May 2009
Winners
28/05/09 11:49 Filed in: update
I am pleased to say that I shall be placing a couple of young pups in with Mark Wallis next week who initially look promising, time will tell us how they get on but I know they will at least be given a chance.My bitch at Charlie Listers has had her first trial back from season and was satisfactory, once again I know she is in the right hands to get everything out of her.
I have another couple of nice looking pups that shall be starting schooling shortly, fingers crossed they run as well as they look.
Good reports on The Ballymac Maeve x Millies Award pups from Ireland and it sounds like they could be pretty decent, fingers crossed for them and their owners.
The Jazz Hurricane x Droopys Kewell pups have had their first handslip and all chased well, that is all you want to see and hear at that stage and it is at least a platform to be going to war with.
Recent winners are Got Any Gossip x2, Revengeful Demon x2, Smoking Shady and Smoking John at Hove, Bluechip Me at Oxford, Andreas Quest at Newcastle,Bonnie Ben and Pendle Whojo at Crayford, Questhouse Leigh at Monmore, Questhouse Katie x2 at Pelaw Grange,Wigmore Bomber at Henlow, Oxford Don at Nottingham.
This brings the Kennel winners to 734 in 4 years.
Can I also direct people to our Harlow Page that highlights the upcoming Auction Items available at this coming Sundays(31st May) Charity meeting in Aid of Great Ormonde Street Hospital for Children.
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Gone, in the click of a finger
26/05/09 11:36 Filed in: update
Your brood drops in season and it is straight on the phone to arrange a mating, roughly 2 weeks go by and your bitch is mated and returned to you.
On return it is a case of caring for the bitch with the correct intake of food and hoping that she has got pregnant, at around 20/23 days most bitches go off their food, this would normally last for 3-4 days and it is 1 of the first signs you want to see as it generally means they are pregnant.
Making sure the bitch gets the required intake of food you just have to sit back and hope that all goes well, on day 40 of her pregnancy I start worming the bitch with Panacur 10%, this would be done on a daily basis right through to 3 days after she has given birth and the dosage is a quarter of her body weight in mls(eg: 30kg = 7.5mls).
At this stage I personally increase the protein intake to as much as 5lb a day, depending on what else she will or will not eat, to me this is vital in the production of milk and it is also vital to get Calcium supplement into them.
Hopefully everything has went smoothly and on day 62 she should go off her food completely and start “Nesting”, at this stage some bitches can become very very destructive but have no fear as it can be quite normal and is just her getting herself prepared for giving birth to her little ones, all being well the bitch will have a healthy litter and the pups will suckle straight away, I always make sure I have a Milk supplement to hand just incase the bitch has very little milk on or it is a big litter, no good not having it at 1am which would be the usual time most bitches start having them.
So the fun begins and make sure the bitch is taking in lots of liquids and a very high protein intake as these will help her milk production.
The pups eyes normally start opening around 10 days old and at 2 weeks old I start worming the pups with Drontal Puppy and when worming I clip their nails as this makes life a little easier for the bitch, the worming would be done at 2-4-6-8-10 and 12 weeks old.
The subject of weaning and getting pups away on solids has varying opinions, some like to start them on solids at as young as 3 weeks old but for me personally, and it is all about personal preferences, If the bitch has lots of milk and is very happy to be feeding her babies, I much prefer to let the pups just feed on mum till they are around 5 weeks if possible, nothing and I mean nothing can substitute the bitches milk.
When I do start them on solids it would generally be with Farleys Rusks and Goats milk and the likes of Semolina etc, I have found through time that Goats milk is much kinder to their guts and they are not as loose on that.
When able to take heavier solids I use the likes of Raw Beef, Cooked Chicken, Live Natural Yoghurt, Puppy Biscuit both soaked and Dry, Eggs, Calcium Phosphate and Multi Vitamin Supplement, I will also put in some uncooked Marrow Bones at around 7 weeks old for them to chew on.
