Greyhound Training/racing
 

Hello all,
New to forum. I have always enjoyed greyhounds and watching them race. I am considering purchasing my own hound and training it myself. Do you all recommend i purchase a pup, broken, or a racer? this may sound like a silly question but can i keep the dog inside the house as a pet and still train him/her and race it too? I see everyone has kennels and stuff outside. I dont though. we have had whippets in the past and always enjoyed their company and im sure greyhounds are quite similar. I am looking to spend under a thousand for a dog, ye i know it probably wont be the best for that price, but i am fine with that. I am in south australia. I guess i would need to register with the greyhound association to start, is this correct? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Any other advice?
thanks again
andy

can it be done from in house>>> in a word yes it can
is it the best way>>. cant answer that one
what to buy........... 1k or less race dog wont get you much
if you were willing to wait id buy a pup and work from there
as for the greyhound association i cant answer that one but im sure someone on here can and will do that for you

as for advice you get what you put in to them give them the best they will give it to you cut corners with them they can never give you their best

thanks for reply. i spoke to a few breeders/trainers the other day and got a bit more advice. i am currently doing a lot of reading / research on the racing game.
Any other help will be greatly appreciated.
thanks again
andy

no problem andy
if you have anything you want to ask just post others will help too
if you need something answered asap just email me ill get back to you quickly
just go to ::..:: welcome to Broadmill kennels Co. Kerry Ireland ::..:: my email is there ok

noel

WHIPPEE,
i gotta pup for $500 and its out running other pups at the rearers, also have a pup that was over $1300, doing the same thing, im new to the game too but alot will tell you that under $1000 pup prob not much good and yes blood lines are important, but when you see your own $500 pup roaring past $5000+ pups???? seems a no brainer to me!! it is definately the "will" and the individual dogs mental attitude!! as for owning i believe you need an owners licence in all states?? (free in vic) regardless if your geting someone to train it or not find G.R.S.A site you will get your info on that there also G.R.V site has some good info packs on there sites, as for home rearing, i got 2 pups aswell in the middle of melbourne suburbs, i walk them 2 times mornin n night and go off and find a big open space for them to have a real good stretch out and run every couple of days, and they live inside lol look better than pups at rearers as i said im new to it too but if you love your dogs treat/feed them right (as you would your pets) why not have a go, could end up just being your pet or could end up grp 1 champion! WHO KNOWS. also when you got them at home at least you know what they getting fed and any injuries (minor or major) your straight on top of. MY ADVICE get amongst it!!!!!! cos im loving it!! head to Team Bundy Greyhound Syndicates its an oz syndicate site maybe thats a better option for your cicumstances?? only you know that, but there is plenty of owners / trainers willing to offer top advice quite freely mate aswell as they do on this site

what a wonderful response. thanks for taking the time to write this. I have had a few ex trainers at work saying shit like, its not worth it, its hard work ect. ect. I know its hard work. I have read a few books of late to get an idea about the game. I have always loved greyhounds and enjoyed watching them run around a track. I have always wished that i could race my own dog. I have been looking for pups (12 or 13 weeks) I have found one that is 950 dollars. the trainers seemed like a super nice dude and we spent three hours at his place and learned alot. He lended me about ten books to read and seemed to be real genuine and honest. I have looked at the bloodlines of this pup. they dont seem real well known, but do display good racing records. He explained that the reason the pups are a bit cheaper is because its both the dams and sires first litter, so their pups are a bit unproven. so its a hard call, but i was happy with what i saw at his place. So i am seriously considering purchasing this bitch.
any other advice is always helpful as always
thanks

go with your gut
as long as well feed well looked after i wouldnt worry about first time dam really

Nicely said Noel.

