good afternoon Lily,

thanks again for another informative post. i wish you lived in melbourne so i could shout you a drink lol. my pup is kept in a really long straight run which has me a little concerned now. he is in there with 2 other pups around his age (10 months) with other pups in neighbouring runs. the ground itself is well maintained with the grass being constantly green and soft underfoot. on one occassion the ground was getting torn up and hard and they moved the pups to one of the spare runs where the ground was nice and green etc. i'm unsure if the pups are let out for a free gallop but i'm heading up there tomorrow so i guess i'll find out. i try to go up there once a week just to take my pup out for a walk to get used to people as we will keep him as a pet when he is finished racing. seems to be working out well because his temperament is much better than some pups that i have seen there however i guess they all have different personalities so who knows. i think i might pop him in to see a vet at 12 months of age just for a checkup to make sure he is going well. he is being reared at mitchell lodge in keysborough, unlikely you have heard of them as you don't live in victoria but thought i'd throw it out there. they have about half a dozen dogs doing quite well this year so haven't really thought about their methods too much as i thought they must be doing something right but i think i might ask them a few questions. in your experiences do you think it's out of line asking a trainer questions about dieting and training methods? i wouldn't think many of them would be too keen on revealing that information.

well have a great day and thanks again Lily.

your information is really appreciated.

kindregards,

ghlover86 =]

lol no worries ghlover, actually I lived in Victoria for 9 months last year, so got to know a few people and raced at a few tracks down there.

Mitchell Lodge, yes I've heard of the place, haven't been there but from what I've been told, is an excellent set up run by professional people who knows what they are doing. I think your pup is in good hands! ;-)
How long are their runs? you'd only have to worry if the runs were less than 40metres long and not wide enough, sudden stops and turns will jar their wrists and hocks.

Re the trainer's methods question, I think most trainers would be happy to give you advice but some may not like telling you what they are feeding their dogs exactly, so they may just give you the stock answer lol it depends on the personality you are asking.

What you are doing with your pup eg visiting and taking it for walks, plenty of handling, is exactly the right thing, all owners should be more like you! ;-) Good luck and I hope the pup turns out a winner for you!

hi Lily,

their runs are somewhere around the 60 metre plus range maybe even 70 plus and the width is maybe 10 ish. i had a chat to them about doing a day a week of volunteer work and they're gonna try and sort something out. i also found a training college in kilmore that offers tafe courses for becoming a greyhound attendant, owner/trainer and public trainer. sent them an email asking for more details so will chase that up as it sounds quite good. i've spoken to a few people and it seems like handling the pups at a young age is a good idea which is great because they are more to me than just an investment and i love spending time with him and my mums pup.

thanks for passing on some of your knowledge.

kind regards.

ghlover86

hey guys,

thought a few people in victoria might find this handy so have posted a link of the website. there's a tafe in Kilmore victoria that offer certificates 1,2,3 in greyhound racing. level 1 = attendant, level 2 = owner/trainer and level 3 = public trainer. i have spoken to them today and they have greyhounds on site and provide a good hands on approach which may be beneficial for some new people in the greyhound industry (like me) they seem to cover just about everything when i spoke to them on the phone and the accreditation you get when you finish is accepted australia wide. i'll post more details when i look into it further but here's a link if anyone would be interested. also if any members have done this course i'd love to hear some feedback. have a great day.

ghlover86

Certificate I in Racing - Greyhound Attendant (02) - Courses - TAFE Courses Directory

p.s if i'm not allowed to post links on here i'm really sorry.

just trying to help =]