# Racing Greyhound Food



## Greyhound12 (Aug 26, 2011)

HI!

Hope someone can help-I'm doing some research about racing greyhounds and just wondered if there was any racing greyhound owners who could tell me what they look for when buying their racing greyhound dry dog food.

Many Thanks


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

do you mean dogs that currently race or retired ex racers?

heres what I found about the diet of a racing dog:


> Greyhounds are fed a well balanced daily diet, consisting of vitamins,grains,4-D meat, as used in commercial per foods, and stews containing a variety of vegetables, and often fish, chicken, barley and macaroni.
> www.wonderlandgreyhound.com
> 
> But there's another site that suggests they get 4-D meat:
> ...


Theres nothing wrong with balanced good quality raw diet, but 4-D is not the way to go, though I found some contradicting info on the net in regard to the quality of meat thats supplied to the track.


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## Greyhound12 (Aug 26, 2011)

I mean greyhounds who are currently racing.

Many thanks for that information-very helpful. I know some racing greyhounds are fed dry dog food which i believe is also know as kibble, i was wondering what ingredients 
they look for in this when they purchase it. What makes a good dry dog food/kibble for racing greyhounds?


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## runwiththewind (Aug 19, 2011)

http://www.grey2kusa.org/pdf/4-DMeatFactSheet.pdf

4-D Meat: A Deadly Meal

This is what I was told by a Greyhound trainer:

"At the track, they have frozen DDD beef, that we get out in a tub, turn the fan on it all day to thaw it and then the following day, we add cooked rice, corn oil, an electrolyte supplement called stress dex, milk replacer and purina hi-pro kibble to it to make a gruel. It is fed as is (room temperature) and studies have shown that it is chock full of Salmonella and E.Coli. There have been studies about pre-made raw diets that show too much bacterial growth in them too"

I am totally opposed to racing greyhounds!


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

runwiththewind said:


> http://www.grey2kusa.org/pdf/4-DMeatFactSheet.pdf
> 
> 4-D Meat: A Deadly Meal
> 
> ...


Why are you opposed to racing greyhounds? I understand that not all owners treat them right, but not all are bad. My grandfather's best friend owned some racers and they were his life. They were his buddies and best friends. They were treated as athletes, but also as part of the family. They often came before his human family. If one of the dogs was injured or scared, they either slept in bed with him or outside in a special kennel designed to remove any kind of risk to an injured dog. Once retired, they lived out the rest of their lives with him as 100% couch potatoes. 

THAT is the way they should be treated. If they all treated them that way, it would be a wonderful sport. I love greyhound racing as well as horse racing. What I am opposed to is people who do not treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve.


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## runwiththewind (Aug 19, 2011)

Your grandfather's best friend is truly the exception to the rule. 

Greyhounds suffer from osteosarcoma probably because of the poor diet, over-vaccinations, steroids. Greyhounds are wonderful dogs and belong in a loving home - not on a track or live in a crate. 

Greyhound Racing: The Truth Behind the Greyhound Racing Industry - YouTube

http://www.greyhounds.org/gpl/contents/PDFs/abuse_cases_11-04.pdf

ARFF - greyhound racing
Greyhounds: Racing to Their Deaths
http://www.worldanimalfoundation.net/f/GreyhoundRacing.pdf
Cocaine found in Jacksonville racing greyhounds | jacksonville.com


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

I also am against it- not racing in and of itself, but the way the animals are treated. Dogs should be treated as pets, not as a means to make money.


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

Mmm can't comment on all that as I have an ex racer and I don't know what he was being fed whilst racing although when he was in foster care he was fed Nutrience Active as the company donates it free because I think the owner in USA was involved in greyhound racing. I think in NZ greyhounds are treated well, obviously there will be exceptions but if they weren't treated well how are they expected to perform. At the end of the day they are bred to make money for the owners and pre 2006 in NZ they were put down (mostly) before 'Greyhounds As Pets' were set up by the NZ Racing Industry. I don't know what I feel about greyhound racing and they are very exploited but I am just thankful for the charities set up to adopt them out after they have retired as they make lovely pets.
I don't think racing will go away in a hurry and the dogs do love to run and they only get to race about 2-3 times a week, in NZ anyway from what I've heard.


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## runwiththewind (Aug 19, 2011)

Many tracks have closed. They are still trying to close more tracks in Florida.

Greyhound racing in steep decline in the U.S. - latimes.com

Spanish Galgo | G.R.I.N.


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## Porphyria (Jul 13, 2011)

I agree with Caty and runwiththewind. Once the profit motive comes into play, the welfare of the animals tends to decline.


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## runwiththewind (Aug 19, 2011)

Years ago I took my Whippet to a Vet & sat next to a "famous winning Greyhound". They drove over an hour to this Vet and wouldn't use anyone else for their Greyts.
In speaking with his owner/breeder, they assured me they keep all their dogs for lifetime once they can no longer run on the track. I was impressed that I found responsible people. The dog had a broken leg from a practice run & wouldn't be able to run any longer, his career was over. Years later, I found out this "famous money winning Greyhound" was sent to a farm.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

runwiththewind said:


> Your grandfather's best friend is truly the exception to the rule.
> 
> Greyhounds suffer from osteosarcoma probably because of the poor diet, over-vaccinations, steroids. Greyhounds are wonderful dogs and belong in a loving home - not on a track or live in a crate.
> 
> ...