coops

one of my pups is from an unraced dam! so i taking the "so called risk", but mother has thrown winners everywhere including off spring i believe, And WHIPPEE, i did what your currently doing....reading and asking.... its work but i wouldnt put it under the "hard" work category ;) like NOEL told me the other day, feed them right!!!. doesnt matter how much a dog costs cos theres plenty that have been paid $10,000 plus for pups and or "ready racers" (including a mate) and never got to the track so now he has a 10 grand couch potato :D AND no problem with the reply were all here for advice or to hand it out

thanks for replies. I am going to have a look at some cheaper pups tomorrow. I hope i like what i see, then ill buy one. My next question is with his/her diet. I am looking at feeding biscuits and milk in the morn and mince/veggies/dry food in the evening. Does this sound ok. Is there any necessity to feed vitamin supplements at this age. Any help is appreciated.
thanks
andy

best of luck with what ever you decide to buy and i hope you get a good one

as for supl no there is no need just feed right

as for feeding them
this is what i do (not saying im right just my way)
i dont give milk to them once the dam has stopped i dont think they need it (natures will ) i give bisciuts with broth in the morning
dinner is a mix of chicken/beef/trip or fish
with veg (minced raw) nuts soaked for about an hour and broth again

thanks, what type of broth? chicken or someone? you are referring to biscuits as a wheat biscuit right? with you dinner do you change the meat weekly or someone? what sort of quanties of meat per feeding?
i am going to a pet food store that supplies feed for greyhound raisers this morning and have a chat with them and see what they say.
thanks
andy

ANDY, mine get weetbix and brown toast with sometimes vegemite lol half cup each biscuits in the morning milk over the top, i gotta couple of picky pups, some times like they like bisciuts pre saoked til its sucked up the milk sometimes just drink the milk and eat the bisciuts dry, at dinner they each get lean beef bout 400 grams each with scoop biscuits each, same fussyness as breakfast lol sometimes soak bisciuts and mix meat but??? its "their" choice lol if you find the "feeding pups" thread i asked same question and yo wil see NOELKEANES reply!!!! as for biscuits..... well... premium bisciuts such as hills science and advance, eukanuba premium (puppy large breed of course) they say you dont need to add supplements cos its all in there but others say add supps, depends on your budget cos they are $100+ a bag 15Kg or so a month, but i recently been told SUPERCOAT is ok for pups way way cheaper like 30 a bag and then add supplements??? so if you see where im going...and supplements arent that $$$$ 20 for a supplement 500g and supposed to have everything they need!

AJ

:confused:
whoops didint see NOELS reply at the top!!!

To me the price of a pup is irrelevant! In 15 years the best two bitches I have had, ONE- cost $250- won G2 and approx $75,000 and TWO $800 and she has just broken the $50,000 mark! As Noel says go with your gut feeling,Feed well, worm it reg, keep it healthy, DON'T spoil it and you will get the best out it! Remember that a dog is a pack animal and does like the company of other dogs so it is common practice to rear them in pairs! Best of luck with whatever you decide!!

Hey your right there Gippy. I've had Sinka for 10 months now and he has been by himself all that time. The other day someone gave me a 20 month old bitch for nothing. She is very green and very small but a happy little thing. I know it's been only a couple of days, but Sinka is a different dog, he's gone absolutley ape shit happy. Walks really well and has his nose in her coit all the time.

coops

exactly why i recently got "another" one for home rearing COOPS ;) you can see the boredom when theyre by their self!!!

Breakfast: 1 weetbix soaked in half cup hot water then topped with 1 full cup cold milk (I saw a guy feeding his pups with hot milk, which is a no no as the pups burnt their mouths but apparently he didn't have the 'empathy' to realise this), 1 egg yolk (don't have it every morning, just some mornings lol eggs are expensive if fed daily!) and while pups are normally not fussy eaters (I have never bred fussy eaters, some people that have fussy eaters usually mustn't be doing something right in feeding. I once sold a young bitch to this guy, she had always been a big eater and wouldn't turn down rubbish, however with this guy because he was feeding her wrong (hot milk, too much kibble ratio to meat etc) she started being picky with her food and he's now telling me that she's just a fussy eater when she is not. Arrgh lol) oh also young pups get a puppy biscuit (which are a bit softer than the usual 4 x 2 biscuits).
However if you do have a picky eater, sometimes a dollop of Nutrigel paste (get from vets) in the milk or meat will get them gobbling! ;-) Nutrigel is very palatable and attractive tasting so dogs can't resist it.
Another good idea is 5ml of Collovet liquid into the milk or meat or even down its throat via a syringe. ( You can get Collovet at any pet store) (don't give to racing dogs close to racing, as it contains caffeine). It's useful for animals in poor condition, picky eaters, animals recovering from a virus/bug etc it 'picks them right up'.

