Drug Testing Any Ideas

[Doreen Hopkins]

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I am having a few problems trying to hire a vet to take the samples at the championships,one reason is because its over the bank holiday and the vet can't be away from his practice because he will be on call.

I have tried to find another lab to do the testing so that we would't have to have a vet ,but a couple that I have approached said that they could't help.

I understand that some of the regions amd some of the clubs will be having their AGM in January,so if you could discuss it with your members I woul be grateful for any ideas or suggestions(clean one's please ) I know that one region has discussed it with their members and decided that if we couldn't do it properly and use HFL then they thought we should drop it for at least 1yr. to see how it goes.

The problem with HFL is that the cost of using them is way beyond the financial means of the BWRA.

An initial test would be £120 per sample that is just to determine if there is anything in it.

If a second test was needed to determine the quantities we would be looking at approx £800 per sample.

So as you can see we need some imput from as many members as possible

hope somone will come up with some ideas

thanks Doreen BWRA sec

 

[weathergirls]

this subject was discussed at the A.GM. and if I,m not mistaken it was agreed by those present ,you could not go back to samples being taken by fellow racers it is unfair to both those giving and those taking the samples. It must be done correctly or not at all. The biggest part of the problems that have arisen in the past havn,t been about which lab is used but the way the samples have been collected and stored. I think the majority of members are aware it is a costly procedure, but maybe not how costly perhaps you could publish in the W.N. what the average cost is likely to be for the year then ask the members how they want to finance it i.e. added onto the entry fees at each meeting it will be about £3.50 per dog to test 3, or divide the overall costs and add it on to membership subsriptions. the only other alternative is to scrap it. THIS WHOLE ISSUE OF TESTING NEEDS TO BE SET OUT PROPERLEY AND BALLOTED ON.

Linda Broom. N/W sec

 

[mutley]

just my opinion so no one jump on me please i have said for years to do away with it, i dont think any association can really afford it what could be saved in money could go to making the sport better, people who use drugs to win have to live with there own conscience, then maybe the sport could get back to normal ,testing has caused a lot of trouble over the past few years :angry: after all its a hobby no great amount of money to win just status ect, people who cheat cheat themselves as well as others but they have to sleep at night after going home with their trophies and a few quid that doesn't cover their petrol just my opinion :cheers: :cheers: i think testing has been pushed down our throats long enough :angry: especially when we loose the likes of the baitsons who are a great loss to racing :cheers: :cheers:

 

[Tony Taylor]

I think it would be a great help for unity in whippet racing if the BWRA committee were open and discussed openly the subject of drugs and drug testing in whippet racing. Having posed the question here is a great start.

Hopefully the new committee can start afresh. It would be helpful if the new committee would accept that mistakes have been made in the past and apologise on behalf of the BWRA where appropiate.

If we are going to have drug testing it needs to be done properly. It would appear that the core drug screen that has been used previously does not test for many of the performance enhancing products available. If we are not going to do a full screen we may as well not drug test. It is better to do a limited number of full screen tests targeted at those who are cheating than a scatter gun approach that has lead to a witch-hunt, tarnishing racers who have done little, if anything wrong.

Meanwhile there is circumstantial, anecdotal and hearsay evidence that consistantly points to certain racers as being cheats who are probably aware of their immunity from being caught.

 

[lyd]

yes i agree their is not the money in whippet racing for drug testing.its a hobby time u pay for petrol going from place to place entry money cost of looking after dogs .even if u where to win all the time it still would not cover your costs.people who cheat what are their gaining nothing at all.

 

[Ash]

In my opinon how can anyone who has been banned from racing for cheating "drugging" be a loss to the sport?

So i totally agree with testing and the issue should be voted on my members to create a fair outcome.

 

[Tony Taylor]

In my opinon   how can anyone who has been banned from racing for cheating "drugging" be a loss to the sport?
So i totally agree with testing and the issue should be voted on my members to create a fair outcome. 

