We turn out the dogs at 5:30a.m. and leave them out about 30 minutes. We load up the dogs that need to be sprinted that day and take them to the racetrack. They race around the track without a lure, free form. The dogs just love this.

Two mornings a week we take the dogs/puppies that need to be schooled with the lure to the track for unofficial schooling. The other five days we have some of them over there sprinting. When finished sprinting/schooling, whichever the case, they are taken back to the kennel and put into the turnout pen for a while before being put up.

We then turn out half of the Greyhounds and clean their beds. We use pape r which we cut or shred. This paper comes in rolls of 80-120 pounds and it is cut into 1 inch wide strips and torn at 2 foot lengths. We give them a nice fluffy bed. After putting the first half in the top crates we repeat the process with the other half.

The next step is feeding: Now I have seen some criticize the feeding of raw meat but if they could speak they would tell you that is what they prefer. I basically mix meat, clovite (a vitamin mineral supplement), Purina Hi-Pro, and water. Each dog is fed individually from a stainless steel pan. (If the meat we feed the dogs hadn't been denatured I would not hesitate to eat it myself). I know I have eaten worse in fast food joints!! We periodically give them knuckle bones to keep their teeth clean.

During this period we check out our racers that day, fit their racing muzzles and hang them on their crate, and weigh the dogs to make sure they are within their weight limit. We check out their general condition.

THEN A COFFEE BREAK!

Time to turn them out in the pens again. (I have two large turnout pens and put 29 dogs in each pen). We leave them for about 30 minutes or more (depending on the weather). then they go to bed and rest until 3:30p.m.

At 3:30 they are turned out again, for 30 minutes before weigh in time. The racers are taken to the track and weighed in for their races.

The non racers are turned out again at 7:30p.m. for a good long turnout, then cleaned up and fed. They can go out any time they want. Most of them are very quietly resting and do not want to go out again for the night.

I personally put in roughly 13 hours a day and sometimes more, 7 days a week. I guarantee you I have nothing but happy hounds. Come and visit if you are ever in the area.

...GREYHOUND ADOPTION...

At one time people had a lot of misconceptions about Greyhounds, primarily bcause they always have muzzles on when they are at the track, and people think they are vicious. Over the years I have placed a lot in homes with peope that came to realize what wonderful animals they are. Only until the adoption programs began to spring up around the country did larger numbers of people began to find out about them. Thank God for the adoption programs and the wonderful peope that run them.

Over the years I have placed several Greyhounds in homes as pets.When I was in Colorado (1992-97) I placed all of my dogs with Sandy Johnson, caretaker of the Mile High adoption program in Commerce City. At one time I took care of the adoption kennel for Sandy, as well as trained the kennel I was working for. Since I have been in Arkansas I place dogs with the Mid South Adoption Option, funded here at Southland by the Track and the kennel operators. If you would like to know more about adoption or Greyhound racing visit my links, I welcome e-mail.

MY GREYHOUND PAGES

My Greyhound Photos / Greyhound Puppies