Morning vitamins a must: White E or Natural E (the first one is Vetsearch product, the other one is Troy product. I prefer using Troy Natural E).

Pups aged under 3 mths must be fed 4-5 times a day (small meals), over 3mths must be fed 3 times a day til about 5 mths old then they get 2 meals a day. Very important for young pups under 10mths to be fed TWICE a day.

Afternoon dinner: Feed meat with soaked kibble. Never fed dry kibble. Usually 1 to 1 half cups of kibble is the maximum. Important to feed a bit of chicken mince along with beef in the winter time for its fat content (can get chicken mince for 50 cents a kilo from reputable factories that sell bulk dog meat) but make sure it's fresh chicken that doesn't have big chunky bones in it.

I feed Winning Edge Platinium kibble to racedogs, however for pups, it is a good idea to vary kibble every couple of months from Coprice (a favourite of mine), Supercoat Puppy, Advance (best kibble ever! if you can afford it), Purina Puppy, and even the cheaper form of kibble you see everywhere, as long as you are feeding good meat with vitamins, kibble brand is really not important at all (but watch for the really cheap coloured kibbles as they have too much additives/dye in it, it causes tummy upsets)

Afternoon vitamins: Feramo D (or Livamol), Calci D (or DCP) and that's about it, you can add a cup of cooked vegetables (do not feed onions!) to the dinner daily. Cook a beefy/or chicken broth once a week (sundays usually). You can cook a broth by firstly filly a large pot with water, putting in say about 500g meat, throw in half a cup of rice, 1 packet of cheap noodles including the flavour sachet, diced celery (you can use the leafy stalks as well), 2-3 stalks chopped spinach (silverbeet), and instead of chopping carrots, you can buy a frozen Homebrand 1kg mixed vegetable bag, throw that in the pot. Add half of a capsimum, chopped, a bit less than a quarter cabbage, shredded.
Lemme think here.. oh also one garlic clove, diced finely. Sometimes I use a turnip and swede as well, but only use a very small amount.

It's a bonanza broth! ;-)


And a hint, never rear a pup on its own, mainly because it increases the risk of the pup turning into a fighter on the track or being too shy to go around a field etc

A pup must learn to take the knocks, bumps and bites of other pups and develop into a strong personality. You don't want a sooky spoilt pup that just wants to spend all day on the couch with its owner lol

Most important of all, it needs to get in plenty of long gallops, in a big open paddock so it can learn to turn and uses its legs properly.

Hope this helps ;-)


cheers

Oh and also, I do feed dry toast with a bit of butter/vegemite on it most mornings to pups and racedogs, one slice with vegemite and the other slice with honey. Even peanut butter, fish paste (dogs absolutely love it!) etc.

Make sure you cut up the toast into small pieces for the young pups so they can chew it easily.

Sounds like you better keep an eye on Sinka mate!!! You don't want a litter of little split shots running arond yet!!!!:D:D

Gippy mate, At least he is not humping my leg anymore.

coops

OOPPSS :) bad couch pups!, BUT excellent post/s FLOWER, i think you summed it up nicely all that info is exactly what i have been asking for but getting in dribs and drabs so to speak, And after reading it I can see where MY mistakes are being made :) now im gonna take some control :rolleyes:

GIPPY

"Sounds like you better keep an eye on Sinka mate!!! You don't want a litter of little split shots running arond yet!!!!"