But what about those who've been banned but haven't been "drugging" their dogs?. So far no-one who has been banned has been guilty of "druggin" their dog. There are racers who are "druggin" their dogs and getting away with it though..

I agree that members ought thoughts ought to prevail. Hopefully common sense and a bit of intelligence will prevail and the less well informed are over-ruled.

 

[tanyia]

My thoughts.

I think most ppl know Ken lost a leg awhile back. Racing his girls win or loose got him back on his feet. We have to watch every penny now to beable to go to opens.

He works hard keeping the girls fit, and its not easy. Im not going to spend what to us is a small fortune every year to go racing if drug testing stops. I dont mind watching our girls race and enjoy themselfs and lose a race to a better dog. But I dont see why anyone should lose a race to cheats.

 

[DavidH]

FORGET IT :rant: it just causes a lot of trouble and unnessary expence and arguments :angry:

 

[Doreen Hopkins]

Hi everyone Doreen here,when I first posted this subject my main aim was to hopefully get some names from some of the memmbers of vets and labs that would be within the financial means of the BWRA to carry on testing.

A proposal went out this year concerning the testing and the members have shown that they want it to continue so we will have to abide by that decision for

the next 2yrs as a proposal to only have proposal every two years was also passed.

I will keep trying to find a vet that will be willing to attend the championships and hope that it will be a reasonable cost.

The vet this year charged us £200 for the two days,but that was a one off as he had never been involved with this type of event before.

Doreen BWRA sec

 

[tanyia]

Just a thought Doreen, would the lab agree to a paramedic or S.R.N taking the samples instead of a vet.

 

[Ash]

I 100% agree with pauline why work hard to train your dog and get the best out of it to be beaten by a cheat!!! Testing must stay in....

 

[Ash]

So far no-one who has been banned has been guilty of "druggin" their dog.

Why have they been banned then??????

 

[DavidH]

if tests are carryed out ,the club doing the tests need to vets and labs that are 100% with what they are doing. why not ask ngrc as they have been chalenged about a test in court and lost costing 1000s.they will point you in the right direction? possibily a k9er has a contact with ngrc ) if our main bodys got hit with court action it could destroy our sport :angry:

 

[sherry]

Ive got a list of respectable labs and vets email me and Ill send them to you.. but you need to find a lab and vet thats fully aware of our levels, tolerance and what we are testing for, plus that we are running whippets over 175 yards maximum straights and sprint distance bends

so what r our dogs tested for??? nobody has ever answered this question imo :wacko:

 

[Tony Taylor]

Why have they been banned then??????

Theobromine

It is a non performance enhancing compound found in foodstuffs, particularly chocolate.

Theobromine is not available commercially, it isn't used by anyone who is cheating in athletics, horse-racing greyhounds etc and has no relevant pharmaceutical properties.

 

[Paws123]

Medications used therapeutically include antibiotics, worming medications, preanesthetic agents, local anaesthetics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatorys, corticosteriods, antidiarrheal medications, bronchodilators, antihistamines, antitussives, diuretics and tropical medication.

Local anaesthetics these are used therapeutically in vet practises for minor surgery, once on the race track these drugs can be used non-therapeutically, procaine is an example of a local anaesthetic and central stimulant this can be used to mask lameness allowing for an injured dog to race. This would arise welfare issues as the dog is not at prime fitness and is forced to race.

Another example of a therapeutic drug being used non-therapeutically is Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO); this is an effective pain relieving anti-inflammatory agent. If used on the racetrack again swelling and injuries can be masked allowing an unfit dog to race. This is a problem as the drugs mask the pain from the dog so the animal can be pushed to its limit, which will have devastation effects on the injury already sustained.

Information obtained from the primary drug-testing lab in Denver showed that drug use in greyhound racing is small in that area. In 2001 a total of 16,678 samples were submitted to the lab for testing to comply with the rules of racing. Of these samples from both horse and greyhound racing 46 horse samples tested and 12 greyhound samples tested positive. Of these 12 samples 4 samples showed the use of caffeine, theophylline and theobromine. 1 showed the use of Dimethyl Sufoxide (DMSO), 1 showed the use of Salicylic acid and 6 showed the use of Trimethoprim. These drugs are all used therapeutically with exception to caffeine. DMSO reduces inflammation, Salicylic acid is a aspirin and thrimethoprim treats respiratory and urinary tract infections. Although the levels of drug use is low, testing does not occur on every dog at every race so many others may have slipped through with drugs within their system.

