Greyhound Campaign update: proposed welfare regulations a 'whitewash'

In July, I blogged about Dogs Trust's Greyhound campaign, which asked everyone to urge the Government to go further in protecting the welfare of these beautiful dogs from cradle to grave. A consultation on the proposed regulations garnered critical responses from dog and animal welfare groups and scores of letters were written to MPs by supporters. Today the Government has released the proposed regulations - and they're a disappointment. Here's our statement:

After 15 years of promises and talks, today’s release of the Government’s proposed Regulations into Greyhound Racing have been branded a whitewash by Dogs Trust, the UK's largest dog welfare charity.

The charity is appalled that the Government has decided to restrict Greyhound welfare provisions to just trackside activity – thereby condemning thousands of dogs to a life of misery and in some cases an early death. Out of the 159 responses to the consultation statement: ‘do you agree that the licensing conditions should only apply where greyhounds are being raced or trialled’, 141 respondents disagreed.

The proposed Regulations do not extend to training or breeding kennels despite the fact this is where racing Greyhounds spend 90 per cent of their lives. These out of sight premises will continue to elude welfare scrutiny.

A Greyhound’s racing career spans just three to four years out of a life expectancy of upwards of twelve years. The proposed Regulations will have no significant impact on the fate of retired racing greyhounds or the young dogs who never reach the track.

For many years Dogs Trust has campaigned and provided clear guidance to the Government about the need for effective legislation to protect Greyhounds from cradle to grave. Ultimately this means statutory regulation of the industry and the creation of one centralised database upon which all dogs bred for the sport can be tracked. The proposed Regulations fail to deliver these methods of protection.

Clarissa Baldwin, Chief Executive of Dogs Trust and Chairman of the Greyhound Forum comments:

“Successive Ministers have pledged their support to safeguarding the welfare of racing Greyhounds. Successive Ministers have let these animals down. Today’s Regulations represent a missed opportunity to improve the lives of thousands of dogs and represent the views of Parliamentarians, welfare groups and members of the general public. Dogs Trust is calling for the Government to understand the strength of public feeling about this issue and extend these regulations immediately.”

Dog of the Week: Casper @ Dogs Trust Bridgend

Slightly belated due to the Greyhound campaign taking precedence on Friday.

Introducing... Casper!

Breed: Shih Tzu Crossbreed

Age: 6

Likes and Dislikes: In common with quite a few Shih Tzu's Dogs Trust has had recently, I have a strong personality so I'm not a lapdog! When I get used to you I will be very affectionate and loving, but until then I'll be a bit wary, especially when being handled. I'm told I was 'in a terrible condition' when I came into the centre, and their gentle care has turned me into this proud fella. See my smile? Great, isn't it?

Needs: Patience, mainly. If you don't crowd me and give me time to adjust, I'll be your best friend for life. I can happily live with another dog, though children and cats are out.

Contact: Call Dogs Trust Bridgend on 01656 725219 or see the Dogs Trust website for other dogs needing homes.

Catching up: disappointing racing Greyhound regulations

Hello all!

You might not have realised it from the stream of planned posts, but I've actually been away for a couple of weeks. Alternatively you might have noticed and felt abandoned - not to mention missing me terribly - in which case, fear not! I'm back. *grin*

I've cleared out my inbox, run around our social networking sites to say hello and greeted our regulars on DoggySnaps, so I've spent some time reading up on the latest doggy news. One regular stop is, of course, the blog of our Chief Executive, Clarissa Baldwin, who had some disappointing news:

The latest Association of Dogs and Cats Home (ADCH) meeting fortuitously took place in Dublin which gave me an opportunity to check on the progress of our new Rehoming Centre.

[see the full post to read more about ADCH]

Unfortunately the week ended on a disappointing note as we finally received the Consultation into the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations. Despite all our recommendations, the proposed regulations will not protect Greyhounds from cradle to grave. By focusing purely on the welfare of dogs at tracks, the consultation fails to address the issue of the 1000s of dogs which routinely disappear before their racing career has started or when they are retired from racing at 4-5 years. We will be feeding back our disappointment to Defra and submitting our evidence about what needs to be done to better protect Greyhounds as part of the Consultation.

