Views On Racing

[peppermint lady]

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well im a newbie to racing (having said that mum + dad and my sister have raced for years)

im totally addicted to my new hobby :thumbsup: i have made a huge amount of new freinds, and formed some great relationships with people i would never of met otherwise. :huggles:

before racing my life was in a very "different place" should i say, il not go into the ins and outs of it....but for me racing on a sunday did become a life line, and thats no bad thing :thumbsup:

as Dave has already said, when you buy a racing whippet, you form a bond/friendship with that breeder, i have some great friends now from the pups ive had, i enjoy sharing my pups racing experience and growth with each of their breeders :huggles:

Carmel you seem to think a racing dogs life is so different to a pet dogs life :unsure: i dont know why you think this??? did you treat your own dog any different when it raced? :unsure:

so far every racer that has posted has said their dogs life would be the same if they stopped racing tomorrow

yes with any hobby that brings large numbers of people together, not everyone will always get on, i have met the "odd" person i dont like or dont have alot of time for, but the nice folk far out weight the ones im not keen on, otherwise we wouldnt treck across the country week in week out :thumbsup:

I LOVE WHIPPET RACING AND ID HAVE A 100 WHIPPETS AND RACE THEM ALL IF I COULD :thumbsup:

 

[bertha]

Why not? It is a free country and it is up to the owner to decide. I race my championship show winner regularly, he is firstly a pet and what ever else I do with him is up to me. He is very fit and has won at club level.

Why are you so anti people doing what they want with their dogs.

 

[Mark Roberts]

I thought it was the Mining communities of the North were they bred dogs to race & work (to feed their families)

their dogs often weighing in at anything from 7lb upwards.

 

[Bingo!]

We have been whippet racing for less than 18 months.

During this time we have been given lots of advice, which we are alway greatful for :thumbsup: . We have discovered that everyone has an opinion on what is best for keeping their dogs in tip-top condition and the best training techniques to use.

Most of this advise is very contrasting from one owner to the next and in can be very confusing to the newcomer :blink: .............. but this is the most interesting and fascinating part about the racing in my opinion. Gathering info from both expereinced and newcomers like ourselves, digesting all this information and then making our own decissions in the best interests of your racers.

If everyone offered us the same opinions it would be a little boring

As long as each owner believes in what they are doing is in the bests interests of their dogs, I don't see a problem.

PS Im glad we decided to go racing, it certainly creates alot of interest and debate,

and our dogs really enjoy it !!

Neil

 

[BeeJay]

>Most of this advise is very contrasting from one owner to the next and in can be very confusing to the newcomer .............. but this is the most interesting and fascinating part about the racing in my opinion. Gathering info from both expereinced and newcomers like ourselves, digesting all this information and then making our own decissions in the best interests of your racers.

:lol: Isn't that the truth. :lol: Ask 5 people the same question and you'll get 5 different answers. I do the same thing as you. At the end of the day I go for the easiest for me option and then if that doesn't seem to work I do the next easiest.

I found this year that feeding one of my dogs the same racing diet that I have fed my other dogs didn't work as well for him as it did for them. So I had to try something else. It took some time for things to settle down but by the end of the year the dog was running better. One of the most fascinating things about whippet racing is that I am learning all of the time. Hopefully my learning process isn't to the detriment of my dogs health and well-being.

Fortunately us new racers have a lot of experienced people we can ask advice from.

 

[Strike Whippets]

I agree with you Carmel ............................. up to a point. original.gif
I don't understand why people have got so upset over what Carmel has said. It would be a very sad world if everyone thought the same way. So lighten up people. original.gif I treat my racing dogs differently to my non racing dogs. I have no guilty feelings about this, my dogs aren't suffering because of it AND they are still my pets.

Spot on, lighten up .... We all know that when most of us start really getting into racing we DO start treating them differently .... It starts with not walking them on a Saturday, then getting a few odd ozs off them ready for the next open coming up, taking them to a Greyhound vet as they got beaten by a dog who's never beaten them before so they might be injured, physio's etc ...

