New greyhound owners

if you need to think along those lines......find a different hobby.......if you can afford a pony a week each and take the joy when it comes....then i suggest you look at the belle view trainers....see who is best for your needs....i.e. location, ability, personality.....go along and have a word and i am sure he/she will have something in the kennel that would be ideal.....

ireland is the best place to buy a dog from

if you know what your doing......graveyard for the inexperienced...

hope this helps you would be mad to buy a greyhound

a run a week
a win every 8 days

fk me if i could get that i buy some tommorrow,

more like a run every 2 weeks,
and a win every 40 days thats if your dog stays sound or does not go in season(bitch)and your dog gets lucky.

this sport is just that, a sport,
an expencive hobby,
and if you take that on board,
then you are in for one hell of a ride,
because there is no better thrill than owning a greyhound,
winning is a bonus,
start at the bottom and learn the game,

If you are serious about going in to greyhound ownership, the first thing you need to consider is what will you do with with the dog when retirement beckons.

"is it worth" suggests its an economic decision, and in the UK that appears to be a "No"
If you are over here however its a completely different ball game.

agree with Winja. If you want A5 type dog, then why don't you visit 2 or 3 of the BV trainers, see how they run their operation, meet the people and dogs, and ask what it will cost incl av. vet fees. this way you can also compare what each trainer offers you... (also less likely to end up with a dud if there will be ongoing relationship imo)

as flatcap says, retirement important, go along and see the local RGT kennel too so you know what's involved after racing, if you dont wish to rehome and sit on your sofa

They have an owners forum, so why not ask there?
http://bellevueowners.proboards.com/

in fairness STARR he does say " a win every 8 races "....

a win every 8 days would need some dog..as well as some drugs. !!!!   

flatcaps point is the most valid so far imo

thanks for the comments so far,we are not novices,my uncle used to run on winsford,chester,bolton etc,i used to go chesterton,cobridge,etc,had some cracking nights at loads of tracks,we arnt skint,just wondered what a rough cost would be,think i will ask on their forum

dont waste your money on buying a greyhound

First take no notice of the knockers you would think they hate dog racing the way they talk two of you split the cost not going to skin anyone a5 dog with a bit of age chip as chips gl boys hope you go with your own head

i would also encourage you to get involved but the costs are something of a side issue when you do and that was the point i was trying to make.......the BV forum looks a great place for proper info but remember the joy also spreads to sundays when you can visit and take the greyhound for a walk and that is why trainer location to your homes is also important.....good luck lads

A fabulous time can be had. Equally, many great times turn to grave disappointment and upset. Won't either encourage or dissuade you. As they say, think what may happen to the dog if he breaks down after his first race, the vet bills, and what you actually want from the dog/trainer. Remember, whilst many decent trainers exist, DeMouldy always said there are people with licenses that don't know an arssse from a tail.

I'd love to get back into it, but won't for many reasons.

Best of luck

think we will give it a go,project on the go tho yet,will be after xmas before we are ready.We will start making enquiries soon at belle vue,think we would lean towards a young dog which could hopefully run in the 21.45 race at Wimbledon in late May or early June!No,only dreaming,bit dissillusioned with the horses although shown a profit this year,too many things to take into account.Like you say £25 to £40 a week should give us a few good nights out under the lights at the Zoo on a cold jan or feb night with a few winter warmers inside us to keep us going.Hares running,go on my beauty,how far!!!!

How much is that Doggie in the window ?

(Dunno ... depends how much you've got to spend !)

if the money is a issue get few more people involved keep the costs down  couple of tips for you in no particular order.
1 take the knocks on the chin and enjoy the wins and nights out they make up for the knocks.
2 dont let the trainer take the p155 out of you and if they do, dont be scared to move your dog to another kennel you pay the kennel bills so you deserve to be treated fairly
3 dont expect to be told any info other than for your dog and if you do get the nod to back one remember there not robots and can often still get beaten
4 pick a trainer whos local and enjoy the sunday morning kennel visits its as nice going to see the dogs on a sunday jump all over you and chat to the trainer/ other owners as it is turning up race night watching your dog run
best of luck in picking which dog you buy

GLASGOWCALLING ,
your right ,
appologies for that, miss read ,
thought they wanted a win every 8 days,

Fine advice pocket pairs.
I'd add
Buy a Dog, rather than a bitch (no seasons)
For your first one, try to buy one already graded at the track. You'd then know what you are buying and avoid the cost of getting them over from Ireland and a month or more of kennel bills while they grade in.
If you can't do the above, buy one with some form and ask some advice to see if you are paying the right sort of price.

On the Belle Vue owners forum, ask about the trainer's facilities, kennel size,  attitude , and attitude to gambling.
e.g. If they have lots of dogs and your one is not too good, it may well become a "bowl of grub" dog. i.e. They take it to the track each week and don't do much in the way of training.

