Racing Foster Adoption .....

A bit of rearing/owner trainer/retirement in there.
Probably not exactly what you were after Kevin but i thought something is better than nothing.

Like most things there are good people involved in dogs until you find them trust nobody.

You really gotta do your homework!

Simon Milgate wrote:

Until you really get to know who your dealing with in the dog game treat everyone in the industry like a used car salesman,real estate agent or chiropractor. Written contracts and homework on who your dealing with and research what your buying and where your sending your dog. Like most things there are good people involved in dogs until you find them trust nobody.

Get Into Greyhounds - May

By CLINT KRATZMANN
FIRST off, why would you not want to buy a greyhound?
They are fun, they are affordable compared to the other two racing codes and, while there is no guarantees, of the three codes greyhound racing is by far the best chance an owner can possibly come out square at the end of a dog's career.
And if you don't, you won't lose a fortune like you can in horse codes.
I have been around greyhound racing all of my life, introduced to the bug by my late great uncle Ray O'Sullivan who for many years was a very astute hobby trainer at Red Hill in Brisbane.
Trust me, my first time around in greyhounds I made a lot of mistakes. I was young a bit gung ho and should have listenedto my uncle a lot more than I did.
I was too smart. I was going my way to become the owner of a heap of city class dogs. Well, a few won races at Rocky, a few at tracks like Beenleigh and the Gold Coast, and that was about the level I got to via trying with around 15 dogs over about eight years.
At that time, I decided to get out and stay out, other than to follow my uncle's dogs.
In that time I spent a fair bit of money that just started to pile up after each slow dog cost me more and more.I will list what I believe were my mistakes.

I dreamed about getting a class dog and dealt in emotionrather than fact.
Back then, I would buy three or four $1200 pups insteadof say two at $3500. Today they would be $2000 or $3000 pups as opposedto say $4500 or more.
One of my mentors this time around, Steve Kavanagh, said if you want to find a story for any greyhound you can if you look hard enough.In other words they are all well bred and somewhere in the pup's pedigree there will be a champion.
That was me. I would look at the ancestors well back in the family too much instead of zoning in on the dam herself. What did she do, what where her good habits, but just as importantly,what where her bad habits?
The key is to be honestand notemotional. That is what I learntand that has paid dividendsfor me in round 2 of my greyhound ownership experience.
I made the mistake of not opening up my eyes to buying race dog. I just kept on buying cheap pups and by the end of it could have brought two or three race dogs for around the $12,000 back in the late 90's which, with even luck, would have been nice city standarddogs. And I would not been paying training fees etc and had a lot more fun.

Now I will go though some advice on what I think is the way to go from me the pure owner before I starting getting more involved with training a few etc.
I came back into the industry five years ago and while I came back in a better financialposition than the first time, I also came back with a much more mature outlook on life not young and brash with my decisionmaking.
I wanted to buy race dogs and I wanted to be racing on a Thursdaynight. So I contacted Mick Zammit who has been another great mentor for me as a owner and now as a trainer. I went to work to find dogs that where going to be suitable for what I wanted.
Then it all began and I have not looked back and, while I have not had a champion, I have purchased some very nice dogs at very fair prices that have more than paid their way. So here are my tips on how to get the best possibleoutcome.

If buying a ready-to-go dog, don't buy anything over two and half years old or with too many starts. You want to get a good time out of your dog to get the full enjoyment of the experience.
Don't dream and be emotional. Deal in the facts of the pup or the race dog because "they are what they are" was a great saying Mick Zammit told me.
For example, if the dog has had 10 starts and its first sectionalon each start is slow it won't change. The dog will always be slow early.
You don't need to spend $25,000 to win races. Set an objective that you want achievewith owning dogs. For example,I just sold a lovely little bitch called Emmaville Bellawho runs around the 22.90 mark over 395m at Albion Park mid-week. She was two years old and I sold her for $4000 to a trainer with a small kennel. In eight weeks he had already got the purchase price back.
She is not going to win the Brisbane Cup but she is an honestlittledog that is a fun machinefor the new owners. So, set a budget and a bit of a goal of what you want out of dog racing.
If you do spend more money, try to buy a race bitch becauseat the end of its career as long as it has been a city winner over 520m, you will be able to lease her to a breeder ona pup deal or breed yourself.
I have had great successwith this with both Iona Champion and IndianaRumble both showing signs of being high class broodbitches in the next few years.
Be careful buying off websites and not getting a leading trainer to watch the replaysof the dog. I would haunt Mick Zammit about dogs for sale and he would watchthem for me and nine out of 10 he would say "no" due to the dog's bad habitsetc.
I have now developed my own eye. It's simple, if the dog has got no speed early I move on. Seventy-five percent of dog races are won by leaders so put the odds in your favor.
Considergetting your mates together to buy a betterdog if you are on a budget. This will "de-risk" the venture and also it will be a great social outlet for you and those mates.
Never assumea dog will improve. The new trainer will buy the dog on what it is doingat the time. There are a lot of great trainers out there who have not had fast dogs so never underestimatesomeone'sskill to train a dog.
In that way, again you are dealing in fact not emotion.
Be careful of buying dogs that have lost a lot of their grades as the higher in grade you get the less races you will win and the less income the dog will bring in. This comes back to one of my key rules ... never buy an older dog and never buy a dog with too many starts.
Get to the dogs and don't be afraid to ask the leading trainers questions. They will help with advice.
Make sure you show an interestand get to know your dog. It is far more enjoyableto get to the track. Don't watch them at home, get involved.
Always have a plan for the re-homingof your dog. Don't leave it until the end. The industry GAP programs are fantastic and always there to help, or take the dog into your family. Trustme, you will be hooked if you do that as you won't get a better breed of dog ... anywhere.