To Tattoo Greyhound Puppies

Greyhound puppies must be tattooed before they are 3 months old. The actual imprint of the tattoo for each puppy must be on a "Litter Registration" form and returned to the NGA by the end of 3 months (along with a fee); this is step 3 of 4 in the process of registering a greyhound with the NGA. The NGA assigns a new litter registration number with each new litter. The left ear of the puppy is tattooed with it's litter registration number; the right ear is tattooed with a combination of numbers and letters that identifies that particular pup. On the right ear (looking from the rear of the pup to its nose), the first number identifies the month in which the pup was born (2=February, 10= October, etc). The second number is the last digit of the year in which the pup was born ( 8=1988, 0=1990, 4=1994, etc.). An alphabetic letter then follows that is meant only for that pup (if the litter contained 7 puppies then the last alphabetic letter utilized would be "G").

We tattoo puppies when they are about 2+ months old. Wife holds puppy, husband tattoos. The first time we tattooed it was just about divorce time. Wife was nervous, shaking, petting the puppies, talking and consoling, and barking orders to husband to hurry and to be easy. Husband was nervous, unsure, out of position, trying to roll ink onto pup's ear, trying to tattoo before ink dried, trying to figure out what numbers and letters went where, trying to change numbers and letters in the tongs, fumbling, trying to fill out forms as he tattooed the pups, and trying to hurry. Puppies were jerking, squirming, clawing, pulling, whining, crying, shaking, and looking so pitiful. Oh Lord, what a time! It was at least 3 days before husband and wife spoke to each other again.

We have learned a lot since that first experience. The tattoo instrument itself is structured like a set of tongs. Little blocks of needle-like pins forming numbers or letters are positioned into one side of the tongs; the other side is like a pad of hard rubber. A retainer can be loosened and the numbers/letters can be changed in the set of tongs. Husband now has two sets of tongs (numbers / letters are only changed for the right ear set), all numbers and letters are laid out, forms completed as much as possible beforehand, ink bottle in place, rags and alcohol in place, and cleaning solutions in place. Wife is now more relaxed, can coordinate with husband, knows how to position pups, knows what to expect, knows how to quiet and distract pups, and has doggie treats ready. We tattoo in the sink and on the counter in our food preparation room.

A pup is brought by wife to sink. Wife cleans ears with paper towel and alcohol. Wife washes pup's feet (NGA forms require color of each toenail on each pup). Husband prepares numbers/letters in tongs, fills out NGA form for that pup, imprints the tattoo on NGA form, reaches for ink bottle, and prepares to tattoo the pup. Wife positions pup in sink without binding the pup, gently lifts pup's chin, rubs or plays with pup's opposite ear. Husband turns back the ear to be tattooed, rolls green ink from applicator bottle onto pup's ear, positions pup's ear between the tongs, and squeezes fast driving needle-like pins into pup's ear. Pup YELPS! Some puppies scream, some fight, some bite, some do nothing but look at you. Husband releases clamp fast. Husband and wife both jerk hands from pup's biting range real fast. Husband rolls more ink onto tattoo and rubs ink in with thumb. Wife baby-talks pup. Pup quiets down. Husband reaches for second set of tongs for next ear. Wife turns around pup in sink. Husband and wife shift positions. Process is repeated. Pup is tattooed. Wife gives pup a doggie treat. Husband cleans, changes numbers/letters in tongs, prepares for next pup. Husband and wife pet and kiss the pup. Pup licks husband and wife. On to next pup.

After tattooing, both husband and wife go to puppy stall. Puppies and mother may be licking the green ink off the puppy's ears. Wife and husband, feeling very guilty, play with puppies and give more doggie treats. All is forgiven. Wife and husband remain married!
 

The First Puppies To Be Tattooed

In response to those questions about the nature of the first puppies to be tattooed, we are sure there are many different answers. Most puppies are tattooed between the ages of two to three months. Puppies at that age do have some personality or behavioral traits. Some are adventurious, others stay back in the corner. Some love to be handled and will lay real still against your head and shoulder while you stroke them; others squirm, wiggle, and jerk. Some tease, they will run up to you and as you reach for them they run away. Some bite your shoe, shoelaces, and pants-leg. Some try to jump as high as they can to reach you. Some are shy and wait to see what the other puppies do. Some run full steam into another one and bounce and roll. Sometimes one puppy will be sleeping and another will jump on it or bite it; its funny when the sleeping puppy comes up real fast growling and snarling and scares the daylights out of its littermate (they are too young for it to be very serious). The descriptions could go on and on. One thing they have in common, they all come to the feedpan.

The many different answers referred to above would be both a function of the puppies and the people doing the tattooing. One has to also ask what is "the pick of the litter"? Is it the cutest pup, the funniest pup, the most adventurous pup, the best colored pup (relative to the human), the calmest pup, the meanest pup, or is it the one that exhibits traits of a pup that may later develop into a good running greyhound (whatever they are?). We are sure some breeders think they can (and maybe they can) pick the future best running dog at three months old, but that is unlikely. We have been both surprised and disappointed at how we thought a dog would run at the track after raising and training it to 18 months old, much less picking the best one at 3 months. The dominant or most aggressive greyhound in a litter is not always the fastest (or slowest). For our pick of the litter, we would probably look for a full bodied, healthy pup that is not too shy or too aggressive, one that will come to you, and one that appears to have good structure.

Here's how and why we choose the first to be tattooed. When we pick up a puppy and pay attention to it, invariably some of the other puppies will pick on that one when we set it back down with the others (jealously?). We do not like to see one get picked on by two or three others. So, we pick up the more aggressive and meaner puppies to tattoo first. Therefore when we set these tattooed puppies back down, the more aggressive and meaner puppies stand a better chance of defending themselves against the others. Also, husband likes to tattoo a male as the "D" dog ("D"= dog= male - a macho thing) (No, we do not necessarily tattoo a female as the "B" dog, or the "F" dog). As a note, our best running greyhound ever is a female and is the "E" dog. When she left the farm we did not think she was above average at running ability; but she was the most friendly and most lovable - she would very slowly stand on her hind legs and very slowly paw at your body and work right in and hug you (a "hugger").

This a very important lesson to learn on the farm. That is, when we handle a greyhound for some reason and then put it back with other greyhounds, the other greyhounds will tend to bunch together and pick on the one that was just handled. Most love to be individually handled, but they do not like to see another one get favored treatment. Therefore, if we handle a greyhound for some reason, we always make a fuss over, or try to distract, the others as we turn the first one back with its group. To the readers - we are sure some of you may have a greyhound that reacts when you favor one of your other pets; as an example, our Heather will come and crowd in and nudge our hand when we pet one of the others.

We also need to say that in some litters we have seen a complete turn-around in the dominating order of a greyhound litter from the time they were 2 to 3 months old to when they were put back in the kennel room at 12 to 14 months. It is interesting to watch the order develop in a litter.


 

By Shawnie and Sam Burdette (Sdburd@AOL.COM)
Photo rendering by Dan Schmidt