# New Pics of my Racing Puppy



## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

What a cutie pie- and pretty, too!




























With her cute as heck brother:










Smiles










We wear mom out










See?










I'm a diva!










Ok, I'm sleepy now... more later!


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## AcesWild (Nov 29, 2008)

cutie!!! Love greyhounds!!! I love working with the retirees as well so much fun!


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Jenna, I was expecting action shots LOL. That pup looks very sedate in the pictures. I'm sure he has the stuff.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

LOL this is the real Greyhound! Their mama is relaxed, too (the black dog). Greyhounds are sofa hounds. Don't worry, she is crazy other times- like when she's in the house, and apparently she won't hold still for a moment! lol


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## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

OMG,what an adorable pup!.
Are they from a breeder?.
Would love to be interested in knowing more?.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

They are from a breeder, but are all sold. They are in another state, and will be racing. I may not meet her for years, depending where she runs. If you're interested in a Greyhound puppy, though, PM me. I do know of some.


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## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

She is adorable!!!!! OMG what beautiful coloring!

So how does this racing thing work? I know nothing about it  So you are the owner... but the breeder does racing, or there is another party involved? Do you have to come up with the racing party or does the breeder do that? Can you decide at any time to stop racing, or is it more like once she is done racing, then you can be her owner? LOL It seems so complicated to me but it's probably not  Anyway she is darling!!!


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Hi! I don't mind answering questions. It helps to sway the negative stigma lying, cheating groups like Grey2K and the H$U$ have created! 

Puppies generally hang with mom and litter mates until about four months of age. My puppy's breeder has them in the house much of the time, so they're used to household sounds, steps, other breeds of dogs, etc. In just a couple weeks, she'll head to a Greyhound boarding farm. There, she and her brothers and sisters will have a nice warm/cool house, and long, long grassy runs beside other puppies. The puppies will play, sleep, and run as much as they want. They will run the fence with the puppies in the runs beside theirs. This will build muscle and get them used to running, and let them grow up. They will be handled and played with often by the owner of this small, excellent facility and with children, etc.

When they are about a year old, they will go to one of the top training facilities. It is a great, clean, awesome place where the dogs get handled all the time and their training is videoed so I can watch. She will learn to chase the lure, run short practice runs, and eventually be schooled on the trainer's own personal training track. Eventually, around 18 months or so, she will head to a track that she seems suited for. At the track, dogs are cared for and raced by a kennel. Any given track has a number of kennels. I will only let her go to a kennel I know personally, at a track I approve of. There are a few tracks I will not let her run at- the "dead-end" tracks, such as Birmingham and Jefferson County, among others. 

At the kennel, she will have a spacious crate (large enough an adult human can climb in with the dog) with carpet and shredded paper bedding, blankets, etc. She will have fresh water, and eat the best food (raw meat) with additives. She'll get chew bones to keep her teeth nice, and she'll be let out to a spacious yard to play and go potty four times per day. She'll get professional doggy massages and rub downs, and all vet care. 

If you know Greyhounds, you know how lazy they are. They do just fine with this life, and even when turned out for their potty breaks, they can often be seen just sleeping in the sunshine!

They race every few days to once a week. If there is any issue, muscle tenderness, etc, they are rested. Any money she wins, the kennel that is housing and feeding and caring for her gets a cut. The owner gets the rest. 

I pay her expenses until she is at a kennel/track, then it's free (minus the kennel's cut of any winnings). It clearly makes no sense for a kennel to house and run a dog that does not do well, and in that event, she comes home. There is a chance she will not make the cut even as a puppy. She may hurt herself or simply lack the drive. I doubt this will happen, but in that event, she would come home and depending on circumstances and what kind of a match she is for our home, I would either keep her or give her to someone after getting all her vetting done.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

BTW, some owners will allow you to "pre-adopt" a hound, meaning that you can follow along and when the hound retires, you can adopt him or her. I have no plans to do this at this point, since if she is a good bitch, she will have her own babies some day, meaning the pre-adoptive owner would have to wait a long time.


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## BorzoiMom (Nov 18, 2009)

Awwwwwwwww how adorable! 

Oh and alot of people think sighthounds are active dogs. I am sure you know by now they are active outside but in the house- couch pototoes!


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Yup, for sure!


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## Tahla9999 (Nov 21, 2008)

So you say that the Birmingham tracks are bad news? I live in Birmingham so it would be interesting to learn how the dogs are treated there.

I am very envious of your puppy. Sooo cute!!


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## Abbydabbydo (Jan 31, 2007)

OMG Jenna, you want to race a greyhound? I'm sorry, but I don't understand. It's a betting game, not much different than the fighting game.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Not all kennels at B-ham are bad.

I don't care about betting. I don't even know how to bet on Greyhounds. I don't know what a trifecta is or any of that crap, and I don't care. I just love the hounds and I love seeing them do what they love most.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

BTW I think it is unfair to compare Greyhounds who love to run and are loved and cared for and then adopted to underground pitbull fighting. That's actually quite offensive.


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## Abbydabbydo (Jan 31, 2007)

Jenna, Jenna dear, look into this a little more. Poor babies are pushed too hard to win. And I know you say you are ready to adopt at retirement but so many are not. The whole thing should be shut down.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

I've looked into it a lot. I'm INVOLVED in it. I used to be very anti-racing. Then I started getting to know some racing people... the good guys. No decent person would let their dogs be mistreated or killed without reason. No more than any other segment of the population.

You cannot push or make a Greyhound race. Trust me, they love it! I can barely hold my 35 pound, old Whippet at a race meet or lure trial. He screams and bites my hair and my clothes and the leash and does back flips. This is the calmest, most serene dog in the world! EXCEPT when he sees or hears the lure. And this is a show bred Whippet.

When I went back behind Derby Lane to meet a hauler and pick up a dog a while back, I had another Greyhound (Retired) in my vehicle. While waiting for the hauler (who has a BEAUTIFUL rig that is climate controlled and totally luxurious!) they were running matinee races. I walked the dog I had with me so she could go potty. She could hear the lure through the fence and was shaking, whining, chopping her jaw, and wanted to RUN! When a Greyhound that is adopted sees their old trainer or care taker, they go crazy with joy, even if it's been years. Grey2K and other disgusting groups (PETA, H$U$, etc) have turned the public against the industry with a lot of lies. Grey2K claims more Greyhounds are killed each year than are even bred. Adoptions are close to or above 90% and those not adopted out are generally unstable, would not make suitable pets, or similar. You just have to get to know the right people. There's plenty of great folks in this sport. On the dog end of it, gambling is not the point. It's the dogs, and the love of a dog doing what it loves most.


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