View Full Version : And their Off!!!!!
Going to the Sarasota Kennel Club tomorrow night. First time to a dog race, not sure if i'll like it not, not sure if I think it's cruel or not. Guess there's a first time for everything. Anyone ever go before? Did you ever win any $$$?
greenfreak
1/20/06, 09:37am
I've never been to one, I think they're not as popular around here. Although there's probably some greyhound races somewhere.
Like you, I've heard bad things. But I don't know what the truth of it is, how the dogs are treated, etc. I do know that there are tons of racing greyhound rescue organizations out there because once they're no longer race winners, they tend to be put down. Greyhounds are not the first family dog you think of. :shrug:
The races aren't exactly cruel...but the dogs live the live of a racedog not a relaxed family life. So when they retire the dogs it is quite hard on them because all of a sudden their life is sooo different. I knew a woman that adopted racedogs. She said it was like training a baby. She had one dog that was terrified of linoleum. They can be great pets they just take alot of reconditioning.
unclehobart
1/20/06, 09:45am
Racing greyhounds don't make the best family pet because they have been fairly starved in their racing years to keep them at maximum efficient sprinting weight. Once they get into a house with real food, they become counter thieves and cabinet scavengers.
My roommate's family and he grandparents each used to have a pet greyhound that were rescued race dogs. She says they were the best pets you could EVER ask for. Hers wasn't so fond of men but she would just shy away, not try to hurt them. Eventually she came around with my roomie's dad and brother though :)
Uki Chick
1/20/06, 09:58am
Racing greyhounds don't make the best family pet because they have been fairly starved in their racing years to keep them at maximum efficient sprinting weight. Once they get into a house with real food, they become counter thieves and cabinet scavengers.
I beg to differ, only because the bf has a rescued greyhound. He's a great dog. He can be stubborn at times, but a wonderful pet. He's very gentle, loves people and children, gets along with my three cats......
As to the treatment of the dogs, they live in small cages and aren't treated all that well. Yes, it does take time to recondition them after they've been retired, which is usually between the ages of 2 and 5.
Here's some info:
1. Greyhounds placed through our organization are usually between two (2) and five (5) years old. These retired racers are very intelligent and adaptable dogs who, following a brief adjustment period, fit easily into their new homes. They are eager to please and respond positively to any attention given to them.
2. Retired Racing Greyhounds are quiet, clean, gentle, good-natured dogs that get along with children and other pets. They seem grateful for their new homes, and reward their new owners with never-ending affection. Contrary to what many people think, they do not require a great deal of space to run. Inside the house, they enjoy curling up on a soft blanket, bed, or couch if permitted.
3. Greyhounds stand between 26 and 29 inches. They are known as the big/small dogs because they stand tall but when they lie down, they curl up and do not take a lot of space. Greyhounds come in a variety of colors ranging from black to red to any shade of brindle and even blue (grey) or any combination of these with white.
4. Greyhounds placed through our organization have been provided with veterinary exam, heartworm test, rabies, distemper/parvo vaccinations, sterilization, routine deworming, health certificate, ID tag and a collar. Adopters are expected to reimburse Greyhound Rescue Quebec a modest fee to cover the above expenses.
5. Greyhounds are friendly by nature and socialize well as a result of encounters with other greyhounds in the racing kennel. Some greyhounds quickly learn to live harmoniously with cats.
6. Greyhounds are very tolerant of children and walk away rather than growl or snap if children become overbearing. Like most dogs, greyhounds also have their limits.
7. Greyhounds are kennel broken, which means they are trained to go outside and keep their kennels clean. By walking them frequently at first, they will quickly learn that their new home is the place to keep clean, and outside is where they still go to relieve themselves.
8. A greyhound needs no more excercise than an average dog. If you do not have a fenced-in yard, they should be taken out on a lead and, whenever possible, walked for the sheer enjoyment of being with the owners. Remember, Greyhounds are trained to race. Please take caution. Greyhounds are also champion joggers and Frisbee players.
Link to the Montreal Greyhound Rescue Org. (http://www.greyhoundrescue.bigstep.com/)
Professur
1/20/06, 10:09am
I looked into greyhound rescue once, at the request someone on this here board. The costs involved in rescuing an animal were .... excessive to say the least. I could rescue a dog from the pound at a quarter the cost ... and have a better selection to choose from to boot.
