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The following information sheet is one of three currently being
compiled from daily discussions on the Greyhound-L listserv. These three info sheets (GH Medical, GH General Info, and GH Resources/Supplies) are unofficial compilations
- in other words, these are my *pet projects* as opposed to official FAQ
files. I maintain and update these info sheets as new information crosses my email account. I accept any and all
updates, comments, corrections, and additions to these info sheets. Please send mail to: greyhoundadmin@abap.org All data is provided as
**information only**. The Greyhound-L
list server is made up of a large group of Greyhound owners - some with limited
experience, and some with EXTENSIVE experience - who meet on a computer forum
to discuss Greyhounds and Greyhound related topics. I try to collect interesting data on various topics, and reflect
a group consensus or varied cross-sections of thought on those topics. All of the data in these infosheets is Copyright to the Original author
on the Greyhound-L. I have been given
permission to compile and publish this data by the authors. This infosheet can be reproduced *in full*,
and distributed. If you wish to use any
one part of this info sheet (i.e., a newsletter), you must contact me for
author permission. Thank
you - Lynda Adame, Cody and Tara (and Tice who is with us in spirit) greyhoundadmin@abap.org
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ GENERAL
GREYHOUND INFORMATION Last Update 2/5/99 YOUR GREYHOUNDS PAST: (Lynda
Adame with inputs from Brian Lee) PEDIGREES: To find out the lineage of
your ex-racer five generations back: Send a letter & $15.00
check to: NGA Pedigree Service Box 543 Abilene, KS 67410 In the text of the letter
include the tattoo #'s found in both of
your dogs ears, its sex, color, and racing name if you know it. In return, the NGA will send you a nice
pedigree. You can also call the NGA
and (for free) find out the names of both the Sire and Dam of your Greyhound,
the birthdate of your Greyhound, your Greyhounds racing name, as well as who
the owner was. (913)263-4660. You can
also contact the NGA at nga@jc.net PEDIGREE READING TIPS: ISB stands for Irish Stud
Book. Vol. xxxx refers to the volume of the NGA's registry (year of the volume)
book. A * next to a dogs name indicates
that this dog was imported into
America at some point. GALLEY BOOKS/RACING LINES: If your interest in your
dogs past is not satisfied with simply receiving his pedigree, you can do some
investigative work and obtain copies of his actual racing records. IF YOU KNOW THE TRACK YOUR DOG RETIRED FROM: Contact the Racing Secretary
of that particular track and ask if they produce a Galley Book. Galley Books are compilations of racing
records for a specific period of time.
The dogs are listed alphabetically and the race info for each dog during
that time period is listed. Some tracks
(Derby Lane, FL) actually bind their yearly Galley Books and offer them for
sale to the general public. Other
tracks only keep the records handy for
a short period of time (2 years)
and will Xerox the info on your dog from their records and mail you whatever
they find. Some tracks have video
departments and (if you know the dates of the races) you can get a video of your
dog running. You may need to do some
real investigative work though,
because dogs are often run at multiple tracks during their careers. The Racing Secretaries can help you narrow
down the choices of other tracks you may need to contact. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE TRACK YOUR DOG RETIRED FROM: ***WARNING**** Check with
your adoption group before you proceed with contacting the dogs registered
owner. OTHER POSSIBLE SOURCES FOR RACING LINES: Rosnet Report: Rosnet collects data on dogs
racing at 2/3 of the tracks in the United States. The racing office at the
Rosnet-member track will have access to the Rosnet database - it's not
available to the public. There is a
project in development that will bring this data online, complete with a "Greyhound Search"-
however that still won't help for a dog who retired last year. Here is the URL
for the Rosnet page, go to the bottom and read the instructions for sending a
SASE. If your dog ran at one of these
tracks, you'll probably get a beautiful racing history from their database, at
NO charge! Here it is: http://www.rosnet2000.com/rosnet/ TrackData System: Many of the other 1/3 tracks
in the United States (including most of the New England tracks), use the
TrackData system. I'm not sure about
their policy of providing "past performance data" to adoptive homes.
