Author: ccook16

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The Fate of the Racing Greyhound?

When you mention Greyhound racing in a conversation you are likely to receive an emotional reply. No matter which side of the argument people are on they are steadfast in their opinion—it seems to be a topic similar to religion and politics that is more enjoyably discussed with like company. I fall on the pro racing side of the argument. My journey to shape my opinion was based on facts and my personal experiences.

Many people love racing Greyhounds. Greyhounds are a social media sensation; for example, #Greyhound currently has 1.2 million posts on Instagram. People find these dogs charming and want multiple in their homes due to their exceptional temperaments. At the same time many of these Greyhound lovers want to end Greyhound racing.

If you have been around different types of Greyhounds you can see that there is something different about a retired racing Greyhound. It has to be from their raising. Racing Greyhounds are raised on farms and stay with their mother and littermates longer than most other dogs. Once they are about 12-16 months they are trained for the track and spend months learning how to maneuver an oval track. I own both retired professional racing National Greyhound Association (NGA) greyhounds and a NGA Greyhound that I raised. I love all my dogs, but there is something special about the retired racers, something that I have aimed to recreate in my pup.

Some Greyhound lovers have bought into the propaganda that animal rights (AR) groups promote about Greyhound racing. However, ending Greyhound racing has not been an easy task for these groups. AR groups began focusing on legislators and legislation with their emotionally compelling but inaccurate information. Many AR groups lobby for decoupling of Greyhound tracks. What is decoupling? Decoupling is splitting the Greyhound tracks from casinos. In certain states casinos cannot operate unless they are connected to a racetrack. This allows the Greyhound track to share revenue with the casino to help with their payouts.

Without the revenue from casino sharing profits it would be difficult for Greyhound tracks to pay out their purses—tracks get a small percentage on the dollar from casino revenue. Meaning that this legislation would essentially end Greyhound racing and breeding in states with decoupling.

It seems that in our quest to do the best by our dogs we have missed the big picture.  We have begun to only see the Greyhound as just a social media phenomena couch potato and not the lord of all hounds.  Phenomenally fast and efficient hunters, we have forgotten the Greyhound’s roots. In our slip of memory we have effectively sensationalized inaccurate propaganda about Greyhound racing.

Without the standard of performance professional racing achieves, what do we breed to? What happens if Greyhound racing completely ends? Suggesting that someone would buy a Greyhound from a breeder not committed to the training or the performance standard the racing Greyhound is held to is a misinformed statement. The racing Greyhound is unique and something that is extremely difficult to recreate.

If you admire Greyhounds for their athletic abilities, personalities, and abilities to co-exist with other Greyhounds easily and you are anti-racing you may want to rethink your position. Dogs like retired racing Greyhounds are not easy to come by and there is a reason why. Raising a racing Greyhound takes a lot of work and does not happen overnight but is an ongoing process throughout the Greyhound’s professional career. Greyhound farmers, breeders, and trainers put a lot of work into that special hound on your couch.

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Is my Greyhound Dumb?

Have you ever tried to get your Greyhound to pay attention to you and he simply continues with his activities as usual? I have and it is annoying.

As I have mentioned, Jethro is recovering from an epidural hematoma in his back and subsequent hemi-laminectomy. Most of the time Jethro is happy and willing to participate in his recovery; other times he is not interested and has more important things to do like lie in the sun and act like a statue.

Jethro is not stupid and Greyhounds are not stupid dogs but they are not biddable.

There is a reason why Greyhounds aren’t biddable. Let’s think about the history of the Greyhound and what our racing Greyhounds are currently trained to do. Greyhounds, by way of nature and nurture, are independent thinkers. They are able to chase after something catch it and return it. They are able to position themselves on a track and successfully outmaneuver seven other dogs. The path that the Greyhound must plan to be successful requires some thinking that is not driven by a human. There is more to our Greyhounds than just raw speed!

This skills associated with racing and coursing are somewhat learned but also bred into the Greyhound. Genetics play a huge role in the Greyhound’s ability race on an oval track or course. That is not to say that training does not impact the Greyhound’s learning, but he has to have the capacity to think independently first or use his instincts.

Greyhounds are actually rather smart dogs. However, their independence can really be frustrating and create a negative environment for training or rehabbing.

