Let's Hear Your Views

[tlewis]

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[tlewis]

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[tlewis]

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[Mark Roberts]

I believe the Northern does now

No Peds Only.

 

[Judy]

She does look like a very small bitch and the way she is standing probably doesn't help but the shape of her head makes me think she is very small. Certainly not typical.

We do get lighter boned dogs here than the american dogs look but that may be due to the fact that we are producing dogs to sprint over a shorter distance. As far as I know the weight groups were introduced here in order to discourage people from breeding bigger and bigger dogs and it has worked as far as racing whippets go. The times do generally get faster for the heavier weight groups.

The american dogs also look as if they have more muscle than our dogs which would also change the weight/height ratio.

It would be very interesting to have an american race bred over here to see how it would do over our distances. A race bred dog which was really quite slow here was exported to Sweden a few years ago where it did very well indeed and so did her puppies so our dogs might not be so slow against the European dogs.

 

[BeeJay]

As it seems that most if not all of the race bred dogs from the US and Europe wouldn't be granted a passport to run under WCRA rules we'll never get the chance to find out. I had at one point actually thought that racing against the European dogs might be possible.

I personally don't think that one race meeting would be test enough. We all know that things can go wrong on the day. It would be interesting to see them race against each other over a longer time period. But that is very unlikely to happen.

 

[IanGerman]

(Beejay) It would be interesting to see them race against each other over a longer time period. But that is very unlikely to happen

At affiliated clubs, maybe not. But perhaps one of the more adventurous non-affilliateds could be persuaded to host a European invitation meeting - sure it would be a one day only event but think of the interest it would generate, and maybe - just maybe - it might cause a rethink with the WCRA

*Edit* Have we actually GOT any unaffilliated clubs any more?

 

[tlewis]

She does look like a very small bitch and the way she is standing probably doesn't help but the shape of her head makes me think she is very small. Certainly not typical.

From what I remember she weighed between the 22-26 lbs. range.

Not less than 22 for sure. She was taller than she looks in the pictures which I admit are not good ones.

I thought another pound or two of muscle would have done her good and might even have increased her speed beyond the extra weight, if you know what I mean.

 

[LJH]

Love the last photo Judy. But I always thought black rubber wear was sexy....

 

[Scott Frodsham]

She does look like a very small bitch and the way she is standing probably doesn't help but the shape of her head makes me think she is very small. Certainly not typical.

From what I remember she weighed between the 22-26 lbs. range.

Not less than 22 for sure. She was taller than she looks in the pictures which I admit are not good ones.

I thought another pound or two of muscle would have done her good and might even have increased her speed beyond the extra weight, if you know what I mean.

I'd put money on that bitch being less than 22lbs! :b

 

[Smiffy@VeronnaV]

I did try to reply to this yesterday, but if fell over, which is probably just as well!

Isn't debate interesting? Would it be interesting to see foreign imports running against UK bred, weedy pedigree racing whippets? Yes it would. Always assuming that they were indeed pedigree whippets. And always assuming that they had spent 6 months in quarantine to make sure they don't bring any nasty parasites or infections into the country. Would I go and run my dogs against them? Not unless they had been through quarantine and fell within the height/weight standard set by the WCRA. Would I want my little darling bashed to hell and back by some big bruiser? Nope.

It's the 'weedy' adjective that stuck in my craw. The UK breeder of pedigree racing whippets has used selective breeding programmes which have produced a whippet which STILL remains within the Whippet Standard for height and weight for both sexes. They have always, as I see it, used integrity in their respective programmes to determine the best of the characteristics of the whippet are uppermost. The progeny they sell are free from genetic disabilities, overall they are healthy and long lived, the dogs tend to the light boned, muscled type favoured by the UK racing fraternity and by and large, the pups do what they were bred for, race - with a joie de vivre that puts international atheletes to shame. They possess stamina, determination, a stout heart and a loving disposition. All because of the selective breeding programmes of our racing breeders. But they are NOT weedy. They are elegant, graceful, courageous and determined. And their muscle to bone ratio is determined, not by weight control, but by genetics to produce the most efficient of racing dogs. Some run their dogs 'well covered', some believe that fat reduces the efficiency of the vascular/muscular system but all believe that overweight, flabby out of condition dogs should not be asked/expected to run. But weedy, never! :luck:

 

[BeeJay]

Oh Carmel I could hear you saying that as I read it. :huggles:

 

[John E Greenwood]

I agree any imports must be approved by the W.C.R.A. and the K.C.and have been apropriately innoculated and quarenteened etc. (don't think anyone would argue with that ).....but is it really such a big deal??? I would certainly race my dogs against any imports...We would soon see whether or not they were an improvement on our own stock...Some people would like them, some would not....that is the way of things....I doubt very much that any imported stock would be so superior to all the native dogs that there would be a unanimous decision to import great numbers and change the racing whippet as we know it, for ever. (w00t)

There would still be the smaller whippets, because some breeders and racers prefer them. Given time and a few generations and these too would probably have SOME imported blood in them ( IF that blood proved to be any good)....The likelyhood is that the "foreign blood" would be absorbed into the population within a reletively short time, and the greatest impact it will have had on the breed will be a nostalgic debate about its' value or otherwise, on k9. 8)

Tony....38lbs is a non starter, it's not a whippet :wub: .....I like bigger, stronger types....but not THAT big (w00t) ...The limit for coursing is 20" at the shoulder....so anybody importing, specifically to improve stamina will have to bare that in mind...For the record, I believe SOME racing strains have as much, if not more stamina than many coursing strains. This is based upon my own observations of racing and coursing meetings.

