Meet my future racer... Ice Princess

[GreyhoundDaddy]

Good Morning, Lorraine

Well said... but, let me see if I can answer some of your questions.

1. I'm not so sure they get frustrated...I've been to tracks only a couple times seeing how dogracing is illegal in CA (Thanks to the Horse racing lobby in the 30's). But, each time, I've seen dogs that are excited about what's going to happen.

From my recollection, here's how it works... after being weighed in, having their tattoo #'s verified, dressed with racing "slick"... I forget what they're really called... they are led onto the track by a leadout who parades the dog in front of the grandstand while the track announcer introduces the hound. They've all got that big greyhound grin and tails-a-waggin...and yes... from what I've seen... ALL. These guys know they're the show...the stars...the reason why people are there. They're then taken to the starting box where they wait about 5-7 minutes (for what, I dont know), but, once they're in the box, they start yelping, yippin, barking, roo'ing with excitement. All that noise only gets louder when they hounds hear the lure coming around the corner.

Once they finish the race, the lure operator either covers up or retrieves the lure so the hounds can't rip it apart. The leadouts then chase the hounds down, leash them up, then parade them one last time in front of the grandstand with the win, place, show dogs leading the way back to the kennel.

The couple times I went to the races, I was literally less than 10 feet away from the hounds as they walked back to their kennels...each and everyone of them had a glint in their eye and HUGE grins as their lungs and heart were pounding.

About letting them get out and run on their own when they want to... Well, let me tell you a little bit about greys...They are the LAZIEST dogs in the world. My dad has 2 pugs that he swears will take over the world if they ever stayed awake long enough...but, my Sequoia will sleep them under the table. Greys dont require a ton of excercise...I take Sequoia to the park 3-4 times a week and she runs... I mean REALLY runs...but, it's only in spurts. If she rips of 4-5 good 20-30 second runs, it's beena good day at the park. She's otherwise laying in the shade. And we're rarely at the park longer than an hour. While at the track, hounds are turned out 3-4 times a day for an hour at a time... this is in addition to their daily training. I mean, come on, does anyone REALLY think that an athlete is going to be worth a darn if he/she isn't training? Newp...aint gunna happen. I'll betcha $5 that Sequoia spent more time outside when she was racing than she has since I've had her. Lazybutt!

Lorraine, I'm not trying to come off as "pro-racing" or anything, but, I'm certainly not "anti-racing". I'm justa guy... one guy... I have my opinions about things, and I can see both the good and bad about things..But, I REALLY think that by and large people are trying to improve the state of racing.. I know Icee's owners are, and that's why I don't mind, and am looking forward to her impending career

[LorraineO]

thank you for your reply,, I appreciate it alot Its nice to be able to *talk* about this and see other points of views and opinions.... and not be attacked!

Best of luck with her career!

[true]

id like to post my impressions of some tracks that i have been to. i dont want to make it seem like a debate tho, because my experiences are very different than coaches.

i could tell what i have seen factually if people are interested in hearing about it.

[Cincy'sMom]

I don't think anyway will argue, that she isn't an adorable puppy!! Very cute!!

[lute]

Icee is sooo cute!

i personally enjoy dog races and i figger that if the dogs are responding to the training and doin what they are trained to do they enjoy it....did i mention that ICEE IS ADORABLE!!!

[DJFyrewolf36]

I think its great that you've given your pup a life even after her racing career. I wish more people would look into this!

[LorraineO]

Originally posted by DJFyrewolf36
I think its great that you've given your pup a life even after her racing career. I wish more people would look into this!

I have friends who have adopted 7 or 8 retired racers.... shes a groomer and he is a computer programmer..... thats a lot of doggies!!!!!

[7up]

Maybe I could mention one little thing without getting attacked?
Dogs don't grin. They pant. They only look like they are grinning because their mouths are open. This is not to say that they are not happy after they run. I believe they are. I think they feel great when they are exhausted. We can tell that dogs are happy from other types of body language as well.

The only reason I bring this up is so people can be aware that there can be times when your dog is not feeling well and may be panting because of it and you should not assume that your dog is smiling and overlook the signs of illness. I know it has nothing to do with this topic but I thought it was important for people to know and couldn't see opening a new thread about it.

That's all.

Jay
(real name witheld for personal reasons. If you want to know them, PM me)

[GreyhoundDaddy]

Once again...the anonymous poster refuses to abide by someone's wishes...