So how do we make our Greyhounds as successful in rehab or training? It starts with knowing your dog and having your head in the game, so to speak!

I am a high-strung person with a touch of OCD, so I don’t do chill very well. This can be difficult when training dogs. While rehabbing Jethro I found myself very frustrated with him at times because he was not doing what I wanted and I couldn’t check that set of exercises of the list for the day. I found myself dreading his PT sessions, and I could tell that he dreaded dealing with me. After a very unsuccessful morning of trying to do PT exercises and Jethro impersonating a Greyhound statue, I knew something had to change.

Guess what, folks?  I needed to change. In the process of not completing his exercises for the day, I was becoming very nervous thinking about the possible terrible outcomes that lack of PT could lead to. I was focused on getting him better but not on Jethro or what Jethro needed in a trainer. I was a deranged anxious lady that he wanted nothing to do with; I was not his calm collected owner.

Now I make sure he is doing something daily but that can vary from increasing the time he stands, the number of sit-stand reps, or going on a 15-minute walk with Darla and Sashi.

Knowing my dog and where he is in his recovery has been essential to his improvements. Knowing your dog and where they are from day to day is essential in any type of training not just physical therapy.

Getting to know your dog opens the door for biddability. We must understand that there is more to our Greyhounds than raw speed – that big stubborn dog also has a lot of brain power.

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Greyhound Anatomy: Feet

If I were asked what is the most important physical attribute of a Greyhound, without a pause my answer would be feet.

Often times we take our feet for granted forgetting that they support and balance us throughout the day. Feet are essential, just about every action we do involves our feet. One of the most important features of a Greyhound is their ability to run. So it would make sense that a Greyhound must have good feet to run through terrain after a hare or chase a mechanical lure on a sand track. Greyhounds need an exceptional base for them to perform at their best.

If you have ever studied a dog foot, it is complex structurally. There are multiple small bones that make up the carpus (wrist), foot, and toes of the Greyhound. All of these tiny bones have a purpose and even a small fracture can cause issues. In addition to the multiple bones in the Greyhound’s foot there are also ligaments that attach bone to bone and tendons that attach the Greyhound’s muscle to bone. And remember the feet need to be well innervated with nerves, sending and delivering messages between the brain and foot. It is essential that the Greyhound have excellent proprioception or know where its feet are and how to move its feet to achieve a task.

I believe that some dogs are born with superior feet. When considering breeding Greyhounds you have to weight out the pros and cons of both parents.  I am sure feet are considered as a toe or wrist injury can put a dog out of work for weeks to months. I grew up in Appalachia and one old wives tale was that a double dew clawed (dew claws on both the front and back feet) dog was a lucky dog. Dog people have always paid attention to dog’s feet.

I want to talk about a common injury that many Greyhound owners may encounter—a dislocated toe. A dislocated toe or luxation of the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP) or distal interphalangeal joint (DIP) joint occurs when the ligaments that hold either the PIP or DIP  joints together can no longer tolerate the external stress on the joint and they give out. Generally speaking the joint will dislocate dorsally or upward. Oftentimes the joint will pop out of place and the ligaments still having integrity, will pull the luxated portion of the toe back into place. The toe will appear very swollen and sometimes will have a knife like cut where the luxation caused a break in the skin. However, the ligaments can completely lose their integrity and the joint will be displaced. Generally the Greyhound will be lame and you will be able to see the displaced toe. Often times the joint can be reset but this can be painful—I highly recommend against doing this on your own the first time unless you have experience resetting joints. In most cases with either presentation, the likelihood of the luxation recurring is high.

In addition to recurrence being high, successful treatment can be difficult to achieve as well. A trip to the vet is indicated to get an x-ray and make sure there is not a small fracture. For most pet owners the toe can be set and splinted for a week then rested for 2-4 weeks. Then pray the next time your Greyhound runs that the toe will stay in place!

Often times performance Greyhound owners will opt for intervention. Evidence for these types of procedures is variable. But certain orthopedic vets will complete the procedure and they can be very successful. Jethro severely dislocated his toe in March 2014, had stabilization with suture material in March 2014, and he continued amateur-running sports until December 2015 without any toe issues. If you were going to proceed with an intervention the vet would place a suture material or sclerotic material in the affected area to stabilize the joint then hope that the Greyhound’s inflammatory response will create arthritic changes to further stabilize the joint. If this fails amputation would be a reasonable next choice, especially for a non-weight bearing toe.