Uki Chick
1/20/06, 10:14am
I believe Frank paid 275 for his greyhound which I don't find that excessive.
Professur
1/20/06, 10:16am
For a used animal? The pound ... last time I checked (which I'll admit was more than a few years back) charged $60.
BTW, your link says $350. When I was asked last time, it was something to the order of $500+ from the states (NJ, I think)
I prefer resqueing kittens/cats from pounds, have all my life. Scott is partial to dogs, but I really want a cat SOOOOOOOOOOOO BADDDDDDDDD!!!!
Professur
1/20/06, 10:30am
If you want a cat here, all you have to do is put down some food, and leave the door open for half an hour.
Granted, you might get a couple of skunks and racoons, chipmunks, squirrels, birds, deer, neighbour's dog, neighbour's kids, etc ..... but at least you didn't open the front door and let in the Jehovah's Witnesses.
If you want a cat here, all you have to do is put down some food, and leave the door open for half an hour.
Granted, you might get a couple of skunks and racoons, chipmunks, squirrels, birds, deer, neighbour's dog, neighbour's kids, etc ..... but at least you didn't open the front door and let in the Jehovah's Witnesses.
LMAOI hear ya there! I put food out here for a cat......I get a BobCat. :eek13:
Uki Chick
1/20/06, 10:41am
For a used animal? The pound ... last time I checked (which I'll admit was more than a few years back) charged $60.
BTW, your link says $350. When I was asked last time, it was something to the order of $500+ from the states (NJ, I think)
The SPCA charges $170 now for a dog. The price Frank paid was 5 years ago. It's a pure breed dog and the money they get from you purchasing a greyhound is used to rescue others and the cost to have their shots, vet bills etc. It's a non-profit organization after all.
I know the organization will be walking as usual in the St-Patrick's Day parade. I'll be there with Frank and Rocky with the whole group.
woodman19_99
1/20/06, 10:58am
Racing greyhounds don't make the best family pet because they have been fairly starved in their racing years to keep them at maximum efficient sprinting weight. Once they get into a house with real food, they become counter thieves and cabinet scavengers.
Sorry, but that is crap. My family has adopted two greyhounds so far (both of which have since passed) and to be honest, we have never had gentler dogs in our house. The dogs were smart, fun (albeit sometimes a bit of a couch potato) and generally very loyal to us. Never once did they steal food off the counter or beg for food at the dinner table...
Regarding the racing itself, it is absolutely horrible. The dogs are treated very poorly and are kept in the worst of conditions. They are typically fed steroids in order to speed them up and if they aren't winners they are "put down" and have even been used as shark bait... When I did a report on greyhounds and the racing in elementary school, I read some serious horror stories about how these dogs were "put down". Not something like euthanasia, some farms in Florida simply shot the dogs with a 12-gauge and let them die...
Professur
1/20/06, 11:08am
The SPCA charges $170 now for a dog.
That's since they lost the city dog-chaser contract to Berger Blanc.
greenfreak
1/20/06, 11:16am
I'm really surprised at the number of people here who have rescued them or know people who have. That's awesome. :)
Racing greyhounds don't make the best family pet because they have been fairly starved in their racing years to keep them at maximum efficient sprinting weight. Once they get into a house with real food, they become counter thieves and cabinet scavengers.
You can train any dog out of that behavior. Any dog. All it takes is attention and a consistent training regimen. Greyhounds are smart.
Professur
1/20/06, 12:19pm
Oh, please. they've spent all their lives chasing a plastic rabbit and still haven't caught on that they're never gonna catch it. How smart is that?
Uki Chick
1/20/06, 01:31pm
they've been trained to do that.
Oh, please. they've spent all their lives chasing a plastic rabbit and still haven't caught on that they're never gonna catch it. How smart is that?
I believe what he should have said is "As far as dogs go, Greyhounds are smart." Many many dogs are as dumb as doornails (my dog being one of them but I love her anyway :D)
unclehobart
1/20/06, 03:38pm
Sorry, but that is crap. My family has adopted two greyhounds so far (both of which have since passed) and to be honest, we have never had gentler dogs in our house. The dogs were smart, fun (albeit sometimes a bit of a couch potato) and generally very loyal to us. Never once did they steal food off the counter or beg for food at the dinner table...