You'll normally become a better judge of your Greyhound's form than the trainer, so add his/her views to your own, rather than rely on theirs alone.

good replies and advice coming now,we would have up to £1200 for the dog.We do go to BVue a lot,but just to bet.If we wanted a pup from ireland nearly ready to race,how much would it cost to get it over here.I have got a contact in a monmore trainers kennel so as we are not put away by anybody but dont want to play that card yet,we want to sort it out as much as we can on our own yet with advice off some dog men on here,i think i know the good judges after being on here 9 years.Not saying we wouldnt by a grader but its a bigger dream with a pup,a bigger gamble i know but i am typing this on betfair so its obvios we like a bet.Thanks again for the advice,i might keep this thread going although the dog wont be purchased until after xmas.

sainsbury,if buying from ireland,i'd budget £500 on top of the purchase price.

Months Kennel fees whilst trialling in.
Transporter.
Registration(though check if this is now free as i heard was going to happen).
Micro chipping.
Check over by vet.

sainsbury, i see you say you are buying the dog with someone else, make sure the other part owner is as intrested in racing as you

sound, and that they can be trusted to stump up the kennel bills regulary...the last thing you want is to be let down and left

with the dog on your own... i am sure you will be fine, but i have seen this happen many times before.

do keep us updated, and good luck.....glasgow. 

buying with brother,hes been ok for the 42 years hes been on this earth.We still laugh when we go past Haydock Park junction on M6,he came with me when i was 18 and he was 13,me driving,excitingly looking over to the course as we shot straight past the turning and ending up in wigan

glad to hear sainsbury, i didnt mean any offence just my take on going into partnership with a dog..sometimes nothing but grief when

  going into multiple ownership, iam sure you and your brother will be fine.. i personally like stow judges idea about buying a dog

  that has already graded...but thats just my view...anyway good luck. 

sainsbury without upsetting the irish sellers you have got more chance of putting the £1200 on the lottery and copping 6 numbers as you have them selling you a derby winner for £1200
pup= transport cost £80-100 vets bill to check it over wormers etc £50-100 6weeks kennel bills before it gets to race £5-6 aday thats if the dog comes over 16 months fit to race then it may be bottom grade or fail to chase granted it could be open class but as i said the irish know there onions and wouldnt sell somthing showing potential for that money

as mentioned above i think your best bet would be to buy a graded dog off a trainer or advertised at the track maybe a broken up syndicate/partnership atleast you know its sound and running the run money will  help contra the kennel bill

w

what out of interest guys were BF prices for warhawk and maestro? easily and continuously available on course warhark 4/5 and maestro 4/6

sorry wrong thread

things progressing but another question.We went to track on friday,4 bets 3 winners,enjoyed a good night.Met with trainer who we are hoping to put the dog with and may visit his kennels this week.Question is,if we buy a dog,£800 to £1000,no weekly kennel fees to pay but trainer keeps prizemoney. eg A4 win£66 others £20.If kennel bill is £50 to £60 a week there wont be much in it at the end of the month would there?,but still can not quite grasp the benefits of the project so far,still going ahead tho.

which trainer did you select sainsbury?
chef

So Sainsbury, you would be buying the dog for the trainer. He will run it in races he wants to because his prime interest will be the prize money which he keeps. And the vets bill, who pays those? Will he run on BAGS and so paid via that route from the track?

Nice work if you can get it, free dog.

like i say,trainer says we can have a bill if we want to but we would be better off not having one.Work this out,A5 dog,£60 first prize,£25 others,kennel bill £46 per week,say over 3 months,12 runs,2 wins,£370 prize money,£552 kennel bills.Other way looks like we are buying trainer a dog,we proberly are,but if he says we wont pay any vets bills (within reason)its still our dog on racenight and on sunday morning at the kennels,advise me please,what is the best thing to do.

"our dog on racenight and on sunday morning at the kennels".... ah in this case let the trainer have him

thought the thread was "NEW GREYHOUND OWNERS"

can i keep a racing dog in my own home irish,what happens when trainers paid a visit,does he tell them he doesnt know where the dog is ,the owners might have gone flapping with it last night

Sainsbury ive owned dogs for 30 years and believe me if your worried about the financial side , dont buy one, ive had good dogs , slow dogs and one that couldnt even grade, the cost of running an A4/A5 grader will set you back about a hundred pound a month and thats if its on the card and running, if not its about £180/£200 per month. dependant on trainer. at Belle vue its very stale there, most so called trainers are feeders, a lot have been there years and have no enthusiasm for the game. two trainers who are enthusiastic are Darren Hampson and Andy Hayes, I wouldnt put another dog with any of the others, most of them dont even get looked after properly.And if your looking to land a touch dont even bother going to Belle Vue , youve no chance of getting any decent money on at a price, you will get halved even quartered in some cases

So what about when the trainer takes it flapping without your knowledge  ?

.... you really should listen to laptop here, you are leaving a lot to chance, "within reason" you say ... whose reason ?

