They are crate trained for racing
That's putting it mildly, to say the least.
Racing greyhounds are kept in small wire cages all the time, except when they are actually running on the track. They are not housebroken or crate trained in any way, shape or form. They live their entire lives in a little wire box, except when they are running, which is maybe an hour or two per day. They eat, sleep and go to the bathroom in this cage.
I used to foster greyhounds for a rescue in Colorado. Almost every dog that came from the track had the imprints of the wire squares of the cage permanently scarred into its body in places, from laying on the wire for years.
Racing greyhounds don't know how to anything before they go to foster homes. They don't know how to go up and down stairs, how to walk on slick foors, how to choose when and what to eat on their own, how to go outside to the bathroom. They don't know what dirt or grass is, they've likely never seen a child or even woman before, sometimes. They don't know what birds are, or what furniture is. Vacuums, telephones and televisions can completely terrify them. Every move these dogs have ever made in their lives has been dictated to them. It's incredibly sad. And incredibly wonderful to watch one do somethig on its own for the first time.
I just wanted to elaborate, because the way these poor dogs live is a far cry from crate training.
"We give dogs the time we can spare, the space we can spare and the love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made" - M. Facklam
"We are raised to honor all the wrong explorers and discoverers - thieves planting flags, murderers carrying crosses. Let us at last praise the colonizers of dreams."- P.S. Beagle
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king." - J.R.R. Tolkien
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