my personal experiences with greyhound racing

Many of the scars you see on greyhouds are either from playing with the other puppies or just natural bumps and scrapes from being athletes. Their skin is very thin. When a younger dog gets a scar, it can start out very insignificant and end up looking a lot worse, simply because the skin stretched while their body grew and since scars do not grow hair, you end up with a much bigger scar that stands out and looks much worse than it actually was.

My first greyhound had unfortunately been in a fight when he was being transported with 5 other greyhounds. You have a bunch of dogs together and these things can happen. It is not common, but as we all know with any dogs it does happen. In his case, he had to have stitches in a lot of areas and part of his tail amputated. He came out of it just fine in the long run, but his scars did stretch in time and he ended up looking like "hell on wheels"! LOL He was still the happiest and most wonderful dog I have ever had in my entire life and to this day I still cry when I think about how much I miss him.

Their weight is what it should be for optimal performance. When they become pets and their lifestyle changes, they only need to put on about 5 pounds to stay at a healthy weight. Much more than than and you can easily see the beginnings of an overweight dog who will have health problems as a result of it.

Jay

Those are amazing photos, I think they look great both ways, but, I do favor the "racy" look. Gorgeous dogs, all of them!

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Originally posted by Corinna
I too am intrested in this preadoption program. It is an intresting topic could we please hear more about it from all of you or some one who is doing it. (perhaps the breeder you all are so keen on)

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As racing approaches full adoption over the next few years, I think it will become more difficult to get a greyhound. Groups might have waiting lists for dogs of a certain temperament, especially cat-safe greyhounds.

Pre-adoption would ensure that one gets a greyhound. Greyhounddaddy's situation is unique in that I haven't seen a breeder make arrangements with adopters practically from birth.

There are a large number of folks out there, however, who are tracking the racing careers of littermates of their pets awaiting the day they can adopt them. One lady on GreyTalk has three littermates and has made arrangements with the kennel to adopt a fourth when his career at the track ends. It looks like she has a wait ahead of her as he has a maddening habit of reeling off a few wins in a row just as it looks like he's going to grade off. :D

I work in adoption in the Southern Calfornia area. I see the dogs who come in from Mexico. A lot of them raced in the United States at one time (some at the high end tracks) and then graded down to the lower end tracks when they could no longer perform as well. Caliente is the last stop or the end of the line as they say. For that reason, some California adoption groups concentrate their efforts on this track alone.

The dogs generally do have ticks and fleas. Anywhere from none to a lot. It varies. Their ears and teeth are usually very dirty and their toenails need to be cut. They have minor muzzle scrapes that usually go away within a few weeks. Their coats always look better after they have been in a home and settled in. For the most part, none of these things are major problems that cannot be corrected pretty easily. Their teeth can still be in good shape once they are cleaned because they haven't really had time to decay at such a young age.

Probably the worst case I have ever seen was a white greyhound who I was about to dry off after his bath. We keep their muzzles on up to that point because they are still together in a group so this was the first time his came off and because of his sensitive skin, his face was really, really raw and sore looking. I wasn't prepared for it and was really shocked. It probably hurt me more than it did him, so but instead of acting like a dolt, I pulled myself together and just gave him a big welcome home hug.

We also get our share of injuries and broken bones that need to be repaired.

If you decide to adopt a dog, try to use an adoption group who will offer you support throughout the dog's life and is willing to take the dog back if things don't work out for whatever reasons. Racing issues should be discussed outside of the adoption process if you choose to do so. There are so many other things that you can learn from your group and as we say, it's all about the dogs.

Jay

lizbud, if you or anyone else still has questions about adopting greyhounds, I would highly recommend contacting some adoption groups close to you. I don't think too many of them have programs set up for adopting puppies because there are still so many adult dogs needing homes and that is where they need to concentrate most of their effort. But maybe they can refer you to someone who does have puppies or you can call a bunch of them from the list and see if you can find one.

Here is a complete list of groups to choose from. The web site also has other information about greyhounds that might interest you.

http://www.adopt-a-greyhound.org/directory/list.cfm

7up

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Originally posted by 7up
lizbud, if you or anyone else still has questions about adopting greyhounds, I would highly recommend contacting some adoption groups close to you. I don't think too many of them have programs set up for adopting puppies because there are still so many adult dogs needing homes and that is where they need to concentrate most of their effort. But maybe they can refer you to someone who does have puppies or you can call a bunch of them from the list and see if you can find one.

Here is a complete list of groups to choose from. The web site also has other information about greyhounds that might interest you.

http://www.adopt-a-greyhound.org/directory/list.cfm

7up

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Thank you, but I have no personal interest in adopting (pre or
otherwise) right now. I have two dogs & five cats who keep me
very busy.:) However, if there's a pre-adoption program out
there somewhere, I'd be willing to promote the heck out of it.

There has got to be a better way than flooding the adoptable
dog population we already have.

I think one of the main reasons that the Pre adoption hasn't taken off or doesn't work as well as it may sound is that for

1) It's a long wait. Some are longers than others. If you see a puppy picture and they are 3 months old it could be as much as 5 years before this grey may become your pet.

2) If you pick a hound and then that hound goes on to be a super star (stud dog or brood) the pre adopter may never get the hound that they have waited so long for

3) You have other pets and this hound doesn't get along with other pets (small animals, other non greys whatever)


4) You loose interest/lose track of the grey or the owner of the grey loses track of you

5) The worst case something horrible happens to the hound and it dies (sickness, sever injury)

Now that's not to say it would work but that it's not all that easy and also what's the worst thing? The pre adopter can't take the hound and it goes to an adoption group. Not to bad :)

Also it's may be tough for some greyhound owners to keep track of all the people and all the dogs of who wants who.

