DaveS

Lizz, i"m not able to post photos on this site but if you send me a private message with your email address, I'll send you photos and a list of parts. Dave

We bought a Chrysler Pacifica just a week ago, primarily as a hound hauler. Our three greys and a Corgi have plenty of room in it. I think all the minivans are about equal in size, mpg, and features. My wife chose the Pacifica because of the 2nd and 3rd row seats that fold down to form a nearly flat floor. Unlike the competition, the Pacifica has no holes or protruding brackets in the floor nor does it require seat removal to gain the space. She hasn't driven it enough to make a long-term report.

Picking up poop from the sidewalk is easier than from grass.

Just to be clear, I had put three treats on the counter and was standing nearby, waiting for the third of our three greys to come in from the backyard. Two had come in and it was one of these that surfed the counter. Your comments make perfect sense and I agree with them. It was my fault that I provided the dog the opportunity to grab the food. He's a big boy (85 lbs), so it doesn't take much effort for him to reach a standard 30" counter. As I said, I've never touched any of our hounds in anger or for training. I've known intuitively that striking a hound imparts fear or negative feelings in a dog, especially a greyhound. I suspect they've never been struck in anger during their life as a racer and I'm not going to start now. Thanks for all of your replies.

Or none at all? Our 5 yo male has been known to counter surf for food. We've had him for about 9 months so he's well settled into life with us and the other dogs, Yesterday he grabbed some dog treats from the counter while I was standing nearby (but not close enough to stop him). What should I have done? Swat his butt, grab his ears, yank his muzzle? I sort of yelled at him in a negative way and put my hands on my hips while I scolded him in a negative voice. We have two other greys and I've never laid a hand on any of them except to pat, rub their head, and/or do affectionate things, etc.

We adopted a bonded pair of hounds, a male and a female. We got the female first, then five months later she met and seemed to bond to the male. It was like they were twins separated at birth. It has worked well for us and the hounds. I can't understand the feeling between them, but it's a joy to see.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I was thinking about the future of the two tracks in WV. Both tracks are associated with a casino. Not to cast negatives against WV, but it's not the wealthiest state in the Union. I'm sure these casinos generate revenue that is absorbed by the community as well as providing employment for locals. The tracks are a big draw for tourists to come visit (bring money). It would seem to me that the casinos and track will continue to operate. If not, the economy of WV will take another hit.

Thanks very much, Mom. This reinforces my optimism about the future of greyhounds. I just hope that there won't be any greyhound puppy mills popping up. Our local organization is connected with a kennel that races at one of the West Virginia tracks. Hopefully they will be a source of retirees for a while.

Thanks, folks. Your comments make feel better about the future of greyhounds.

Can anyone comment on the temperament difference between retired racing greys as opposed to grey puppies bought from a breeder? From what I've read, the retired racers were handled by a myriad of people during their careers such as the breeders, handlers, feeders, walkers, vets, trainers, etc. That is to say the dogs are accustomed to being handled by many people and being around many other dogs. I think this is one of the reasons retired dogs get along so well with people and other dogs. We recently adopted our third grey. From day 1, he has gotten along with the two other dogs with absolutely no growls or conflicts such as territory, resource guarding, eating, etc. It's like he's always been part of the pack. I wonder how greyhound puppies who are purchased from a breeder at age 8-10 weeks and have not had the experience of racers compare in temperament. I suspect that all greyhounds have fundamentally similar temperaments, but do the differences in upbringing result in different behavior? The reason I ask about this is about what the future holds for the breed. With more tracks closing, fewer greys will be available and it may be that the only dogs available will be puppies purchased from breeders. Your thoughts are welcome.

Babs, the Triangle Greyhound Society in North Carolina regularly does fun run events including straight line runs and lure coursing using our home made equipment. It's all for fun and the dogs love it. No AKC or PAL registrations are required; people just bring their dogs and let them run for the fun of it. No timing or competitions are involved. If you're in the area, we have scheduled events on March 28 and October 31. There will probably be more fun runs during the summer and fall. https://mailchi.mp/c47d865e7e13/please-rsvp-for-march-28th-fun-run?e=d37607dff4

We use Buddy Bowls for the dogs' water. Not perfect, but much, much better than an open bowl. https://www.rayallen.com/coyote-buddy-bowl/

Yes, she's wearing a tutu. It was from the costume party that was held prior to the running events.

The Triangle Greyhound Society held our fall fun run on Halloween afternoon at a baseball field in a city park. The weather was perfect and about 40 greys attended with owners in tow. We had a raffle the netted about $800, a costume contest, a straight line run, and a lure coursing run. Weather was perfect and the ball field was a mix of infield gravel and beautiful outfield turf. Almost like a golf green. I set up a course that was about 450 feet in length and most of the dogs ran about three laps so they definitely got their chance to stretch their legs. I had made a few tweaks to the equipment since the last event and it paid off. Here's a link to the event. The Corgi in the last photos is my wife's dog, Phoebe. She's the unofficial mascot of the greyhound group and loves to join in their games. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VzRC5guao3Ro55JoDB2DZ6KV77wNgykO

Folks, thanks for your words of caution, but you're making me a bit paranoid. I'm probably going to be the Lure Master since I designed and built the system. I've tested it (without dogs) with about 275' of string and after timing the lure have calculated the speed at about 36 mph. I can't make it faster with the current drive pulley but with the push button on-off switch I can prevent the lure from getting too far out in front of the dogs. Our fall fun run is scheduled for Halloween afternoon at a baseball field in a city park. I'm certain there are no holes nor obstacles in the fenced field. The local greyhound rescue group will reimburse me for the cost of the equipment, now at about $100. I told the head of the group not to pay me until we were satisfied it works properly. So I guess until then, I'm the responsible owner. From a liability standpoint, I don't think there's any more risk than the straight line runs with a squawker that the group has been doing for years. Fingers crossed. I'll post pictures or a video if the events goes as scheduled.