Here is their home page: http://www.trackinfo.com/ Pico Publishing: This is a long shot,
although they publish track literature: Pico Publishing 5906 10th Avenue Kenosha, WI 53140 Telephone: (414) 652-3278 Sales: (800) 397-2153 Fax: (414) 652-2906 BBS: (414) 652-3932 E-Mail: rwaite@prodigy.com EAR TATTOOS: A Greyhounds right ear
tattoo represents the birth month, year and tattoo order of the dog. The last
number before the letter is the year of birth, the first one or two numbers is
the month of birth and the letter represents the order of the litter that it
was tattooed. For instance: 109E means the dog was born
in October of 1989 and was the fifth dog in the litter to be tattooed. The left ear contains a tattoo representing
the actual litter registration number. LITTERMATE SEARCH: Visit the Greyfind web site
to register your hound and search for litter mates: http://www.petget.com/greyfind/index.php BRINGING YOUR GREYHOUND HOME: FIRST DAYS AT HOME: (L. Adame) I realize that some people
don't have the luxury of taking a chunk of time off of work to be at home with
their new dog, but I feel that it is the BEST and EASIEST way to acclimate your
new dog. I waited until I knew that I
could take an entire week of work off before I started looking for a Greyhound
to adopt. When
you spend the first few days at home with your dog, you are there to correct
the dog when he needs it, to establish what things are O.K. and what are not
O.K., and to bond with the dog. The
rescue group (Retired Racers) I got Tice from holds the belief that you will
get more from your dog if you do everything in your power to keep them from
being BAD DOGS. They really respond
positively to being told that they are good...and when you finally do leave and
they have been bad, I think that they understand a little bit better what you
are trying to get across to them. NITTING: For the uninitiated,
"nitting" is a gesture of great affection in which the GH takes a
small fold of your skin (nape of neck, arm, hand) between his/her teeth and
makes a very rapid chattering motion with its teeth. It doesn't hurt, and in fact can be quite ticklish. Greyhounds will also chatter their teeth
when excited or anxious. A great many
GHs are smilers, which is often mistaken for a snarl. KIDS: Young children do not
understand that dogs are not playthings.
They can be quite rough and thoughtless with their pets and don't
understand that the animals get upset. Children need thorough supervision
around animals and lessons in how to behave properly around dogs. Greyhounds are amazing with kids; usually very gentle and tolerant. They must
be respected however. Please do not let children
walk a Greyhound, or even hold a leashed hound by themselves (no matter *how*
much begging). There was a recent
thread on Greyhound-l, where a couple of bored <Grin> physicists figured
out that when a Greyhound takes off at a dead run, chasing after something of
interest, there is 228 lbs. of pressure
exerted on the leash as well as your arm!!! One
thing you can do to allow children the pleasure of walking your Greyhound is to
attach a second leash that you, the adult, hold onto. SLEEPING SPACE DEFENSIVENESS: "Let sleeping dogs
lay". There is some wisdom to that
old saying. Greyhounds are used to
sleeping undisturbed in a caged kennel, and some newly retired hounds can become
frightened or disoriented and snap if disturbed when sleeping. HOUSE TRAINING: The majority of ex-racers do
not have a problem with house training, if the first few days with the new dog
are spent wisely. This means taking the new dog outside often at first (every
30 minutes or so) & praising the dog exuberantly when it correctly goes to
the bathroom outside. It also helps to
start associating a certain word (perhaps potty) with the action, so the dog
will begin to understand what you mean when you use that word in the future. Accidents should be met with
a stern reprimand (no hitting or shoving their noses into it please) and the
dog should be taken outside immediately. Another good bit of advice
is to let your dog sleep in your bedroom with you at night. Not only is this great for bonding purposes,
but the doggie taboo against soiling its sleeping quarters is strong enough
that most Greyhounds will whine and pace if they need to go in the middle of
the night. Peeing in the house within the first few days after surgery is very
common among newly adopted dogs, even ones who had no accidents prior to
surgery. The Pollyanna interpretation
of this annoying occurrence is that it gives you a chance to reinforce that
peeing in all the various rooms of the house is unacceptable! I know it's
probably been 3 weeks, but houses are bigger than crates and the dog may not
yet quite understand that every part of the house is included in housebreaking.
If your Greyhound is having a hard time getting housebroken, please consult
with your Vet and find out if there are any underlying medical problems causing
the accidents. If there is nothing
medical going on (bladder or kidney infection, worms, etc.) this will
eventually play itself out. CRATES: There seem to be three
trains of thought on crate usage: 1) Crates are the most overused
dog tool in the 90's. It is not in the
dogs best interest to keep it cooped up all day long in a crate, & then
expect it to again be crated at night.
Why not commit yourself (and prepare yourself) for a period of time
where you actually try to work out behavior problems before you resort to a
crate. Most dog behaviors can be
modified with a little bit of time, patience, and knowledge. 2) Crates are a necessary evil,
and are fine for temporary use. There
are some dogs who come off of the track that have a more difficult time
adjusting to home life. These dogs can
not only be destructive, but can be a danger to themselves as well. While they are un-supervised, a crate is the
best way to keep these dogs safe. All behavior problems are worked on when the
owner is home, and the dog is eventually weaned from the crate. 3) Crates are perfectly fine
for housing a dog while the owner is away.
