Calling all experienced FastCat people!
I am planning to try FastCat this Spring with my whippet. The first events in my area begin in May.
I read on other threads here that you need two handlers - one to release and one to catch.
Because I am new to the sport, I don’t have any connections yet and my husband often works weekends.
Is it recommended to reach out to the club in advance to see if I can line up a volunteer to release for me?
Picture of my sweet girl for Tax
Most clubs will have volunteers to help with releasing/catching if needed, but is is always a good idea to double check with host club.
Many times the help may be older or less athletic/strong people. So keep that in mind.
If your dog has any quirks that may make it difficult for released, be aware they may not be able to help.
Do you have a friend that could go with you? I did my first Sprinter (in Canada they call them Sprinters, not FastCat, but its the same thing) and I brought a friend to release my girl. It was my dogs and my first time doing this so it was great to go a tad early to get the idea.
Just in case your girl is a bit nervous of strangers or being left alone (as they line up early and you have to go down to the end of the track to “catch” them, so you are out of sight for a bit), if you have someone who knows her, it might make her feel a little more comfortable? And then you don’t have to rely on someone at the event. Just a thought!
But the Sprinter I went to had lots of volunteers and I’m sure anyone would have helped if I ever needed it. I even asked some random person in the crowd to use my phone to video her runs. I could have emailed the event centre ahead of time as well so they could manage and arrange for a helper 
Have fun! They are really so much fun!! Lots of barking and excited dogs though as they get to know the routine! It took me one full run to get my girls attention as she couldn’t see me very well or hear me at all at the end of the run. So much noise and confusion at the top, but once she got it, she was focused and ran her heart out! ( I was also screaming as loud as I could and was jumping up and down waving my arms to get her attention. And it worked lol!)
What a beautiful dog. I love her coloring.
I did not get what her name is? If you don’t mind explaining.
Thank you! She is a red brindle whippet, which I was told is somewhat rare.
Her name is Lil. The picture that I posted ‘for tax’ is just for attention/responses to this post.
Internet thing. A tax payment for asking a question is a photo of the adorable pet.
I wish that I did, but the events are a bit of a drive away, and none of my friends are really free to come for a whole day.
I’m hoping if I reach out the host club in advance, I could line up a releaser. My husband and I practice release and catch all the time - I’m enough of a lure that she always sprints to me. In fact, at the event, I would not be surprised if she ignores the lure completely and just runs to me. The worst she does at release is flail around a bit. She’s a little hard to hold because she is small and nimble.
where are you? If you are in the PA/NY area, I would be down to release for you.
Thank you, that is a really nice offer. Unfortunately, we’re a good 8-10 hours away from NY/PA.
Am I the only one who opened this thread wondering if I would see something like this? –
I thought FastCat must be a racing TB sire I never heard of before. From the Storm Cat line, probably.
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This was our first time (her second run, once she got the hang of it!) doing a Sprinter (FastCat) last fall. After your run, you have to pass by the field which distracted my girl for a second lol! For a big dog (115lb) she ran some fairly fast times (just over 10 seconds) which was faster than some cattle dogs and aussies. But there was a greyhound that ran it in under 7 seconds!
She almost has her first title from that race (Novice Sprinter) as you need 150 points for your first title here in Canada. We have 110 and I plan to take her to a few more in the spring as she seemed to enjoy it and I did too!
Thank you for sharing! She definitely looks like she’s enjoying herself. I’ve done some lure coursing in the past with my last sighthound. That was easy because, as the handler, you both release and catch. The courses are much longer - 800-900 yards. I suspect the FastCat distance (100 yards) will be more suited to my whippet. But she might surprise me. We’ll be trying both this spring. I can’t wait to get started!
Oh, I love how her face sort of bounces as she goes. What a cutie!
So, a dog party, with running and treats. I’ll bet the dogs love it! 
Wish I had known about this with my lab in his young days! He had a great ‘come’ over a distance and was delighted to ‘come’ at maximum velocity, with huge “watch me!” fanfare. He was also astonishingly fast once he hit his stride. This would have been fun! 
Our dogs absolutely LOVE it.
For them, it’s a way to break out from their normal training/lifestyles & decompress/have fun & it is basically a free for all 
DD’s dog (the sable) is her ASD, which can be challenging & tiring, so for her this is a fun way to let her run “wild” & have loads of fun, yet still be safe. Granted her wild is still pretty tame LOL.
My dog (black & tan) trains & competes in Schutzhund/IGP, as well as RH. Training can be repetitive at times, even when trying to change it up & requires a lot of strict obedience on her part.
Since she absolutely goes ape shite over FCAT, I use it as a stress reliever for her. She doesn’t have to be under any OB commands & she can be as loud as she wants.
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I’ve looked online, but haven’t been able to find anywhere that offers it that wouldn’t be a two or three hour roundtrip. We’ve even discussed adding snow fence (or similar) to our arena (board and post fencing) to make it dual-purpose, and suitable for our own personal FastCat course.
Because our lightning-fast Tibetan Spaniel would absolutely love it.
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And just for fun, I’ve added 2 videos of my girl at 4 months old at a lure course at a Jack Russel show (she also did a barn hunt there) and an indoor event (Pet Expo) where you could have them run for fun. This was the last time she ran a lure course until she turned 2 in my other Sprinter video. She was just too darn cute so I had to share lol!
I’m a little late to this thread, but my Corgi just did his first Fast CAT this past weekend and had a blast. I had a catcher, but there were several folks who were solo and ran with the help of on the spot volunteers.
It was a 3 day comp and I entered for one run on Sunday afternoon because I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. I was hoping to be able to fit in a fun run after, but so many people scratched after being there all weekend that we got slotted in before lunch break and I think folks were ready to be done at that point, lol.
OP here! Since originally posting this thread, we have taken our girl to both an ASFA Lure Coursing Trial and this past weekend a FastCat event. Now, my whippet was bred from show lines, and is a very soft dog with a pretty low drive for a sighthound. What she has told us in no uncertain terms is that she does not see the point of chasing a bag. She will run to mum if she has to, but would prefer not to. So I guess she will remain my little hiking buddy and couch companion. I do find Lure Coursing so much easier to understand. FastCat kind of remains a mystery to me. I feel like (flame suit on) it’s kind of like every dog gets a participation ribbon kind of event. Which, cool, because otherwise we would have come home with no ribbons at all. But I don’t really get the points and titles system for FastCat. 
Signed, a girl who doesn’t see the point in running and would much rather remain at home in her poof
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