now thats a crack up :)

hello all, got my pup on the weekend and she is great. she is 14 weeks old. i have started the regular excersise and she is loving it. she is eating well in the am and pm. i have wormed her already. the kids love her and she is very affectionate (dont know if that is the best thing.) i have a golden retriever that keeps her quite busy. anyhow so far enjoying the training/excercise for her and myself too. paid 500 bucks for her, but having checked her bloodlines they look quite strong. i know that its not the most expensive bitch around but i hope she will someday make the track.
thanks for all your help and will continue to read/post here.
andy

can we ask what breed is your pup??? and i got a couple of kids around here too mate and the hounds just love them!! bit bigger than them but they TRY to be gentle with the kids

she is carnage x miss inform. ye i agree with the kids/gentle part. the hardest thing i getting her to get up off the bed and or couch to go outside haha love it tho

oops, i have another question for all. I am in south australia. as you ve seen ive just purchased my first dog. I have read the sa rulebook and read about having a kennel. I have yet to build a kennel, but i am wondering if i can apply to be an owner/trainer with the pup and then put in the app. when i am finished building it. Or do i have to build it then apply? I cant understand for the life of me why it is mandatory to have a kennel. what is wrong with raising the dog without one. after all i can guarantee my dog has a lot nicer environment to live in (my house) than half the other dogs out there living at these farms. Dont want to cause any turmoil but i just a bit confused. This was not intended to offend any out there.
thanks again
andy

All racing greyhounds/young pups must be housed in proper enclosures, this is to safeguard against accidents and little kids slipping 'chocolate treats' to the racedogs etc.
Also to protect visitors from being bothered by unrestrained dogs in the house, the ruling body do not want to be sued by a citizen who claims that it was an unrestrained greyhound that caused injury to them etc.

It's fine and all to play with pups inside the house but they must learn to live in a safe enclosure most of the time, and only let out when you can spend some time playing with them and not leave them running around unsupervised, especially with young kids. Kids can unintentionally hurt/injury pups without you being aware of it so you never know.. better safe than sorry!

Racedogs can easily injure themselves in the house by bumping into tables etc bruising themselves.

And so easy for one to sneakily open a garbage lid the night before a race and gorge themselves on junk food lol then where would you be??

So, yes, before you can apply to become an owner/trainer, you must have a secure kennel/yard for the greyhound.


P.S With regards to exercising young pups on a lead before they're 10mths old, remember, don't overwork them on the lead (like this particular novice trainer I know, he walked his 4mth old puppy on a lead twice a day for about 2kms or more, then galloped her in a huge paddock, the poor puppy was totally exhausted from the walk so she really overdid it by the extra free galloping. Will end up with arthritis in the wrists and hip supports)
Aside from that, it's not a good idea to street walk the pup before it's 8-9mths old, as it's so easy for them to pick up nasty germs from domestic dogs, along with parvo, distemper, meningitis etc all hanging around in the dog social areas.

A good option could be to take the pup to a soccer/footy park to exercise (in the dark of course, can't have council rangers coming after you for using a public park lol make sure you carry a pooper bag with you to clean up after the dog) by driving there.


IMO pups under the age of 5mths don't really need to exercise overly much, as long as they get a free run 3 times a week they should be fine just playing about in the backyard.

Im a bit with whippee on the kennel issue! BUT can see the point LILY makes about the kids, im forever telling the boys to leave the dogs alone :) AND STOP TRYING TO RIDE THEM LIKE A HORSE :D: As for the bed and couch WHIP get them off and keep them off cos mine tried the same antics and i wasnt gonna be putting up with that ( i want the bed and couch to myself..... without the mrs and kids lol ) and we are trying to get them to race not take a nap in the boxes lol LILY where do we stand on the MUZZLING issue with pups????? when should they have them on (age) I got told no law until they have been broken in!!! BUT I FIND THAT VERY HARD TO BELIEVE!! oh got onto some meat too LILY no preserves and they actually eat it .........this week lol

appreciate replies. One more question, i have started pup on meat from a pet store, its about 4.00 a kilo. I was walking by the butcher today and had sign pet meat .50 kilo. I asked the butcher whats up with the meat and he said its chicken wings ect. ground up to a mince. Does anyone have any experience with this meat. The only thing that concerns me a bit would be the bone material, dont know tho. Anyhow gotta go out and do some measuring for the kennel. thanks again
andy

