Antlers

Miles got some hand made antlers from his friend Susan for Christmas. He was pretty embarrassed initially. You will probably be able to tell which photo was taken first. I think it helped when he heard that his heroes the police canines also wear antlers at Christmas sometimes. Petco shoppers making over him and taking his picture probably helped a bit too.  He is pretty proud of those antlers now.

He got to kiss Santa for luck and checked out his beard. Miles was pretty sure it was no more natural than the antlers on his head or his mom's hair color. Definitely something that should be tied to string with a young greyhound chasing it.

Susan also made antlers for Moose. Here is our foster Wheel McCoy modeling them at our Petco meet and greet.

 

In other greyhound news: Friday Moose and Miles went with me to Camden to the Polo Field. We were helping to set up the LGRA (Large Gazehound Racing Association) straight track. It is a 200 yard straight run where the dogs break out of real racing boxes. Miles had practiced once before months ago but we wanted to do a little more box practice and get both boys certified by a judge so they can enter competitions.

To get certified they have to run the course cleanly, no bumping, playing or other rough housing and they have to be focused on chasing the lure and not on the other dog running with them. Normally it isn't a good idea to have dogs that live in the same house certify each other because they are more likely to play. Moose was a professional racer for years and was good so I knew he would run clean. Miles has always run clean in his previous runs with other dogs in AKC lure coursing competitions so I was pretty sure he would be fine too.

Miles is always so much faster when running in the yard with Moose so I was sure I knew who the winner would be. Moose was so cool when he walked up to the box and walked in without a fuss. He was so professional and knew exactly what he was supposed to do. He was staring at the lure and was totally focused. Miles had already run a few practices out of the box and I tried to put him in a different box. He tried to back out and kept trying to get in the box we had used before. I didn't think about that small detail and hadn't trained him out of EACH box. Slapping head.

Moose broke fast at the track according to the racing records and videos I found on him. He broke ahead of Miles this time too. On this short of a track there isn't much time to make up for a bad break. The break alone can win the race and Miles couldn't catch his older brother. He is eager for a rematch though and is pretty sure he can do better next time. They both passed their certification run so will be able enter the next competition we go to.

A real racer!

I took Miles to his first race meet Sunday. This is a for fun short straight race of just 200 yards put on by the Large Gazehound Racing Association (LGRA). It is open to all sighthounds. The dogs win toys and sometimes ribbons. There is a point system so the dogs can get national rankings and titles. It is something that a lot of retired racers and their owners really enjoy. The dogs get exercise and still get the thrill of doing what they have been bred to do for thousands of years - chase.

This is Miles very first practice run behind the lure. He wasn't competing and only ran half the course. He enjoyed it though. His later runs were faster as he realized what was going on. He even did a few runs up and down the track without the lure because he was having such a great time.

Miles wasn't the one doing the barking and howling during the run. Those were the dogs that were watching and waiting very impatiently for their turn. The dogs get VERY excited watching. Miles was leaping around barking and whining while he was waiting for his turn earlier. The reason he was sitting at the start is because it has become a default behavior when the collar tightens up. He would get excited and pull then the collar would tighten and he would politely sit - still barking and howling wanting to chase the lure.

After the first run we taught him to run through the boxes you can see at the beginning of the video. We did that by leaving the front and back doors open. Someone in front played with the lure and got it to make noise then I released him to get it letting him run through the "tunnel". We did that a few times then closed the front put him in and popped it open so he could run out a few feet and grab the lure. He loved the game and picked it up fast. His final run was out of a closed box. There was just a split second pause when it opened before he ran out after the lure.

He will still need some more practices running alone after the lure the entire 200 yard distance before he is ready to run with another dog. I want him to be totally focused on the lure so he doesn't try to play with dogs running with him.