At 8 weeks old they will receive their first inoculations and this will be repeated at 10 weeks old, I only use veterinary surgeons for this.
At 12 weeks old the pups will get earmarked, this is over within a second and is not harmful to them.
So now that we have built the foundations to build on the work starts in earnest and the joys of watching them grow into fully fledged racing machines is fantastic, their characters changing month by month and at times absolutely doing your head in, however we would not change it for the world.
The main stay of my pups diet is Raw Beef and I use close on off 2 tonne per month, the biscuit I use is Chudleys Racer, they will also receive Raw Eggs, Multi Vitamins, Goats Milk, Cheese, Fish and Chicken.
At between 12-18 months old the pups shall be schooled, this is when your dreams keep on living or they are shattered,
Assuming that all goes well, the pup shall be placed in with their respective trainer and thus the fun “Should” begin, however they are at the mercy of the Racing Managers and this is where a pups career can be finished at the “Click of a finger”, having had quite a few pups graded I see varying degrees of grading and I must say that on the whole they do a fair job with a special mention to Chris Page(Ex W/Stow), Monmore,Crayford,Wimbledon and Peter O Dowd at Romford but there are a couple of tracks that are very hard on pups and due to this they can quite easily sour a pup and all the hard work that has went in the previous 18 months can be done for nothing, I wish they would take this into consideration instead of worrying about whether their bookmakers lose any money, WHY they have such a phobia about pups winning first time of asking is beyond me and they should be encouraging pups to win as they are their tracks future, watching this is very hard for me and I cannot help but get angry.
I sincerely wish everyone all the best with their dogs, this sport can be absolutely fantastic if given a chance and I hope that we can get it back to the good old days.
On return it is a case of caring for the bitch with the correct intake of food and hoping that she has got pregnant, at around 20/23 days most bitches go off their food, this would normally last for 3-4 days and it is 1 of the first signs you want to see as it generally means they are pregnant.
Making sure the bitch gets the required intake of food you just have to sit back and hope that all goes well, on day 40 of her pregnancy I start worming the bitch with Panacur 10%, this would be done on a daily basis right through to 3 days after she has given birth and the dosage is a quarter of her body weight in mls(eg: 30kg = 7.5mls).
At this stage I personally increase the protein intake to as much as 5lb a day, depending on what else she will or will not eat, to me this is vital in the production of milk and it is also vital to get Calcium supplement into them.
Hopefully everything has went smoothly and on day 62 she should go off her food completely and start “Nesting”, at this stage some bitches can become very very destructive but have no fear as it can be quite normal and is just her getting herself prepared for giving birth to her little ones, all being well the bitch will have a healthy litter and the pups will suckle straight away, I always make sure I have a Milk supplement to hand just incase the bitch has very little milk on or it is a big litter, no good not having it at 1am which would be the usual time most bitches start having them.
So the fun begins and make sure the bitch is taking in lots of liquids and a very high protein intake as these will help her milk production.
The pups eyes normally start opening around 10 days old and at 2 weeks old I start worming the pups with Drontal Puppy and when worming I clip their nails as this makes life a little easier for the bitch, the worming would be done at 2-4-6-8-10 and 12 weeks old.
The subject of weaning and getting pups away on solids has varying opinions, some like to start them on solids at as young as 3 weeks old but for me personally, and it is all about personal preferences, If the bitch has lots of milk and is very happy to be feeding her babies, I much prefer to let the pups just feed on mum till they are around 5 weeks if possible, nothing and I mean nothing can substitute the bitches milk.
When I do start them on solids it would generally be with Farleys Rusks and Goats milk and the likes of Semolina etc, I have found through time that Goats milk is much kinder to their guts and they are not as loose on that.
When able to take heavier solids I use the likes of Raw Beef, Cooked Chicken, Live Natural Yoghurt, Puppy Biscuit both soaked and Dry, Eggs, Calcium Phosphate and Multi Vitamin Supplement, I will also put in some uncooked Marrow Bones at around 7 weeks old for them to chew on.