I'm sure he was. He never made money off of his dogs either. He poured more money into them than he ever got from racing. Another thing I loved about him was that he never forced a dog to race. When he got one who truly just did not want to do it, he rehomed them with friends or from a select group of people. It was harder to get a dog from him than from a shelter. If he didn't think you were suitable for one of his dogs, he wouldn't even continue to hold a conversation with you. You had to be a major dog lover and have plenty of experience with them before he would even consider letting you have one of his babies. 

Just think about what a magnificent sport racing would be if they were all like that.


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## runwiththewind (Aug 19, 2011)

I do wish they all were like him but they are not. It's also dangerous for the Greyts running - all kinds of injuries. I remember reading a Greyhound was killed I think in Jacksonville due to the mechanical arm. I don't remember the details but it was horrible. I do like horse racing but that too has it's negatives. As long as an animal is winning, they are given good care. I knew a horse trainer who broke my bubble in the world of horse racing. I don't know if you ever saw this documentary - Lost In The Fog - I highly recommend it.
Lost in the Fog Movie Main Menu


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Yea, I know how awful some of the owners and trainers can be. And there is no doubt in my mind that they could all be much safer, but as far as danger goes, my pup almost fell down a 7 foot cliff with some wicked sharp rocks at the bottom last night. It doesn't sound like much but if you could see the spot you would agree that it could easily have killed him. All we were doing was going on a walk in our neighborhood. We will never be able to make everything completely safe.

That said, there are certain precautions with racing that should be taken but aren't. I don't know all of the ins and outs of greyhound racing, but with horse racing, a lot of the injuries are caused because the horses are just too young. In the eventing world (at least the one I grew up in) we would never dream of pushing a young horse to it's fullest abilities until we were 100% sure he was done developing. No one can say that a horse id done developing by 2 years old. I have never understood why there IS a 2 year old season. even 3 years old is pushing it. A lot of them can handle it, but because they were pushed so hard at 2, they aren't as strong as they could be. Plus the fact that we have bred Thoroughbreds to be the divas of the horse world that need help even with foaling half the time.

Don't get me wrong. I love TBs. I owned a big chestnut mare (never raced) that I used to event with. Craziest horse I ever met, but also the most talented. She could jump the moon.

Anyhow, this thread is about dogs. Has anyone ever asked a racing greyhound owner why their dogs are not treated like real dogs? Why are they treated so poorly? Why is money so much more important than the health and happiness of the animals who bring them that money?


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

Greyhound12 said:


> HI!
> 
> Hope someone can help-I'm doing some research about racing greyhounds and just wondered if there was any racing greyhound owners who could tell me what they look for when buying their racing greyhound dry dog food.
> 
> Many Thanks


I think we've got off subject here for 'Greyhound12'. Obviously most of us don't know. I suggest you go over to 'Greytalk' website as there are some owners of ex racers that also still have dogs that race.


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## runwiththewind (Aug 19, 2011)

Greyt suggestion Sozzle. Here's a website that would be useful. Greyhound Data provides information about greyhounds from all over the world with pedigree information drawn from the last four centuries. Online are 2,988,131 race results and 1,727,156 greyhound pedigrees. They also have a Forum.


The Greyhound Breeding and Racing Database


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

Wow thanks runwiththewind that is brilliant. Have just looked up my boy and looked at his lineage (not that it means anything to me as yet) fascinating stuff. I had to send one of the moderators an email as they had my dog's date of birth wrong by one year ha ha! oh well never mind. I shall send this onto other greyhound owners I know for their info.


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## runwiththewind (Aug 19, 2011)

You're very welcome - I thought you'd love that website. I hope Greyhound 12 will get good info from that forum - owners & breeders. If I didn't live in a condo, I'd rescue a Greyt. The Whippet is smaller and has the same temperament. I just love my boys.

Are you vaccinating Stanley with yearly boosters? I hope not. You want to keep his immune system strong. When my Whippet was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor in '06, I joined Circle of Grey (for Greyt cancer dogs). If you see any lumps & bumps, have it checked out.


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

No I am hoping to minimise vaccinations. When we got him he had already been vaccinated, teeth cleaned, flead, wormed etc etc. The only legal one I have to have if he goes into kennels (the kennels we got him from) is Kennel Cough. I am hoping to only vaccinate every 3 years or not at all? if I can get away with it. I haven't flead or wormed him in 6 months and will try and go the more natural way with the fleas if he does get them, it may be a problem in the summer but with their very thin coats you can see the skin very easily and therfore see the fleas or their faeces and he hardly ever scratches himself.
I've never vaccinated my two children so I am more of that ilk anyway.
Yes they make great pets very quiet dogs I forget he's there sometimes.
This is the NZ website datebase for racing dogs with more accurate information: www.thedogs.co.nz (in as much as the d.o.b of Stanley plus his starts etc)


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## runwiththewind (Aug 19, 2011)

Years ago, my holistic Vet talked me into giving Bernie the intranasal bordetella. I never board Bernie so I didn't see a need for it. Ever since he got the intranasal, he gets reversed sneezing when it's windy outside. I found out from another Vet they are finding problems with it.

The goal of the "Rabies Challenge Fund" is to extend the rabies boosters to 5 and then to 7 years. http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

We have only two or three holistic vets in New Zealand.....and we don't have any rabies so don't have to worry about that one, lucky us!!!


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