On the subject of amputation, I am not a fan or removing parts of the body that are not causing issues; however, as soon as trouble strikes and reasonable treatments have failed, remove the problem. Dogs don’t care about how many toes they have but they do care about pain!

There are also plenty of alternative methods to try in these cases. I am a believer in acupuncture, turmeric, and fatty acids (Omega QD). Some people really like a cold laser as well. I have used the cold laser many times and I feel that it does not hurt but I have not seen as much improvement with cold laser as other alternative treatments.

Greyhound feet are vital to our dog’s daily doings. Understanding the foot and where possible issues could arise is important so that you will be better prepared when an accident strikes.

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The Perfect Pair

After writing my post, Yes, I Own a Racing Greyhound and No She Isn’t a Rescue, I was delighted by the support from readers and that so many readers related to my experience. This post engaged a lot of people and a lot of comments. The comments I received were very positive. However, in many of the negative comments there continued to be a theme, using old information to justify the anti-racing agenda and the idea that Greyhounds are “rescued” from inevitable death.

I have been a part of the Greyhound world for four years and the dog world since birth. My Greyhound learning curve has been steep. You could say that I am obsessed with expanding my Greyhound knowledge, if I am not out photographing my Greyhounds in a beautiful field, I am learning more about the breed and why performance is so important.

I entered the Greyhound world at a very good time. The racing industry and adoption charities had created a successful relationship with the welfare of the racing Greyhound at the forefront. It was not an easy journey and took a lot of hard work from both parties.

In the late 1980’s Greyhound racing was the sixth most popular sport in America. There were multiple tracks throughout the country and there was high demand for racing Greyhounds. Greyhound breeders were breeding and whelping to fill the demand for racing Greyhounds.

With the increase in supply of Greyhounds, there was always a newer faster dog in the wings. Unfortunately these racing kennels could not house excess Greyhounds. This was a huge issue. Greyhound adoption was catching on in the mid-1980’s but there were some obstacles. Many people opposed Greyhound adoption stating that these dogs were vicious, trained to kill, and should not be rehomed as pets. The racing industry and the adoption charities developed a symbiotic relationship, hosting meet and greets at tracks and encouraging the publicity of unmuzzled Greyhounds interacting with people. Adoption groups continued to sprout up throughout the country re-homing racing Greyhounds.

In the meantime, The AR lobbyists were trying their best to end Greyhound racing by 2000.  The racing industry continued breeding Greyhounds to the performance standard, albeit fewer Greyhounds per year.  But there was a big change, no longer were trainers having to search desperately to place retired racing Greyhounds. The racing Greyhound had an abundance of people wanting them in retirement. The improved publicity and relationship between the racing industry and adoption charities increased the adoption rate of retired racing Greyhounds to 90%.

Due to the work of adoption charities and the Greyhound racing industry, I do not feel that today’s racing Greyhound is a rescue. There is a high demand for retired racing Greyhounds as pets.  If one adoption group cannot take a dog another will. However, decades ago, when trainers were desperately searching for groups to take their Greyhounds, knowing there was no more room in their kennel, I can understand why some would refer to the Greyhound as a rescue. But times have changed.

The racing industry has a commitment to the performance standard of the Greyhound and with the assistance of adoption charities the industry has been able to further their commitment to the welfare of the racing Greyhound throughout their lives on and off the track.

 

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A Day of Lure Coursing

 

Blogging can be a challenge. I get bloggers block and have trouble coming up with interesting Greyhound topics when this happens I turn to my husband for inspiration. He suggested a chronicle of a day in the country lure coursing. I thought that he was onto something. I hope that you all enjoy this post and folks who haven’t been to the field decide to come out for a day of fun in the country.

Lure coursing is a weekend event. On Friday night I begin packing the van. I feel more organized this way. To aid me in my OCD organization I bought plastic bins that are organized with first aid supplies, leashes, blankets, and other lure coursing accouterments. I have crates for all the Greyhound set up in my car. I have learned my lesson about having loose Greyhounds in the car after Jethro locked me out of the car and jumped out through the sunroof!

