The lure coursing Finnish Cup competition was held in Keuruu, Central Finland this year. It is a competition where the most successful dogs from the previous season are invited to, among which also Taikuri was. I was expecting an invitation and Taikuri has been trained with the idea of two lc competitions in May. Oils and different supplements have been in daily use!

In the first round Taikuri’s pair was the experienced Pistonhead Anderson Silva, and they seemed to be a good pair. Taikuri’s score for this round was 251 points, giving him the leading position for the finale. The first competitions in spring are always a bit of an excitement because you don’t quite know how the dog will balance after the performance. In Taikuri’s I would say ok although it could’ve been faster. In the finale Taikuri’s pair wa Acire Mister Caramel, the same male he was paired up with in last autumn’s Finnish Championship competition. Even this time they seemed like a compatible pair. In the finale Taikuri got 253 points which earned him his fourth certificate and second place in the cup competition, his finale pair becoming Best In Field of the day.

I must say that Italian Greyhounds have improved immensely during the past decade as far as coursing and racing are concerned. We have several competing dogs excelling in both sports. Even on this day only five dogs were given 500 points or more, three of which were Italian Greyhounds. So yes, the quality is high!

As for Taikuri, naturally I’m getting more and more positive of his dual working championship but first he has to earn that last and fifth certificate. When it will be, only time will show and until then we will just keep on training!

Photo from the first round, taken by Kati Kanerva:

The photos below were taken by Marko Pessi: