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.

Despite the cautionary comments, we ran the lure coursing system this morning with no damage to any grey. There were a couple of technical problems with the equipment but I can fix them. Biggest problem was that the grass was wet from a heavy dew and the lure (plastic bag) started dragging and slowing the system so that a couple of dogs caught it. Oh well. And then when one dog ran into the motor/battery drive unit, a wire was pulled out of a connector and killed the system. We finished up doing straight like runs with a squawker and all the pups had fun. Lesson learned: don't do this on wet grass.

I'm happy to report that all the foot problems have disappeared. The girl's injured rear foot has healed and the boy's toenail is growing back. His little toe on a front foot is still a bit crocked, but it doesn't bother him in the least.

I've seen the squawker used and it seems to work. The system I'm setting up is two-way or triangular; the string is a continuous loop. It eliminates the need to pull the lure out after winding it in. I saw one setup that involved the use of a fishing reel to wind the lure back in. That's not for me.

The local greyhound group typically rents an open field that is fenced. But the only activity has been some straight line sprints with one person releasing the dog and the owner standing about 200 feet away calling it. Not very effective or rewarding. Last time it was a ball field in a city park and obviously there were no trees present. It makes sense not to set up a course with obstacles present as the dogs will probably be so focused on the lure that they don't see anything else.

I'm in the process of building a system for our local greyhound group. I've acquired the motor, drive pulley, string and battery. I still need to order a couple of pulleys for the end of the course and have a source. Several YouTube videos have been helpful. This will be a continuous loop system as opposed to pulling the lure out and then winding it in. The lure will be a white plastic grocery bag (no live animals will be harmed). Has anybody here ever put one of these systems together? There are commercial systems available that cost $350 and more. I figure I can put a system together for about. $125. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

As everyone has said, I don't think you'll have any problems adopting a six yo dog. Old enough to be easy going and young enough to be fun. Go for it. He'll love you for making him part of the family.

Federal legislation has been introduced to ban ALL greyhound racing in the US. https://www.wrcbtv.com/story/42429397/federal-legislation-introduced-to-ban-greyhound-racing-live-lure-training Didn't see this one coming but not surprised given the ban in Florida. Got your grey while they are available.

My wife took the dog back to the vet yesterday, two days after her foot injury. The vet was pleased; the pup is using four legs most of the time and the swelling of the toe has gone down. I guess she will be fine.

Back from the vet. She said the dog had "done a number on her foot" with several cuts. I can't think of anything in our backyard that could have caused that. Anyhow, we have some antibiotics and pain med to give her for a few days. No amputation in the forecast. Fingers crossed that she gets better soon.

We have two hounds and the only health problems we've encountered are with their feet. The five yo male dislocated a front toe, I think coming up the steps. The toe was turned under his foot but by the time we got him to the vet, it had gone back in place, mostly. It still is a bit cockeyed. Then later I accidentally (and lightly) stepped on a front foot. He jerked it back without complaining but now he's missing a toe nail on that foot. Never found it and he was fine. The three yo female came to us minus a rear toe. It had been amputated because of a racing injury. Later she has picked up several splinters of yard mulch that stuck in a foot between the toes but no problems after I removed them. Then yesterday evening she came into the house from outside with a bleeding rear foot. My wife cleaned it up and put some antibiotic salve on it but she won't put any weight on that foot. She doesn't seem to be in pain and is getting around on three legs nicely. I'm taking her to the vet later this afternoon. Are foot problems common with greyhounds? Or we just unlucky?