Willy Wonka,

Nuts is also another name for... ahem... men's bits? lmao

LILY um ah um well um

LILY, now i know where to send my dogs if they come up claggers, not that im saying you have claggers or anything

lol no thanks, I've closed up shop to giveaways in the last few years, just breeding my own and sticking to my own dogs

But in the beginning, when I first got my owner/trainer's licence, (I started out when I was 16) I got my first hound as a giveaway, his race name was Mersey Wonder (by Ding's Wonder) he was an ex Victorian who had about 40 starts for a win, was the world's slowest ever dog, however I got him going and he won 2 races for me, he was a doofus of a dog lol but such a hard trier and I learnt so much from training him. He even ran 3rd in a country graded final after winning his heat in the world's slowest time lol was lucky I guess, he had box 1 and got out in the lead for the first time in his life and hung on.
He was my first winner and it was a great feeling!

That's what new owner/trainers should do, don't ruin a potentially good pup/young dog, always start out with an old dog first, so that way, you can learn the ropes. An older dog can teach a novice trainer so much.

My 2nd ever dog, I purchased with my money that I earned working as a vet assistant (I was 18 by then) was called Calm Cookie. I got him for $300, he was unfashionably bred by an unknown sire and a hopelessly slow dam, and he had already had 14 starts for 1 win and 2 placings when I bought him.
He went on to win 7 races, 15 2nds and 14 3rds for me in 84 starts, was a pleasure to train. I had to put him down at age 5 years due to throat cancer.. broke my heart! He was still racing then, won his last race at age 4 half years old.

From that point on, almost every giveaway that I got, all won for me even after people/top trainers told me that they couldn't get these dogs going and these dogs would never be any good. So to see them win, was always such a great feeling.

All they needed was individual hands on TLC, not being in a huge kennel treated like a number.

Lilly,
Well are'nt you looking for trouble with this statement, you have loaded the bullets in the gun and fired the bloody thing as well! Just wait until whippee reads this, i'm labeled an arsehole for giving him some advice and links to various information to help him and you come out with this.
I hope you have your last will and testament all sorted out mate. LMAO

LILY, funny and good reading was gonna get a ready racer but it was the kid/s (got 1 and 1 on the way) i was a little worried about, and was thinking like whippee "dont make it, great pet" but 1 has now become 2 lol as i explained to whip in an earlier reply but now that i got them were having doubts all the way if we have made a huge mistake...but then the next day we think nup we wanted a complete change of enviroment after what we went through, a sort of pick me up i guess! and now that were "sort of homeless" it doesnt matter to us if we dont get vic class were ready to move were we can get them a run its all a bit of a head spin really did not expect the time and care required with the hounds but im getting right into it now learning fast thanks to you and others on here and other forums (one jaime in particular has given me some wonderful advice and help, just a pity its a boxing ring ) but geez they bloody love you these dogs aye lol cant get off my ankles

thank you all for great reading re rearing/training pups i now feel i have the confidence to go buy a pup (looking at a regal thyme dog 5 mths 800)
so with the bosses(wife's ) blessing will go to see breeder on weekend
thank you all