Crates keep dogs from getting into trouble as well as keep the dog safe
from danger when the owner is away. There
are plenty of perfectly fine dogs who live a portion of their lives crated. I will stay out of the crate
controversy in this info sheet, and merely supply the following information for
people who choose to use crates: Bonnie's crate is 30 high x
27 wide x 40 long. She's a _big_ dog -
28" at the shoulder, 68 lbs. This
size is plenty big for her. As to water left in crates,
two viable options are water bottles (like gerbil bottles) and buckets. One of the pet supply catalogs sells a water
bottle top which fits 2 liter soda bottles and converts them into water
bottles. I have found these difficult
to hang properly and much larger than needed.
The water bottles are sold in both glass and plastic. Some prefer glass
because their dogs chew, but I've used the plastic ones for years for raising
litters (*much* neater than bowls of water with rambunctious puppies) and have
never had a problem with bottles being chewed.
For my adult dogs, if and when they're crated, I use stainless steel 2
quart buckets available from most pet supply houses. These are also available in aluminum, but I find they corrode
very quickly and are much more easily banged up than the stainless ones. The stainless are expensive, but I've found
they have a much longer life. Half filled,
and clipped to the inside of the crate with double-ended snap bolts, they serve
well and are difficult to spill. In
very hot weather, I fill them with ice-cubes rather than water. In very hot weather, you can
purchase a Polar Mat to make your dog more comfortable in it's crate. The Mats are soaked in cool water first and
stay cool for 24 hours. For walks, you
can purchase "Cool Collars". Two commands used at the
track that may be helpful in crating a dog are "Kennel up" which
tells the dog to get into the crate, and "Free Dog" which gives the
dog permission to leave the crate. STAIRS: (Kopal Barnuin-Jha) We have nasty stairs
(spiraling). I teach the dogs stairs by
essentially climbing alongside them.
When I'm alongside they can't turn around and go back down or up. I lift the feet to the right position and
then gently push, with my arms in position to catch if they stumble. To go down, I will put the forefeet onto the
first stair. Then I lift the hind legs
onto the stair, so all 4 feet are on a stair.
This usually inspires them to either move down a step or turn
around. Since they can't turn around,
you help them make the other choice by gently pulling one of the front legs
down. They probably will act like you
are trying to burn the foot, at which point I push them down, NOT by the butt,
but by lifting their bellies up and downward. (They pull back by sitting back on their haunches). If you are facing the dog's side, you will
have one hand to lift the belly with, and the other to put around the front in
case they stumble. Once the front feet
are down, repeat. Upstairs is easier, you put
two feet up on a stair, and lift them up at the crook of their hind legs, so
they are sitting on your arm. I do
this, again, alongside, so they cannot turn around. If they catch on, they move the front feet up. If not, lift till you put their hind legs on
the first stair, at which point, again, make sure they can't turn around. Then lift the front feet up. I sometimes stand behind them so they lean
their butts on my legs, and I use the pressure to ease them foreword, while
using my arms to make sure they don't turn around. This is after they know what
to do, but are just hesitating. It's really important to not let them turn around. Some dogs would rather quit than learn
something hard, especially if scared.
Don't give them the choice - success empowers! The most important thing in
the process is praise. Food at the top
and bottom if they accept it. Most dogs
I've taught this way can do it on their own, with encouragement, the very next
time. Crystal, who came home last
evening, is running up and down the stairs all by herself! I don't like Brannigan's
method, it allows the dog to turn around, and leaves you at their butts
wondering what to do! GARBAGE DIGGERS: Try putting a mouse trap or
a snappy dog training device on top of the garbage. It doesn't hurt them, just scares them and provides a
correction. It's important that the dog
receives corrections when you are not around.
Otherwise, they quickly relate corrections to you and figure out that
they can get away with things when you are not at home. You can also place your
garbage pail inside a child-proofed cabinet.
Child-proofing cabinet locks are available cheaply at local drug
stores. Another idea is to buy the type
of garbage can that requires a person to step on a foot peddle before the lid
will lift. NAIL CLIPPING: For the white or light
colored nails, you can see the darker core where the blood is. On black dogs or dogs with black nails, work
the nails back gradually. When you near
the quick, the center of the nails looks less dry and is horn-like (smoother). Another method to trim nails
is to use a grinder. Several of the pet
supply catalogs list them (Oster brand), although you can often find the same
thing for much less at a discount store.
Walmart sells the same device, only they call it a Dremel Moto-Tool, for
around $30. With a grinder you can
slowly trim back a small portion of nail and are less likely to dig
deeply into the quick. One tip is to do
a small amount at a time, taking turns on each nail, then returning to the first nail, and so on.