Everyone treats their dogs as pets ...and we all do things differently, but the reference between a normal pet dog or racer just really meant most racers lives are very structured, they have a rigid training program, strict diets, supplements etc ... An average pet has a good diet but if the owner wakes up on a sunny day off, those dogs get a few hours walk/free running, and if they go to the shops and see jumbo bones or whatever on offer, the dogs get them as soon as the owner gets home whether they put on those few pesky ozs or not .... This isn't being negative, but in most cases its a fact ... at the end of the day however a pups brought up it'll know no other way of life, so it'll be normal for it ... Just my personal opinion of course )

 

[wild whippies]

This was my original post last night which got lost in the ether when it was moderated so if I've covered something that's already been said, I apologise.

My original post below.

Just my humble opinion.

How far you wish to excel at whippet racing is highly dependant on luck (i.e. having a flying machine and it's ability to stay hardy throughout it's racing career)

Weight handicapping does have a bias towards keeping a low body weight whilst maintaining an optimum racing ability. Too thin and they tire, too heavy and they'll be slowed down by the excess. To maintain a set weight requires discipline when it comes to feeding.

I can appreciate Carmels views that free running does pose a potential hazard especially when leading up to an esteemed event. However, the beauty of free running is that it does build up muscle and more importantly builds up the stabilisation muscles and ligaments that whilst not neccesarily used in sprinting, play an important role in the prevention of an injury. I personally think it is better to build these up on open ground rather than behind a lure, purely for the reason that the dog isn't running under pressure.

It should be noted that whenever you run a dog it does run a risk of injury with the incidence being higher depending on the following variables:

Breeding, some dogs are more prone to injury

Condition, fit dogs are less likely to get an injury but they will run faster which leads to..

Ability, the faster the dog, the greater risk there is to injury

Terrain, the more uneven the ground, again the greater the risk.

Character, The more game the dog, the bigger risks it will take

Nutrition A good diet will have the neccesary proteins available to the dog to aid in muscle recovery.

Examination & Observation Whether it be by a vet or the owner, knowing when there's a niggle going on can be a good preventative to injuries.

Regardless of individuals training regimes (of which there is a wide variety) I think that for a newcomer who is entering the hobby purely for the purpose of enjoyment of a day out with their dog with no intention to win then they should stick to club running. It is far less stressful, especially if the club you attend race on time handicaps and it is a good learning curve for the newcomer.

I have one competitive non-ped racing whippet and will probably adhere to this regime in the future as he does require a degree of discipline and care that is more demanding than my club racing pedigree whippets. Don't doubt for a second that I don't enjoy competitvely racing him because I do so immensly. :cheers:

However, my club racing pedigrees are more 'fun' as it were, they're not that fast (therefore less prone to injury) they free run as much as they like and their weights stay very stable even though I do not 'watch' what they're eating.

Injury wise, the most these have done is pick up a few sand burns over the 4+ years of running. Achievement wise, they've picked up wins here and there but for me their biggest achievement has been training nearly all the North-West non-ped racing whippets and quite a few peds too. :thumbsup:

Racing dogs, regardless of their abilities can be highly enjoyable for both dog and owner whilst simultaneously promoting a healthier lifestyle to both. It should be noted that how far one wishes to take things depends on how much you want to excel at it. But the moment you stop enjoying it is when you should walk away. :thumbsup:

 

[Rae]

For my part, I dont take racing seriously at all , we go most weeks to help Margaret and I run Star (who is a huge showbred) as well as Supe and if I'm honest even I treat Supe differently to the rest of them. Although he free runs along with the rest of them every day I keep him on a lead the day before lure coursing or a 'big' race and I dont feed him any chicken wings etc the day before a weigh in. I think there may be little things that are done because they race, such as this, that may not get noticed anymore as they become part of the routine, but it wouldnt happen if they didnt race.

 

[June Jonigk]

Most of us say we treat racers and non racers alike. Some people say their racers get more strict treatment, but if it is special treatment, and more careful diet, and safer free running - what's the problem?

You won't get many people who have seen their dogs screaming with excitement, and showing the obvious pleasure their dogs get from chasing in a safe environment, argue with so many passionate people that what they are doing is wrong, and to try to persuade others that the sport cannot be a sociable and pleasurable Sunday pastime. Let those who enjoy it carry on enjoying it, and welcome newcomers instead of giving them the negative and ill informed views :thumbsup:

 

[June Jonigk]

For my part, I dont take racing seriously at all , we go most weeks to help Margaret and I run Star (who is a huge showbred) as well as Supe and if I'm honest even I treat Supe differently to the rest of them.  Although he free runs along with the rest of them every day I keep him on a lead the day before lure coursing or a 'big' race and I dont feed him any chicken wings etc the day before a weigh in.  I think there may be little things that are done because they race, such as this, that may not get noticed anymore as they become part of the  routine, but it wouldnt happen if they didnt race.

