jane-f

Sorry but i just needed to point something out, you will find the whippet is very common and isnt run in many fun competitions much any more, the whippet is heading the same way as the greyhound is now, they are raced in betting races for the general public, talking to the woman from the breed society who is the re-homer for the breed a few months ago, they are getting quite a few whippets in for re-homing, both show and x racing dogs, you only have to look on K9 to see the amount of people who race whippets at race tracks the amount of whippet racing clubs there are now, there has even been started a whippet racing club federation who drug tests the dogs before races, if its only fun why do they need to test the dogs.

Just had a look on the NFWS. http://nfws.250free.com/drugs.htm Can find out more if you would like, thats if Sheila isnt away at any shows.

The vaccine they are using are the dog one's (sorry cant remember the name) but its high risk, they vet told me when i asked about it - it would possibly kill. i decided against vaccinating any of mine when i had them, as far as i know of theres no new vaccine out.

But some of what you have just said still happens, they are still campaigning to stop chimps being used on beaches, it dont happen as much as it used to - but it is still happening. Drinking and driving still happens - just having one pint to me is drinking and driving, if your driving you shouldn't have anything - simple as. people are still being caught not wearing a seatbelt, back seat passengers are the worst, and the youngsters that have just passed there test. out of the 19 people that came down to the WAW chipping and neutering day on sat - most of the dog were not neutered, about 6 people said they would have them done, a few said they wanted to breed from there dogs, and quite a few refused neutering point blank and some took info away with them, but i doubt they will contact anyone. people at one time thought dog fighting and c*** fighting was history - but it still go's on, hunting was banned but it still go's on, it will take a long time to get racing banned - in the mean time dogs are still suffering, so why not try to work with the racing industry - education is far better, have them work with you rather than against you, why discriminate all for the sake of some.

unfortunately one shuts and another is opened, i've already heard that theres going to be a replacement for when this shuts, from someone who works in a bookies. So long as theres money involved it will never die, and to be hoist it would be better to slowly get rid of it, instead of a complete shut down, if they was all shut down tomorrow, it would be chaos there would be hundreds an thousands of greyhounds all with there lives hanging in the balance, trainers would want them out of the kennels (like now) vets would be inundated with dogs that needed to be pts, some would get sold on to other countrys who still had legal tracks or some would be given by the trainers direct to the general public, who dont have a clue how to rehabilitate a dog thats never seen the outside of a track, rescues would be over flowing and killing themselves (more than they are now) to try and find space for just one more, some trainers/owners who have quite a few dogs might look for other means to get rid of there dogs so as they dont have to pay out any more money for them. over all most of these dogs would be pts without a care in the world by the owners/trainers. you cant liken this to when hunting was banned - the people who hunt was given other alternatives for hunting with dogs, like with rabbiting - its still done, so long as you've got the farmers written permoshion (sp) and only use a couple of dogs, fox hunting still go's on so long as you only use a couple of dogs for flushing and flush to a gun, theres nothing to say it has to be a clean kill.

And the hunting of foxes still go on, all except they now are shooting them whilst on the run, often leaving them sometimes injured, anyone can go out tomorrow, get pemersion (sp) from there local farmers, flush the foxes with a couple of dogs, let the dogs chase them a bit then shoot them, theres nothing to say it has to be a clean kill. the hunting ban was a c**k up plain and simple

Not round hear they wont, i can get hold of a field, but there not secure, not for the dogs we have, all the dogs would be able to jump a stock fence within 2 seconds, to get hold of a lure machine - you are talking money, then it takes time to set up and carry the thing (there not light) then you need to be shown how to use one, then if theres a large group of you - you will need insurance, then my dog still wont be able to run, take today - i let her run on one of the open fields near me, shes now limping, she has ripped her dew claw out again, this happens every time she runs on grass, even if shes running in a straight line, every time she runs on grass, it can be flat as a pancake - something always happens, on sand shes never had a problem - but we can't exactly use a lure machine on the beach as health and safety would be involved, on a track i would only run her on the straight anyway , as she will just cheat and try and cut the lure up if she had go go round the bends.

Did they say the reason why he hit the rails, did another dog barge him, did another dog cut him up and push him to the rails, there could be any number of reasons why he ran in to the rails,not just a tight bend. Most pet dogs - know how to take bends or corners, without any problems, they do it everyday when out playing with other dogs or working, thats not to say they wont injure themselves, i wont entertain putting my dog in to lure coursing - for her i feel its to dangerous, on a proper lure course - i feel the tight corners and the length is to much for her, for other dogs it is fine, for her - she would kill herself, on a track i can make the dishions (sp) on how far she runs, how fast she runs,if she runs with other dogs or not, and if i want her to stay on the straight, i know she wont do the bends, as she will just cheat and cut across the middle, shes an x worker and knows what she is doing, IE she will note where the lure is going and will try and cut it off, on the straight she can't do that. This is the reason the dogs arnt run on the track that often, once a month if that, the rest of the time they do go out over the fields and tbh they run harder over the fields then they would ever on a track.

Hope Potty Lottie feels better and is on the mend soon, Unfortunately whether it be track,woods or open field they can still get hurt, unless we wrap them up in cotton wool, there is dangers everywhere for them when they are running and playing, our penny last year out on an open flat field - started screaming, one of the lure coursing guys - who had been running the lure coursing that day checked her over- she had trapped a nerve, alls she had done is try to play with another dog, she had everyone worried, as they thought she had broke her leg, she has ripped her dew claws out, more times playing around on grass then ever, mind you she only needs to get of the couch and she yelps - shes a wimp - must be the greyhound side of her.

but making them responsible, could encourage less breeding, if they have no out let for there dogs, then how are they going to take more dogs in, if each time they have to keep hold of dogs or pay out for them to be spayed, vet checks,food etc until they are re-homed then they wont want to keep taking dogs in or breeding more dogs, hit them in the pocket and they think twice there is a trainer not far from me, who is doing all he can to re-home the dogs in his care, he does give them free, but there spayed,vaxed and he gives each dog a life time of support, each dog is used to living in a home before it gos, and he makes sure its the right home for the dog so far i have never had to go and pick one of his dogs up and get it in to rescue, there another bloke, his dogs go to the RGT, he pays for everything while the dogs are there - until the dogs are re-homed, its actually encouraged him to keep less dogs, and some of the dogs he has taken home, and they live with him until they die of old age. now there are two other trainers posing as rescues - one ive just found out about and the other has been going for a while,, they are palming dogs off to anyone, who will pay, they are giving these dogs to people with small kids, they will even deliver the dog to you, one of these dogs i had to pick up last year and get it down to gaps care, as it was fighting with the other dog, and the woman was frightened it would bite her kid. Dont worry about badly written posts - i can understand them most of my posts i have used spell check on, as i am so tired - and really need to go and get ready for another night of work .

Why shouldn't we encourage them to change, encourage them to take responsibility for the dogs they produce, instead of palming them off to rescues, surly by rescues taking in there unwanted dog its helping keep the industry going, the trainers know they can just palm there unwanted dogs off with out a care in the world, tbh i would much prefare a trainer to have to take responsibility, weather that is having to re-home the dogs properly at cost to themselves, or putting them to sleep properly, instead of dumping them, using a bolt or knowing they can rely on a rescue, to help them make room for more dogs, all around the country there are pet dogs from homes that are being dumped, every day these pet dogs are being pts, cause there is no one that wants them, everyday people are fighting to help the ones in pounds before they are pts, even saving just a few - you know there are hundreds more that are being pts, from working homes right down to pets, there are rescue that are taking from puppy farms, taking there unwanted dogs - helping them make room for other breeding machines why not make people responsible, why not encourage people to do right be there dogs.

Yep that is probably true for the greys that are raced, but for pet dogs it is different - we dont race them - we run them, its not competitive, most of the dogs are run by themselves, so theres no chance of running in to another dog, we have had more injuries out free running the dogs - than on a track, my girl wont free run, as shes been run in to that many times with other dogs not looking where they are going, it frightens her, out on a walk with other dogs she sticks by my side, it depresses her out on the track - her face lights up, she has a spring in her step, she is not forced to run, she does it if she wants to.

Yes that is still called lure coursing, it dont matter if its on the straight or not, the dogs are still chasing a lure, the dogs could still get stress fractures, the dogs could still push themselves over the limit and do damage, they could still pull a tendon, they could still tye up. no commercial greyhound racing takes place when we are running the dogs, the track is closed to the people who would normally be there, its a fun day, there is no money involved, except to the afghan club, we dont pay the track anything, theres no betting on the dogs, alls we are doing is letting the dogs have fun in a safe envorment, the track only opens its doors 3 nights a week for greyhounds, the rest of the time - the whippet club hires it out, for there racing nights.

Could i ask what difference you see from lure coursing to running a pet dog on a track, cause i don't see any difference at all, everything you have just said is exactly what happens at the afghan racing, the only difference is its on a sand track, thats it, there is no betting - no money involved, we dont advertise the track, there is less than about 20 pet dogs that attend, most of the dogs know each other and most of us are friends, there all there to have fun, its safe - secure and the dogs can run around where ever they want, there not forced to run, the lure coursing that happens at most shows can be even worse, i have seen people buy dogs for lure coursing, i have also seen them be dumped or pts because they arnt good runners, pups being breed to get a better courser for the future, people getting the huff cause there dog didnt win, in one respect lure coursing can be a lot more competitive, there is betting that go's on, although it is kept quite, with some there is prize money at the end of the year, a lot of people that run there dogs at the flapping tracks started out lure coursing, its all connected in one way or another, from lure coursing to ngrc tracks.

But we don't use an industry track - we use an independent track, i for one felt safer letting my dog run on a track - i could control how far she ran, i could control how fast she ran and who she ran with, there was no holes she could fall in to and brake her leg, there was no other dogs she could collide with and brake her neck, there was no bunny's around that she could put up, and kill herself trying to catch, i know my girl loves running and chasing things, and you can see the pleasure in her face and her eyes light up, but as i have said before - at her age i feel it is not safe for her to run over the fields, if she was to put up something and i couldn't get control of her and stop her, she would kill herself, at least at a track i have full control of everything she does.

Just like to point out with this, our dogs don't run at stadiums, never have done and never will do, we have run ours at flapping track, the track i ran our penny at - has spent a considerable amount to make that track safe, they are also at cost to themselves trying to promote better care and welfare for the dogs that are ran there, they are in considerable difficulty money wise - but yet when asked to sell - so as a greyhound stadium could be built there, they refused point blank, these people are trying there best to promote a better life for running dogs, even to the point of letting us lot take over the track for the day at cost to themselves to help raise much needed funds for rescue, the track at westhorton, you will find the bends are not sharp, a flapping tracks life depends on dogs getting round safely, if there are a lot of accidents - then you will find people wont run there dogs there, as quite a lot do (although you will probably disagree with me) want to run there dogs in a safe as possible environment, the stadiums with out a doubt i would never run a dog there, i fully agree with everything said about stadiums.

Sorry Margret -but i am one of those who has let her dog run on a track, i took all the precautions that i could and only let her run on the straight, and tbh i am glad i did, she loved every minute of it, and to see the joy in her face was worth it, its very rare she will run over the fields now, and she will not run with other dogs, i know she love's chasing things, but for her to do it over the fields is to much risk, Now tbh i know i have a clear mind in letting her run on this track, the track was donated free for the day, the only thing they asked was for the wages of the lads to be payed - and then they would only take half of what they originally asked for, some of these lads had been up from 5 in the morning making sure the track was safe for everyone, except for the wages (which for 5 lads, wouldn't have even covered national miminum wage) all the money that was raised, went to lurcher link, they made sure we was all safe - and had fun, even they had fun and enjoyed the day, for all the dogs there that ran- there was not one that got hurt, they even organisesed a kiddy's race so the kids could have fun. Now the other one that has been posted on hear - tbh i cant see how we are supporting the track, or the indestery (sp) for that matter, the woman who organizes the day, does pay £30 pound to hire the track, to run your dog it cost's £3.00, even if we didn't go - the track would still be there, its been there for well over 20 years, we are not making people breed dogs over and over again, we are not making them dump dogs, in fact when we take the dogs down, the people who normally race there - never come, the day is about pet dogs having some fun - doing what they love to do chase things and running, the dogs are not forced to run - they are not run from traps, the owner of the dog slips them, I wouldn't hesitate to take our penny again, as i know that the money i pay, isnt even going to cover, the amount it cost's them to run the track for the day, it doesn't even cover there wages. I dont support the racing industry as a whole - what i do support is our dogs having fun, and showing people that these breeds are great family member's.

It's been canceled this month, due to time trials.

Nope theres nothing on this weekend, as there are time trials on going this month, so the afghan racing has been canceled.

A couple of the care homes ive worked in have had this, everyone was treated - staff and residents, we were given Derbac M the one you normally use for nits - put it on leave it so many hours and then wash it off, and repeat after a few days.

I found the fleece lined harness were ok, but if you have a dog that likes water, then they get weighed down a bit and it takes quite a while for them to dry off, my lurcher used to wear one - got it from trpd, but as she has no hair underneath i found it rubbed a bit when wet, she now has a neoprene type lined one, it was made to fit her. All my other dogs wear harness made by Trpd, they have the Trail Harness, our bonnie wears one of the none slip ones made by trpd, as she could slip anything, but has yet to slip out of this one.

Her name is Andrea, email - [email protected] if you want to contact her on LL, http://www.lurcherlink.org/llink/forum/vie...asc&start=0 Shes changed her name on LL though to Tilly&Co she also does collars, leads -training leads, Fleece jumpers and she does sometimes do neoprene lined harnness she will do them to spec.

Theres someone on lurcher link who does the bandannas with what ever you want on them, she also does these as well. she can make them with what ever you like.

I think everyone go's through this at one time or another, it took me a while to get over our shrimp loosing just one eye, but at the end of the day, i knew i'd done the right thing for her, dogs dont use there sight as much as we think they do, they can cope with out it, i dont think dogs that have gone blind see blackness at all, just like people dont, they will have pictures in there mind, mental maps, things like that, at the end of the day she will feel much better, and will have a better life for it. If you go on to the blind dogs list, theres a few people on there that have gone through the same as you have, theres plenty of support on there, http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/blinddogs/

I think when they go blind some will just sit naturally looking down, our shrimp still does this even after so many years, when she does it, its when shes thinking, of what to do next. you will find that over time you will sometimes forget that shes blind, with shrimp ive noticed that she now gets away with a lot of things especially with the other dogs, its like shes got her puppy license back, give her and yourself time everything will fall in to place.