At 8 weeks old they will receive their first inoculations and this will be repeated at 10 weeks old, I only use veterinary surgeons for this.
At 12 weeks old the pups will get earmarked, this is over within a second and is not harmful to them.
So now that we have built the foundations to build on the work starts in earnest and the joys of watching them grow into fully fledged racing machines is fantastic, their characters changing month by month and at times absolutely doing your head in, however we would not change it for the world.
The main stay of my pups diet is Raw Beef and I use close on off 2 tonne per month, the biscuit I use is Chudleys Racer, they will also receive Raw Eggs, Multi Vitamins, Goats Milk, Cheese, Fish and Chicken.
At between 12-18 months old the pups shall be schooled, this is when your dreams keep on living or they are shattered,
Assuming that all goes well, the pup shall be placed in with their respective trainer and thus the fun “Should” begin, however they are at the mercy of the Racing Managers and this is where a pups career can be finished at the “Click of a finger”, having had quite a few pups graded I see varying degrees of grading and I must say that on the whole they do a fair job with a special mention to Chris Page(Ex W/Stow), Monmore,Crayford,Wimbledon and Peter O Dowd at Romford but there are a couple of tracks that are very hard on pups and due to this they can quite easily sour a pup and all the hard work that has went in the previous 18 months can be done for nothing, I wish they would take this into consideration instead of worrying about whether their bookmakers lose any money, WHY they have such a phobia about pups winning first time of asking is beyond me and they should be encouraging pups to win as they are their tracks future, watching this is very hard for me and I cannot help but get angry.
I sincerely wish everyone all the best with their dogs, this sport can be absolutely fantastic if given a chance and I hope that we can get it back to the good old days.
Useful Info now available
22/05/09 01:34 Filed in: update
You may have noticed a couple of new editions to our topic bar, this includes Race Info that we are happy to announce that Wimbledon. Harlow and Coventry have decided to let us host their trial results which will hopefully aid owners and mean less phone calls for many trainers and racing offices, it is my aim to have every track showing trials etc online wether it be on their own website or on mines.
The other new Topic is Transporters, not fully completed as yet but we hope within the next 2 weeks to have all the relevant info online that should help many people in the sport as well as the transporters, You will see from the first couple online that we want pictures of the transporter themselves, this will allow anyone using the transporter for the first time to know who they are meeting, we have also provided a Rough guide to the normal route they would take, obviously it is always worthwhile asking for any type of job required.
I aim to be providing another useful service for many in the sport.
For the record there is absolutely no money involved for any of these services, all the online work is done for free and hopefully helps the sport in some small way.
The other new Topic is Transporters, not fully completed as yet but we hope within the next 2 weeks to have all the relevant info online that should help many people in the sport as well as the transporters, You will see from the first couple online that we want pictures of the transporter themselves, this will allow anyone using the transporter for the first time to know who they are meeting, we have also provided a Rough guide to the normal route they would take, obviously it is always worthwhile asking for any type of job required.
I aim to be providing another useful service for many in the sport.
For the record there is absolutely no money involved for any of these services, all the online work is done for free and hopefully helps the sport in some small way.
Shy Children Read To Greyhounds
12/05/09 19:59 Filed in: Stories
Shy children will read to retired racing greyhounds instead of teachers as part of a new literacy project at UK schools.
Dog-eared books: Children can practice their skills with retired greyhounds
Young pupils who are reluctant to read in front of their classmates will be encouraged to practice in front of dogs selected by the Retired Greyhound Trust.
The idea - which will also help children with learning difficulties - has been welcomed by the The National Literacy Trust, the National Autistic Society and educational psychologists.
READ - Reading Education Assistance Dogs - is a big success in America where there are now 1,400 dogs visiting schools.
One of the first dogs to take part in the UK will be retired greyhound Batman and owner Kelly Bakewell, who make their debut at Oakway Infant School in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, on Friday.