This prevents the nail from heating up, which can be painful for the
dog. If your dog is scared or unruly while you are trying to clip his nails,
try covering his eyes with a soft cloth or towel. This will help calm him down. SKIN FLAKING: Olive oil on the feed will
help with the flaking. <usually caused by the long trip, which can be
dehydration, stress or drying of the skin from the air-conditioning in the
trailer> Try using Purina ONE Lamb
and Rice for awhile as the "meal" part of the feed. Give one human
sized Vitamin E capsule a day for at least two weeks, or try a product like
Liposomes and add that to your dogs meal as directed. Remember though that adding oil to your dogs food is also adding
fat. Derma caps are a suggested
curative for flaking skin. All Natural Insect Repellent
(safe for sighthounds and non-toxic) 1 Cup Avon Skin So Soft 2 Cups White Vinegar 1-3 Cups of Water* (depending on strength needed) In the woods, use 1 Cup
Water, in the backyard use 2-3 Cups 1 Tbsp. Herbal Repellent "Shoo"
OR Citronella OR Eucalyptus Oil. Mix
together, put in a misting bottle, and spray dogs as needed. TEETH: Many Greyhounds come off the
track with poor tooth health, usually(but not always) blamed on their track
diet of soft foods. Most adoption
groups will have your dogs teeth cleaned when it goes in for its spay/neuter
operation. Here are some other tooth
care tips: If
the teeth look like concrete, get some big knuckle bones and try the natural
teeth cleaning method first. If the
teeth are still bad get a 'scalar' (dental tool) and go for it, or have a vet
clean them. Once the teeth are clean, wet your index finger, dip it in a 50/50
mix of table salt and baking soda, massage into the gumline for twenty or so
seconds...daily for about a two week span. <Do not try hydrogen
peroxide! It will foam, the hound will
freak out, and you won't be able to touch it's mouth again, most
likely.> Better yet, get a doggie
toothbrush and doggie toothpaste (NOT human toothpaste) and brush your dogs
teeth frequently - this will also help keep the breath sweet smelling. Bad gums will manifest in other areas of a
Greyhounds general health. You can use St. Aubreys
'Clear Breath' to mask bad-breath odor. A good dog toothpaste to use
is CHX which has chlorhexdine that helps kill bacteria. Nolvadent mouth wash also has chlorhexdine
in it. My tooth regimen is as follows: CHX toothpaste daily in
a.m., Maxi Guard Oral Cleansing Gel daily in the p.m., and Gel-Tin fluoride gel
3x a week. My dog dentist says that the
Maxi Guard Oral Cleansing Gel is the most important step in the tooth cleaning
process. The manufacturer of Maxi Guard
is Addison Biological Laboratory Inc., Fayette, Missouri 65248. BATHS: A rather common occurrence
on the Greyhound-l are Greyhounds whose rear ends collapse when they are given
a bath. The consensus is that there is
nothing to worry about, and you might try cooler water to stop it. FOOD: Some people use a high
quality dog food that is as low in protein content as 14% and fat 8%. The consensus is that you don't need much
more protein/fat than this unless your dog is working or very active (e.g., if
you actively lure course). The level of
protein is not necessarily a gauge of how well you are feeding your dog the
higher levels aren't really important unless you fall into one of the
categories mentioned above. It is more important that you avoid by-products,
unnecessary fillers, soy, etc. For
Greyhound gas, avoid Soy in the ingredients list of the dogs food or treats,
pigs ears, and rawhide. Try adding a
heaping spoonful of plain yogurt with live acidophalus cultures in it to each
meal. EATING: A good way to combat the
inevitable choking/barfing back up of food, is to elevate your Greyhounds food
bowl. Most people on Greyhound-l have
found that elevating the bowl seems to make eating a much more pleasant experience
for their Greyhound. A good suggestion
was made to purchase a K-Mart - 18" - plant stand and place the bowl on
top of that. DIGESTION: Anise helps digestion along
very well. Anise resembles cumin, make
sure you have the right stuff! Most
Indian grocery stores will sell it relatively cheaply as "saunf"
(sounds like "daunt", a Hindi word). Peppermint is great for upset
stomachs. APPETITE: To pick up your Greyhounds
appetite & make sure what he's eating is high-calorie, soak his food in
warm buttermilk for 1/2 hour before giving it to him. Most GHs will gobble that right up. You might also want to try feeding him pasta
and rice, and when it's boiling add a little beef broth or boil the P&R
with a marrow bone. I've found those two things
work in my hands and I've never had to move on to a drug therapy for appetite
stimulation. If it does continue to be a
problem, I would run a complete blood workup, including liver enzymes, before
deciding what to do next. Loss of
appetite is, 95% of the time, symptomatic of something wrong between the ears. But it can also be a clue to something
physical. I have heard B Complex
Vitamins recommended as both appetite stimulants and appetite regulators. B Vitamins are water soluble so anything not
needed by the body will be safely excreted (I am talking about reasonable doses
here, of course.) As to foods to
increase appetite, I am at this point in Tiger's life ready to begin my
masterwork, "Catering for Dogs:
Volume One: "Just because I ate it
yesterday, doesn't mean I'll want it today."" Because Tiger has told
us that chewing is a burden, we are now using Iams Eukaneuba Puppy Small Bites
which are teeny tiny kibble bits. On a bed of this kibble I have offered the
following items successfully: Canned Nature's Recipe
Venison and Rice flavor, and Rabbit and Rice flavor. Canned 'kitty' tuna, mackerel in jelly, and sardines. Fresh broiled or nuked fish
(mostly mackerel, but any fish will do. Turkey roll. Triumph canned foods, although they recently seem to have changed
their formulas, so that there is less fat, and thus they are less appetizing.
Pedigree canned foods designed for small dogs (with incredibly pretentious
names like 'braised lamb in aspic'). For some dogs (ill or
elderly ones in particular) variety seems to be the key. If I gave Tiger mackerel every day, she'd
probably get tired of it, but once every several days and she scarfs it right
up. There are also some other dogs who
just don't seem to do well when fed only once or twice a day. In the past, I have used free feeding for
these, supplemented by more appetizing meals, and this seems to do the trick. Try adding babyfood to your
dogs kibble. HOMEMADE LIVERCAKE: (Judy Ellam) One pound liver (I use chicken liver, the beef liver is hard on the
blender 4 or more cloves of garlic minced 1/4 cup salad oil 1/3 cup water Place all ingredients in
either a blender or a food processor, liquefy the
ingredients. To the liquefied mixture,
add: 1 cup corn flour
or corn meal 1 cup regular
flour The batter should be
slightly thicker than cake batter.
Grease pan (I use an angel food cake pan it seems to cook better in this
pan). Bake at 350 degrees for one
hour. Sometimes for variety I add a
handful of cooked bacon, or bacon bits, or 1/4 cup cheese. I use 1/4" slice for my normal eaters
and a 1-1/2" or larger slice for the picky eaters. Other suggestions: puppy kibble 1 container cottage cheese
mixed with 2 cups cooked pasta 2x day(instead of dog food) Enervite (Hi cal, nutrient
supplement) 1 can "Old Mother
Hubbard" in a.m. & 2 cups dry kibble plus 1 can of the same in the
p.m. COPROPHAGY: According to "Care of the Racing Greyhound" (Blythe, Gannon
& Craig): The five most common causes of coprophagy (stool eating) are: a dietary excess of fat or
carbohydrate (fats, oils, sugars, starches) which come through in the manure
and are only partly digested. a lack of bulk in the diet,
i.e., no feeling of fullness or satiety after eating. an intestinal irritation
from worms or indigestible foreign bodies. deficiencies of calcium,
phosphorous, or iron in the diet. boredom or lack of challenge
or interest in the area of confinement. Once you have identified
what the cause is, then you can do something about it! According to "The Well Dog Book"
(McGinnis): "Dietary changes also may
help prevent dogs from eating their own stool. Self-feeding instead of
scheduled meals helps some dogs. In
dogs fed a high carbohydrate diet, try adding good quality protein eggs,
cottage cheese, skeletal muscle meat.
Diets consisting of canned meat type foods should be changed to include
more carbohydrate the addition of dry kibble
is the easiest and most balanced method.
