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Cause and Effect, and What It Means to Your Retired Greyhound

If you have been considering the adoption of a retired racing greyhound, there are a few things you should know. In view of the voluminous amounts of popular greyhound mythology that exist on the internet and in various other media, it may be of some help to the prospective adopter, to learn a few things from one who has trained, bred and raced them, and kept them as adopted pets--and learned some of these things the hard way.

~Racing Greyhounds Make Great Pets, but They Are Not Bred to Be Pets~

The vast majority of greyhounds in the US were bred for racing. This doesn’t mean that they don’t make wonderful, loving and fascinating pets. They do. What it means to the adopter, is that the greyhound they may be adopting is a dog who has been bred to perform a specific task, and the inclination to undertake that task has become deeply embedded in his DNA.

That inclination, or “desire”, is one of the primary intangibles that breeders hope to perpetuate, or amplify, when they design a mating. Sometimes, this genetic hardwiring can manifest as varying, almost cat-like levels of independence or detachment, or in certain, especially “hot-blooded” individuals, as nervousness, skittishness, and/or an unusual level of reactivity to what we may perceive to be un-extraordinary situations or goings-on.

~Racing Greyhounds Have Never Been Left Alone~

We often read about “separation anxiety” from new greyhound adopters, whose greyhounds are extremely upset by their absence from the home. It is very likely that the greyhound you will adopt, has never been without the company of his breeder, trainers or litter and/or kennelmates, in his entire life. Not even for a few minutes.

They are raised within a pack, and when they go on to race, they become members of a larger colony. They are used to the presence of their human and canine familiars, and being left alone, or being the “only dog”, is a novel and entirely unfathomable concept to them.

To add to any anxiety the newly adopted greyhound may feel, is the fact that your greyhound is being asked to make a quantum leap of adjustment and habituation to a completely foreign environment, and is likely missing those canine and human familiars.

Most greyhounds make this difficult adjustment without too much trouble, once they realize that you can be counted upon to provide them with food, water and affection, as well as some mental and physical stimulation and activity, which is what they are used to. For a greyhound, these are the building blocks of “love” and bonding.

~Most Greyhounds Are Perfectly Content and Happy Doing What Is They Have Been Bred to Do~

One of the most regrettable innovations within the realm of retired greyhound adoption, has been the “pity adoption”. Greyhounds are not objects of pity. They are, at their core, pure hunting dogs. Those hunting instincts, honed and sharpened through centuries of highly selective breeding, lie very close to the surface, just beneath the greyhounds’ notoriously thin skin. The “hunting”, chasing and competitive urges that greyhounds are able to express via organized, regulated and documented coursing and racing competitions, can only be suppressed at the expense of the greyhound’s emotional and physical contentment.

These are highly evolved canines, who are splendidly bred and adapted to their athletic endeavors. They are not only enormously talented coursing and racing athletes, but they have excelled at lure coursing, agility and other sporting competitions. They are just as versatile as companions-- beloved as family pets, prisoner rehabilitation dogs, emotional support dogs, and service dogs for our retired veterans.

As with every other breed of canine, these attributes and aptitudes, and even quirks, are the result of their breeding, raising, training, handling, function and environment---they are not anomalies that just so happen to manifest in spite of their prior life experiences. That’s not how canines work.

~Couch Potatoes Are Made, They’re Not Born~

Canines, as a species, have been widely observed to sleep anywhere from 12-16 hours per day. This is true of wild canines, and domestics. Greyhounds, during their athletic careers, tend to skew toward the higher end of that scale, expending tremendous amounts of energy on training and racing. They require sufficient downtime in between training and racing sessions, to recharge and reboot.

The common misconception is that greyhounds are naturally lazy—infamous for being “45 mile per hour couch potatoes”. The popular mythology is that greyhounds are confined in “cages” for 23 hours a day. Neither is true. Unless a greyhound is under a vet’s instruction to be immobilized as much as possible, greyhounds lead very active and busy lives as performing athletes.

The race-to-race cycle they are on, includes assorted forms of training in between races, rubdowns and/or whirlpool baths, as well as grooming sessions. They are ordinarily turned out 4-6 times per day with their kennelmates for play, for socializing, and to take care of nature’s calls. The amount of “awake time” they actually spend in their crates, on average, is about 2-4 hours a day, depending upon what they have been scheduled to do on the day in question. They can’t and don’t build and maintain those magnificent, rippling muscles by lying around in a hammock, drinking Buds.

Any adopted greyhound--or a dog of any other breed or mix of breeds--may become lazy, lethargic, or even depressed, without regular mental and physical engagement and activity. Allowing a greyhound to become entirely unfit and sedentary, due to a lack of mental and physical stimulation, is not “cute”, nor is it beneficial to his short or long-term health, happiness and well being.

While it is normal for a greyhound to enjoy being a “couch potato”—we should not conveniently forget about the 45 mile per hour part of the cliche. It is, after all, supposed to be a case of cause and effect.

copyright, 2018

 
 
 
 
 
 

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Sorry about the above, someone just alerted me you cannot read it all.

