By Andrew Copley
Leading Victorian breeder Barry Smith shares his tips on rearing greyhound pups in the latest collection of educational videos on GRVextra.
Smith has spent more than four decades breeding and rearing numerous group and feature race winners, and here the Mepunga East native shares his expertise on raising greyhound pups to give them the very best chance of breaking-in, and ultimately, making it to the track and winning races.
HOUSING AND GENERAL EXERCISE
“When our pups are weaned from their mother (at about six weeks of age) they go into a small yard, approximately 6 x 15 metres, then at three months of age we will move those pups out into our 35 metre runs to live. From three months we start running them in (a combination of) a big paddock or the 100 metre runs three times a week. We don’t overdo it because they are young, growing pups, but as they get a bit older they’ll naturally work harder and harder in those runs until they are 12 months of age.”
DISCIPLINING PUPS IS DETRIMENTAL
“We handle our greyhounds as young pups right through to three months of age and beyond. We don’t teach them to lead until they are three months, but I want that pup so confident with me by that stage that it will jump up and scratch me and claw away at my trousers. I never push a greyhound away because that way you’ve got the confidence of that pup, and at three months of age when they are housed in a run, I can put a collar and lead on a pup and it will hardly pull because they know that they are not going to get hurt and they are happy with me. We keep collars on them and gently grab them spasmodically and pat them. My hands are scratched all the time. You’ve got to go in with old clothes and be prepared for the worst. As far as disciplining goes, I will never lay a hand on a dog or I’ll give dogs up. I love my dogs, and you can see that in the way they bounce all over the top of me.”
“My hands are scratched all the time but I will never push a greyhound away. I love my dogs, and you can see that in the way they bounce all over the top of me.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF FREE-GALLOPING PUPS
“Galloping helps with bone structure, muscle structure and it is how pups to learn to run. My pups are not mud fat because they do a lot of galloping. They’re probably not far off racing condition in stature. They’re not as fit as a racing dog but I believe that if I feed them well and gallop them well, they’ll look after me.”
TEACHING PUPS TO WALK ON A LEAD
“We start this process at three months of age. I’ll just put a lead and a collar on one when there’s three or four running around and lead him around a bit just to get them used to it. I don’t want them to get upset so I get them used to leading and still keep them friendly with me. We might put a lead on a different pup each week and just lead it around. Then by the time they get to five or six months you haven’t got to lead them as much, but I do leave the collars on them so I can gently grab them by the collar at any stage and they know they’re not in trouble and you can pat them and do whatever you like with them. By starting to lead them at three months we’re not having to force a lead on them at six or eight months of age, because by then they already know how to lead. Once you do it at three months, every couple of months you might put a lead on them. That’s all they need.”
BULLRING EDUCATION
“I’ve always had the belief that greyhounds have got to be very hard chasers and work in a bullring is a key part of that. We get our pups to chase a squeaker in our bullring from when they are three months of age and they love it. It challenges them and allows them to get used to the noise which is important because they hear a similar noise on the racetrack. At three months of age when I take them in there for the first time, I’m rapt if they grab the squeaker. They might only go into the bullring once every month or two up until they are six months old, and then they might not go in there again until they are nine or 10 months of age. You don’t want them to have too much of it but you want them to be really keen chasers. You want them relating the noise of the bullring to the lure going around a racetrack. It helps ensure they are ready to go when they get to the breakers.”
THE DANGERS
“If you don’t introduce young pups to a squeaker on a rope or in a bullring it is usually very, very hard to break them in. Talking to Steve Elsum, who breaks dogs in for me, they (breakers) get so frustrated when pups come there at 12 or 14 months of age and they haven’t been taught to lead. They’ve then got to teach them to lead and when they run the lure around the pups are scared stiff because they don’t know what the noise is.”
INTRODUCTION TO KENNEL LIFE
“At 10 months I will bring them into the kennels for about a week to get them used to a kennel environment, and to being fed at night time with the other dogs. Once they’re comfortable with being in the kennels they’ll go back into the yards. Then at 12 months of age they’ll come back into the kennels to live. Dogs need to be comfortable in their environment, so if you leave a pup in a yard and then send them straight to a breaker, where they’ve got to be kennelled, everything is so strange to them. But by getting them in at 10 months to get used to it, then turning them out for a couple of months and bringing them back in at 12 months of age, those pups know the kennel environment and they go to the breakers after five to six weeks of being kennelled at my place. Then when you send them to a breaker they feel as if they’re at home.”
“From 12 months of age they spend four to five weeks getting exercised in the 100 metre runs during the morning and then 20 minutes on the walking machine at night, meaning that when I send them to the breakers they have muscle tone and condition and won’t break down.”
EXERCISING PUPS ON A WALKING MACHINE
“We start exercising our pups on the walking machine for the first time when we bring them into the kennels at 12 months of age. I want them to get used to everything like different noises and motion. I find that the walking machine builds their muscles a lot better than just galloping. I can run them as much as I like but it’s a variety they need. They get bored doing the one thing and they love the walking machine…they wag their tails when they’re on there. When I start them off they’re on there for two to three minutes on the first day, then five minutes on the second day and I gradually build them up to 20 minutes. So basically from 12 months of age, they spend four to five weeks getting exercised in the 100 metre runs during the morning and then 20 minutes on the walking machine at night. The combination of the walking machine and the galloping means that when I send them away (to the breakers) they have muscle tone and condition and they won’t break down when they are being broken-in.”
SOME OF THE BEST GREYHOUNDS BRED BY BARRY SMITH
Mepunga Blazer
Multiple city winner on the way up
(currently racing)Mepunga Armagh
28 wins, $180,000 prize money
(retired 2016)Mepunga Hayley
13 wins including Group 1 Maturity Classic
$201,000 prize money
(retired 2015)Mepunga Tiara
17 wins including Group 2 AWM Distance Championship
$195,000 prize money
(retired 2015)Mepunga Nicky
15 wins including Group 1 Adelaide Cup & Group 2 SA Oaks
$180,000 prize money
(retired 2011)Mepunga Spark
19 wins inc SA Oaks placed WA Oaks Sandown Laurels
$73,000 prize money
(retired 2001)Mepunga Blaze
12 wins including Group 1 National Derby
$126,000 prize money
(retired 1999)Mepunga Streak
26 wins, $64,000 prize money
(retired 1998)Spread Eagled
27 wins including 1990 Australian Cup & Silver Chief
$116,000 prize money
(retired 1990)Mystic Hope
21 wins including National Distance Championship
$40,000 prize money
(retired 1988)