Anyone who's visited a Dogs Trust centre or who has started their search for a dog on our website will know that we do get a lot of ex-racing Greyhounds. These have to be some of the most misunderstood dogs on the planet; for example, far from needing a lot of exercise they're couch potatoes who are often well-suited to less active owners (though they do need daily walks and a short run).

More misconceptions arise when people see muzzled Greys in the park. Although some ex-racers need to be walked muzzled, don't be fooled; this is so they are kept apart from small dogs, cats, squirrels and the like as their chase instinct has been finely honed for the track. With people, they're commonly very gentle family dogs (don't forget, racers have human handlers, after all!) and as they're used to canine company they sometimes prefer to live with other similar-sized dogs. Greyhounds who haven't been trained to chase small furries can also often live very happily with small dogs, cats and the like, just like any other well-socialised and trained dog, whatever the breed or crossbreed.

Nikki the ex-racing Greyhound (pictured) is currently looking for a home with attentive owners and, preferably, another dog. Find out more.

Video: Lord Mayor's Show 2008 - Getting ready and showing off dogs needing homes!

While we were busy getting ready for the Lord Mayor's Show, Charlotte from our Communications department was running around with her camera getting video of the float, the Canine Gang and two of the dogs coming along with us who are looking for homes.

Dog of the Week: Fran @ Dogs Trust Ilfracombe

Introducing... Fran!

Breed: Greyhound (Black & White)

Age: 6

Likes: I'm a very gentle lady, good with other dogs and excellent on the lead. Cuddles are always appreciated!

Dislikes: Being dirty; I'm very clean in my kennel overnight.

Needs: Lots of attention and love! I have a lot to give and look forward to owners who will return my affection.

Contact: Call Dogs Trust Ilfracombe on 01271 812709 or visit the Centre's Gallery page.

Previous Dogs of the Week: Jess & Brinkley @ Shoreham | Madge @ Leeds

Meet Dogs Trust's Dogs: Buster Boy aka BB

Sometimes the humans at Dogs Trust HQ get a little lonely without their dogs - and who can blame them? Us four-legged creatures are the best, after all. As such we've decided that we ought to get just as much press as the two-legged folk, and you can't be said to have 'met' Dogs Trust if you haven't met us...

Name: Buster Boy, but my friends call me BB

Breed: Lurcher cross

Colour: Tan and white

Age: I think I'm about 12. I was a stray, so no-one knows for sure.

Who's your favourite two-legged friend at Dogs Trust? My mum of course! She's called Jo and that's her giving me a cuddle.

Who's your favourite four-legged friend at Dogs Trust? My best friend is Charlie, a terrier who is also in the office. We go for walks together every lunchtime. Outside work I'm a bit of ladies man; lady dogs find me irresistible, but my favourite girlfriend is Bess, who's a Lurcher like me.

What's your favourite toy? I love anything with a squeak, especially my squeaky sheep. You know I'm really happy when I start throwing it around!

What's your favourite treat? Sausage. Mmmmm.

What do you dream about? Chasing squirrels! Mum says I run and woof to myself in my sleep, so you you know when I'm dreaming.

Where's the best place to take a walk? In London, I like walking by the canal as there are always squirrels to chase.

What are you favourite activities? Showing off how fast I can run, barking at the postman to make him jump, playing in the garden, sleeping and getting my humans to scratch my tummy and ears.
What's the one thing you can't stand? Being left alone. I suffer from chronic separation anxiety, which is one of the reasons I love coming to work with my friends.

What do your humans like best about you? They love my cuddles, my gentleness and that I'm always smiling.

How did you meet your humans? They found me at Dogs Trust Snetterton.

Meet Dogs Trust's Dogs is our new weekly Monday feature - check back next week for more!

UK survey reveals pet owner trends

One of the best things about working at Dogs Trust HQ is the chance to meet some of the dogs staff members have adopted. Most mornings, Buster's soulful brown eyes pop up over the edge of my desk; he's accompanied his 'mum', Jo Howard to her job as head of donor development.