Willy Wonka; pups don't need to be muzzled until they reach about 11 mths I'd say. You would only need to put American muzzles on older pups if they didn't get along with other pups when let out to gallop in a paddock.
You see domestic dogs wandering about on the streets without muzzles and their owners uncaring about keeping them restrained on a lead, so why SHOULD we responsible greyhound owners have to cop being attacked by these bloody domestic dogs??
However I think it's a council regulation that greyhound owners have to walk their greyhounds (any age, except young pups too small to wear a muzzle, I think)muzzled on a public street, so better be on the safe side of the law here lol


Whippee: Since you only have one pup, you have every chance of giving it a good start in life by feeding good quality meat even though it's $4 a kg, it shouldn't cost you too much in the long run ;-)
I would steer clear of butcher's pet mince if I was you, I have seen a few like those, even my local butcher has pet mince at $1.50 per kg, but the problem with these type of mince is that it's mostly offal, leftovers all minced up finely, especially these sausage mince (you can smell the difference there lol) which can upset a puppy's sensitive tummy.

Another good idea for you two (willy wonka and whippee); pups ABSOLUTELY love chicken necks, if you buy a carton tray full from supermarkets (you can see the chicken necks in the pets deli in the supermarket) and keep them in the fridge, I guarantee you there will not be a fussy eater who can resist them! I usually give about 4-5 chicken necks at a time, as you don't want to give them too much otherwise they'll be constipated! lol

They just love chewing on them (my racedogs love them too, they get it as a treat once a fortnight, however they are pigs about it, never chews, just gobble them all down in one go! lol) and it's good for pups' teeth too.
Suitable bones for pups (did I forget to mention that it's very important for pups to get bones regularly for their teeth and intestinal health? lol) are soft brisket bones, chicken necks, I know some big farms give chicken frames although personally I am loathe to do that due to the risk of one splinter of bone lodging in a pup's gum etc and big beefy leg bones so they can spend all day chewing on them, keeps them busy and happy! (although you'll probably hear them whine and cry a bit as they try to pass a hard poo after eating a bone!)


You can throw them a brisket bone etc once or twice a week.

The angel has arrived!!! :) yeah i would presume the local council would regulate the wearing of muzzles! I was thinking why should they, its not like they have been broken in to chase :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :D but as you say we are more responsible with our dogs!! and the MENU..... its like a 5 star restaurant lol

thanks for your time for all this info LILY, and sorry for taking over your thread WHIPPEE ;) but i think we both and whoever else has read it have learnt some lessons needed

you havent taken over my thread, thanks for all the advice from everyone. i spoke to sa greyhounds about kennel sizes today. I have a back section of my shed that is lined, insulated, ect. it is about 3x3. he said this is plenty. I was under the assumption that they needed a caged area outside the kennel, but he said no that the back yard is sufficient. he reckons that the pup just wont get enough exercise in the backyard with a golden retriever. I also have an oval across the road that i take her to gallop. I also take them for a walk on the lead. Happy to say she is quite switched on and is walking like a champ. anyhow anyone i talk to seems to guide me away from rearing my own pup, they say they need to be in a pack ect. ect. I dont believe that is necessarily true. anyhow like ive said to everyone if she doesnt make the track we ll have a beautiful pet.
Willy: does your dog stay in the kennel over night or inside?
thanks again to everyone
andy

WHIPPEE, i got one pup thinking like you, cant see why need 2 and if dont make the track....expensive pet lol give that a few weeks and you will see for your self why they need a friend, i took my 4 mnth pup @ the time to my sisters and she has a very over active whippet x kelpie!!! well once they got together my mrs and myself agreed right then she needed and WE needed another, the change in her attitude, play, run and chase was instantly obvious!!!! and the wait took so long to get the other pup (2 weeks) and she was just BORED even after her walks and runs! and what kennel......... the one each side of the bed :rolleyes: "well i guess they do sleep in the kennel" lol real reason was when 1st got bitch pup she travelled a few hundred k's that day and had never been in a car or anything so first cpl of days she went off her food was generally unwell, change in diet as well (had garage/kennel set up) so tried the laundry...well no that wasnt gonna work, HOWLED, BARKED (as she did in the kennel) you name it, she would only go to my mrs ( i felt a bloke had hurt or scared her ) ...SO thats how she come to be by the bed. only way we all could sleep :) but now shes in love with me bad, wont take her eye off me lol built a trust and shes fine now and loves anyone men and women! I dunno wat else i can say bout it except if you got 1 ya may as well have 2. NOW all i gotta do is get them outside :) in the kennel! but its proving quite difficult. but they will both end up in one some where if not here (breaking in lol) I know how you feel mate they show so much love you dont wanna kick them out :D