I leave my house with plenty of time to get to the field. I generally pick up breakfast as oftentimes I am very busy at the trial and have a hard time bringing myself to eat.

The trial begins with inspection and check-in usually around 9AM. At large trials like the International Invitational, inspection can start before the sun is up! This is when the inspection committee watches your Greyhound’s gait and checks for lameness. They also check the bitches to make sure that they are not in season.

Photo Credit: Cindy Frezon

After inspection, the field secretary completes the “draw” or the running order of the hounds. This is a blinded draw of the coursing hounds with a separate draw for each stake, open, field champions, and veterans.

While the draw is going on I usually walk my hounds. It is important to let your hound poop and pee prior to running—just ask Sashi – when nature calls, it calls.   I also like to stretch the hounds and warm them up, and the walk helps with this.

After the draw is posted the trial begins to get underway. I take a photo of the running order because I will forget—it is not fun to be at the line in the wrong blanket! I then head back to the van to get the hounds ready for their run. If the hounds are running on continuous loop I will wrap vetrap around the Greyhounds’ legs up to their stopper pad to prevent line burn. Also, if the ground is hard and dry I will tape their pads with elastikon to prevent a blown pad. When it is our turn I head to the line with my hounds in a slip lead and regular lead. I get in position, holding the slip lead with my right hand and place my left hand under the Greyhound’s tuck. Some people do not like to hold a Greyhound under the tuck but I find that it gives me more control of the dog. The lure starts to move and the Greyhounds lose their minds! The hounds are not released until the hunt-master says “Tally-Ho” when the lure is far enough in front of the dogs.

Photo Credit: Cindy Frezon

I let the Greyhound go as soon as I hear “Tally-Ho.” Then I get to watch my most favorite thing: a big beautiful Greyhound doing what they are best at, chasing.

The Greyhounds are moving so fast it seems that the entire course only lasts seconds.

Once the Greyhounds are back at the line, I grab mine and hurry back to my van to remove any tape or vetrap and check them for any lameness or tenderness. Once the vetrap is removed I use a pressurized sprayer with water to rinse out their nail beds. When dogs run on turf they can get a build-up of debris in their nail beds. This can be painful and a potential cause for infection. If there is a little blood in the nail bed, that is okay and it should be cleaned with the sprayer. I do not give water at this time. After they appear to be sound I walk them until their breathing becomes more normal and they are able to close their mouths. Then give them a small amount of water.

Photo Credit: Cindy Frezon

After all the dogs have ran in prelims the entire process is repeated, generally after lunch, which gives a nice break for the hounds. Once all dogs have run twice, the top hounds will run for best of breed. After best of breed is completed, all the breed winners are able to run for best in field.

Once all the running has been completed, awards are given out and photos of the winners are taken. Most often the placing dogs will get a toy (my hounds are very pleased with this).

After socializing with friends and some photos, we pack it up, head home, ready to repeat the following day.

 

Feature image credit: Cindy Frezon
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Separation Anxiety

A lot of my blog ideas come from previous posts.  I do research on a topic and then think about my experiences.  I think that gives this blog a distinct feel and I hope you all enjoy it as well.  The other day I way touching on some of the myths people believe about racing Greyhounds and their lives on the track.  Separation anxiety popped into my mind.  In addition to hearing that skittish dogs are products of abuse, I have also heard and read that the anxieties or issues Greyhounds have in their adopted homes are products of what might have happened at racing kennels.

Today I want to dive into my dogs’ separation anxiety (SA) journey and how it correlated to mistakes I made and not problems in their kennel lives or mistreatment.

In my “Myths Busted” post I compared a racing kennel to a military school.  I think this is the most accurate way for many adopters to understand their Greyhound’s previous life if the adopter has never been to a kennel or racetrack.  Dogs are creatures of habit and, due to that tendency, Greyhounds do very well in the racing kennel environment.  Kennels have daily routines that do not differ greatly from day to day.  This is very comfortable living for most dogs. Once the decision has been made to retire a racing Greyhound and send them to an adoption kennel, their lives change but generally speaking they continue with a stable routine.  Sometimes the retired Greyhounds have a long trip to the adoption kennels but once there the Greyhounds enjoy a routine that includes exercise, interactions with humans and Greyhounds, and meals.

