THE PUP'S STORY: Formative Months--Part 2

This is the second in a series of articles written by Shawnie & Sam Burdette, Ok breeders of Greyhounds. Anyone reading up on Greyhounds eventually comes across something negative concerning the breeding and racing of Greyhounds. The Burdette's certainly do not fit into the negative category! They love their Greyhounds, and they take excellent care of them! They also tell a pretty good yarn--enjoy!!! This is picking up where last week's article left off. "At 2-4 months the pups are moved to a 20'by 300' long run with several igloo type dog houses; they remain together as a litter. We put a puppy collar on them at this time. They start jogging, playing, digging holes, tossing old bleach bottles, playing hide and seek, pulling tug of war with towels and toys, and interacting with each other. We feed these young pups twice per day, early morning and late evening. They are untamed hellions at times. When we enter to feed, they come running full speed. They jump on us, they playfully bite us, they rip clothes, they smear mud all over us, they upset the water bucket, they carry straw out of the doghouses, they bust our lips, and they try to crowd out the entrance gate---we love it all! But also during this period they start establishing a heirarchy of dominance and developing personality traits. Some become more aggressive. Some seem to get along better with one littermate than the others. Some start getting picked on. Some start becoming a little afraid. Most are just happy, carefree pups.

At 5 to 6 months we start separating the pups into pairs and putting them into individual chain link fenced long runs that are 30'by 300'. Only 2 dogs per run--no more, no less. Great decisions are made on which two to pair up; after all, these two will be together for the next 7-9 months. Usually we pair a female and male together, but not always. We continue to feel twice per day. During the 7-9 months in the long run, th gh pups continue to develop. One will become dominant over the other. They usually reach full body weight at about 10-11 months. They love to run the fenceline against the pair in the adjacent runs--up and down the fenceline, time after time. They always have an old bleach bottle (rinsed out first) to play with. They dig "big" holes. We have several long runs and sometimes all the dogs up and down the runs will "roo" or sing and howl, together. What amazes us is they all stop singing at once, on the same beat (they must have a song leader that signals when to stop). The long runs have thick grass in the center that is mowed short each week. Of course the grass is worn out where they run the fenceline. The doghouses are custom built and larger than the igloo type doghouses. One of their favorite games is to chase each other around the doghouse; they also like to play hide and seek around the doghouse. In the summertime they have a kiddy-type swimming pool full of water. Some will lay down in the pool with only their head showing. In the winter the doghouses are kept full of straw. During this period in the long runs they are taught a few manners. We start bumping their nose to prevent them from jumping all over us. We start giving verbal commands. We lead-break them. We spend time petting them. We spend extra time with the shy ones or the ones that are a little touchy. We introduce them to a muzzle. We work them with a squawker (a fur hide with a noise maker inside) tied off a pole. Also during this period we occasionally take them to the training track. We let them play and start chasing the squawker lure around the racetrack at a very slow pace."