Adding the enzyme papain to the food will sometimes prevent
coprophagy. This can be done at home by
sprinkling Accent or another meat tenderizer containing papain on the
food. Veterinarians often supply drugs
that make the stool unpleasantly bitter when added to the diet." In addition to Accent, Adolf No-Salt used to be papain based. The product referred to as making the stool
unpleasantly bitter is "Forbid" and can be purchased (possibly
special order) from a pet supply store (it is also carried by many of the
wholesale catalog firms). DONATIONS: Just a reminder that if you give a donation to a Greyhound rescue group
and you work for a company with matching donations, the rescue group can
benefit from it. All the company needs
in most cases is a tax free IRS number from the group. (often called a LOTUS matching number) GREYHOUND PLAY GROUPS: Greyhound Play group of the
Triangle (NC) This is an umbrella group
for several area playgroups in the Raleigh, Durham, Apex, Cary and Chapel Hill
region of North Carolina. This group is
planning quarterly evening meetings in a local cafeteria to discuss upcoming
events, Greyhound rescue and adoption, and other topics of interest. This play group also offers foster care,
Greyhound babysitting, support for new Greyhound parents, etc. The Raleigh (NC) Greyhound Play Group meets on Sunday at the Optimist
Park in North Raleigh on the fenced in baseball field near the swimming
pool. The time varies depending on the
time of year, generally mornings in the summer and late afternoon in the
winter. Due to the number of Greyhounds
attending (20 and up), dogs must be muzzled to participate. Call 919-828-9624 or 919-743-6263 for more information. The Carey-Apex (NC) Play
Group, outside of Raleigh, also meets on Sunday. Call (919)460-1869 or 319-1977 for more information. For additional information
on any of the Triangle groups, contact: Greyhound Play Groups of the
Triangle P.O. Box 6443 Five Points Station Raleigh, NC 27628-6443 (919)839-1966 Greenville, SC Contact Sharon Porter at 109
Shefwood Drive, Easely, SC 29642 for more information. Winston-Salem/Greensboro, NC Contact Greyhound Friends of NC at P.O. Box 926, Kernersville, NC 27285,
(336) 643-0233 for additional
information. Roanoke, VA - Sundays 2:00
p.m. Contact Deirdre Martin at:
540-427-2810 or Lee Bristor at:
540-366-0945 Northern Virginia Play Group This group meets
occasionally at Frying Pan Park Show Barn in Herndon. The park is on Centerville Road, a few minutes away from the
Dulles Toll Rd. From the Beltway or
I-66, take the Dulles Toll Road (267 West) and get off at Exit 2; Left on Route
657 Centerville Road. About 1.5miles
turn Left onto West Ox Road (at light) then make the first left into Frying Pan
Park. Straight ahead is the huge show
barn. Cost is $2.00 to $4.00 per dog,
depending on turnout. Contact Dan Schmidt for further information:
windhunde@hotmail.com Providence (RI) Sighthound
Play Group The PSP meets on Saturday
mornings at 9:30 (weather permitting) on the East Side of Providence, RI. All sighthounds are welcome. To confirm
meetings, get more info, or ask directions, call Andy Shaindlin (401)863-3309
(work) or email Andy at abs@brown.edu Cost Mesa, CA. A group of greyhound owners meets at the
Costa Mesa Dog Park every Thursday evening starting at 5:00 p.m. Oakland, CA - Tracy at:
tracy@murphies.com Eatontown, NJ Contact Paul
at: KELTHOROK@aol.com Milton, MA - Near Pierce Middle School. Sunday Mornings. 617-774-0230 or sarah.norton@gte.net OBEDIENCE COMMANDS: SIT: The key to training a Greyhound is to make the training fun. Since
Greyhounds are so voice sensitive, use a high voice to get them excited about the
upcoming training. When giving the
"sit" command use your regular voice. Don't shout the command or use
a loud deep voice. Feel free to do your
"sit" training indoors on your carpet. I don't know of any Greyhound
who wants to put their skinny butt on some cold, wet grass. OPTION 1: Crouch/kneel down next to
the dog, one arm at the chest, one arm coming up from behind and bending the dogs hind legs with an
inward sweeping motion. OPTION 2: With your Greyhounds butt up
against a wall (so it can't back up), hold a treat in your right hand, just above his head, so the
dog is looking up. Hold the dogs collar
with your left hand. The idea is to get
him to bring his rear forward into a tuck-sit, not a rock back sit. You can also use a leg behind your dogs rear
legs to help things along. OPTION 3: Leash your dog. Give the "sit" command, while pulling up on
the leash gently with your left hand & applying firm pressure on their hind
quarters with your right hand. Continue until you need only a gentle pull on
the leash to get them to 'sit'. Finally
they'll sit on command without a leash. If your Greyhound yelps or gets scared. Stop and reassure them in a
high voice..."good girl!" and give them a hug. Then try it a few more
times. Learn to laugh a lot while
training. End the session with a good, small treat. Keep the sessions short and fun. NEVER, ever yell or hit your
Greyhound. Be patient, remember one Greyhound may learn this in a week, and one
may take months...keep at it. Once they master this one command, the others
seem to come much faster. Why is it important to teach
a Greyhound to sit? Unless you are
doing obedience work, or simply like to have a dog that will sit on command, it
probably isn't important that your Greyhound learn to sit. I personally find it to be a
useful command. I use sit as one of my
arsenal of benign ways to keep my dominant female Greyhound in line. She can be quit headstrong at times, and sit
is my way of nicely reminding her that *I* am in charge. Tice sits before all of her meals, sits
before any treats, sits when she is being headstrong, and sits when I want to
speed up the introduction process with a stranger. I don't use it as a punishment, I simply use it to my advantage. Since it is not a normal position for her to be in, I believe that it is the
*thinking* process that occurs as well as the decision that she makes to sit