Non-therapeutic drugs include substances such as caffeine, amphetamines, EPO which is a human hormone, Prozac, Viagra, anabolic steroids, testosterone which is a muscle building hormone, chlorbutanol and phenobarbitone. All of these drugs are legal but have little use in the dog world other than to enhance performance.

Caffeine is a well-known drug found in coffee, tea and cans of fizzy drinks. It has been found that caffeine enhances the athletic performance in dogs. Research published by Lambert et al, 1982 showed that if dogs were given 600mg of caffeine by mouth 1 hour before racing 360 yards, the caffeine would be detected in the urine up to 32 hours with the peak levels being between 1-5 hours after dosing. This shows that even an easily accessible drug can be within the system for a long time. The reasons for feeding the dogs caffeine was unclear but by looking at the effects of caffeine on humans it became clear why caffeine enhances performance. Short term effects of caffeine is increase in alertness, heart rate, concentration and a decrease in sleepiness so in theory a dog that will run faster.

EPO is usually used to treat anaemia associated with HIV infections. EPO is a natural hormone secreted by the kidneys that acts on bone marrow to stimulate the production of red blood cells. By administrating this to a dog I would image that the same would occur allowing more oxygen to be taken to the muscle therefore allowing the animal to race for longer without getting tried or excessive build up of lactic acid.

In the 1970’s chlorbutanol and phenobarbitone were used in many doping cases at the racetrack with chlorbutanol being used in 34% of cases and phenobarbitone in 45% of cases. Through researching into these drugs detection procedures were found and these drugs became harder to use without detection. This is shown by the use of Viagra the anti-impotence pill, the Irish Greyhound Board has just added this pill to there prohibited substance list when rumours began that trainers were using this drug to enhance performance. Viagra is thought to raise the dog’s blood pressure and increase its heart rate leading to quicker times in the early stages of a race.

A greyhound trainer admitted to doping his greyhound for 35 years using a cocktail of ritinol, dexedrine which is an amphetamine and caffeine to make them bolt from the starting box. So it can be seen that these drugs have been used on the racetrack.

Illegal drugs have also been reported to be used on the race track. Cocaine is the most widely talked about but I could find information on the effect it has on the dogs, although speed will probably be increased.

The administration of testosterone to female

but when the source and type of testosterone product changed over the past ten years

Susan McCulloch

Susan is a student at Moulton College, Northamptonshire studying for a BSc in Animal Welfare and Management. As part of her course she produced this project greyhound racing.

I found this and thought it was a interesting read

 

[Tony Taylor]

Ive got a list of respectable labs and vets email me and Ill send them to you.. but you need to find a lab and vet thats fully aware of our levels, tolerance and what we are testing for, plus that we are running whippets over 175 yards maximum straights and sprint distance bends

so what r our dogs tested for??? nobody has ever answered this question imo :wacko:

Here is the url to the HFL lab price lists which show the different levels of testing available. The price list is for horses but testing for greyhounds is the same in price and tests carried out.

The BWRA also have to pay for the test kits.

It is clear that the BWRA is not or has not previously been paying for a full screen. Once you know what is not being tested for you have immunity from being caught.

http://www.hfl.co.uk/drugSurveillance/Pric...List%202004.pdf

 

[Doreen Hopkins]

Hello Denise,my e-mail address is ***************I would be grateful for any input,obviously the nearer to the area where we will be racing the better as that will cut down on the cost.

Hi Tanya, I will inquire if an S.R.N. would be acceptable as the person to take the samples, again this would cut down on the cost and would be saving the BWRA money

many thanks to you both

Doreen

 

[Paws123]

Ive emailed you doren hope it helps