Today he yawns and stretches, and we're all reminded of that extra bit of indolent laziness that sets in the morning after a bank holiday. It's easy to see the wonderful relationship that Jo and Buster have, and what they each get out of their companionship. It seems that this is reflected in the rest of the UK; despite the problems of poor ownership and strays, we're still a nation of pet lovers.

Especially dogs! The Pet Food Manufacturers Association has revealed the results of research suggesting that of the 27 million pets in the country, dogs are the most popular. The study, carried out for National Pet Month (which ended yesterday) shows that 43% of all households have some sort of creature companion, 7.3 million of which are canine pals, edging ahead of 7.2 million cats.

In the capital, over a third of Londoners are getting pets for companionship (39%) with almost two thirds of singletons across the UK doing the same (60%), of which a generous chunk use their pet to 'replace' their missing partner (39%)!

Around a fifth of pet owners have, like me, craved furry / feathered / scaly / scuttling friends since childhood (21%), including almost half of people living in the North East.

Congratulations East Midlands: you are the greatest pet lovers in the country, housing 14% of all UK pets, compared to a lowly 4% residing in the whole of Wales - although we're surely they're just as loved!

Finally, the figure that interests Dogs Trust the most. Some 27% of pet owners were bought or adopted from a welfare or rescue centre, compared to 20% from a pet shop. Long may the numbers go up for centres!

So, out of all those dogs, which are the most popular breeds according to the survey?

1. Labrador
2. Border Collie
3. Jack Russell Terrier
4. Yorkshire Terrier
5. German Shepherd
6. Joint = Rottweiler and Dalmatian
7. Bischon Frise
8. Joint = Cocker Spaniel and Shih Tzu
9. Joint = Labradoodle and Golden Retriever
10. Joint = Greyhound (including Whippets) and Chihuahua

Nice to see the oft-maligned Greyhounds making an appearance there, and good to know that dogs are as popular and loved as ever. Now to get on with our daily job of ensuring that they can have happy lives, free from the threat of unnecessary destruction.

[via K9]

Dog Rescue, Greyhounds and YouTube, oh my!

It's all getting pretty exciting at Dogs Trust HQ with the expansion of the digital department. Part of my job this week will be getting hold of snippets of Dog Rescue to upload to our YouTube channel, which is currently full of lovely videos of staff interacting with dogs in one of our 17 Rehoming Centres.

One of the clips I'm most keen to get on the site is one featuring Betty the Greyhound, whose owners decided to hand her over for rehoming with us when she had to retire from racing. Retired Greyhounds might well have enjoyed their years dashing around the track, but few are lucky enough to be taken in by racing owners as pets or responsibly handing in to a centre for rehoming. Many are destroyed or sold abroad where their welfare is greatly in question and they are likely to be killed once they’ve outlived their money-spinning usefulness.

The work of charities like ours and the Animal Welfare Act of 2006 means that life has improved on and off the track for these beautiful animals, but things are still far from perfect. One of the biggest challenges we face is convincing potential adopters that a Greyhound makes a suitable pet.

For instance, did you know they're the couch potatoes of the dog world? Despite the ability to reach speeds of 40mph, Greyhounds like nothing better than a long kip on the sofa. Just two or three 20 minute walks and brief off-lead sprint a day will suffice for fitness. Chatting about them in the Dogs Trust office, Jo commented on some friends who adopted a pair of Greyhounds in the hope that they'd accompany them on long walks in the country. After half an hour, the dogs have to be walked back home before they can continue the stroll as they simply lose interest...

These docile giants are child-friendly, clean and sociable animals, who sadly have a bad reputation because of a handful of negative news reports.

They do have a deliberately bred chase instinct, but provided you invest time and effort in training (and use muzzle if necessary), that shouldn't cause any problems. Some greyhounds have been known to chase any smaller dogs, rabbits and even cats, but common sense and responsible ownership should prevent any issues. In fact, their sociable nature means they make for particularly good second pets as they tend to socialise very well with other animals; your local Rehoming Centre will be able to give you all the advice you need.

Who knows? Your next dog might just be one of these graceful, delightful animals.