You know how some parents get that one child that tests them at every turn? Loki is mine. We show conformation and as anyone who has witnessed can testify, lord knows we tried with Loki. Loki just had no interest in keeping all 4 feet on the floor, much less standing still. He yodeled, spun, crawled up my legs, and removed any shred of humility I had left. I took him to countless conformation training classes and two complete sessions of obedience. Even though he did win a couple times, it just wasn’t meant to be--there would be no conformation titles in Loki’s future.
During his puppyhood I watched him chase butterflies, moths, leaves, basically anything that moved. When we saw a Coursing Ability Test (CAT) advertised in a neighboring state, I thought this might be Loki’s event. CAT is where a dog runs individually and chases after an artificial lure (“bunny”) on either a 300- or 600-yard long course. The dog must finish in less 1 ½ minutes and 2 minutes, respectively.
Loki’s first run started off great, but he lost the lure in the long grass then found some grasshoppers very entertaining. On Loki’s second run, he had it figured out. After months of trying to contain/restrain him, it was SHEER JOY to let him go to do this thing--running after that lure. Spectators and fellow exhibitors were amazed he had such prey drive. More important to me was the demonstration that bulldogs can be healthy. They can run. They do enjoy exercise.
We entered Loki in FCAT the next year. In his first year of that event he was ranked #13 in bulldogs. Fast CAT is a shorter “dash” type course that is timed so speed does matter.
Loki has earned a Coursing Ability Advanced title in CAT and a BCAT title in FCAT. He is working on the next title in both these events.
I encourage everyone to search out some videos and information about CAT and FCAT. It is a lot of fun to watch them go!
Karen Zimny and Pantheon Loki Leamhachan CAA BCAT