Racing a bitch in season
Racing A Greyhound Bitch In Season
I had an interesting email from a fellow greyhound owner today...
Greetings Russell!!
My female pup came in season last night. I am planning on skipping her this time and wanted to ask your advice on her handling in the coming months.
Can I still give her trials and slips basically can I exercise the pup? If not for how long do I have to wait before she is ready to run.
Kindest regards,
This poses a problem for most greyhound trainers, both new and old.
How soon should we race female greyhounds after they have had a season?
In Australia we are allowed to race them after the seasonal bleeding stops, but you may not be allowed to in your particular country.
My thoughts are not to race until their milk (or breast thickening) has dried up. However I know that plenty of trainers in Australia will race their females through this period, with varying degrees of success. Peter Giles raced his champion females at this period, though they did not perform as well as they did before coming into season.
Below is my answer to my friend.
Hi ...
Your seasonal bitch should have stopped bleeding by now. If she's a race bitch, you can keep her in work and race her if you wish (if it's allowed in the U.S.)
It will do her no harm, but she may not run as fast as before the season.
You will have to stop trialing or racing her when she comes into mi1k, whether she has milk or not. That sounds like a contradiction, but you'll notice a thickening of her breast area, even if there's no milk. When this happens (at about 8 weeks after the start of the season) you must stop working her behind a lure. It's OK for her to exercise herself in a paddock or run, but do not let her try to chase a lure.
The reason is that when a bitch comes into milk, the muscles in her back legs go soft, and extending herself can damage them badly.
You can resume her work/racing as soon as the milk (thickening) dries up (about 12 0r 13 weeks from the start of the season).
At 16 weeks from when she came in season, she will suddenly find 5 - 6 lengths, and be back to her old self.
Best regards,
Russell.
posted by Russell Savige @ 7:48 PM
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