Bringing up a racing greyhound

[MissRhianL 70]

From what i can grasp hold of on this topic of Racing Greyhounds, i find alot of people buy in dogs already running at track, ok i can understand this matter of time etc, but you dont hear of many people buying a greyhound pup with intentions of training it for the track and going through the whole process on what work has to be put into them to race at track, what type of training would it include and how often and basically the whole process from the puppy stages up to the first day trial run and the following races there after.

 

I think if there was more publicity on these stages or the starting life of a racing greyhound i think alot more people would apprechiate the work that does get put into this type of breed, rather than just seen as a 'breeding machine'

 

Be interesting to see if anyone has been through this process or is just starting out with their track racer

[Temugin 2]

Rearing a puppy on it's own takes great experiance and it's best to rear a few pups together ... You need plenty of space for them to run for starters in a safe enviroment ... Even then injurys happen , pups break down , some won't chase , some see too much live stuff for the track and then get too clever for the rag as a track dog .

This is why few go that way that want a track dog . Fantastic buzz if you have the time space and it must be extra rewarding for the owner if one does rear one alone then get it hunting hard at the track .

[weezel5 2]

I jus lost my ped whippet under a car it was hart brakeing (rip trixy). My mum is a grayhound owner an her trainer has jus had a litter out of rocka chase bulit so my mum has baught me one at four month old an at the mo am haveing a concreat kennal built an am applying for my trainers licence the kennal will be finishd monday an i will go pik her up an start the training so i will be doing it all alone an hopefully she will be an open class dog shud be the breedings there its jus all up to me fingurs crossd. Atb weezel

[samba 534]

greyhound pups need plenty of freedom as with lurcher pups to learn to run and use there bodys

and to learn how to run before reaching the track

some people kept there pups on lead till schooling age that didnt have a clue how to run

atb with your venture greyhound racing a very difficult game nowadays

[stav11 32]

have done this, its not hard they are dogs at the end of the day!! treat the pup as you would any other pup it wont hurt it in any way, people say they need this n need that etc etc etc bollocks!! treat it like a lurcher and ul not go far wrong, as a pup build a make shift trap with a wire mesh front entice the pup in for a few mins at a time throughout the day enter it from the back and let it out through the mesh front, it makes the dog realise itl come out when the door opens from the front and after a short while of it feeding in their wont associate it with punishment but a nice place to be as its getting fed! and itl be facing forward 99% of the time

as for walks etc, some idiots rekon and swear by 2 x 20 minute walks a day!! this is also crackers too as you want your greyhound to be steady with everything around them, well socialised so it doesnt try and kill or interfere with any of the other dogs at the track whilst running. personaly i found rearing them with my lurchers it picked up alot off them like they helped it realise it can run and run bloody fast lol, use its head and be part of the pack, at first it was totally knackered on the usual walk to the point i had to carry it home sometimes but after a while the mix of road walking and fields improve the quality of its feet, build muscle condition and stamina and generaly improve the over all look of the dog.

once its finding its feet you want it springing out the trap soon as the gate opens, so play with a rabbit pelt with it from day one and at around 8 month i wrapped the pelt in string put a few pegs out played with the dog, put it in the trap and as i opened the front pulled the pelt past it took a few days pretty much a week but it started to get it and like anything the more you do it the better it gets, so before long was fired up soon as it was in the trap, ready and eager to go.

from about 9 months i started going to the flapping track to let it watch the other dogs and again it realised after a few weeks that the buzzing noise meant something to chase and its when they start going spaz on the lead, barking , pulling that you have it cracked.

from 12 month i started giving it a go on the lure machine just straight lines and not very far maybe 100metres or so once a day 3 times a week as well as the usual 2 walks one of about 4 hours the other of 2 hours both included lead and free running again every day in the trap then sunday up the track only this time you wanna try it out, but i never, just wait that extra few week to male sure everything is tightened up and matured properly in its head and body.

13month i knew he was ready to go 110% sure so next step was trying him on the track over a 260m sprint (he'd only ever done 100m) pay your money and go for it!! you can try from the trap if you like i didnt the first time i held him at the trap line and as the hare passed let him go trying to egg him on, sometimes theyl run to the first bend and stop then bound back to you like a big daft pup they usually give you another go, but if they go around the first bend you have deffo cracked it and its very very rare they stop after that point.

14 month if you want you can go for a trial at the flapping track and race them if you pass the time trial set by the operator of the track, me personally only ran on the flapping track as i couldnt be bothered with the shit the ngrc set down its all shite plus i used mine as a courser/lamper with the lurchers.

at 15month he had his first race over 260m he came 4th, i put it down to 1, hed never done it before, 2, never ran with that many dogs before and felt intimidated and 3 wasnt sure if id got him fit enough?? so i booked him in for the following week and went to a proper regime.......

 

sunday up the track over 260m, one run, washed feet, brushed dog at track then home fed in trap

monday walk 2-4 hours lead and free run, lure in the afternoon over 450metres i did this till he was knackered usually 4-6 times than good feed of redmills racer

with a few ripped u slices of brown bread soaked in hot water.

tuesday walk 2-4 hours, lure early evening 450m 3-4 times, feed

wed walk 2-4 hours, lure as above, feed

thursday lead walk 2hrs and --------REST

friday lead walk 2 hours max no feed race at 7pm did this for oh a few weeks results from what i remember were.....

 

1st race 4th,

2nd race 1st,

3rd race 1st,

4th race 2nd

 

maccy d's on way home for a treat out of his winnings...... good brush and rub down big big feed

 

saturday i was expecting him to be stiff and tired but no, so as per monday without the lure.

sunday track run, home feed and walked on an evening fpr 3 hours on and off lead.

 

i then started to think he wasnt a sprinter afterall and talked to the guy about a 440m trial, he told me the dogs not ready blah blah blah is all i heard and did it anyhow well blow me he come out the trap off scratch hugged the rail all the way round my god he was flying made a good second under qualifying so that was that he was a mid distance dog for sure. back on above routine he was 16 month now, had matured up in the head and wanted to kill!

 

i ran him a few more times at 440m where he ran from the best handicap to scratch he ran 5 or 6 races and got beat in one heat in a normal race by a guy that was feeding his dog up to get the best handicap when mine started off scratch and mine came 2nd by a head!! he ran a final against well seasoned dogs 2-5yr old and won that. people at the track asked me how he was running that night and i said hes good, after the race had a billion people shaking my hand and thanking me for their winnings lol i never ever bet on him i wasnt there for that i wanted to see how much i could get out of the dog and i did that allright with flying colours

 

he was a flying machine ive yet to see another greyhound beat him although he didnt turn too well bit like the arc royal but he just ate the ground when coursing and closed hare down in seconds, he has since gone to a pet home where he will remain till he dies. when he was with me he was in the house around my babies and dogs he slept on the floor at the foot of the bed very loving and loyal dog, hell of a guard dog stopped racing him as i say i like hunting and he helped take his fair share of deer, fox and hare as well as rabbits, partridge pigeon and the odd cat!! if i could find a pure saluki bitch i would line him over it without a thought and produce some very very handy first x's that would make some very fast game dogs.