Regarding the racing itself, it is absolutely horrible. The dogs are treated very poorly and are kept in the worst of conditions. They are typically fed steroids in order to speed them up and if they aren't winners they are "put down" and have even been used as shark bait... When I did a report on greyhounds and the racing in elementary school, I read some serious horror stories about how these dogs were "put down". Not something like euthanasia, some farms in Florida simply shot the dogs with a 12-gauge and let them die...
Just because your two were well adjusted by no means makes what I said incorrect. Your two dogs are not representative of the entire population. If raised from pups in a loving enviornment, they are 95% sweet, intelligent and loyal as you say... but when put through a racing track life all bets are off. At that point only half will remain sweet; the remainder are poorly treated to the point that they get a little wild and defensive even in the hands of a loving family.
Chic, Yes... I agree that they can be retrained... but most don't like going through the trouble of it. They seem to prefer retraining themselves to not leaving food out and locking cabinets down.
Uki Chick
1/20/06, 04:53pm
You'd be surprised at how many are adopted here in Quebec. We were at a picnic sponsored by the organization and there were at least 50 dogs there. Most of the people we spoke to have adopted only greyhounds in their life and have never had any trouble. Of course, I'm sure there are cases, but that goes for any dog or animal for that fact.
unclehobart
1/20/06, 06:40pm
Are there dogtracks in Canada?... or is the stock all drawn from international sources?
Professur
1/20/06, 06:49pm
There's some greyhound racing here, but dog racing is mostly restricted to dog sleds.
unclehobart
1/20/06, 07:02pm
Ok... then your laws are probably gushing with pro-animal welfare and protection laws. Your greyhound stock is probably much much better and quite socially adjusted. They are more retired heroes rather than gambling meat.
i think the next dog i adopt will be a greyhound. i've met a few owners while out walking the dog and they all had nothing but good things to say about them.
as for the dog track, we've gone quite a few times. the purses arent what they used to be since the casinos opened in CT, but it can still be fun. i tend to bet on the dogs that come in dead last on an amazingly consistant basis. she has won over $500 a few times. not surprising. she asks which dogs i'm betting on, then picks the others.
Yeah I'd bet on the dogs that I would read that won alot of races, but then they'd fumble on a turn and the last dog would come in first. The ppl had alot of trouble getting some dogs in the boxes at the starting line to race. They would absolutely FREAK!
Towards the 11th race, I was looking at the dogs fore-arms, the beafier (spelling?) they were I'd bet, and know what, I'd win! LOL
It was O.......K.......but I did feel bad for the dogs!
On Friday afternoons, they have Matinee's, 50 cent beers, maybe try that next time, atleast catch a buzz, LOL.
Professur
1/23/06, 10:51am
i think the next dog i adopt will be a greyhound. i've met a few owners while out walking the dog and they all had nothing but good things to say about them.
When's the last time you heard a pit bull owner talking bad about them?
never met a pit bull owner.
have spoke with owners of other types of dogs that have mentioned, for example, that they yap all the time or they chew furniture or they shed ridiculous amount etc etc etc.
That is because pitbulls are terriers. They are a bit hyperactive by nature and need a fair bit of attention and training... both of which they don't get 90% of the time. The end result when you buy an energetic hunting or herding animal and try to treat it like a lazy 'ol hound dog is shredded furniture. They have to act out their energies and compulsions.
unclehobart
1/24/06, 07:01am
Whoops! ^that message was me. I forgot to log Tonks out. My bad.
I thought you guys didn't share computers.
I thought you guys didn't share computers.
My computer had some issues and it was visiting HomeLan's for repair. It should be back today :D
BTW Thanks Homey, we loves you for fixing the precious.
No sweat. I just hope we properly pinned down the issue. Time will tell.
It's back but not up yet, we had to find a new motherboard fan (which we found at the place no one thought we would find it at). After we reassemble the livingroom we'll get on that.....if i can talk Rob into doing it before he opens the Star Wars battlefront II he just bought.
It's back but not up yet, we had to find a new motherboard fan (which we found at the place no one thought we would find it at). After we reassemble the livingroom we'll get on that.....if i can talk Rob into doing it before he opens the Star Wars battlefront II he just bought.
Abandon all hope... :D
Don't do that. Just limp it along until I can replace the fan - please?
