Training whippetsfor racing

[hhoughton]

I was browsing through the threads, and noticed in the message titled Whippet Age on page one that some clubs have pamphlets for training dogs for racing.  I am very new to whippet racing here in the U.S., and would be very interested as to how owners train their whippets for racing in the UK.  I specifically am interested in thoughts about whippets playing with each other.  If kennel mates are allowed to play with each other and run and wrestle, is this thought to be any factor in dogs interfering or fouling other dogs during race meets.  Also, how often can one run their dog to the lure without making it boring to the dogs or making it less fun for them.  I am finishing building a lure machine that I plan to use as a way to keep my whippet keen and in shape between the sporadic meets I would be able to attend and didn't want to "over do" it . The pamphlet I think was mentioned in a reply from Mark Roberts to the aforementioned post on "Whippet Age".  Thank you for any replies.

Heath Houghton

 

[Terry Smith]

In this country road walking is a cornerstone of training. Some people claim to walk their dogs up to 10 miles a day, which is heavy duty walking. A lot of racers stop their dogs from playing with each other to stop them getting into bad habit's. However there are some successful owners who allow them to play & they always seem to run clean. I think tacklers are born as much as made. If your dogs are showing little or no interest in the lure try baiting it. Put a lump of liver or a whatever your dog is keen on in a net bag & see if that interest's him/her. Teasing your dog with a rag on a string will get them on the lure. We took a dog we had bred back off owners who had kept him confined to a cage for most of his life (12 month's). Obviously he was pretty weird when we got him back. When he first saw a lure he ran back to the van. Our daughter spent around 20 min. a day teasing him in the garden. This dog is now nut's about racing. There are only very general guide line's to training. Each dog is an individual some thrive on road work others soon get bored & seem to slow up. One of the interesting facets of racing dogs are the mind games you play to get the best out of whatever you have.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Hi Heath

            weve been racing whippets for 11 years and raced greyhounds before that. weve never allowed them to play together from leaving the mother, they get 5 miles rd walking a day when old enough and some free running but are never allowed of in pairs only on their own.

we use a lure at home to keep them fit running them midweek three time over approx 150yds. at the Northern PWRC we have members like myself who never allow their dogs to play with each other but we also have members who do allow their dogs to play without any problems but we do get a number who have been allowed to play fight growing up and seem to carry it on when racing but I think its down to them not being keen for the lure so I dont think there is a clear answer but just to be safe i'll carry on with my style of not letting them play.

I've sent you a copy of the training pamflet you mention that the Northern Pedigree Whippet Racing Club produces to help new members train there dogs, its only meant as a guide and hope you find it interesting.

Mark

 

[hhoughton]

Thank you Terry and Mark for your responses.  They were very helpful and the pamphlet is also interesting.  My situation is like this:

My friend's dog stays with mine during the day while we all are at work as I have a dog door that gives the dogs access to the fenced back yard and my kitchen that I can close off from the rest of the house with tall baby gates.  We find this situation to be very good for our dogs .  They wrestle and play quite often as they are very good friends and friendly dogs.  My friend's dog (13 months old) is very, very keen on the lure and has been in a couple of race meets and a couple of lure course meets and has always run clean with no indication of ever interfering, so there are no worries about him.  My dog (almost 2.5 years old) has just become keen on the lure and is getting more keen with more exposure after initially being intimidated by it.  His first introduction to the lure came back in July.  He has chased it in practice runs by himself at race meets on several occasions.  This last weekend I took him to a lure course to see if he would run clean.  He ran against another dog, looking at him once after a particularly tight turn, and never looked at him again on that certification run.  He then ran three more 650 yard courses that day (twice against two other dogs, once against one dog) without looking at the other dogs and chasing the lure very hard, and I thought he had proven himself keen enough not to ever interfere.

On the second day, he was very anxious to get the lure, lunging more than ever before on the lead while watching the course before his.  During his first course, he had run about half of the nearly 800 yard course when he lost sight of the lure after a particulary tight  u-turn of the lure (two 90 degree turns with only a short straight between them).   I could see him looking around kind of slowed down looking at where it might have gone.   The lure operator kept it going very fast  as one dog was trailing badly before this u-turn and cut the course.  The lure was very far from my dog, and he started chasing toward where the other dogs were, and I don't think he ever saw the lure.  He caught up to one dog and tried to play with it, thus interfering.  He was obviously excused from the lure course and has not run against any other dogs since this as it happened last weekend.  

I am worried that maybe letting him play with his daytime kennel mate contributed to this incident.  I am also hoping at the same time that it was all because he lost sight of the lure and that during races he will always be able to see the lure and not interfere.  I guess only time will tell, but was wondering if anybody had any experience with a similar situation or just input on how to make sure a dog will not interfere as this is now my biggest concern.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Hi Heath

            it sounds like your dog compleatly lost sight of the lure, and having nothing to chase (the lure) he ran with what he could see? the othere dogs.

had he not lost sight he probably would not have done anything wronge.

I'd be tempted to ignore his last run and put it down to experiance and hopefully he'll stay sighted and do nothing else to cause you concern,

but personaly I would avoid him playing with other dogs at least till he had proved he was running clean with others.

plus i'd try shorter distances as a 800yd course is a long way for a dog only just learning the game and gives them a long time to get board. short runs will get him keener but not give time for him to get board during running.

good luck with him.

 

[Gregg Gammie]

Hi Heath,

What part of the US are you in?  I should be able to point you toward the race clubs nearest to you.  Any chance you will be at the WRA National in South carolina in two weeks?

You might want to take a look at the article on race & Lure coursing training in the FAQ section of the following web site:  http://www.whippetracing.org.  It's pretty complete.  I would work your dog on many short runs to build intensity on the lure, maybe 6-8 100 yd runs in a day, instead of 3-4 200 yd runs, on the straight only.  Don't EVER run him till he's so tired he looses interest in the lure.  You do not want to teach him that it's ok to quit on the lure.  Your dog is inexperienced and not fully trained so loosing site on a turn is both easier to have happen and harder to recover from.  He ran to where the other dogs were but did not know to look past them to find the lure.  Since everyone was running it must be playtime! So he played with the other dogs.  Time to stop that at home.  Once he's keener on the lure set up some sharp turns and cause him to loose site in hte turn then allow him to become resited.  This will help him in him subsequent lure coursing.  Lots of straight racing and race training will help him lure course much better, ovals are fun and help too.

(Edited by Gregg Gammie at 9:37 pm on Oct. 23, 2001)

 

[hhoughton]

Mark,

Thank you for your quick reply.  I didn't enjoy the lure coursing as much as I have enjoyed the racing meets anyway, so the shorter runs are going to be all he does at least until next spring.  Races appear to me to be more safe, less hectic, and obviously less subjective.  I will take your advice to heart and practice him once a week on just a couple of short, straight runs with the lure by himself.  Next month at the next straight race meet, I'll see if I can't get him certified as a clean runner and get him entered in races.  I really appreciate your advice and good luck at all of your race meets.