I'm begining to find that most of the people that we deal with want there hounds back for there own personal pets. But then again we deal with some very small time owners and also some of the best grey owners that are out there :)

As jcsperson noted, this situation is unique...perhaps even unprecidented, and given the inherant issues that may arise from it at greysandmoregreys pionted out, we feel that it's something that's worthy of trying.

My own reason's for "pre-adopting" were simple...I was following the progress of a half-sister of Sequoia who races down in Jacksonville, FL...She's doig really, really well...blew away the field in her last Grade A race... Well, anyways, the breeder I'm doing this with runs a kennel at the same track. We'd "talked" via PM's over on GT and she could sense my excitement over this hound. She also kept me grounded in that she made it known to me that this hound was more than likely going to be racing for quite a while and then ultimately going back to the farm in OK to be a brood momma. I knew these were two distinct possibilties and so I wasn't crushed when I finally got word, that that was indeed what was planned for her.

Now, I think Cathie must've had this idea cookin for some time. Cuz, soon a she told me about LPF's future, she reminded me that she has a little white pup that's going to grow up and look just like her...The following is how we've arrived at the idea of
"Pre-Adoption":

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Coach actually got the ball rolling on this idea when I started posting pictures and stories about some of my puppies this summer. When he posted about pre-adopting Ice Princess on Greytalk, a lot of GT members decided they wanted to do the same thing! Some I think because they love the idea of watching puppies develop and train to be racers, but don’t want the responsibility or expense of actually raising the puppy themselves.

Others are intrigued by the idea of not adopting or “chipping” right away, but following a specific dog’s growth and career with the anticipation of adopting that dog upon its retirement from racing and/or breeding. Pursuant to our kennel contract with track management in Jacksonville, all adoptions must be processed by Greyhounds as Pets of Northeast Florida, which is a track sponsored program. Therefore, whoever has first right of refusal for a particular dog will be contacted when their career is over. Barring unforeseen circumstances, that person will complete an adoption application to be reviewed and approved by GAP. Upon approval, and payment of the adoption fee (which is currently $200), arrangements will be made for medical treatment (spay/neuter, teeth cleaning, parasite check, etc.), and then we will coordinate how to deliver the dog to its new home. It may be by Greyhound Underground Railroad (GUR) or by a dog hauler. I have found homes for my dogs out of state before with no problem. We hope this will be something people can consider when they are ready. Our group will check vet references at a minimum, and if you already own a greyhound, they might check with your local group. That is their function and I don’t intrude on their territory! They help me adopt out too many dogs!

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We're obviously still in the early stages of this idea, but, it does look like somethign that has some potential.

The most likely scenario for pre-adoption is with dogs currently racing. The dogs will be available much sooner than young puppies and it should be known whether or not they are likely to be worthy of being bred.

One of the reasons GreyTalk has become a cutting edge place in the greyhound world is that it is a place where pet and racing people can interact and build relationships out of mutual trust instead of the adverserial relationships that are developed elsewhere.

Greyhounddaddy is a perfect example of someone who has established a trusted relationship with a farm or kennel to pre-adopt. One thing that will allow folks to do is get a good read from the trainer on a prospective pet's disposition and inclination to be cat-safe if that is a requirement.

One of the biggest obstacles to implementing adoption ideas like these is the distrust created by some people whose lives are dedicated to demonizing racing and everyone in it.

One can only hope that forums like GT will help educate people that there are a great number of fine people in racing who will do their utmost to work with people to get the dog they want.

That reminds me of something I said to my adoption rep. right after I lost my first grey and wanted another one. They were telling me about the new ones they had in and all their different personalities and shapes and sizes and the only thing I could think of saying was that I could fall in love with any one of them just as easily and he said he felt exactly the same way.

Jay

i think something that is a lot more common than pre-adoption from puppyhood is when people find an older dog that is still racing, and contact the owner/trainer and say that when the dog retires they would like to adopt it.

that way you can talk to the trainer about the personality of the dog, and you may just have to wait a couple of moneths or a year for the dog to retire.

many people find a dog they like, because they have seen it race, they like the name of the dog, or it is related to a grey they already have.

there are benefits to pre-adoption. mostly its nice that the dog is assured of getting a home. HOWEVER, all adoptions made thru a trainer/owner and not through an adoption group, have intrinsic problems. adoption groups are set up to screen adoption applicants, vet the dogs, and provide support and community to their adoptors. they are also there to help if there are problems iwht the dog, or in the worst case, take the dog back. they are also helpful when a dog is lost, in mobilizing people to search for the lost dog.

there can be very nice trainers out there that can do all of the above, however, generally, from what i understand, they are very busy doing other things related to their jobs and may not have the time to be there for an adoptor the way a group can.

now one way around this is to pre-adopt an older racing dog and then make the arrangements thru an adoption group.

if you pre-adopt a dog from puppyhood, or one that is older and closer to the end of their career, or go the normal route thru an adoption group of already retired hounds, you are giving the dog a home. since in each senario the dog gets adopted, there may not be much of a benefit one way over another. if you are only willing to aopt one daog, and you do that in one of the 3 ways, you still end up with giving a grey a home. so all 3 ways are of equal value.

the most important thing is taking a grey into your home! :)

All good points Caroline.. and might I add that I didnt have to break out my "Ceelo-Translator" to read your post :)

Look, there's a bazillion ways to get adog.. some better than others.. But, like I said, this is what's going to work best for me now in relation to my gettnig a second hound. When the time comes that Icee is done racing, I'll be better able..both in terms of financial stability and living situation...totake on a second hound. If for some reason Icee has an extended career or is made a broody.. GREAT! I'd be really stoked, because that means she'll just be perpetuating a fantastic bloodline. I can hold on 2-3 years... if she were to race a full career and then go off to be a broody, well, then, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it :)