.... and this question has already been asked but not it appears answered ... who gets it on retirement ?

a few answers,the dog when it is retired we have sorted out already,it will become a pet locally to us,thats the biggest cert on this thread.We trust the trainer,i know two people who work for him and he is a genuine bloke,there is no way he is going to put us away,perhaps the within reason did seem a bit vague but we do know where we are up to.

.... and this question has already been asked but not it appears answered ... who gets it on retirement ?
What the feck has it got to do with what happens to the hound when it retires?

i think there is confusion here arising from the comment " buying a dog for the trainer"......the registered owners will always be responsible for the welfare of the greyhound both during racing and in retirement.......the agreement on kennel bills is a seperate issue beween the various parties........

uve looked into it Sainsbury so u can make a decision that best suits you, Id try and be clear and nail down the additionals if I were you, worming, muscle man/machine time, injuries etc. 

it depends on dog age, and grade I guess and what you want from trainer. E,g I want relatively small kennel so trainer and rearer can focus a decent amount of time (tho bigger also produce decent results of course), to be easy to get to, and to have flexible times of when I can come. And youve gotta get on with them.

I want mine to be a professional and therefore I want to pay for their time as I would a lawyer or whatever, each to their own. As said on here retirement plan important but uve sorted that, + if you can fork out for expensive operation, and same heavy bills for a few months if worst happens, trainer's thoughts on this side of things should match you own imo.

I'd get a gentleman's agreement that when the dog was up for it the trainer would give you his money to get it on for him , at that point you will definitely know that you are able to trust the trainer.

hopefully next week we will be sorted,dog purchased,in kennel and ready to trial,will then say name of dog,trainer etc,dont know how he feels yet about this forum!

Good luck and fun

been to perry barr sales today,ended up buying a bitch called KARLOW PEARL,went round in 29.23,tenth fastest of the session.Its going to be no worldbeater,probably A8 A7 at belle vue.What do you think,at home now its form does not look up to much but its too late now so fingers crossed.Cant understandwhy it didnt have a run a week in ireland.If weve done our money,so be it,some of you good judges please tell me if we should rename her Norfolk Inchance.

4 of its races can be viewed on the igb site once registered

good luck with your purchase

WD sainsbury, the very best of luck to you

everton fc,ive watched them,not pretty viewing!

i know mate, just thought i'd mention it incase you didnt know

i'll p m you sainsbury

good luck sainsbury

when working out your costs work it on worst case scenario, that is no runs for a month say due to a slight injury or bitch in season.Also why not try to purchase a top grader as that way you can also dip your toe in the open scene where you are not at the mercy of the grader.It is not a cheap game but can be good fun there is nothing better than oi,oiing when you hit the front coming home, also if you are going to run graded find out which trainers get the best treatment at your track all racing managers have their favourites.Good luck in your venture.

interesting points on this thread good luck with the purchase sainsbury, i know people who had dogs with a  trainer at perry barr forgot her name think shes gone to notts now who kept the prize money all they ever got when they asked what chance the dog had was it was fit and well and trying which as they liked a bet was not what they wanted to hear, when the dog was in correct race/trap/grade they got told it had a very good chance but everybody else could see that so it would open 5/4

all id say is a trainer should be like your accountant if he does his job properly you dont dispute the invoice/kennel bill

if you begrudge paying it your not getting looked after, tell him if you have a gamble on his info your fair and dont mind spending some of it on another dog in the future

best of luck

Can not wait for next week,should have first trial,never been so excited about a solo trial!,got to thinking now that she just comes off fine,feel quite attached already.Doesnt matter really if it costs a bob or two we are set fair for some good nights and perhaps get the money down when shes ready.

How much did you get her for sainsbury?

Last reply on this thread from me.Thanks for advice etc,our new purchase had her first trial last night at Belle Vue.Three dog trial,first time under lights she railed like a good un,winning trial by 4 1/2 lengths in 28.76 on -15 track.We now know what we have got to work with so  we have got to play our cards close to our chest from here on.Good luck everybody.

our dog takes its place in trap 2 in the 20.13 race at Belle Vue tomorrow.

Remember ,no tea or poppy seeds near his feed!

lol

good luck

Remember the midnight walk

G L ..... (into the abyss )

Good luck, TEWMAX HANNAH looks ready to go,but your bitch did some decent enough trials againdt some decent but maybe injured hounds? Aint it exciting

good luck tomorrow and in the future,
hope she gives you a couple of years of fun,
and you win a few quid now and again

Good luck. PM me if you've buzzed the dog up to find 5 lengths.

How is she Sainsbury ?

bad luck sainsbury, hope she's o k .

been down to kennel this morning,shes been in the magnetic box machine and touch wood she seems to be none the worse,perhaps a bit tender but she is not limping and doesnt show any outward signs of a bad fall.Wasnt the start we were expecting,when she led up the inside we were looking for a nice run round the bend,never mind,shes ok and we live to fight another day.

Good news sainsbury.