Trained to Race:
The life of Greyhound Puppies

By the time the Greyhound puppies hits the racetrack and competes in its first race, thousands of dollars have already been invested into the dog by its trainer.

Racing around the track is the end result of a very long and exhausting practice that started long before the dog was even born.

The very first step was combining the best available female dog to breed with a Greyhound stud to produce the trainer's future racing dog.

This continued with careful prenatal and postnatal care as well as optimal socialization and schooling.

The costs in financial needs by the trainer to breed and race a Greyhound puppy are not yet earned back until the dog makes a success out of racing.

As Greyhound puppies, their life begins in a nursery with approximately seven other Greyhounds puppies from the same litter.

Once the litter becomes slightly older and the weaning begins, the living area will be expanded to a larger room that usually has a long runner to an indoor enclosed space.

The breeder will start training the Greyhound pups the art of “luring” at a young age.

A toy will be dragged across the floor to lure the pups that are literally tripping over themselves to get to the target.

As this luring “game” progresses, the Greyhound pups will start to jump just to get to the prize being lured in front of them.

By the time the dogs are around four months of age, they have received lots of handling and are typically able to walk with a leash.

At this age, the pups will normally be sent to a rearing facility. In order to help build further strength and coordination, the Greyhound pups will be placed in small groups in a larger pad-dock.

This will enable them to run around, socialize, and play with their litter mates.

Access to a large running field for unlimited running is important at this age, especially until they are around 10 to 12 months old.

At this point, the Greyhound puppies are scheduled to be transferred to the home of a training facility where his or her formal education starts.

greyhound puppies - history of the Greyhound dog
from grey hound puppies to dog first aid 101