Also WHIPPEE i get my meat, lean race beef for $2.50kg, you can get it cheaper for bulk and can get free fat from the butcher if he's nice like mine and can just add a little chopped up finely to the beef, better than crappy puppy mince for your pup! so it can be cheaper idea? so basically 2 pups get a kilo between them a day (plus kibbles and breaky) so $2.50 feeding 2 dogs a day cheaper than CHUM :) what i have been led to believe is cheaper kibble like supercoat more supps better kibble like ADVANCE hardly any supps so as LILY said in her post it all virtually works out the same in the long run after doing some maths which drained the brain lol BUT it all comes back to the wallet and wat we can afford i reckon. been told over n over by diff people supercoats just fine so ? IF IM WRONG ANY WHERE ANYONE SPEAK UP IM HERE TO LEARN TOO!!!!

It cost me for my race dog $15 per week lean beef, $25 for 20kg bag of kibble which lasts me 6 months, 1 centrum multi vitamin tablet which lasts me 2 months $22 for that, two omeaga 3 capsules which lasts me 6months $14 for that, 1 vitamin E capsule (500iu) per day which lasts me 6 months $18 for that.1Iron tablet 3 times a week which lasts me 8 months $12 for that.

Had a blood count done on him 2 months ago and all was good.

coops

COOPS, im taking that as most of the supps you give your dog are off the shelf at coles? so what ratio should the kibble/meat be?? per day?
And what can we give our pups along with the meat/kibble, 1 being 5 mnths today the other 7 weeks younger??? i take it the kibble you are using is supercoat at that price?

Actually human grade vitamin capsules/tablets aren't really suitable for dogs, especially young pups, so I would definitely recommend not to make that mistake :cool:

Buy only vitamins that are MADE for dogs, it was designed for that purpose as dogs' intestines are quite different to humans', humans can take a tablet and it slowly dissolves in their tummy, whereas with dogs, the tablets are useless as it just passes out in their stool, doesn't have time to dissolve slowly.

Too many vitamin tablets over a long period will probably do more harm than good, so just stick with the good feed, a couple of dog vitamin powder and you'll be right as rain.


PUPS under the age of 4mths NEED to be fed 3 times a day. Morning, lunch and dinner.

They can eat up to 1kg meat per day, as they grow they need a lot of energy. 500gm meat with soaked kibble in morning or at lunch, (you can choose whether you want to feed milk/weetbix in morning or at lunchtime) plus another 500gm meat with soaked kibble in evening. Just use common sense when you see how much the pup is eating, when it gets a bit full, take the food bowl away and have a look at how much meat is left, then you'll work out how much you should give the pup each time. As the pup gets older you can gradually increase the meat amount.

I know the same novice trainer who only fed his pup once a day, and the poor pup just looked very lean, with big wrists that had outgrown its body, wasn't getting enough nutrition to match its energy needs. Pups have to look like they're well covered in the ribs (not chubby fat though) and be round, with sparkly eyes, healthy gum colour, clean ears, trimmed toenails, full of boundless energy (if a pup spends all day inside dozing, then it's not being fed right).

You need to give a pup at least 200gms kibble twice a day. With at least 500gms meat twice a day. You wouldn't guess a little pup could eat that much, but believe me, they do.

Cheerio

GEEZ, i give mine 500g meat only once a day at night with the kibble, no meat at breakfast. so i should be doubling up? they get all the toast n weetbix n kibble in the mornings, they seem content with all that food at the moment so? i dunno :confused: