News & views of dog-related topics, dog training & behaviour, greyhounds, myth-busting & the occasional smattering of marketing/PR and life in general.
So, in case you've missed it, our greyhound gang has a new member... Ava.
Ava's first day
Ava is a pure-bred greyhound puppy who was the result of an accidental mating in racing kennels. I found out about her, purely by chance, through facebook and my friend, Jenny, who runs the South Lakes branch of the Retired Greyhound Trust. Jenny posted about some greyhound pups looking for a home and within minutes of her posting, I was on the phone enquiring about the puppies. This all happened on Thursday 5 June and before I knew it, my name was down as a potential owner...
...however, firstly I needed to convince hubby and secondly, I wanted to make sure that the puppy (she wasn't named at that point) wasn't a nervous wreck and petrified of life in general. On the Friday, I casually mentioned about the availability of a greyhound puppy and I fully expected hubby to say a firm 'no, we're not ready.' Sometimes, however, fate can play a funny old role and instead of 'no', the answer was 'yes, let's go and see her' and so the scene was set.
Ava's first car journey
After several phone calls to Jenny and the then nameless pup's racing owner, we arranged to go and see her on Sunday 8th June. Stevie and Jasper joined us, as we made our way across the Pennines to meet the potential new member of our gang.
One of the reasons I was so keen to meet her was because she was already 13 weeks old. Most puppies (especially those destined to be pets) leave their dam at around 8 weeks old and it's generally accepted that the critical period for socialisation and habituation is between 8-12 weeks of age. After this period, the window starts to shut...
Thankfully, the little black bundle of greyhound legginess we encountered wasn't fazed by me, hubby or Steve & Jasper. She took food from me, tried to solicit play (albeit unsuccessfully) from Jasper & Stevie and seemed pretty responsive. Her fate was sealed. She was coming home with us, then and there. Paper work was signed and we left with a slightly wriggly, extremely cute puppy.
The journey home resulted in me and hubby agreeing on her name - Ava - and talking about how we were going to manage things back at home. All the time this was going on Ava slept - remaining completely unaware of the new life she was about to embark on.
Stevie hums it & Ava sings it!
Puppy power - growing fast & gaining fans
Fast forward 5 weeks and our puppy isn't looking quite so puppy-ish. Ava's growing at an amazing rate of knots and seems to steal the hearts of everyone she meets.
In the UK, you don't tend to see many greyhound puppies (most are born and remain within the racing industry until they retire), so she certainly gets her fair share of attention.
Getting it right - an education all-round
Perhaps, more importantly, these past 5 weeks have highlighted to me just what hard work having a puppy is - especially if you want to get things right.
It can be so easy to mess things up (albeit unwittingly) and, in doing so, create problems for the future. I want to make sure that this doesn't happen for Ava and that she gets the best shot at having a happy, healthy and balanced life where nothing really fazes her.
My memories of Mina are still very clear - she came to me with established problem behaviours, many of which could have probably been avoided had she had the 'right start' in life.
I do not want Ava to experience the fears that drove Mina to react to other dogs. I do not want her to have the fears that Jasper has - making him freeze in his tracks when he's afraid and I don't want her to feel like Stevie, who shakes, salivates and runs to hide when he hears loud noises, crashes and bangs and fireworks.
Jasper & Ava cosy up
Like many trainers and behaviourists, I spend a lot of my time working with dogs that have behaviour problems - often borne out of a lack of early socialisation and the use of inappropriate and/or harsh training techniques. Most can be avoided if we give our puppies the right start in life. We need to educate our puppies how to live in our world and educate ourselves on how to achieve this.
Ava is being educated and guided by me all the time. I manage her environment so she can't learn unwanted behaviours (I'll share details of this in another blog post), I make sure that her learning is positive and if she's worried or scared, I give her the space, distance and reduction in intensity that she needs - along with comfort and food reinforcers. I tell her 'yes' not 'no.' If she is behaving in a way I don't want her to, I'll interrupt the behaviour and divert her to another behaviour that I want to see.
Say 'goodbye' to a tidy house - puppy toys rule!
I provide her with outlets for her needs (our house looks like a bomb has hit it) - plenty of toys, chews, appropriate exercise - and I provide her with love and security.
I'll be sharing our adventures and the lessons we learn over the coming weeks and months and hope you'll join us...
Nine years ago today, my life changed forever. On 11 March 2005 our then family – me, hubby
and two cats – were joined by Mina, greyhound. Fast forward nine years and, wow, what a
difference a dog makes.
It seems particularly apt to write about it now, nine years
later, on what would have been Mina’s 9th ‘Gotcha Day’ and reflect
on how ‘meeting Mina’ has changed my life.
On 1 February 2014, Mina – my heart dog - passed away. Although her passing was planned and peaceful
- she died at home, in my arms - it doesn’t make her death any easier to bear.
I’ve spent the last month in an emotional fog, alternating
between floods of tears and numbness.
Mina was my first dog; she is the reason for this blog, the change in my
career and for helping me find my true vocation. It’s fair to say her effect on my life has
been profound and not something I could have ever envisaged just nine years
ago.
Everything is still very raw and, to be honest, it’s only now that I can start to put down in words what she meant to me and I want to share some of her story on my blog.
LBD – (life before ‘dog’)
If you’d asked me 10 years ago whether I’d have a dog, I
would have laughed in your face. ‘A dog?
Me? With my two cats? I don’t think so!’
However, fate has a funny way of entering your life and making you eat
your words. And fate intervened in my life in March 2005.
It was the beginning of March, 2005, and me and hubby were off to Barcelona to celebrate my birthday. I dropped the cats (Chivers & Tazzie – sadly now deceased through old age) off at the cattery and while I was waiting in reception, saw a sign which said: “Female greyhound looking for loving home. Good with cats and children”…
Something about the sign got me thinking. A few months earlier we’d been talking about dogs and somehow discovered that we both liked the look of greyhounds. Hubby had grown up with a dog (and a cat), whilst I’d grown up with rabbits and goldfish. I’d also been bitten in the stomach by a German Shepherd Dog in the 70s, but thanks to the Teflon like fibres of 70s synthetics, I was saved from serious injury. All in all, it was fair to say that I wasn’t a huge dog fan… but then again, there was just ‘something’ about that notice and was it fate that we’d been speaking about a greyhound and that a cat-friendly one was looking for a home?
A young Mina & the red duvet
We decided that we’d contact Mina’s owner and see where it took us when we got back to the UK. I still remember that first meeting at her previous owner’s house… A beautiful brindle greyhound, lying on her red duvet, looking at us with soulful eyes: it’s fair to say we were smitten and subject to introducing her to my cats – Chivers & Tazzie – our hearts had already been won over.
The initial meeting between Mina and the cats went well and that was it – both Mina’s and my fate were sealed. I was to become a dog owner.
'Misdemeanours' & Behaviour Problems
Mina didn’t come without a few issues though and it was
these that first ignited that spark of interest in dog behaviour and
training. Mina displayed an array of
behaviour problems, she clearly suffered from separation distress, resulting in
door frames being eaten/clawed at, not eating food until we came back home and
as for her reaction to other dogs…
'Billy Goat Gruff'
Mina was like a little billy goat on our walks, she would be up and down the escarpment in our local country park. Her off lead recall was great but her reactions to other dogs left something to be desired. Everything came to a head one week while I was away with work in London for a few days. I received a panicked phone call from hubby to say that Mina had attacked a standard poodle (both were off lead). I was devastated. My first thoughts were that we’d have to have her put to sleep. Then after a little more thought, I decided to take her to the vet to get her checked out and to see if there was an underlying cause – it was so out of character. (I must have had an inkling then, about what I do now – as medical conditions can sometimes impact on behaviour).
Early games with Mina in 2005
The vet gave Mina a thorough examination and x-rayed her
too. We discovered that she had poor
bone density and that some of the discs had disappeared between her vertebrae,
but apart from that she was healthy. We consulted a dog psychiatrist, and
knowing what I know now, some of the advice wasn’t particularly helpful. I was that person who walked their dog at
unsociable hours, afraid of meeting other dogs either on or off lead.
Completing my Canine Conversion
In 2007 we moved to Lincolnshire and it was by chance that I discovered a local greyhound charity – Lincolnshire Greyhound Trust. In early 2008, we went on a greyhound walk and found that Mina could get along with other dogs (mostly if they were greyhound shaped and weren’t rude in their greetings)!
That’s when Stevie entered our lives and my greyhound obsession grew. I still remember introducing Mina to potential greyhound house-mates (oh, how I would do things differently now). There was Figo, who was sooo excitable that he rushed right over to say hello, only to be resolutely told off by Mina, and then there was Stevie. Stevie was a handsome blue and white boy, cat trainable, amazing recall, a tad greedy, but more importantly Mina-compatible. Our greyhound gang now had 2 greyhounds.
Mina and Stevie's first walk together in 2008
The 'Canine Catastrophe'
Modelling the 'cone of shame' due to one of her catastrophes
As well as some behaviour issues, we soon discovered that
poor Mina had some medical issues too, which earned her the moniker of the ‘canine
catastrophe’. I used to joke that Mina
was the reason that pet insurance was invented (and you can read about my
thoughts on why pet insurance is so vital here).
Mina & her lampshade impression
Over her lifetime, Mina had many medical issues that required veterinary attention. Some were injuries due to living life to the full and others were more serious, due to genetics/illness.
A conservative estimate of Mina’s total vet bills puts them around £20,000! She had two major eye operations, a toe amputation, torn muscles, split webbing, teeth extractions, regular eye check-ups with the specialist vet, leg and toe injuries; she also managed to cut her leg to expose the Achilles tendon and also cut her tail (half-way up), exposing another tendon. But do you know what? These conditions didn’t slow her down or dampen her joie de vivre.
And Jasper makes three
Whilst Mina was having one of her first ‘canine catastrophe’ moments, I fell in love with another greyhound. I was smitten. Jasper (or Magic, as he was known then) was a beautiful black hound, calm and serene – I likened him to being ‘my poochie prozac’. And, once Mina had recovered, he was introduced to her and completed our gang of three greyhounds.
And Jasper makes three
Degrees, dog training and discovery
It’s fair to say that thanks to Mina, I discovered my true vocation. I never knew it, but I loved working with dogs and humans and as my appetite had been whet, I wanted to learn more about what made my hounds tick and how could I help them to adjust to life as a companion animal.
Since meeting Mina, I’ve enrolled at university and
completed my foundation degree in canine behaviour and training. I’m also continuing my university studies so
that I can gain a BSc.
Receiving my FdSc
I became a Puppy School
tutor – running puppy school classes under the UK Puppy School network. I firmly believe that many behaviour problems
are preventable by good puppy classes and often wonder what Mina would have
been like if she’d had that start in life.
