ATTENTION GRNSW, GREYHOUNDS ARE NOT MACHINES!

– RE: Water Supply Rule:

By now most people would’ve heard about the upcoming trial for water in holding cages on race days/nights.

Anyone that has anything to do with greyhounds knows they are the MOST stubborn creatures on the planet! They are not a machine that you can program, you can’t tell a hound to drink, nor can you tell it when or not to drink, or how much to drink!

We can’t stress enough our opposition to this proposed rule, so to our 1000 members and almost 20,000 followers, the main reason is the high risk of BLOAT! If a greyhound ingests too much water just before racing, IT WILL BLOAT!

And the fact there are far better solutions without putting at risk canine and human welfare, because besides the bloating issue, we risk creating slip hazards. If a dog wants to rip the bucket or whatever device will be attached to the cage door, the dog will remove it, and the greyhound will be laying on a wet kennel for hours, and that same water will slowly pool on the floor creating a dangerous work environment.

Some dogs won’t drink, others will drink too much, which is dangerous just before exercise (running/sprinting/racing) http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/gastric-volvulus-bloat-dogs

One burning question is how can GRNSW ban greyhound exports to Vietnam based on their perceived animal welfare issues, yet base this water supply rule on what the Vietnamese do on race days. It’s extremely hypocritical, to say the good people of Vietnam are incapable of looking after the dogs we send, yet implement one of their welfare initiatives. Besides, it’s obvious the two countries have greatly different climates, so too the reasons why their dogs would need water on offer during kenneling.

And if GRNSW want to base the export ban on the Animals Australia’s footage taken 7 or 8 years ago, they better be sure the animal charity didn’t play a hand in that sickening event of mass euthanasia of (NON-AUSTRALIAN) greyhounds.

To understand how we got to this position is important, and we’ll summarize for those that are unaware, or can’t see how a bucket of water is such a big deal.

Firstly a trainer knows his/her dog better than anyone, and in days gone by, we could give our dogs a shot of vitamins and electrolytes to ensure the dog is protected against dehydration, cramping or acidosis. Those products are now banned based on non-scientific evidence, including the vitamin B12! With the overuse of cobalt in the horse industry, our regulators took the baseless and unscientific view that cobalt is a performance enhancer when in actual fact it is a performance insurer and allowed the trainer to ensure the dog’s welfare… it’s not a drug, it’s a micromineral,

COBALT

Effects: Production of red blood cells, aids iron absorption.
Deficiency: A lack of cobalt in the diet can lead to iron deficiency. Cobalt is found in cobalamin (vitamin B12).
Sources: vitamin B12, meat, shellfish. (used in greyhound electrolytes)

The banning of barking muzzles led to excitable dogs allowed to bark and howl for up to 3 hours! With prolonged barking, the dog loses fluid and can lead to cramping and dehydration, and at very least a drastic loss in performance, thus catching out punters who would have no idea the dog was flat from excessive barking! These dogs are at the extreme end of the scale and will NOT drink water if provided. They need to have electrolytes replaced orally or intravenously, no amount of water will prevent the onset of acidosis, which can and has led to death. Or a simple solution is to place a barking muzzle on the dog, or allow the use of products that have B12 and Cobalt. The alternative will add extra pressure to GAP.

SOLUTION:

Have the thresholds for B12 and Cobalt independently reviewed, by a sports science and drug expert organization.
Have excitable greyhounds in early races, or allow a barking muzzle, OR allow proper electrolytes be used in the name of welfare.
If 1 and 2 are non-negotiable, then our regulator has the obligation and the responsibility to implement alternative kenneling times and practices, water buckets are an uneducated way to be seen to be doing something, that something being fixing the self-inflicted problem by banning perfectly healthy vitamins and minerals.

Considering split kenneling would have serious welfare and integrity issues, and not forgetting in most cases a trainer has more than 1 dog in a race meeting, and they may have one in race 1, and one in race 12… we can’t have race dogs sitting in cars or trailers when they are engaged to race, integrity would be in doubt in such an uncontrolled environment.

KENNELING SUGGESTION:

Let’s use the following as an example of a race night.

Kennels close at 6:40

Race 1 = 7:00

Race 2 = 7:20

Race 3 = 7:40

Race 4 = 8:00

Race 5 = 8:20

Race 6 = 8:40

Race 7 = 9:00

Race 8 = 9:20

Race 9 = 9:40

Race 10 = 10:00

Race 11 = 10:20

Race 12 = 10:40

First 4 races are locked out until 20 mins before their race. Max 60 mins in holding cage.

With the supervision of a steward, each trainer/handler would collect the dog at set times to relieve, quench, and hose down if needed.

Race 5 can empty out and offer a drink of water, and feet can be hosed down 10 mins before race 2 at 7:10 (Min 30 mins in holding cage, down from 100 mins)

Race 6 can empty out and offer a drink of water, and feet can be hosed down 10 mins before race 3 at 7:30 (Min 50 mins in holding cage, down from 120 mins)

Race 7 can empty out and offer a drink of water, and feet can be hosed down 10 mins before race 4 at 7:50 (Min 70 mins in holding cage, down from 140 mins)

Race 8 can empty out and offer a drink of water, and feet can be hosed down 10 mins before race 5 at 8:10 (min 90 mins in holding cage, down from 160 mins)

Race 9 can empty out and offer a drink of water, and feet can be hosed down 10 mins before race 6 at 8:30 (min 110 mins in holding cage, down from 180 mins)

Race 10 can empty out and offer a drink of water, and feet can be hosed down 10 mins before race 7 at 8:50 (min 130 mins in holding cage, down from 200 mins)

Race 11 can empty out and offer a drink of water, and feet can be hosed down 10 mins before race 8 at 9:10 (min 150 mins in holding cage, down from 220 mins)

Race 12 can empty out and offer a drink of water, and feet can be hosed down 10 mins before race 9 at 9:30 (min 170 mins in holding cage, down from 240 mins)

 

RACE NOMINATING:

When nominating, a trainer should be able to notify the grader that the greyhound is highly excitable, and the grader should endeavor to place that dog in an early race.

Also, it should be automatic that younger dogs should be placed in the earliest possible race, depending on its ability, race form and grade.

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