If there is anything like the variation in the U.S. whippet population, which exists within the British whippet population, then 6 importations can be made with 6 different results......Needless to say, the 6 experts apointed by the W.C.R.A to assess the impact upon the breed will be unable to reach agreement. :teehee: ...and they will all be right.

 

[BeeJay]

I've been thinking about this. Are UK racers aware that US dogs have to meet much more stringent criteria in order to race? For example one of the US racing orgs wouldn't allow monorchids to race. So that's 3 current UK champions that I can think of gone.

I think that like ours are weighed before racing theirs are wicketted to make sure that they meet height requirements.

I'm very old and forgetful so hopefully someone will be able to clarify this. But I can remember US folks talking about the whippets needing to conform to the US standard. So for example blue noses and pale eyes would be out. This might have been for Lure coursing not racing though.

 

[conway]

would you call this bitch "weedy" (25lbs and 20ins)

at 12 months old?

 

[tlewis]

would you call this bitch "weedy"  (25lbs and 20ins)at 12 months old?

Yep.

Give it a pound or two of steak!!!

Just kidding I'm in enough trouble with the use of "Weedy"

All I can say is that the dogs I saw five or six years ago were weedy and several people involved in pedigree racing at the time agreed with me.

Whether US dogs will race in the UK is a moot point at this time anyway.

The WCRA has effecively put a stop of any worthwhile dogs being used in a breeding program in the UK. The only dogs that would be acceptable i.e. those running with the CWA would probably not be as good as the dogs you have now.

What I can't seem to fathom out is this and maybe I have the wrong information.

The Whippet Club runs the WCRA? The Whippet Club allows any dog with an acceptable registration to compete at it's Championship shows yet stops, through CWA/WCRA, the same registered dogs from racing. Where am I going wrong?

 

[tlewis]

I've been thinking about this.  Are UK racers aware that US dogs have to meet much more stringent criteria in order to race?  For example one of the US racing orgs wouldn't allow monorchids to race.  So that's 3 current UK champions that I can think of gone.
I think that like ours are weighed before racing theirs are wicketted to make sure that they meet height requirements. 

I'm very old and forgetful so hopefully someone will be able to clarify this.  But I can remember US folks talking about the whippets needing to conform to the US standard.  So for example blue noses and pale eyes would be out.  This might have been for Lure coursing not racing though.

Yep!

Your right. ALL dogs must be wicketed before they can race on the straight.

The limit is 22 1/2" which as I have explained previously is due to one kennel back in the 1930's. I wish it was 20" but it isn't and is not going to change.

That's not to say all dogs are 22 1/2 bitches 21'. There are plenty of 20' dogs around.

The WRA have stricter rules than NAWRA. No dog can race with a disqualiying fault unless it is spayed or neutered. A vet cert. is required if it is spayed. (You can usually tell if they have been neutered )

DQ's include monorchid. blue eyes, over bite and under bite more than 1/4 inch and coat must be smooth. ALL dogs are checked by officials at every meet.

Actually the same thing applies in the show ring ,but they don't always measure and it's up to the judge to see if a dog has a DQ.

Lure coursing has similar rules.

(Bee-Jay. Just how old are you? I may be just as old. I feel like it to-day anyway)

.

 

[malin]

A race bred dog which was really quite slow here was exported to Sweden a few years ago where it did very well indeed and so did her puppies so our dogs might not be so slow against the European dogs.

I know of this bitch. The oval track isn't a highly competitive sport by any standards since we have very few active dogs. The faster ones will stay in the top-competition until they are veterans. Within a few generations most dogs trace their origin back to show-lines and not a few are CK (champion quality award) or even CC winners themselves.

I almost fainted when I heard this week that there is only *1* dog with a current and valid running license in Swedens biggest city at the moment. Not a great situation when one is trying to put together licensing runs for a new dog...

Don't confuse Sweden with continental Europe when it comes to racing speed.

 

[Nightvision]

Oval track racing is more popular in Finland than in Sweden, and we have some quite fast Whippets in Finland. We had World Championship races this year in Tampere (where I live) and Whippets from Central-Europe won the both titles (males and bitches). So, like Malin sed, if a Whippet did well in Sweden it doesn't mean that it would've done well in Finland or especially in Central-Europe.

If you are interested to see the results of the World Championship Race 2004:

Saturday

Sunday

 

[Terry & Sheila Smith]

The Whippet Club runs the WCRA?  The Whippet Club allows any dog with an acceptable registration to compete at it's Championship shows yet stops, through CWA/WCRA, the same registered dogs from racing.  Where am I going wrong?

This has always been a bee in my bonnet too. In theory I could have a 35 lb dog placed in a Whippet club show & the day after be told it's too big to race. This is in an organisation that as you say is an appendage of the Whippet Club. Tails wagging dogs again?

Terry Smith