Do you REALLY feel ANYONE thinks that look is indeed a smile? If that's what you think, you need your head examined. I can see it now.. "OMG!!! He's telling theese people that these dogs can actually smile... I MUST POST!!!"

Good God, woman.. get over yourself and go do some good you claim to do instead of blasting people's threads out of the water on a daily basis.

This isn't a thread for you to spout your vitriolic hatred for the industry.. read my posts, woman, and figure out where I stand on the subject as I think I've clearly presented my feelings about it.

[Greytdog00]

Icee is a cutie. I didn't know that there was a pre-adoption program out there. What a greyt idea.

I've had Sammi for 4 yrs, Shotzie for 3 yrs and Scrappie for 2 yrs. My Shotzie & Scrappie are littermates that spent all but 8 months of their 7 years together. And BTW... Shotzie SMILES... ear to ear. Sammi and Scrappie smile (not as big as Shotzie)... even our lab and our Italian grey smile.

Joan & The James Gang

[GreyhoundDaddy]

Originally posted by DJFyrewolf36
I think its great that you've given your pup a life even after her racing career. I wish more people would look into this!

Well, the only way to get people aware of it is to talk about it Which is what I've chosen to do... Icee and all of her littermates have a waiting list of people ready to pre-adopt that's at least 2 deep for each pup. With the exception of Icee, of course, cuz that hound aint goin anywhere but to a couch in my home when she's done and everyone involved over on GT KNOWS this! In fact, there's a litter of pups that's 3 weeks older than Icee's litter, and they have the same deal going.. 2-3 people deep wanting to adopt them post-racing

[guineapiglover4life]

Awww...

[MomoftheFuzzy]

Originally posted by 7up
Maybe I could mention one little thing without getting attacked?
Dogs don't grin. They pant. They only look like they are grinning because their mouths are open. This is not to say that they are not happy after they run. I believe they are. I think they feel great when they are exhausted. We can tell that dogs are happy from other types of body language as well.

The only reason I bring this up is so people can be aware that there can be times when your dog is not feeling well and may be panting because of it and you should not assume that your dog is smiling and overlook the signs of illness. I know it has nothing to do with this topic but I thought it was important for people to know and couldn't see opening a new thread about it.

That's all.

Jay
(real name witheld for personal reasons. If you want to know them, PM me)

Well, I've kept quiet long enough. First, you berate my friend (yes, GD is a friend and I know him fairly well) and turn his thread regarding a beautiful creature he's thrilled to adopt into a hate-spewing debacle. THEN, you have the audacity to claim that dogs don't smile??? True, scientifically they may not be able to "smile" as humans do, but they damn sure do SMILE in so many other ways.

The grin is sometimes associated with panting, yes, but often times it's not. I can't tell you how many times I've photographically caught my dogs "smiling" when they were neither panting before or after the photo was taken. Often times, the smile might be caused by the musclature movement of their face, perhaps due to excessive jubilation (hence a smile) -- this is also evident in the widening of their eyes and other facial movements such as a twitching nose, which might also indicate curiosity. I've pored through book after book with dogs smiling and I seriously doubt they were all for the reasons you state (http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/bibli...7-0761129030-2.)

Granted it's best to be aware of what you stated above, but condemning an idea that dogs smile (which is perhaps just as much fluff as it is based on what people see with their own eyes) in a thread where it wasn't even called for in the first place is not too far off from the people who used to claim animals can't feel or acknowledge emotion. My dog smiles, acknowledges my emotions and the whole rest of the 9 yards regarding intelligence and perception that most don't accredit to the canine species. And just because you can't scientifically prove it doesn't mean a hill of beans to me or to any other real dog lovers.

Overall, my point is, no one came here to this thread looking for a fight or debate except you. I came to see beautiful pictures of Icee (Uncle Speck says hi, Icee!) and if you're looking for that kind of conflict, take thee elsewhere. It ain't here, sister. As much as we appreciate differing (and rational/non-abrasive) opinion in other threads, there was nothing to debate here. Your feelings about racing are rendered useless here and only serve to blind you to what is otherwise just a thread about appreciating the beauty of a dog.

[MomoftheFuzzy]

Back to our regularly-scheduled program... greyt pics of Icee! I love the ears... got any more shots of the ears? Show them the ears, again, GD!!!! (They've got spots on 'em...)

[wmlcml6]

I will try to get spotted ear pics for you tomorrow morning, MOTF.