Don't do that. Just limp it along until I can replace the fan - please?
That's a definite! Rob was planning on holding the new fan to the motherbosrd with a fridge magnet! I'm really sure he is just joking but just to be on the safe side I would appreciate if you did it.
When can you squeeze me into your understandably busy schedule?
You know....*pleading look- We pick up the girls new puter tomorrow.
*puppy dog eyes...maybe when you do the fan...if you wouldn't mind, that is...*sweet smile - you could help us set it up?
Professur
1/24/06, 03:04pm
And now everyone knows why i'm such a grumpy fuck.
I'm gonna have to take stock tomorrow. This is, actually, the busiest week of the year at work. If I call the ball and decide I have to work over the weekend, I'll have the time to come over there, but I'm trying to avoid that. I'd rather get over there on the weekend, but I understand you're short a machine.
I'm happy to help set up the new box as well, assuming it's a weekend hit.
I can wait until the weekend...'course I'm not the one with a copy of Star Wars Battlefront II burning a hole in the kitchen counter :D
Seriously, There is early release for school tomorrow and we have to go to Blue Ridge on thursday so our week is really too busy to worry about gaming. This weekend will be fine :D
unclehobart
1/24/06, 04:12pm
Any messages to pass on through to Bill and Susan? I most likely wont make it past the paralegal gatekeepers. I hear just taking a peek at Bill costs $275/hr.
unclehobart
1/24/06, 07:16pm
Okies. That shouldn't cost me more than $7-10.
*shakes her fist at inside jokes*
My brother-in-law is a pretty damn good lawyer. Unc's using him to help with something. Not much of an inside joke.
And don't shake your fist at me, young lady.
My brother-in-law is a pretty damn good lawyer. Unc's using him to help with something. Not much of an inside joke.
And don't shake your fist at me, young lady.
Ah but without the info that Bill is your Bro-in-law and he's a damn good lawyer then what y'all was saying made no sense :p
*shakes fist for fun*
unclehobart
1/25/06, 07:36am
Also, Susan is Homey's sister; she is also the office manager.
I figured Bill and Susan were married...thus Susan was also in some way family of HomeLAN's...whether she was his sis, his wife's sis or if Bill was his wife's Brother I wasn't sure...but I had it mostly figured out :p
unclehobart
1/25/06, 05:58pm
HomeLAN = child 5/5
Susan = child 4/5
Haven't seen her in two years+. This should be a hoot.
Susan doesn't change much. She still keeps her shit pretty firmly strapped together. I respect that. Is your appt late afternoon? If so, you have a 20% chance or so of actually catching the kids there.
Well, they did the computer stuff. Didn't turn out the way everybody thought it would. Firstly, the ghosting didn't work for reasons that make my eyes gloss over to think about...something about the Bios so the girls ended up with the new tower and I am running my old one (which is totally fine).
A word to the wise, if you are going to lovingly create a beautiful customized computer monitor for your children might I suggest not using on that has sat idle in a smoke infested basement for 2 years? But at the very least you should test it to see that it works first....yeah...we turned it on and found that the picture was very yellow-y. So the girls are now using my original monitor from my first computer (as soon in pic).
So now everyone has their own computers back online (the girls share) and all is well. Although I have monitor envy from looking into Rob's for the past couple of days and he's bitching about having the weak drive. C'est la vie!
Well, they did the computer stuff. Didn't turn out the way everybody thought it would. Firstly, the ghosting didn't work for reasons that make my eyes gloss over to think about...something about the Bios so the girls ended up with the new tower and I am running my old one (which is totally fine).
A word to the wise, if you are going to lovingly create a beautiful customized computer monitor for your children might I suggest not using on that has sat idle in a smoke infested basement for 2 years? But at the very least you should test it to see that it works first....yeah...we turned it on and found that the picture was very yellow-y. So the girls are now using my original monitor from my first computer (as soon in pic).
So now everyone has their own computers back online (the girls share) and all is well. Although I have monitor envy from looking into Rob's for the past couple of days and he's bitching about having the weak drive. C'est la vie!
Still have a smoke filled basement eh?
Still have a smoke filled basement eh?
...Why, yes.
We need a smilie that adequately portrays the biting of ones tongue.
...Why, yes.
We need a smilie that adequately portrays the biting of ones tongue.
hehe
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