The big change comes to the Greyhounds’ routine when they are adopted.  One change is they are no longer around other Greyhounds (unless there are Greyhounds in their new family).  These dogs have spent their entire lives with other Greyhounds and are now alone. They may also have more free time—they can wander around in the yard or house.  They most likely are getting less exercise than previously, possibly increasing their anxiety.  Finally the biggest change and the biggest issue is the over-abundance of affection from their new owner(s).

All of these changes influence the risk of separation anxiety in these dogs, but the biggest issue is the amount of affection we give to our newly adopted Greyhounds.

When Clint and I adopted Jethro I had firm opinions that Jethro was going to be crated and sleep in our sunroom that was close to out bedroom but not in it.  Big mistake!  The first few nights Jethro howled and I went into the sunroom every time to comfort him.  This was my first mistake and biggest mistake.  It would have been better for Jethro to be crated in our room than for me to continue to check on him.  I know this is what triggered his separation anxiety. And it was not easy to undo.

Jethro had horrible SA.  He chewed through multiple metal and soft crates, escaped through the sunroof of my SUV at a field trial, escaped from a kennel run with a d-ring, he learned how to break down a metal crate and would leave the front panel off to chew up our window seal and blinds.  I felt that I had created a monster!  I had no clue how to help him.  I consulted my friend Jennifer Bachelor and her blog.  By this time it was clear that the crate was not working for Jethro.  We began baby gating Jethro in the kitchen—we could make his area smaller than a bedroom but larger than a bathroom. We continued to leave the TV on for him and a kong.  We also hired a dog walker to check on him.  And we got another Greyhound.

The process of Jethro’s SA rehab took a long time.  He is still not a fan of the crate but deals with it for car rides and field trials.  He does have the run of the house when we are away.  I do NOT feel that Darla’s arrival fixed his issues, but it did help.  I would not recommend getting another dog to fix SA, as you have to deal the dogs’ issues and training issues, getting him stable before adding to the pack—I would have lost my mind if I had two dogs like Jethro!

After my experience with Jethro, I looked at Darla’s arrival completely different.  If I was home and not playing or training Darla, she was crated.  I made the crate fun—she got raw bones, feet, and hooves that she was not allowed out of her crate.  She slept on a dog bed in my room.  I did NOT shower her with affection: she had to earn it.  Darla and I had a “working relationship” for about a year.  It seemed like she respected me for giving her stability and security and over time we developed a relationship of best friends.  I do not regret one aspect of Darla’s training and she is a very balanced Greyhound and extremely secure.  Sashi was also trained in this manner—he likes his crate so much that he will hang out in there when we are home!

You can have too much of a good thing.  We have to remember that saying when adopting our Greyhounds.  We have to focus on a routine that we set and they live by.  We must exercise and train our Greyhounds—just because they lie around does not mean they do not need stimulation!  And we have to remember that affection will come but security is much more important and what we should strive for.

 

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Yes, I own a racing Greyhound and no she isn’t a rescue

Am I the only Greyhound owner who gets annoyed when asked if my Greyhound was rescued?  It really gets under my skin and it seems to happen far too often.  The other day we were buying dog food and I was asked if my Greyhound was “rescued.”  I was in a particularly rotten mood and my husband elbowed me as to say “please do not unleash your bad mood on this poor kid.”  I put my bad mood aside and replied, “No, they were not rescued and yes they are racing Greyhounds.”  The kid looked perplexed but continued to bag our goods and not ask for more clarification.

I feel continually frustrated about the misinformation that makes its way into the mainstream.  It seems like the anti-racing (AR) propaganda penetrates so deeply that it has affected many people, even people who own Greyhounds.

This past week I read two articles in two different papers in North America stating complete inaccuracies about Greyhound racing and the lives of racing Greyhounds.  By no means am I saying there are no failings in the Greyhound racing industry and that it is perfect.  However, I feel that the vast majority of people working in the Greyhound racing industry love Greyhounds and respect the breed for what it is: a functional, fast, exceptional hound.

If you are into Greyhound adoption and have not visited a track, you’re missing out.  I am lucky to be a part of a Greyhound Adoption group that arranges yearly visits to racing kennels and tracks encouraging adopters to see what life was like for their Greyhound before adoption.

It is important to be thoughtful about our opinions, and knowing the details of both sides is important to understand the entirety of a subject.   Unfortunately, it seems that most of the AR supporters cannot see past outdated reports of abuse and neglect to see the positive changes in Greyhound racing today. It oftentimes seems overwhelming to educate the general public and some Greyhound enthusiasts that racing Greyhounds are loved, well exercised, well fed and happy in their professional careers.

There are certain ideas created and propagated by the AR machine about retired racing Greyhounds that have invaded mainstream Greyhound adoption.  One idea is that skittish dogs were abused throughout their professional careers.  This idea is complete rubbish.  First off, by now we all know that negative training is not successful.  Why would someone spend thousands of dollars on a dog that could create revenue and abuse it, thus diminishing their chances of success? Complete insanity.  Furthermore, dogs have different personalities just like us.  I have raised a fair number of terrier pups and for the most part they are fearless dogs, but I have seen dogs be gun shy or timid with no external cause for them to demonstrate that behavior.  Skittish Greyhounds are most likely that way do to nature not nurture.

Another idea that makes me nuts is the raw meat myth.  Feeding raw meat is not a bad thing!  Dogs are predators and they are made to eat raw meat.  Now, let’s talk about non-human grade meat.  The labeling of meat is not just based on the quality of the product but also the facility it is made it.  Lots meat packing facilities have quality products but have not obtained certification from the USDA to mark their product as “human grade.”  Most pet foods are not made for human consumption, as the regulations and certification for this labeling would be very expensive, increasing the cost of pet food.  It’s just not a logical business move. Thus, the non-human grade meat myth should be a moot point from now on.

Opinions and facts are not the same; however, opinions create gut responses and bias.  When dredging through the misinformation about Greyhound racing it is important to push our bias aside and get at the truth.  I support Greyhound racing for many reasons and as I have seen and learned more about the industry my support grows.  I hope that this article encourages you to reinvestigate your feelings about Greyhound racing immersing yourself in facts and not opinions.

 

 

 
 
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How to get a solid recall

By now you have probably noticed there are a lot of pictures of my dogs running and playing without leashes. I want to make it clear that generally speaking my Greyhounds are leashed.  However, when we are in the country we allow our Greyhounds to be off leash.  Our dogs are familiar with our property and understand their “boundaries”.

My Greyhounds did not come with off-leash manners and it took a lot of work to train off-leash manners.  So how did I go about teaching my Greyhounds to come? Recall training is not a once and done type of command.  Recall training has to occur frequently and you have to be ready to give you Greyhound a huge payload when they come to you vs. following that amazing coyote scent or chasing an armadillo. 

At first we did a lot of work in the backyard.  I would send a Greyhound out and allow them to start their sniffing.  I would watch on the deck and when I noticed they were very interested in something I would call them and give them a high value treat—think canned dog food, mac&cheese, or raw tripe in a small container.  After they had successfully completed this on a small scale I increased the distraction and the distance. 

After mastering the backyard we would begin working on recalls at our local private dog park. This was a good location because it was safe but also full of new exciting smells and distractions.   Again I would wait until they became interested in something and then call them giving them a huge payload. 

We continued with this exercise until I felt they were ready to head to our country fields. 

The boys were relatively easy to teach a recall to.  Both Sashi and Jethro are huge momma’s boys.  They are not going far from me.  I can’t put on make-up without Sashi watching!  The cord was not cut with the boys.  Training a recall took a few huge payloads in a few different locations and they were hooked. 

Darla was not that simple.  Darla is a complicated Greyhound.  She is very independent and when I first got her she could take me or leave me.  However, she did want to hang close to Jethro and she loves food.  The issues with her recall came when she wanted to do more independent activities and realized that she could wonder off from Jethro.  This caused some stress—we thought all of our Greyhounds had great recalls but Darla did not.

Darla was deemed a flight risk and leashed.  Clint and I wanted Darla to enjoy the independence of sniffing and hunting around our fields.  We began reworking her recall and giving her another chance at off leash activities. 

We took her to the fields and the first time she did well and stayed with me, I thought that she had it!  The second time was not so pleasant.  As soon as we unleashed her she was off. Fortunately she was with Sashi and he has an excellent recall.  We called him and she remembered what she was supposed to be doing.  And came running back to us for her reward.  I want to note how important it was that we were happy and rewarded her when she came back.  She did not do exactly what we wanted her to do but we want her to associated coming to us with happiness and rewards, not us being frustrated.

After this experience we knew we had more work to do. We tried her off leash again this past week in our fields.  She did much better.  I have learned that once she is off leash she is going to run like crazy. The difference this time was that when we called her she did a turn-face and came back to us, ready for her jackpot reward. 

We will continue to do more and more off leash training with Darla and we will allow her more and more off leash time.  Hoping to balance her training with her positive experiences. 

No matter if you are considering allowing you Greyhound off leash or not, training your Greyhound to a recall is one of the most important things you can do.  We have to remember that accidents do happen and the better prepared you are the better chance you have a good outcome. Good solid recalls take time.  It is important to start slow and practice often.  Sometimes regression is part of the learning process and should not be considered a failure but an opportunity for learning.  Training you Greyhound should be a fun positive process for you and your Greyhound. 

For more off-leash training tips check out Jennifer Bachelor’s Blog Never Say Never Greyhounds.  This is the premier blog for training Greyhounds!

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The Fovea has it

Science really gets me excited.  What is most exciting is when something new is discovered.  This could be a new treatment, new technology, or revisiting of a previously thought notion or idea.

Eyes are one of the coolest organs in the body.  They are windows to the brain and some would say to the soul.  In humans the vital sign of the eye is visual acuity—you know, when you have to cover one eye and read the eye chart.  20/20 vision means that you see the same as a normal eye would see at 20 feet.  20/100 vision means that you see what a normal eye would see at 100 feet.  As you might imagine it’s much more difficult to test the visual acuity of a dog’s eye—they can’t tell us what they see.  Due to this, some scientists believe that the visual acuity of the dog has been underestimated.

We know that dogs see differently than humans do.  For many years we have known that dogs can see much better in low light than us; they have rapid vision that allows them to detect rapid changes in the light, and, due to the placement of their eyes in their skulls, they have wider visual fields than we do (Miller & Murphy, 1995).

All of these qualities aid the dog, a predator, in its ability to hunt.  However, the acuity at which the dog can focus was thought to be diminished, as the dog is known to lack a fovea (Miller & Murphy, 1995).  Fovea centralis (fovea) is a structure in the human eye.  The fovea is a depression within the retina that contains a large number of densely packed cones type cells that are responsible for visual acuity (Beltran et al., 2014).

For years scientists have felt that the dog’s visual streak was responsible for their visual acuity.  The visual streak is an area in the retina with increased amounts of photosensitive retinal ganglionic cells and cone cells (Miller & Murphy, 1995).  However, in 2014 things changed.

In 2014 the canine retina was evaluated with in vivo (in life) and ex vivo (in death) imaging (Beltran et al., 2014).  The researchers found an area in the retina very similar to a non-human primate fovea, which they deemed the area centralis.  This area was tiny but full of densely packed cone cells (Beltran et al., 2014).  This area was not a fovea-like depression but was very similar from a histologic standpoint to what is seen in the center of the human fovea, the foveola (Beltran et al., 2014).

You may be asking why is she so excited about this? This information is incredibly important.  This indicates that a dog’s visual acuity is actually better than previously thought.  The visual acuity of a dog was thought to be about 20/50 (Miller & Murphy, 1995).  Based on the findings in this study, the visual acuity of the dog would be between 20/24 and 20/13 (Beltran et al., 2014).  That means that dogs could be able to see at 20 feet what a normal eye would see at 13 feet!

The canine eye is an important structure for multiple reasons.  For our Greyhounds the eye is important for racing, lure coursing, coursing, hunting, fetching, running through agility obstacles, and their everyday lives.  Just imagine having better than perfect vision and then adding a wider visual field, the ability to detect rapid changes in light, and the ability to see in low light—I would be overwhelmed with that much stimuli going through my brain all the time!  Dogs are complex animals and the more we learn about them the more I amazed by all they do!