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and are they any the worse for it - no :thumbsup: I rest my case :cheers:

 

[Rae]

For my part, I dont take racing seriously at all , we go most weeks to help Margaret and I run Star (who is a huge showbred) as well as Supe and if I'm honest even I treat Supe differently to the rest of them.  Although he free runs along with the rest of them every day I keep him on a lead the day before lure coursing or a 'big' race and I dont feed him any chicken wings etc the day before a weigh in.  I think there may be little things that are done because they race, such as this, that may not get noticed anymore as they become part of the  routine, but it wouldnt happen if they didnt race.

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and are they any the worse for it - no :thumbsup: I rest my case :cheers:

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I'd certainly hope that he wasnt any worse off for it or I wouldnt do it, but I wasnt trying to make the point that I try to make my dogs life a misery, I was trying to make the point that he isnt treated the same - ie like the rest who are 100% pets.

 

[Strike Whippets]

Brill post Jacs :thumbsup:

 

[peppermint sue]

well ours are all treated the same from the fast to the slow 100% PETS

and they all love to go racing :thumbsup: they all love to free run :thumbsup:

ITS worked for my family for 30yrs ,no racing suplements ,no walking machines

two good meals aday , nice soft bed, even the lab gets the same :thumbsup:

so happy racing folks

 

[bertha]

well ours are all treated the same from the fast to the slow 100% PETS and they all love to go racing  :thumbsup: they all love to free run  :thumbsup:

ITS worked for my family for 30yrs ,no racing suplements ,no walking machines

two good meals aday , nice soft bed, even the lab gets the same  :thumbsup:

so happy racing folks 

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Hear hear!!!! :cheers:

 

[peppermint lady]

well ours are all treated the same from the fast to the slow 100% PETS and they all love to go racing  :thumbsup: they all love to free run  :thumbsup:

ITS worked for my family for 30yrs ,no racing suplements ,no walking machines

two good meals aday , nice soft bed, even the lab gets the same  :thumbsup:

so happy racing folks 

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most sensible thing you have ever said mum :lol:

its dad that needs the walking machine (w00t)

 

[June Jonigk]

I've edited a post, and remove some others that quoted it, or replied to it, about show breeders breeding deformities. I think the original poster was referring to other breeds, but it upset a few, so it's now gone :thumbsup:

 

[Juley]

I've edited a post, and remove some others that quoted it, or replied to it, about show breeders breeding deformities.  I think the original poster was referring to other breeds, but it upset a few, so it's now gone :thumbsup:

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I enjoyed our chat and appreciate it. Many thanks. Like we said, we all love our Whippets and want to enjoy our activities with them for many years to come. :cheers:

 

[peppermint lady]

I've edited a post, and remove some others that quoted it, or replied to it, about show breeders breeding deformities.  I think the original poster was referring to other breeds, but it upset a few, so it's now gone :thumbsup:

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i think your in for a late night on here tonight juney :lol:

 

[SUNDANCE]

I've been racing for 15 years, and in that time we have had one WCRCh/VC, another dog made up to WCRCh, three more dogs achieving VC's and three half champions. I've just realized where I've been going wrong. I've been treating them like pets all this time I was hoping that one of the three wise women could give me some advice as to how I could improve my dogs performance on the track by treating them like 'racing dogs' :lol: I am aware that the three of you have had great success in racing and I am sure I could learn a lot from your expert training tips and advice on diet :thumbsup:

 

[June Jonigk]

I've been racing for 15 years, and in that time we have had one WCRCh/VC, another dog made up to WCRCh, three more dogs achieving VC's and three half champions.  I've just realized where I've been going wrong.  I've been treating them like pets all this time   I was hoping that one of the three wise women could give me some advice as to how I could improve my dogs performance on the track by treating them like 'racing dogs' :lol:   I am aware that the three of you have had great success in racing  and I am sure I could learn a lot from your expert training tips and advice on diet :thumbsup:

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:lol: :lol: :lol: :thumbsup: You have done rather well haven't you? :cheers: