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THE KENNELS
THE KENNELS FOR THE RACING GREYHOUND SHOULD PROVIDE FOR AN
ENVIRONMENT THAT ENHANCES THE ABILITY OF THE GREYHOUND TO PERFORM.
For this reason, it needs to comply with a number of specific and non-negotiable requirements.
These are; (1) A healthy environment
(2) A restful environment
(3) A stable temperature
(4) A high level of security
A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
This requires that the kennel be constructed from materials that are easy to clean, disinfect and do not retain moisture.
A floor surface with sufficient drainage to allow the floor to dry quickly after cleaning
Soft clean comfortable bedding that can be washed or replaced as required.
A bedding area enclosed on three sides to at least 1.5 meters high to provide the greyhound with a cosy private area for sleeping.
A minimum bed area 1.2 meters wide x 0.9 deep, and a minimum additional floor area of 1.2 meters wide x 2.0 meters long.
The total kennel area provided to the greyhound maybe made larger than the listed minimum. However for racing greyhounds in full training, it is recommended that a total floor area of 5.0 square meters is not exceeded to both avoid the greyhound injuring themselves, and to encourage resting.
And last but not least, clean circulating air without being draughty.
It is important to realise that a wet floor drying after cleaning may raise the humidity by as much as 25%, increasing the chance of kennel cough and upper respiratory tract infections.
The type of disinfectant that is routinely used also play’s a big part in the well being of the greyhound.
The disinfectant may kill the bacteria as required, but often the perfume used by the manufacturer is so strong that it could easily cause the greyhound considerable distress and discomfort.
Some years ago I was asked for advice by a trainer who was having terrible problems with the feet on one of his greyhounds.
This greyhound would lay on his bed and chew on the pads of his feet, to the extend that the feet were left bleeding and sore, and the trainer was at the point of having the dog euthanised
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I found that the floor in this dog’s kennel had poor drainage and the disinfectant pooling in the area severely irritated the dog’s feet.
The disinfectant appeared to cause extreme itching and burning, and the only way the poor dog had of dealing with this, was to lick and chew its feet.
I know that was a severe case but it illustrates a point, I have seen a number of greyhounds that had skin and fungal infections under the toes and around the nails caused by living in kennels where the floor remained wet due to both poor drainage and/or poor air circulation.
A healthy environment also means no sharp edges to the mesh used to construct the kennels, or a kennelling situation where it is possible for a dog to bite any part of the dog in the next kennel, if an argument is caused over a scrap of food falling on the floor.
A RESTFUL ENVIRONMENT
When a greyhound competes, every part of its body is placed under extreme stress.
Recovery from extreme stress requires complete rest.
If the greyhound is kennelled in a situation where this rest is disturbed by outside influences, recovery from a hard run may be less than complete, and this will increase the stress on the greyhound system next time it competes.
These outside influences may include problems such as; uncomfortable bedding, heat, cold, noise, draughty kennels, or being continually disturbed by surrounding activity, such as other greyhounds coming and going, or even by being kennelled next door to a greyhound they dislike.
A CONSISTENT TEMPERATURE
Dogs as a species are able to survive extreme temperatures, from the cold of the Arctic to the heat of the Australian dessert.
However, we are concerned with racing greyhounds, supreme athletes, and not just surviving, but performing at the highest level.
Past experience has indicated that the ideal temperature for the racing greyhound is around 20 degrees Celsius. It is for that reason that every effort is made to keep the kennel temperature at the racetracks in Victoria at 20 degrees Celsius.
As far as the kennels at home are concerned, I have found that most greyhounds are still reasonably comfortable resting at temperatures ranging from 15 to 25 degrees Celsius.
Below 15 degrees it may be necessary to provide a coat to maintain body temperature, while above 25 degrees some method of cooling the kennel or the dog may be required.
SECURITY
Kennel security is something that unfortunately most trainers tend to get a little slack about, while my own personal experiences in this area have left me somewhat paranoid about the subject.
During 1986, I was lucky enough to have a number of greyhounds in my kennels that had sufficient ability to race on the metropolitan tracks, and at a level where they would often be pre-race favourite
The kennel block housing the greyhounds was what I believed to be as safe as Fort Knox, being constructed from solid masonry blocks, with the only two doors securely locked with dead bolts at all times and no windows, the light being provided by secure skylights.
If I said that I suspected someone was nobbling my dogs when they did not perform up to expectations, I would be lying .
The simple truth of the matter is, yes some of my greyhounds ran poorly when I expected them to win. But when you race greyhounds this just happens sometimes, and you tend to make excuses for the poor performance.
However, one Monday morning a new pet dog in the house barking at 3 am disturbed me, and I'm ashamed to admit that I gave the poor dog a clip around the ear for waking me up, and went back to bed.
Around 6 am the next morning, I started letting the dogs out into the rear yard.
The first one to go out was a greyhound racing at Olympic Park that night, and as I let him out he appeared to stumble, bump the doorjamb and just fell over, but got up quickly and bounced into the yard.
After I finished working the dogs that morning, I carefully examined the greyhound that was racing that night; including taking his temperature and he seemed quite all right.
Late that afternoon, as I arrived at Olympic Park for kennelling with the dog standing up in the back of the station wagon, I happen to glance into the rear mirror as I pulled up to park the car, just in time to see the dog fall over again.
And that is when I finally woke up, all of a sudden I realised what had happened, including the reaction on race day of some of my other greyhounds and the way they performed during their race.
Some low life was nobbling my greyhounds.
I kennelled the greyhound as normal that night, and went to see the Steward in charge of the meeting.
After explaining the situation, and indicating that I believed the greyhound was incapable of performing as expected. The Steward requested the track Veterinarian to recheck the greyhound, and that was when my worst fears were confirmed, the greyhound had definitely been got at.
The Steward then instructed me, that the greyhound would be withdrawn at the boxes just prior to the start of the race, when the bulk of the betting transactions had been completed.
Parading, and then standing behind the boxes knowing the greyhound would not be racing, and waiting for the announcement, was one of the worst race night experiences I have ever been through.
Then the greyhound was swabbed , with the Steward quick to remind me, that if anything was found, I would be charged.
It was fortunate for me, that in those days the drug detection methods were not as sophisticated as they are now, and nothing was found, however, it did leave somewhat of a cloud over my reputation.
I know that if I were a Steward, the suspicion that maybe the trainer himself gave the greyhound something, and then panicked when he saw the effect, would be foremost in my mind.
The next morning as I stood outside looking at the kennel block, I realised how my greyhounds had been got at!
At the top of the brickwork directly above each kennel was a ventilation opening, and anyone knowing the kennel location of each greyhound could easily push bait laced with the appropriate drug through the vent opening, and it would fall directly on the dog’s bed.
Needless to say, that was rectified immediately, and then after thinking about the situation, I decided to get rid of one of the greyhounds I was training, and more importantly the owner that went with the dog.
End of problem!
Security does not only involve stopping the greyhound from escaping, it means total security.
Please remember that greyhound racing is not just about winning a race and some stake money.
It involves the general public, and in some instances investments of many thousands of dollars.
Every greyhound trainer has a responsibility to insure that greyhound racing maintains its reputation as a clean and honest sport to wager on.
Not only that, if someone gives your greyhound something that affects it’s performance, and you do get swabbed, you as the trainer are responsible, and you will have to face the consequences.
TAKE A GOOD HARD LOOK AT YOUR KENNELS, HOW EASY IS IT TO GET AT YOUR GREYHOUNDS?
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