Have another go

 

Dennis McKeon

18 March at 12:48 ·

Cause and Effect, and What It Means to Your Retired Greyhound

If you have been considering the adoption of a retired racing greyhound, there are a few things you should know. In view of the voluminous amounts of popular greyhound mythology that exist on the internet and in various other media, it may be of some help to the prospective adopter, to learn a few things from one who has trained, bred and raced them, and kept them as adopted pets--and learned some of these things the hard way.

~Racing Greyhounds Make Great Pets, but They Are Not Bred to Be Pets~

The vast majority of greyhounds in the US were bred for racing. This doesn’t mean that they don’t make wonderful, loving and fascinating pets. They do. What it means to the adopter, is that the greyhound they may be adopting is a dog who has been bred to perform a specific task, and the inclination to undertake that task has become deeply embedded in his DNA.

That inclination, or “desire”, is one of the primary intangibles that breeders hope to perpetuate, or amplify, when they design a mating. Sometimes, this genetic hardwiring can manifest as varying, almost cat-like levels of independence or detachment, or in certain, especially “hot-blooded” individuals, as nervousness, skittishness, and/or an unusual level of reactivity to what we may perceive to be un-extraordinary situations or goings-on.

~Racing Greyhounds Have Never Been Left Alone~

We often read about “separation anxiety” from new greyhound adopters, whose greyhounds are extremely upset by their absence from the home. It is very likely that the greyhound you will adopt, has never been without the company of his breeder, trainers or litter and/or kennelmates, in his entire life. Not even for a few minutes.

They are raised within a pack, and when they go on to race, they become members of a larger colony. They are used to the presence of their human and canine familiars, and being left alone, or being the “only dog”, is a novel and entirely unfathomable concept to them.

To add to any anxiety the newly adopted greyhound may feel, is the fact that your greyhound is being asked to make a quantum leap of adjustment and habituation to a completely foreign environment, and is likely missing those canine and human familiars.

Most greyhounds make this difficult adjustment without too much trouble, once they realize that you can be counted upon to provide them with food, water and affection, as well as some mental and physical stimulation and activity, which is what they are used to. For a greyhound, these are the building blocks of “love” and bonding.

~Most Greyhounds Are Perfectly Content and Happy Doing What Is They Have Been Bred to Do~

One of the most regrettable innovations within the realm of retired greyhound adoption, has been the “pity adoption”. Greyhounds are not objects of pity. They are, at their core, pure hunting dogs. Those hunting instincts, honed and sharpened through centuries of highly selective breeding, lie very close to the surface, just beneath the greyhounds’ notoriously thin skin. The “hunting”, chasing and competitive urges that greyhounds are able to express via organized, regulated and documented coursing and racing competitions, can only be suppressed at the expense of the greyhound’s emotional and physical contentment.

These are highly evolved canines, who are splendidly bred and adapted to their athletic endeavors. They are not only enormously talented coursing and racing athletes, but they have excelled at lure coursing, agility and other sporting competitions. They are just as versatile as companions-- beloved as family pets, prisoner rehabilitation dogs, emotional support dogs, and service dogs for our retired veterans.

As with every other breed of canine, these attributes and aptitudes, and even quirks, are the result of their breeding, raising, training, handling, function and environment---they are not anomalies that just so happen to manifest in spite of their prior life experiences. That’s not how canines work.

~Couch Potatoes Are Made, They’re Not Born~

Canines, as a species, have been widely observed to sleep anywhere from 12-16 hours per day. This is true of wild canines, and domestics. Greyhounds, during their athletic careers, tend to skew toward the higher end of that scale, expending tremendous amounts of energy on training and racing. They require sufficient downtime in between training and racing sessions, to recharge and reboot.

The common misconception is that greyhounds are naturally lazy—infamous for being “45 mile per hour couch potatoes”. The popular mythology is that greyhounds are confined in “cages” for 23 hours a day. Neither is true. Unless a greyhound is under a vet’s instruction to be immobilized as much as possible, greyhounds lead very active and busy lives as performing athletes.

The race-to-race cycle they are on, includes assorted forms of training in between races, rubdowns and/or whirlpool baths, as well as grooming sessions. They are ordinarily turned out 4-6 times per day with their kennelmates for play, for socializing, and to take care of nature’s calls. The amount of “awake time” they actually spend in their crates, on average, is about 2-4 hours a day, depending upon what they have been scheduled to do on the day in question. They can’t and don’t build and maintain those magnificent, rippling muscles by lying around in a hammock, drinking Buds.

Any adopted greyhound--or a dog of any other breed or mix of breeds--may become lazy, lethargic, or even depressed, without regular mental and physical engagement and activity. Allowing a greyhound to become entirely unfit and sedentary, due to a lack of mental and physical stimulation, is not “cute”, nor is it beneficial to his short or long-term health, happiness and well being.

While it is normal for a greyhound to enjoy being a “couch potato”—we should not conveniently forget about the 45 mile per hour part of the cliche. It is, after all, supposed to be a case of cause and effect.

copyright, 2018

 

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