I also established Happy Hounds Dog Training, and run dog training
classes plus specialist greyhound only classes, with an emphasis on helping our
dogs adjust to life as a companion animal in the 21st century. I’m also proud to say that I have worked with
the Retired Greyhound Trust and have revised and rewritten their training leaflets
Mina - the calendar girl
I used to joke that Mina hadn’t read the books that said greyhounds couldn’t do ‘x, y, or z’ - the word, ‘couldn’t’, didn’t seem to be in her vocabulary. She took to trick training, agility and absolutely loved scentwork and loved to bust the myths surrounding greyhounds.
One of Mina's biggest loves was scentwork, particularly Talking Dogs Scentwork. She took to it like a natural, sniffing out cheese wherever it was hidden. It's really thanks to scentwork that Mina and I became the team we were, as scentwork teaches you to 'trust in dog.' It was a great privilege and especially fitting that Mina was chosen as the calendar girl for February 2014.
Mina’s legacy
I still can’t believe that she’s gone. She has been my constant companion through the ups and downs of the last nine years. Don’t get me wrong, I love both Stevie and Jasper, but the bond I had with Mina can never be replaced. Grief is complex, and those who think ‘it’s just a dog’ have obviously never experienced the joy, love and companionship that living with a dog can bring to life.
There’s not a day that goes past, without stirring a memory of Mina. I’m not sure whether time is a healer, but I hope, in time, that the pain of her loss lessens and that I can look at photos and videos without crying. I never expected to become a canine convert and could never have predicted the effect that one greyhound would have on my life.
Thanks to Mina I have met some truly amazing people, who I’m
proud to call friends; I’ve learned that patience and empathy go a long way
(both with humans and hounds); I’ve launched a new career which, I hope, will
see me through to my twilight years. She
was the inspiration behind Happy Hounds Dog Training and all the humans and
hounds I continue to work with will be her lasting legacy.
Well, last week turned out to be slightly more eventful than I had originally planned. You may have read my Agility Diaries post - Mina meets the A Frame and seen that I fell over (a rather ungraceful swan dive) and hurt my ankle...
The rather glamorous sounding hospital
As it turns out, my ankle quickly became very sore and swollen necessitating a quick trip to the A&E of the rather grandly named Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby. After a bit of a wait in A&E I eventually hobbled my way to a doctor to be told that my ankle was badly sprained and that I was lucky not to have broken it!
This has meant that on my non dog-related work days I cannot wear my high heels to the office and have had to resort to my flat shoes (thank heavens for Skechers - a memento from my London commuting days - and my range of ballet pump type shoes). It's also put a spanner in the works when it comes to Mina's agility training and general walking of the dogs. Thankfully, my poor long-suffering hubby has been walking the dogs whilst I've struggled (yes, hard to believe I know) to put and keep my feet up.
So, although I haven't been able to walk the dogs I have been able to play with them in the garden. I can sit and throw balls and toys whilst the hounds hare around generally having a good time. Now, you may know that Mina has the nickname of canine catastrophe. She is, in my opinion, the reason pet insurance was invented (see a previous post about her catastrophic ways here) and a good example of why pet insurance is necessary. Stevie and Jasper (touch wood) seem to have escaped most of this until Saturday evening (after all the vets had closed).
Whilst enjoying chasing Mina, Jasper suddenly pulled up with the GSOD. For the uninitiated, the GSOD is the 'Greyhound Scream of Death' and you'd know it if you heard it. I'm afraid to say that when it comes to minor pain, Greyhounds are the 'big girl's blouses' of the dog world. (Major pain, on the other hand and they seem to become a very stoic breed).
Jasper's GSOD was enough to send me hobbling at a fast pace across the garden and hubby hurtling down the stairs to see what had happened. Lord knows how Jasper did it (I was videoing him and Mina at the time and can't see what he did) but he ripped his dew claw in half, right at the top. Dew claws bleed like jiggery and trying to keep Jasper still whilst I put on a melolin pad and some vet wrap was no mean feat.
Mina counts her blessings she's not injured (for once)
As the claw was broken so high up, I ended up taking him to the emergency vet who cut it off (cue another GSOD - my poor ear drums), gave Jasper an antibiotic jab and then bandaged his whole paw. The instructions were I was to take off the bandage on Sunday. Ha - fat chance! I couldn't get near the bandage without more GSOD, which meant a visit to my normal vet on the Monday.
No wonder, poor Jasper wouldn't let me near him. When the vet removed the bandage (using a scalpel to slice through it), the remaining part of Jasper's dew claw came off with it, leaving him with a very bloody stump/quick. This time the vet only bandaged part of his leg, finishing with some rather funky leopard print vet wrap, and leaving me with instructions to give him some metacam and to take the bandage off on Wednesday (today).
Jasper channels a 'flashdance' vibe
I have to say the leopard print vet wrap looks rather dapper and made it look like Jasper was channelling a 'Flashdance' vibe with ankle warmers.
So, the time has come to take the bandage off... fingers and paws crossed there'll be no more GSOD but if your windows happen to rattle around 2130 GMT you'll know why!
If you love dogs - particularly greyhounds - and if you like a good read, then Dash - Bitch of the Year is well worth adding to your summertime reading list. The book is written by Andrew Dilger and chronicles his and Dash's journey from the initial adoption of Dash through to Andrew organising his wedding with Dash playing her part as ring bearer.
Me ,with Dash, at Crufts 2011
I met Andrew and Dash at Crufts back in 2011 and made sure I got my hands on a copy of the book, which had a special 'pawtograph' from Dash too.
For any greyhound owner, the book may well raise a wry smile of the early days of sharing a life (or should that be sofa?) with a greyhound. It can be a steep learning curve, especially if you've not owned an ex-racing greyhound before. Dash raced at Oxford Greyhound Stadium and had won Bitch of the Year - hence the name of the book.
Andrew & Dash
There are some 'oh no!' and touching moments in the book as well as some real laugh out loud moments too. Andrew succumbs to greyhound accessorizing (a fatal habit that afflicts many a greyhound owner) but doesn't say whether it extended past coats to tassels and encounters many different dogs and owners on his walks with Dash. And the description of Dash's first roach made me chuckle (to anyone who doesn't know what a greyhound roach is, Google it. You're sure to come up with some great photos).
One of my favourite parts of the book are Andrew's accounts of meeting fellow dog owners on his walks with Dash. Ryan and Tolstoy made an impression as did Sally and Kate with their greyhounds.
The book works on many levels - it provides a heart-warming (and at moments, heart -stopping) insight into novice owners adjusting to a greyhound, running parallel with the love story that builds into the finale of Andrew and Sarah's wedding...
...if you want to know how Dash's role played out on the big day - you'll have to read the book.
Win a copy of Dash - Bitch of the Year*
Luckily, I have a copy up for grabs! It's signed by Andrew and also has Dash's pawtograph.
To be in with a chance of winning*, all you have to do is leave a comment and let me know the funniest thing your dog has done.
*Terms & Conditions: Prize consists of one signed copy of Dash - Bitch of the Year. The winner will be sent the book by 1st class post or international equivalent. Closing dates for entries is 12 noon on Friday 24 August 2012 The winner will be chosen at random from the entries submitted The winner will be notified by email and/or via my blog
So, Stevie (and not forgetting Mina & Jasper) are now into week two of the Pedigree Joint Care+ challenge*. This week the challenge involves seeing what the hounds will do for their Joint Care+ treat.
One thing's for sure - they all seem to know when it's time for their Joint Care+ treat as they come running and soon devour the treats. Whilst Jasper's trick repertoire mainly consists of looking cute and being goofy, Stevie and Mina have a few more tricks underneath their collars!
The hounds eagerly await their Joint Care+ Treat
Stevie has always loved his food and I'm hoping to capture his down stay with a 'leave it' thrown in for the Joint Care+ treat on his paws.... but the pure deliciousness of the treats has meant that the temptation has proven too much for Stevie and he can't seem to 'leave it' long enough for me to capture it in a picture or by video!
I had managed to get Mina to perform her role out the carpet trick for a treat - but somehow I deleted the video evidence: today is not proving to be my day (but you can see a clip of her doing this in a previous blog post)! So instead, and taking liberties with the Gilbert O'Sullivan song: Knock Three Times, Mina performed her 'Bark Three Times for a Joint Care+ Treat'. Now, if you read many books about greyhounds, they say that greyhounds seldom bark... well, Mina has never read those books and as you can tell she's more than happy to bark on command!
All 3 of the hounds seem to be doing well on the Joint Care+ Challenge and definitely have added zing in their steps. They do love the treats and scoff them in a few seconds (or if you're Stevie - in a nano second). They're proving to be a really quick way of delivering the joint helping ingredients of chrondroitin, glucosamine, methionine (amino acid) and omega 3(read more here about the ingredients).
I'm not so sure we'll win this week's Challenge but it sure is fun having a go each week and, more importantly, seeing how the hounds' - especially Stevie - mobility and general zest for life improves.
*Disclosure: I have been provided with 6 weeks' supply of Joint Care+ treats by Pedigree as part of the Joint Care+ Challenge. I have not been paid for my views and all views expressed are my own.
Yesterday was a good day for Mina and me. After all the recent rain, we awoke to blue skies and radiant sunshine, all of which boded well for our visit to the 128th Lincolnshire Show.
The Lincolnshire Show is a major event on the county's calendar. It started life as an agricultural show and has grown over the years to become a major tourist event and family day out. However, until last year there was one member of the family that wasn't allowed to attend - those of the four-legged canine variety. 2011 saw a change in the rules and pet dogs were finally allowed to come to the show and not only that, the show introduced the dog ring and regional heats of Scruffts - the Kennel Club's dog show for cross breeds.
So, this year I decided to enter Mina into the Golden Oldies class. This class is open to dogs over the age of 8 and as Mina is 10 she more than qualifies as a golden (and gorgeous) oldie.
But, I hear you cry, surely Mina doesn't qualify as a cross breed? Isn't she a Greyhound? Well, even though I call her a Greyhound, technically speaking she's a Lurcher. Mina isn't tattooed in either of her ears and she's never raced. If you look really closely you can see that she doesn't look 100 percent Greyhound. Well, as it happens, I'll soon know what breed(s) Mina is crossed with as I'm waiting for the results of her Wisdom Panel DNA results...but that's for another blog post!
Mina 'reflects' on her win & huge rosette
So, back to Scruffts...the weather remained warm and dry (Mina got through about a litre of water during the show) and we entered the show ring where Mina won the Golden Oldies class! This means that we will be off to Discover Dogs in November to take part in the Scruffts grand final. Wouldn't it be fab if a sighthound won? We'll definitely be keeping our fingers and paws crossed.
As well as winning Scruffts, I had another reason to be proud of Mina - the show was super busy with lots of people and dogs and years ago she would have struggled and reacted to all the dogs. Fast forward a few years, lots of university learning and way more training and understanding of how dogs learn and Mina behaved impeccably. We even took some time just to chill out with Mina enjoying some belly rubs.
Today, was a bit of a washout at the show and I'm very thankful that I chose yesterday to visit and participate in Scruffts. I spent most of today in a marquee serving drinks and for my lunch break, I had to don waterproof trousers & wellies before venturing out. I managed to make it across to the dog ring to watch today's Scruffts heats where I bumped into one of my friends and her dog, Flo. They had entered the Prettiest Bitch category and although they didn't win, in my opinion - "they were robbed!"
Crufts has a very special place in my heart and, believe it or not, is responsible for changing my life back in 2010! So, to celebrate this fact, I have two pairs of Crufts tickets to giveaway to readers of my blog during February.
I’m somewhat ashamed to say that prior to 2010 I’d never been to Crufts. Sure enough, I’d read about it and seen coverage on the TV but I’d never actually mustered the energy to go. Then back in 2010 I took the plunge and visited for the first time…little did I know it, but that visit was to have a profound effect on my life!
A rather blurry pic of my first Crufts tweetup
2010 was the year that I really became serious about pursuing a career with dogs. I had enrolled on my canine behaviour and training degree, started reading (a now) ever-growing pile of dog books and become friends with some great dog trainers, behaviourists and fellow dog lovers. Crufts 2010 was also the place that I attended my first ever tweetup – meeting many of the people I had been tweeting with over the previous year and months leading up to the show.
I didn’t really know what to expect from Crufts. All I really knew was that it was a dog show and that I’d chosen to go on Friday, 12 March, the Terrier and Hound day (naturally). Well, if Crufts used to be just a dog show, it had certainly evolved by 2010. For a first timer like me, I was struck at how huge the event was – halls and halls of the NEC were filled with trade stands selling absolutely everything and anything dog related; it was shopping heaven and I came away with rather a lot of goodies and even had to invest in a wheeled trolley to cart them all home in.
I also managed to watch some of the displays and got my first glimpse of dog agility, which I’m now beginning to train in with Mina, and watched dog trainers and instructors giving demonstrations with their pupils – both human and canine. It was also my first ‘proper’ introduction to the Kennel Club…
Little did I know it at the time, but a mere 5 weeks later I would find myself working for the Kennel Club.
Thanks to Crufts, I discovered that the Kennel Club tweeted and I started to follow them on Twitter. A few days later, on 1st April, I received notification that I was being made redundant from my marketing job and then I spotted a tweet from the Kennel Club. They were looking for someone to work in their press office for 3 months to cover sabbatical leave. Fate must have played a role that day. I applied for the job and within the space of a fortnight had been offered the role and joined the team and for the 3 months I was with them had one of my best jobs ever – mixing my two passions of marketing/PR and dogs!
Me, in my element, with a beautiful Borzoi at Crufts 2011
Fast forward to 2011 and I had the opportunity to work in the Crufts press office. Once again, I jumped at the chance. It was a great experience and really opened my eyes to the huge amount of organization and dedication that goes into organizing the ‘greatest dog show on earth.’ A working day at Crufts is a long day – we were on coaches to the venue at 6.30am and leaving on the 10pm coach on a daily basis.
This year, however, I’m visiting Crufts as a blogger and visitor and to help celebrate that fact, I have two pairs of tickets to giveaway to two lucky people during February.* To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is leave a comment on any of my February blog posts. For each post you comment on your name will be entered into the draw. So if you post on this post and say, 3 others in February, your name will be entered 4 times!
The closing date for entries is Tuesday 28 February and I’ll announce the winners on Wednesday 29 February.
If you want to double your chances of winning, I’m also giving away tickets through my Puppy School Facebook and Twitter pages – all you need to do to be in with a chance of winning is post or tweet us a photo of your dog with their favourite toy.
*Terms & Conditions: Giveaway is open to UK residents only.Prize
consists of one pair of tickets to Crufts for each of the two winners
(tickets are valid for the day of the winner's choice). The winner is responsible for arranging their own transport to and from the NEC. Closing dates for entries is Tuesday 28 February 2012 Winners will be notified by email and/;or via my blog posts
I've been meaning to finish blogging about my work experience for a while now - ever since August in fact - but since I've started back at university and now run Puppy School classes, my time just seems to have evaporated.
However, I do want to share what the final part of my work experience provided me - the opportunity to see behind the scenes at Nottingham Greyhound Stadium.
I'm well aware of how the racing industry polarises opinion and I don’t want to get into the rights or wrongs of racing, this isn’t what my blog is about. As previous posts have explained, I want to work with retired greyhounds, and their owners, post-racing and to do this I feel that I need to understand how these hounds have been nurtured before their retirement life as a sofa surfer.
I can only blog about what I saw - not what may happen at other tracks or at other trainers.
A 'civvy' goes trackside
It's pretty rare for a ‘civvy ‘to see what goes on behind the scenes before, during and after a race. To attend a greyhound race as an official handler, you need a licence from the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, (GBGB) which is the governing body for regulated greyhound racing in the UK. Jane approached GBGB on my behalf and I was granted a temporary licence as a kennel hand.
Nottingham Stadium. Photo: John Wardell
For me, attending a racetrack as a handler was something I felt I needed to do. I wanted to see for myself how a greyhound is treated and what checks and procedures are in place trackside.
I also wanted to use the opportunity to observe greyhounds’ behaviour before and after a race – not something you can easily do as a spectator. At university, we’re encouraged to observe behaviour from a scientific point of view, which can be very hard when you have an emotional attachment to a breed or dog.
Greyhound Board of Great Britain
The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) is the governing body for greyhound racing at licensed tracks in the UK. GBGB came about as a result of the 2007 Lord Donoughue report into greyhound racing. The report was commissioned in the wake of reports of greyhound welfare issues, notably at Seaham, Co. Durham, which – quite rightly – created a media storm and alerted the public to some of the welfare problems surrounding the sport during the passage of the Animal Welfare Bill.
At the time greyhound racing was overseen by two bodies – The British Racing Greyhound Board and the National Greyhound Racing Club. As a result of this report, GBGB was established in January 2009. However, GBGB is only responsible for governing the racing at GBGB licensed tracks and not the unlicensed 'flapping' tracks.
At the track
For many kennel hands, track days are long days. You’re on the go from early morning until at least 11pm/midnight.
The hounds that are racing on that particular day are carefully checked at the kennels - they are weighed, groomed and checked to make sure they’re in full health prior to racing. Then mid-afternoon, the hounds are prepared for their journey to the track and are put in the van, in individual crates/compartments, ready to go the track. Depending on the trainer, most vans are equipped to transport between 6-12 greyhounds.
When we arrived at the track, we unloaded the dogs one by one. Our first task was to let them go for a pee and a poop (there was a sandy area especially for this, fully equipped with bins and shovels). If I timed it right I realised I could position the shovel in the right place – as anyone who’s read my previous post will know that I couldn’t manage the flick of the poop onto the shovel! - and 'catch' the poop before trying to make a mess of scooping it.
Then each dog was taken into the kennel area. This is an air conditioned building, with an outside paddock area, where the hounds are checked and gathered immediately before a race, and rows of internal kennels.
The amount of checks each hound underwent were phenomenal. When you arrive in the kennel area, you provide the dog’s name to a member of the track staff and then the checks begin… Firstly, the dog’s ear tattoo (or tattoos if he/she is a dog of Irish origin) is checked and compared against the name and database information. Then the dog is scanned for his/her microchip – again to check that the dog isn’t a ringer. These details then appear on a TV screen above the scales, where the dog is weighed. A racing greyhound's weight can only fluctuate within 1 kilo of his/her last racing weight - if the hound is over 1 kilo heavier or lighter they will not be allowed to race.
Racing at Nottingham. Photo: David Yanez on Flickr
Once the identity of the dog has been checked and verified, it was time to go through to the kennel area - when entering this area, the dogs have to be muzzled. The dogs are then checked by the vet before being admitted to their individual kennel. The vet checks their gait, general health and re-checks the ear tattoos.
Each dog is given a kennel which is numbered and allocated by race. The kennels are the size of a large crate (as in crates used by many pet dog owners) and provide enough space for the hounds to stand up, move around and lie down. Each kennel has clean bedding of the vet bedding variety and is airconditioned/well ventilated.
Before the dog is popped into their kennel, a member of staff checks the ear marks again and scans the microchip. Once the hound is in their kennel, the door is locked. The reason the door is locked is to prevent any tampering with the dog before a race.
Race time
When it's time to prepare the dog for his/her race there are another series of checks to go through. When collecting a dog from their kennel, I had to provide the member of the track staff with the dog's race name, the race he/she was in and their kennel number.
The member of staff then unlocks the kennel to let the dog out. The dog's ear marks are re-checked and then I was able to put the dog in their racing jacket, fix their race muzzle and attach their leather fishtail collar and lead. The dog is then led by the handler into the paddock area, where he/she is scanned again for the microchip and another vet check is undertaken.
When given the signal the handler leads the dog out onto the track, where the dog is announced to those attending the race. Upon another signal each dog is taken to the traps and they are placed individually into the relevant trap. They are only in the trap for a matter of seconds before the race begins.
(Video is of my greyhound Stevie & was provided by his racing owner prior to his retirement . This race took place before GBGB was established)
At the end of each race the vet is there to check each hound after he/she has finished the race. If any hound has sustained an injury the vet is able to treat them.
Once the race is finished each dog is taken back to the paddock by the handler and checked over. Their faces are washed to get rid of any sand and their paws are washed and checked to get rid of sand and to make sure there are no cuts. They are then taken back into their individual kennel and provided with a fresh bowl of water. The track is very stringent about leaving each dog in their kennel for a minimum of 15 minutes after the finish of each race (instead of taking them straight back to the trainer's van). Again, this is to ensure that the health is not compromised - if there was an issue that did not present itself immediately after a race, the time lag ensures that if there was such an injury the vet could attend to it.
The track at Nottingham is 437m in circumference and on the occasions I was at the track I witnessed one accident where a pair of hounds bumped each other and one ended up doing a somersault. This is the part of the sport that I, and from the trainers I spoke with, dread. Everyone wants their dog to come home safe and injury-free. In the race where the bump happened, both the dogs seemed to be fine and were checked by the vet. However, another dog which was not involved in the bump had gone lame and was attended to by the vet immediately after the race.
Welfare Observations
At one of the races I attended I was interested to see that there was a Greyhound Welfare Officer listed in the programme and present at the track. I spoke with him as I was intrigued to understand his role. He is responsible for ensuring the welfare of the dogs both at the track and those who are about to retire. If he feels that the welfare of a dog is compromised, my understanding is that he is able to take relevant action to tackle it.
With the number of checks in force at the track I visited it would be very difficult to tamper with any dog or substitute a ringer once they're at the track. GBGB also has a stringent approach to anti-doping. At any GBGB licensed track, random urine sampling and tests can be undertaken to test whether a dog has been doped.
I was especially interested to observe the dogs' behaviour when they were with their handler, waiting in the paddock just before the race started. I was on the look out for stress signals such as hyper vigilance, lip licking, crouched body posture, panting and shaking. Whilst I did see signs of stress in some dogs, I did not see signs in all dogs. And those that were exhibiting stress signals were not the extreme signals of stress that I have sometimes seen at general dog shows and in rescue kennels. In contrast there were some dogs that showed signs of anticipation that we would probably term as excitement (think how excited your dog may get when he/she is shown their lead).
Overall, I was impressed with the facilities and standards of care I saw at the track. I understand that injuries may happen but, in my opinion, injuries can happen as equally off the track as on (just ask my dog Mina).
The future of racing
So what does the future hold for greyhound racing in the UK? Track attendances are dwindling and there are calls to ban the industry.
What would happen though if greyhound racing was banned? There would certainly be an economic impact for those who run racing kennels and those connected to racing – staff at tracks and kennels, manufacturers (pet food, bedding etc), along with the rehoming charities and rescue centres. And what about the dogs themselves? If greyhound racing was banned tomorrow, would it lead to mass euthanasia of the thousands of dogs in racing kennels? How and where would these dogs be homed?
I don't know what the answer is and I can see both sides of the argument for and against racing. At the end of the day the greyhound is an amazing breed and one that I hope I will always have the privilege of working and sharing my life with.
Please do comment and share your views.*
*Please keep responses polite. Any abusive comments will not be tolerated and will be removed.
....that someone's trying to tell you something? If my last two mornings are anything to go by, someone, somewhere seems to want to tell me something! I've just not figured out what it is yet.
Yesterday, I thought I'd try to be organised and prepare myself a healthy packed lunch and salad. I had a lovely new M&S salad dressing (Sicilian lemon - I'm a sucker for 'new' flavours) and, as per bottle instructions, shook it gently to mix it..big mistake...HUGE mistake!
As I unscrewed the lid, the bottle did an amazing impression of Mount Vesuvius and erupted everywhere, gushing lemony, oily salad dressing everywhere losing half the contents in the process. On the plus side, all that oil proved to be very good for my hands as they were lovely and soft after being covered in it.
Fast forward to today... I was getting ready for work (no packed lunch or salad today) and whilst I was upstairs, I heard Tula, the cat, running about. Nothing odd there you may think. However, Tula has a very distinctive type of running sound - especially when she's brought me a 'present.'
The sparrow before the rescue mission
I ran downstairs to spy feathers in the kitchen. Not a good sign. Tula, however, was in the utility room looking slightly crazed and focused on the side of her litter tray. I gingerly looked down the side of the tray (it's one of those covered affairs) and saw a petrified, very much alive (phew) sparrow. What to do?
Firstly, and somewhat uncremoniously, I dumped Tula outside and locked the cat flap. Cue Tula turning into a feline battering ram, trying to get back in. I grabbed a towel and tried to catch the poor bird - failing miserably. The poor thing was so frightened it flew down the side of the freezer, under the work top.
The rescue mission was turning into a two person job. Luckily, hubby is off work this week so I ran upstairs to wake him from his slumbers. He was not best pleased but once awake, joined the search and rescue team.
When he managed to move the freezer, the poor sparrow flew up and into the unused tumble drier vent. We tried to get the front of the vent off so it could fly into the garden but it was firmly stuck to the wall. There was only one thing for it... I had to don gloves and exercise my 'sparrow wrangling' skills.
Thankfully this story has a happy ending. I caught the sparrow and it flew free away from the garden. It does make me wonder what tomorrow morning will bring though, as (if you're superstitious) things are supposed to happen in threes...
Finally, I snapped this photo this morning too, before the rescue mission. I wonder what Stevie and Mina are trying to tell me? Any guesses?
Before my work experience I’d always wondered how a greyhound was trained to chase the lure. I know some people say you can’t train a greyhound to do anything – I beg to differ – but that’s a topic for another blog post!
Horror stories tend to abound about how greyhounds are prepared for racing at the track or how they are trained to chase the lure. I'd like to share my experiences here...You may have heard that live rabbits are used to encourage the greyhounds to run. If this does happen, it certainly didn't at the kennels I did my work experience at. It shouldn't happen for several reasons: (i) it’s cruel (ii) it’s illegal (iii) it’s against racing regulations (iv) any trainer caught doing this will face prosecution (see: Greyhound Board of Great Britain website) It also wouldn’t serve a real purpose. At the track the greyhounds need to chase a mechanical lure, not a live rabbit.
The Schooling Track
At Jane’s kennels, there is a purpose built, state-of-the art schooling track with the sole purpose of assessing a dog’s suitability to racing and helping prepare dogs for races.
The Schooling Track
The track is 440 metres in circumference (you can read more about the track here) and attracts owners and their dogs from across the country. Jane’s reputation in schooling greyhounds in a positive and kind way, precedes her and a number of her kennels are filled with greyhounds whose owners have brought them to Jane to be schooled for racing.
The training element of my degree focuses on 100% positive reinforcement (R+) training methods and I was interested to see how R+ could be applied to the track. Jane already uses many of the methods that we would use with our own pet dogs for training. Only raising one criteria at a time such as distance, duration and distractions; never setting up a dog to fail; rewarding a dog for the right behaviour and NOT punishing a dog.
Starting school
So how does a greyhound begin to be schooled? Well, it depends upon the age of the dog and their experience. Young pups/adolescents certainly aren’t forced into traps the first time they come to the schooling track.
When a pup is old enough, he/she is brought to the track to assess whether he/she has a ‘keenness’ for racing. What this means is ‘is the dog interested in the lure?’ and does he/she appear keen to chase it?
The pups are walked into the grassy centre of the track (not the sand track that the greyhounds race on) and, just like you’d speak to your pet dog, encouraged to look at the lure as it whizzes around the track (normally followed by a greyhound that is training).
It was interesting watching the reactions of the puppies. Some were visibly excited and very interested in the lure, whilst others were less so. Each puppy has several of these sessions before progressing on to ‘hand slipping.’ If a dog doesn’t have sufficient chase instinct, he/she is rehomed via the RGT (Jane has close links with Midland RGT), one of the local greyhound charities or with his/her owner.
I was also interested in watching the puppies’ body language for signs of excitement or stress. Again, this varied with each dog. The vast majority appeared to be excited – loose wagging tails, relaxed bodies, bright and keen eyes. Some dogs did show some signs of stress – tongue flicks, nose licks – but not to an excessive degree. I have seen dogs out on walks, at ‘fun’ dog shows and other dog competitions exhibit more severe signs of stress.
A slip of the hand - 'hand slipping'
On the straight
Hand slipping a younger dog takes place on the straights of the track. As the name suggests, the dog is held by the trainer before being released to chase the lure.
This way builds up the dog’s anticipation for the lure, as the trainer will, initially, hold the dog facing the lure and just as the lure approaches, will turn the dog and release him/her. There is definite skill in managing the release of the dog to best judge the speed and distance between hound and lure.
From all the dogs I watched being hand slipped, the majority seemed to enjoy the chase and pursuit of the lure. Each dog goes through the hand slipping stage several times, with gradual increases of distances, before training for starting in the traps begins.
Moving nearer to racing
I must admit, as I’m slight claustrophobic, I was very interested to see how dogs were trained to enter the traps. Again, I suppose it is because the vast majority of things I have read have all been negative, suggesting rough handling of the dogs.
However, at Jane’s kennel this isn’t the case. Just like an experienced pet dog owner, who understands the importance of desensitising dogs to new objects such as a head collar etc, the greyhounds are desensitised to the traps.
To begin with, the dogs are encouraged to enter and leave the traps, with both doors open. This involves two people – one at the back, to position the dog, and one at the front to lure the dog through. Once the dog has passed through the trap this way they get rewarded with lots of a fuss and/or a treat. This is repeated many times before the dogs start running from the traps. For some dogs, and to create positive associations with the traps, they’re fed some of their meals in the traps.
When the dogs start being schooled from the traps they being to wear a lightweight racing wire muzzle. The muzzles are to help prevent any injuries at the track and to stop the dog from damaging the lure at the end of the race.
Leaving the traps
I was taught how to guide a greyhound into the traps and have to say I was a tad nervous to begin with. Firstly, the hound is lined up outside the trap he/she is racing from. The door is opened and then the collar and lead are removed and the dog guided in by the handler. The guiding in involves holding the dog and lifting him/her gently into the trap.
Once in the trap, it is only a matter of seconds before the doors are released and the dog begins to race. Dogs are not kept in traps for longer than is required.
The schooling from traps takes time and patience as each dog is individual. To begin with most dogs will do solo runs from the traps. When a dog has had sufficient experience of this, he/she may then take part in a training race paired with another dog. This helps them get use to the experience of racing against other greyhounds.
When they initially start running from traps the distance is kept shorter and gradually built up. The speed and distance of the lure from the dogs is also kept under tight control, with the trainer being in constant radio contact with the operator in the control room, whose job it is to control the opening of the traps and the speed/distance of the lure.
All this takes a different amount of time depending on the dog. When the dog is ready he/she will then make the transition to a trial at a racing track.
Dispelling myths
From my work experience observations, I’d also like to dispel a myth I’ve heard that dogs are forced to chase. The simple fact is that if a dog doesn’t want to chase it won’t. They’re not forced to chase – for many it’s genetically hard wired. They are a sighthound and for most greyhounds the sight of a fast moving object in the distance, is enough to stir this instinct.
Jasper exercises his sighthound instincts
However, some dogs have a low chase instinct, some are too slow, some prefer playing with other dogs and some, when they realise that they don’t really stand a chance of catching the lure, may give up and turn back and run towards the trainer! Contrary to some beliefs this does not mean that all these dogs are ‘culled’ or resigned to the scrap heap.
Certainly, in the case of Jane’s kennels, any dog that isn’t suitable for racing is either retired and rehomed with his/her racing owner, or rehomed via one of the greyhound charities.
The schooling process was fascinating to watch and to see how individual hounds responded to training. Many of the R+ training techniques that we use as a pet dog owner are used along with playing to the hound’s natural instincts.
I know that greyhound racing is an emotive subject that evokes strong views from many, but contrast the methods used by Jane to some of those so called dog lovers who own pet dogs and who think it’s acceptable to use choke chains, prong collars, electric shock devices, sprays and physical punishment to ‘train’ a dog…I know whose methods I’d prefer...
I hope you find my work experience observations interesting - please do feel free to comment and share your views*...I look forward to reading them.
*Please keep responses polite. Everyone is entitled to their views. Any abusive posts will not be tolerated and will be removed.
Thankfully, the little black bundle of greyhound legginess we encountered wasn't fazed by me, hubby or Steve & Jasper. She took food from me, tried to solicit play (albeit unsuccessfully) from Jasper & Stevie and seemed pretty responsive. Her fate was sealed. She was coming home with us, then and there. Paper work was signed and we left with a slightly wriggly, extremely cute puppy. 
