks, and ground cover up to ~5-8 cm tall. Fei Yen tumbled at speed on a sharp corner and Lilly tumbled at speed on a small section of the course that wasn't visible to the driver.

Both dogs appeared to recover after a few moments, pick up the lure and continue their runs with no change in gait, speed or enthusiasm. In the following 5 days, both dogs continue to appear healthy and pain free, showing their usual sprightly enthusiasm for everything, gait changes, and capacity and willingness to jump around. 

But just imagine Fei Yen or Lilly tumbling at speed while wearing a loose-fitting basket over their head?

Since the introduction of mandatory muzzles, my dogs have not yet been required to wear them, as per the recommendation of the Adelaide Lure Coursing and Racing Club, South Australian Lure Coursing Advisory Committee, and Dogs SA. Rule 5.8 specifies that only a brace of 2 or 3 requires the dogs to wear muzzles, and Rule 9.4 specifies that dogs from the same household can run in separate braces (ask the club when you submit your entries). As there are currently no other Italian Greyhounds participating in team coursing events in SA, each of my dogs run their team events separately and muzzle free. 

The reminder that lure coursing presents inherent risks for safety, without artificially inflating these with the use of muzzles, led me to again write to the local advisory committee to reconsider their status of waiting for the next rule review, and to act now. I mentioned that revoking Rule 5.8 currently has the support of 681 people who have signed this petition, and that there is already a president of rule changes being made between scheduled reviews in dog sports. 

I will let you know the outcome. 

Thank you for your support to revoke mandatory muzzles in team lure coursing events