Beltran, W. A., Cideciyan, A. V., Guziewicz, K. E., Iwabe, S., Swider, M., Scott, E. M., Aguirre, G. D. (2014). Canine retina has a primate fovea-like bouquet of cone photoreceptors which is affected by inherited macular degenerations. PLoS One, 9(3), e90390. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090390
Miller, P. E., & Murphy, C. J. (1995). Vision in dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc, 207(12), 1623-1634.

 

 

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Do Greyhounds think like us?

Have you ever wondered what makes a Greyhound happy?  Or even if your Greyhound experiences any emotion like we do?

I have.  Jethro recently had a spontaneous injury to his back.  He was paralyzed from the pelvis down.  We were lucky and he was able to have surgery to fix the issue.  He is getting better but he still has a long road ahead of him.

Jethro is a high-strung Greyhound that does not like to be still; he has “extra personality.”  He has been miserable while he has been sick.  He whines and seems listless.  He is only happy when he is eating, outside, cuddled up to Clint or me, or playing nose work.  We have ben playing a lot of games and that has made this experience better for the both of us.  Jethro may be the best trained of the bunch at this moment!

This experience made me think about the emotions dogs may feel.  I wondered how Jethro’s brain was processing his condition.  This experience made me want to know more about dog cognition.

Dog cognition is an up-and-coming field.  There are several centers around the U.S.  studying dogs.  We have learned that dogs are special compared to other animals.  Dogs are able to learn our cues even better than chimps and other non-human primates.

I was shocked that a dog could understand what I want him to do more quickly than a non-human primate.  A study published in Interactions Studies in 2009 looked at New Guinea Signing Dog (NGSD), along with four breeds of dogs registered with kennel clubs—the the Siberian Huskie, the German Shepherd Dog (GSD), the Toy Poodle, and the Basenji (Wobber, Hare, Koler-Matznick, Wrangham, & Tomasello, 2009).  The researchers tested three types of cues on these dogs—they set out two bowls of food, the first cue was pointing and turning toward one bowl, the second was handling a block and then setting it in front of a bowl, and the third was covering the dogs’ eyes and sitting the block in front of one bowl (Wobber et al., 2009).  In experiments with the NGSG and the kennel club dogs both reacted to these cues (Wobber et al., 2009).  This is incredibly interesting, as wolves do not do this (Hare, Brown, Williamson, & Tomasello, 2002; Virányi et al., 2008).  Furthermore, the NGSD is a breed that has had very little human involvement in their breeding and they still picked up on these cues similarly to the pure breed kennel dogs (Wobber et al., 2009).

This does not prove that dogs experience emotions as we do, but it does show that dogs are very in tune with humans.  They are paying attention to us and respond accordingly.  For instance, when I get my camera case out, my Greyhounds know we are about to go run.  Dogs pay attention to what we do.

There continues to be a lot of research focused on the dog’s cognitive system.  Hopefully someone will eventually be able to answer our question about the emotions our Greyhounds feel or don’t feel.

For now we have to do our best to not anthropomorphize our Greyhounds.  We understand that they are in tune with us but do not necessarily feel what we perceive that they feel.  We have to remember they are dogs and sometimes what makes them happiest is a nice run in a field, a good beef neck bone, an ear rub, or a nice game of nose- work!

 

Hare, B., Brown, M., Williamson, C., & Tomasello, M. (2002). The domestication of social cognition in dogs. Science, 298(5598), 1634-1636. doi:10.1126/science.1072702
Virányi, Z., Gácsi, M., Kubinyi, E., Topál, J., Belényi, B., Ujfalussy, D., & Miklósi, A. (2008). Comprehension of human pointing gestures in young human-reared wolves (Canis lupus) and dogs (Canis familiaris). Anim Cogn, 11(3), 373-387. doi:10.1007/s10071-007-0127-y
Wobber, V., Hare, B., Koler-Matznick, J., Wrangham, R., & Tomasello, M. (2009). Breed differences in domestic dogs’(Canis familiaris) comprehension of human communicative signals (Vol. 10:2, pp. 206-224). Interaction Studies: John Benjamins Publishing Company