Drug Testing.

[Paws123]

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@ Mark.... At the NWRF AGM in May members where in total agreement that zero was not workable, there was a vote for levels and it was decided to use the 8% that the BWRA was using, but it was stated by the committee that if ever any test came back positive, advice would be taken before a full committee decisions was made on how to deal with it, the committee would then hold a meeting with the dogs owner/s and depending on expert advice it would be dealt with.

As for the research over the past 5 months Mr T Cooper has spent alot of his time money and efford into this, its all a bit over my head, but i am sure he will be willing to show and explain to people his findings

 

[Paws123]

Next time it happens Dee shout out for all to hear HOLD ON THE ROPE IS TWISTED LIKE THE OWNER! that should cause a change in this habit or at least have it rectified.This sort of cheating is every bit as bad as drug use and whistle blowing is the only way to stop it.

SO NOW YOU KNOW WHERE I GOT MY DOGS RACING NAME FROM LOL (STOP IT)

I THINK I'LL NAME THE NEXT ONE (I'M WATCHING YOU)

 

[weathergirls]

RE-other forms of cheating-------WEIGH IN--[1] no organizer of a race meeting be it club or open should weigh there own dogs in ...[2] the weighing bag should not be taken away from the area of the scales i;e . when the person on the scales takes their dog back to their car the bag should remain at the scales and not taken off with them as has been done at past events .

TRAPS---there should be an official other than the trap man to oversee the start of a race he used to be known as the starter judge is duties were to make sure all was in order before putting the flag up to start the race. None other than the officials should be allowed on the track after the dogs have been loaded and the handlers have set off , if a front board slips and cannot easily be adjusted by the official without opening the trap then it should just be removed. this is unfortunate but n all fairness to the the other in the race it is the responsibillity of the handler to make sure it is secure same goes for muzzles.......

As for the costings on the drug testing what about the cost of the breakdown of sample 2 . I am not against drug testing Iam in favour of it if its done right however i do believe in innocent till proven guilty therfor the onus is on those testing to to foot the bill for the1st sample and the 2nd sample if someone wanted to appeal if the positive result stands then the person concerned should pay all costs incurred .if they are proved innocent then the organization should foot the bill

 

[weathergirls]

the levels of 8% as used by the bwra shoul actually 8mmg any dog with 8% in its system would be up there with ozzy osbourne

 

[jeffb]

i agree with kenny m about drugs in the sport but when kenny say,s about banning people from the sport for using banned substances, how can people be banned when people don,t no what these substances are as far as i know theres no list of banned sustances about i,ve asked on here before if there is a list but nobody could provide a list if there is i am sorry but if there isnt how can you be banned for somthing that you did,nt no about

 

[mutley]

caffeine been the obvious one .not sure on the rest, dont know enough about it Dee and i disagree on drug testing .i think its brought nothing but trouble into our sport especially of late , but then what about the Baitsons banned over non steroid rub. very sad :angry: i reckon safest way to stay clear is dont feed anything your not sure about the sad fact is we will always have cheats in the sport just like any other but the main people they cheat are themselves :angry: in what is meant to be a family sport :unsure: what is even worse is people pointing the finger and targeting to be tested :unsure: i reckon do away with it -_-

 

[wild whippies]

Can a person really get satisfaction from their dog winning a race when they have cheated? Cos I'd feel guilty as sin!

As a newbie to all this, I can't believe people could pull such sad stunts and as for people drugging their dogs then are they not concerned of the possible ill effects this may have in the future of their dog? Also I would be concerned that if my dog was on summat, it may be more prone to injury due to pushing itself beyond it's normal limits.

I know no-one has stated what drugs are being tested for (apart from caffeine) but is there a risk I could be unwittingly giving this to my dog? I use red mills racer, chudleys and mix these with mince I buy from the greyhound track and I would expect these to be fine due to me presuming that greyhounds are also drug tested. The thing is, I'm worried about the odd treat I've given my dogs e.g. the odd cup of tea (never coffee they're hyper enough LOL!) I know my hubby had been giving my adult bitch bits of easter eggs as a treat and when I found out I went berserk cos I'm fighting to get her weight down! :angry: and of course the health risk that this can pose to any dog. I've been told since that this would show in a drugs test. I don't expect anyone to give me a dietary analysis and I'm far from becoming a pro at racing but is there anything treat wise etc that I should avoid?

 

[Honeybee]

After reading some of the comments above and people worried about giving their dogs tit bits i.e. chocolate. We use an NGR Greyhound vet who attends Monmore Green Stadium, W'ton. I have asked him about giving whippets bits of chocolate e.g. pieces of say mars bars, and he told me the dogs would NOT fail a drug test from bit/pieces in small quantities. To fail the drug test the dog must have been given something else as well as the chocolate. If you can't rely on an NGR Greyhounds' vets advice - who can you rely on!!!!! Personally, the drug testing is so complex and there is a lot of dispute about testing procudures amongst top greyhound trainers we need to have it done accurately and correctly or scrap it altogether as innocent people are going to be accused. As regards other forms of "cheating" there are ways and means of doing this without it being too obvious - you have only to look at what antics people get up to. I must say I've never seen/heard about the string at the traps - thats a new one to me!! Dogs are put in the traps and you get some people down at the traps shouting and bawling at their dogs as they are playing up. This, I think, is distracting to other dogs and, therefore, should not be allowed. What do people exect, you put a dog in the trap walk up the track calling the dog, who then plays up and then its shouted at to be quiet (incase it misses the trap) No wonder the dogs get confused. Take a look at the Pedigree Racing they have the BEST ways. A lot of the antics we get up to are not allowed in the Pedigree Racing.

 

[mutley]

To be honest the people who do the drugs testing on dogs and other animal are fully aware of the differences in a little bit of chocolate and a bit of tea coffee, to a dog been given caffeine based tonics and tablets, these are experienced toxicologists.

If at any point your dog needs medication due to ill health or injury, it would be provided though a vet or experienced therapist, then they would advice you on clearance times etc

I you are insure of something that you are feeding or administering to your dog it would be advisable to either ring your vets and ask , failing that you could ring anyone of the NWRF or BWRA committee and they would find out with the labs for you.

A few years ago one of my dogs (BLUE GOBLIN) was suffering with her hips and my vet put her on a non steroid anti inflammatory tablet , i was told this could be a long term medication, the vet who is a top greyhound vet at a NGRC tracks said that she would not fail a test due to this tablet and he provided me with a letter for both racing bodies, i then phone both secretary's of the BWRA and NWRF and was told i could run her with the BWRA, but the NWRF would not allow me due to there zero tolerance levels, So we were going to retire her , then one day on her i was telling a friend and he told me about a herbal liquid that had just came on the market (joint a flex), we tried it and she was fine, that was 3 years ago and we are just retired now due to a shoulder injury, and she is not happy at all be left behind, as for doggie treats i feed my lot (that includes gaz ) dental chew sticks , (helps with there bad breath) lol

Hope this helps Dee

 

[JoJess]

Joint a flex is what we gave Roxanne when she had her accident the other year and we can highly recomend it

As for drug testing I think this acts as a deterent !! i also think drug testing should be done at randam for most opens and definately at the champs... Pete

 

[wild whippies]

Just wanted to say thanks for all your comments and advice. Hubs will be relieved that he won't get thumped for giving Buffy chocolate treats!! :lol:

 

[mkp]

Honeybee,

Can you give me the name & address of the NGRC vet from Monmore stadium please? His or her belief that a little bit of chocolate would not show up on a drug test is contrary to that of the British Veterinary Association whose top greyhound vets unanimously agreed that even a bowl of Cocoa Pops for breakfast who cause a dog to fail.

