Need Some Tips

[John E Greenwood]

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It is always VERY difficult to advise, Garry......because we only see her on Sunday, and what she does for the other six days a week probably contributes a lot to her behaviour.....Does she always run with Angel, at home?...Angel is a very powerful bitch....I'd like to bet that if you throw a frisby, or something, Angel is the one who comes back with it?....Don't be frightened to control a dominant dog, so that a subordinate gets a look in..........When I used to hunt with lurches and terriers a lot a wise old man told me that you don't have to train a dog to hunt, you have to train it to stop, when you want it to....There is a preveelant philosophy in the whippet worldthat you must be careful not to "put a dog off" (never call it away from the lure, etc.)....I can assure you that it will be impossible to put Angel off,and if you are firm with her, you will give Esthers' confidence a big boost.

I think 80% of race training is done on the other six days of the week, and 20% on Sundays...

Dogs are clever animals, with a multitude of thoughts, feelings, emotions and hangups.

Golden rules for training ....i.m.h.o. :b )

1..The dog must be well adjusted...ie. take it out every day from a young age so that it can cope with all eventualities confidently...other dogs, people, rabbits, lures...etc., etc...CONFIDENCE.

2...I believe that as a dog grows there is a specific stage in its' developement when it learns each specific skill.....I would include trapping, and running straight as skills...as is having the confidence to run away from you, to a lure or after quarry.....Therefore, a pup must be exposed apropriate situations throughout its' developement, so that it can aquire these skills.

3..The dog wants to please its' pack leader....make sure that the leader is you, and not Angel, Garry.....Therefore the dog must be rewarded for achieving something which you want it to achieve...A crude way would be to put meat in the lure...I prefer to make sure that the pup knows that I am pleased, when it has caught the lure.....Other dogs will become irrelevent...your dog has caught the lure for you.

I suppose I'll be shot down for this post (who does the upstart think he is etc...) But I hope it helps, Garry.....I won't see you this Sunday...see you next Sunday...with the rossettes from Gloucester :cheers: ....Good luck with Esther.

 

[John E Greenwood]

If that post sounded as if I think that I know it all :b ....Here is something which I don't know........how much of the dogs behaviour is genetic, and how much is training.....I have trained 4 dogs...all of them very closely related, so is their behaviour (all very similar), genetic ...or to do with the way I've brought them up....a bit of both, I suppose....but in what percentages....I don't know. :blink:

 

[Nigel]

I'm sure you've tried everything you can think of - but it's worth mentioning that you should keep your routine exactly the same every time she races. Dogs love routine & she won't be wondering why anything has changed if it has.

Make sure the same person traps her, make sure the same person catches her, make sure she knows where her 'family' are. I'd suggest that she, together with the trapper & catcher all go down to the finish line to watch a couple of races before her race. Then the trapper takes her to the traps while the catcher stays at the finish line. Do that everytime - it may help.

 

[Judy]

She can be like a wild thing in one race & the next she just trots along then stops. You cant tell when she will do this as she is so up for every race, she has even run back & gone back in the trap  . Thanks for all your comments by the way  :thumbsup:

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It might well have nothing to do with it but if she was mine I would have her checked out by a greyhound vet just to make sure that there is nothing hurting. If something is giving her an occasionally twinge of pain then that could account for her always wanting to go but then changing her mind once she has started running. Justa thought and something worth eliminating first.

 

[Gary Coulburn]

Thanks for the good advise.John,it makes sense what you say ,we have stopped Esther running with Angel and Maxi from last season to the present.It seemed to work for a bit but she has stopped while racing since.Nigel,yes we will make sure we keep to a routine.Another question is can you make a dog bored with racing?what i mean to say is should you limit free running during the week before racing? so when racing day comes your dog is full of energy and desperate to get off the lead.Ive heard some people never free run and do limited road walking.Can you excercise to much?we run Esther twice a week and road walk up to Friday then she rests Saturday.Should i rest her Friday aswell?

 

[conway]

i would say no , free running never stopped conway lady and she never, and i mean never ever done any road work, all she done was free running with all my other dogs. some would say that i was lucky that she never hurt herself with my other dogs but i believe that she grew up with them and they are part of her pack and i will do the same with my other dogs. each dog is different so no one can say this is the way and the only way. as to what nigel said about keeping to the same person trapping and chatching does not always apply to every dog, cassie would be trapped and caught by anyone and it never stopped her from winning. i would look at your dogs temperment and take it from there. look if it makes a differerance if someone else traps or catchs her, or where you are when she stops. just keep going cause she will get there in the end. :thumbsup:

 

[John E Greenwood]

I agree with Conway......There is a risk to free running, but when they free run every day, they learn to look after themselves....And I believe that it helps them mentally, to build confidence and widen experience,.....Mine free run twice a day every day,,,,and I just miss Saturday evening.

I have found, more in coursing than racing, that if you get them too keyed up, by resting them before a big event, they get too wound up and stop thinking....Over-run by a long way, and give the other dog chance to get in...Barneys' second course is usually his best, still full of energy, but settled after his first run.....I don't think that they need resting to run 150yds. 8)

 

[Vicky]

I don't think it's a case of "resting to run 150yd" but i do think a few days of lead walking might not do her any harm, if she hasn't run off lead for a while she might be more keen to chase the lure - another that's worth a try!

We had a couple of non chasers on the bends years ago and we kept them on the lead for 2 weeks, both went round after that and never looked back (whether it was coincidence or not we'll never know).

 

[Esthermax]

Well we had a great day racing yesterday, Esther (Floyds Girl) ran fab & she even made it to the final to take 3rd place. She so enjoyed herself, finding a gap and going for it. We hope we have cracked it :sweating: Gary has been trapping her & ive been catching & so far she has run well every time. Thanks everyone, we will let you know how we get on.

 

[BeeJay]

Well done Esther. Keep up the good work. :thumbsup: I'm so pleased that she's fit and healthy again.

 

[*Lesley*]

She did well yesterday the clever girl, lovely pic Cheryl a well deserved rest :thumbsup: :wub: hope it's a sign of things to come for you, I know how worried Gary gets awww bless him :- "

 

[springfield]

i had the same trouble with abbie (conway flyer) and went back to basics, it took a while to bring her back but she is fine now.  it helps if you can run your dog with the right type to give her a wins. try and pick dogs for her to beat for a few runs. :thumbsup:

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How long did it take her to get her back?

 

[TC]

Glad Esther had a good run :thumbsup:

Would just like to say that this thread has been very informative for me. as I have worried and worried about the free running.

Although Ollie is only just starting to run again after his broken toe, I am very keen to get back to racing, as he was trialling really well. I was told by someone who races with good results that I should NEVER free run my dog if I wanted it to race really well, but I run mine every day so just got all stubborn (in my mind, didn't actually comment when I was instructed to only lead walk) as winning is definitely not the "be all and end all" for me. My dog clearly loves the thrill of the chase, and was in his element during trials, but if he doesn't win, so be it.

Glad that so many others seem to free run, this thread has really reassured me. Just one more reason to be part of this forum, thanks :cheers:

Tracy