that is beneficial in getting my point across to her. OFF-LEAD: One should never let a
Greyhound run, or walk, off lead in an un-fenced (un-controlled) area. It is
suggested that owners keep a "squawker" <Predator Call - get one
at a sporting goods place with a hunting call dept.> as most racing trained
Greyhounds know the sound of the squawker ...it's used on training lures, and
is the sound that keeps the dogs at the "escape" <place where the
lure at the track stops>. Unless a
Greyhound is hot on a chase, the squawker will work at a longer recall distance
than your voice, as well as being far more seductive<G>! GREYHOUND RECALL TRAINING: Here is a summary of Joan
Weintraub's "Greyhound Safety" program. She advocates working on this training to give you a better
chance of getting your dog safely back into your care should it escape you. Step one is to buy a large
supply of training treats- they should be small and irresistible. Carry a
supply on your person at all times. At random, frequent intervals, while you
are at home and next to your dog, say "Dog's name, Come!" Use a loud, friendly voice. At the same time
give a treat. The dog has to take it from your hand. Give lavish praise while
you briefly take hold of the dogs collar. Then say "Go play" and
ignore the dog. Do this until it's
obvious that the dog is responding with great anticipation to the command. Next start the recall. At frequent, random intervals, when the dog
is a few steps away from you perform the same routine. Give lavish praise for an immediate
response. If the dog doesn't come to you, go get it gently by the collar and
bring it to the place you issued the recall and do the treat thing. Important: the dog must come at one command
only - don't repeat yourself- if it doesn't come, go get the dog. Keep things
upbeat and clear. The dog must also
always touch you with it's nose and allow you to briefly take hold of its collar.
Keep working on this until you have a reliable recall in the house. Next get a length of light
clothesline. Cut six feet of it and tie it to your dogs collar when you are at
home and let the dog drag it around. You want the dog to get used to it, so it
doesn't trip on it. Take it off when you leave the dog unsupervised. In a few
days the dog should be ignoring it. Get a leash snap and securely attach it to
a fifty foot length of the clothesline. This is your safety line. Now take the safety line,
yourself, training treats and your dog to a securely fenced area. Secure the safety line to your dogs collar
and let it off lead to wander and play. Stay next to the center of the safety
line. Get ready to stomp on the line and do a recall. If your dog comes, lavish
praise, treat, brief collar touch, go play (hurray!). If not, firmly step on
the line, pick it up, and walk it hand over hand to your dog. Get it by the collar, back to where you
issued the recall, treat thing, etc..
Do this a couple of times each time you go to the fenced park. The line allows
you to reinforce the idea "when I call, you Must come"- no dancing
just out of reach or avoiding me. Keep it fun.
When you feel secure with recalls, you can try this exercise on
occasion: Lengthen your safety line to 100 feet or so. Secure it to your dog and
let them off leash in an area you need control in - open the door, for example
or take your dog on lead and safety line into the front yard and take the lead
only off. Make sure you can stomp on the safety line. Do some recall work, as
above. You want to reinforce in your dogs mind that you can always enforce the
recall, won't accept fooling around, and besides it's Much more fun to come to
you anyway <G>. While you work on recall, also work on a stay command, whether it's sit
stay, down stay, or stand stay. Use it every day in your daily routine. Now you have two safety commands to help you
avert disasters. (I mentioned before, that at a field trial, our dogs busted
out of their pen after the lure and actually stopped and came back to us, when
Stu and I simultaneously bellowed a recall. We were very suprised but
pleased.) It's obviously not a sure
thing, but at least you stand a better chance at getting your dog to listen
than if you don't work on training at all and just trust to your firm grip on
the leash to keep you safe. Final caveat - this is a back-up, safety program,
not an off-lead training program!! Have
fun. BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: Nothing beats the old obedience class when it comes to behavior modification with a pet dog.
Another method that has had good success with Greyhounds is a squirt gun. Most Greyhounds require one or two direct squirts before they begin to figure out that what they are doing is causing them to get wet, and perhaps they should stop that
behavior. I have used this particular
method to cure manipulative whining, lunging, jumping, marking, etc... Please do not use this, or any other "startle
type" of technique on a skittish or spooky dog, you will only end up reinforcing
their skittishness. GENERAL GREYHOUND INFO: HIGH PREY (CAT UNSAFE): I own a high prey (cat unsafe) Greyhound, and it is my opinion that it
is not possible for this to be trained out of her. There are four types of GHs: 1) No prey drive 2) Minimal prey drive (curious of cat) 3) Strong prey drive (VERY curious of cat, and the dogs body language will show interest
(rigid, ears pricked, staring)) 4) HIGH prey drive (Intensely
interested, lunging, whining, barking, etc...) Of this list, 1 & 2 are
fine with cats, curious but safe. 3 CAN
be rehabilitated to be cat safe, but it will take some time and effort on your
half. 4 is un-rehabilitable. (The above information is taken from "The Complete Book of
Greyhounds", and is adhered to by the Rescue Organization I got my
Greyhound from). In the process of trying to
rehabilitate a 4, you will only succeed in ruining the dogs spirit and ruining
your relationship with this dog. The best thing that you can do is to learn to
accept your Greyhound as she is (a spirited, competitive, high prey dog) and
adjust your life with her accordingly.