 

[mutley]

wild whippies i wouldn't really advise giving chocolate to dogs, chocolate contains theobromine, a stimulant related to caffeine, that´s harmless to us but toxic to dogs. It can cause vomiting and diarrhea, restlessness and hyperactivity, excessive thirst and increased urination, a rapid heart rate and excessive panting, larger amounts can be fatal.

I was just saying that the testing labs would know the differences between chocolate and caffeine based substances.

Theres plentys of dog treats sold on the market other than chocolate.

 

[wild whippies]

I am aware of the health risks to dogs eating chocolate and I don't give her any myself but hubs has a mind of his own! When he did give her chocolate, it would be half of a chunk and was always milk chocolate. I like dark chocolate but keep it well out of the way from my dogs cos I've heard the greater the cocoa content, the more hazardous it can be.

Either way, hubs doesn't give any now cos I've told him it shows up in drug tests! and as I'm getting her weight down, I'm not telling him any different!

Incidently on the subject of treats, after she had pups, she got a lot of plaque build up on her teeth which I managed to remove. The problem is, with her diet change, she still gets a lot of plaque build up and although I do brush and scale her teeth regularly, it is nice if I can give her a treat that will help keep her teeth clean. I've been giving her tripe sticks as they seem to be fibrous and they contain 97% protein so shouldn't affect her diet too much. Is there anything else folk can reccommend apart from those dentarask things she hates!?

 

[Paws123]

I try to give my lot a roasted knuckle bone once a month, but they do put a little bit of weight on, so tend to feed them at the beginning of a week and make sure theres plenty of drinking water at hand

 

[Smiffy@VeronnaV]

:b I'll put my twopennyworth in, for what it's worth. As a pedigree whippet racer I have always had the opinion that your habit of drugs testing has great merit, because you know that the best dog in the race on that day has won, fairly and squarely. This then, and to my mind importantly, meant that when you bred from your dogs you were breeding from the best. Which means that when punters buy one of your pups, they stand a fair chance of having themselves a very good dog indeed. Look at your stud dog register and see what I mean! In your particular field it seems to me that champions beget champions. And not necessarily from the owner of the sire or the dam. How much of this is due to genetics, environment, feeding, schooling or the fact that you breed from what has PROVED to be the best? Keep your drug testing and that will help to maintain the integrity of your sport.

 

[rowland]

:cheers: looking at the stud register and Rch cracked it and Sup Nch Rch spellbound are the two best stud dogs, :b

 

[jade scott]

I obviously havent been in racing for very long and am no expert on drug testing especially in dogs i am no more aware then most of the people on here, however recently at college i have been studying drugs within the human field (i take sports science and human biology), i found this interesting as it gave lots of examples as to what would fail a HUMAN drug test these consisted of stimulants such as caffine, narcotic analgesics, beta blockers, diuretics anabolic steriods, but other things came up such as EPO blood doping increasing the red blood cells in the body, human growth hormones (horse versions were also found to be used), but both the blood doping and growth hormones are undetectable, so if you kew what you were talking about or doing then a urine sample wouldnt bring up a possitve result anyway but as i said this is in HUMANS

 

[weathergirls]

odd a topic on drugs should contain spellbound and cracked it ....but maybe not

 

[Tony Taylor]

but both the blood doping and growth hormones are undetectable, so if you kew what you were talking about or doing then a urine sample wouldnt bring up a possitve result anyway but as i said this is in HUMANS

Worryingly there is anecdotal and circumstantial evidence EPO usage occurrs in greyhound racing. With the cross over between the sports the chances of it occurring in whippets must be high.

Urine tets will show up most of the common doping agents. Or rather some tests will and these are not nessacerly the tests that have been carried out by the BWRA or ex-NWRF. Full screen tests are expensive and the tests carried out in whippet racing have not been full screen. Now if you know what is and what isn't being tested for you can dope your whippet in the knowledge that even if tested it won't fail because the test will not screen for your doping agent.

But who in this posistion in whippet racing would stoop so low................?