Scotts listens intently
Another, Scotts, is booked to visit a string of schools in the coming months with owner Tony Nevett.
The project is aimed at children aged between four and seven at both mainstream and special needs schools.
Nevett, who has worked with the Retired Greyhound Trust, for several years, said: "Many children find it a struggle to read and it really knocks their confidence if they stumble over words in front of their mates.
"The idea of reading to dogs is that they don’t answer back and they don’t give you a hard time if you don’t get it right first time."
He continued: "Greyhounds are extremely docile dogs. They are couch potatoes who get on well with children and like nothing better than to sit around getting fussed."
Richard Mills, research director at the National Autistic Society, said dogs could help autistic children overcome social barriers.
But he said that each child needed to be assessed individually and care needed to be taken to ensure children were not scared by the pets.
Judith Parke, project director at the National Literacy Trust, said: "Starting with what children love, whether that is music, football or dogs, can really help to engage children with reading.
"For children who don't enjoy reading or find it difficult, turning the reading experience into a relaxed and memorable opportunity to practice their skills could be a powerful tool."
Charles Ward, an educational psychologist and General Secretary of Association Of Educational Psychologists, said: "This is about confidence. Sometimes children can relate very well to animals in ways they don't relate to adults."
The Retired Greyhound Trust, which has found homes for more than 45,000 dogs since it was set up in 1975, is now looking for more owners to take part in the project.
Around 9,000 greyhounds retire from racing each year.
For further information on taking on a retired greyhound as a pet or supporting the charity, contact the national office on 0844 826 8424.
Why our sport is in decline
11/05/09 22:15 Filed in: Stories
This last week has gone some way to prove exactly why our sport is in serious trouble.
As most will know we at Questhouse Kennels have managed to secure Trial results from Wimbledon that we know have been very much appreciated by owners, punters and trainers, to this I must say Thank You to Gary(Racing manager) and his staff for forwarding these through to us, we hope in time it saves you a few phone calls from owners.
Anyhow, believe it or not but 1 Greyhound site has taken umbridge to letting owners know that these results are available, this service should be encouraged instead of being swept under a carpet but it really does show up the type of problems our sport has to face on a day to day basis, have no fear though as this will not get us down and we are currently in talks with a few tracks to offer up a service that should help out many, watch this space.
I am also in talks with a fellow owner with a view to formatting an idea he has had for attracting new owners into our sport, this will, all being well, be run nationally and I honestly feel that if the tracks and the GBGB get behind it we could see lots of new owners filter into our sport, now, more than ever, do we all need to be pulling in the same direction, once again Watch this Space.
In the kennels I could not be any happier with the condition of the pups, Jazz’s pups are doing very well and I have not had 1 bit of trouble with them, The Score Legend pups are getting pretty bolshy and looking fine, Droopys Lenas pups are very powerful and mad as a brush and the 2 sets of Premier Fantasys are coming on a treat, Millies Awards dogs have feet on them like shovels and absolute stunners,there is still 2 dogs for sale and anyone viewing these would have no qualms at all.
Droopys Rosaris pups are absolutely stone bonking mad for anything that moves and anyone looking at buying a pup would do a lot worse than looking at the 2 bitches available for sale, I weighed 1 yesterday at just turned 5 months old and it tipped the scales at 22kg,Rosaris brother London Walter is flying the family flag in The Derby and hopefully he can keep qualifying.
Winners since last noted are Ashbys Hawk, Smoking John,The Last Baby, Regale Savana, Got Any Gossip and Pick and Micks at Hove, Shimano Storm at Henlow, Quest For Wonder at Belle Vue and Opening Quest at Wimbledon.
Just a quickie!
03/05/09 19:21 Filed in: update
Just a quick blog entry to let regular watchers know that there are new movies to view. I have done a kennel tour in 2 parts click here . Also there is a new movie for the Westmead Hawk x Jazz Hurricane pups click here as well as one for Droopys Rosari’s and Millies Award and not forgetting Droopys Maldini x Droopys Lena video.