This means no off-leash play with small fuzzies (this can sometimes mean
small fuzzy dogs too) and ALWAYS muzzling her around indoor cats and small
dogs. Be warned though, that a muzzle is not a cure all - I have seen Tice pick
up a stuffed toy while she had a muzzle on, but the muzzle will give you the
extra second or two to grab the dog. BLUE/GREY COLORING: "Grey" Greyhounds
are genetically black dogs who are also homozygous for the blue dilution
gene. They are a steel or slate gray,
and in show ring parlance are called "blue" rather than gray. The
same quality of being homozygous (having two genes) for the blue dilution
factor is what causes blue brindles (dogs with gray stripes on a tan background
- they will have dark gray noses and eye rims) and blue fawns (khaki colored
dogs with gray noses and mascara.) Silver brindles (black stripes on a very
light, almost silvery fawn background) are caused by a different combination of
genes, unrelated to the blue dilution factor. There is
also a liver dilution factor in Greyhounds, although it is very rare. I have seen liver reds, which are red dogs
with liver colored noses and mascara and generally very yellow eyes. And I have seen one chocolate. There is also liver brindle. POOLS: We always have kiddy pools
at our Greyhound social events in the summer. It helps the dogs to cool down,
to wade in and put the only part of their body that has sweat glands in the
water! If a dog seems to be overly
panting, we'll walk him/her into the pool and splash or pour water over them. DOMINANT DOGS: Greyhounds seem to be very
pack oriented dogs, and quite a few Greyhounds are down right dominant in their
behavior. Dominant behavior can and may be exhibited as aggression and outward
intimidation, but that is not the rule. There are
many other more subtle ways in which a dog can exhibit this behavior as
well...for instance: not performing a "normal" command that it knows,
standing on a humans foot and refusing to budge as it stares into the humans
eyes, leaping up and taking food from a human when it knows it should not,
pushing you out of a nice spot that it wants, ignoring you when you are trying
to work with it, stealing things, growling at you, not letting you go near it's
food or toys, snapping at you, etc.... the list can go on and on. The distinction that I use
in determining if my dog is acting dominant is this: does this dog *know* better than this, and is it outwardly
trying to manipulate this situation and/or trying to disrupt the pack order. Dogs can be dominant to
other dogs *as well as* to humans, and yes, even towards its loving owner. ; ) If you are having problems
with a dominant Greyhound, consult the following book or other dog information
on alpha status/dominance: Evans, Job Michael.
(1991). People, Pooches, &
Problems. NY: Howell Book House. ISBN 0-87605-783-0 (hardcover). $19.95. Excellent suggestions for dealing
with common problems between dogs and their owners. There is also a great little
pamphlet, called the ABC's of Alpha, that is available through the Direct Book
Service at (800)776-2665. While you are
on the phone with them, ask to have their catalog mailed to you. Take all of the
advice/instruction you can find, and temper it against the fact that Greyhounds
are uniquely sensitive dogs. Weed out
all of the physical types of corrections that they suggest...with a Grey these
will only make things worse...and come up with a list of the more benign ways that
you can establish alpha status over your dog for example: Never let your dog do
anything of any importance (go in or out of a door way, get into or out of a
car) without your verbal permission. Ask your dog to perform some
small activity before it gets a treat; no free treats. Interrupt your dog while it
is eating or playing w/a favorite toy and praise it when it allows you to
take/move the item. Then give it back. Always make the dog move
when it is in your way. Don't let a dominant dog sleep in your bed with you. GREYHOUND PLAY: Not all, but MANY greyhounds have a style of playing that most people
would call aggressive or rough when compared to other breeds of dogs. Greyhounds don't wrestle or tumble or play
like other dogs do. Their play is based
on what they enjoy...running and competing. Lots of posturing, mouthing, and
bumping. Females can be even more
aggressive at this than the males, and most of the racers that had long careers
(4+ years) and were very competitive can be VERY pushy. It can be unnerving at
first, but you get used to it after awhile. |