What do you think the racing ban will mean for the future of the greyhound breed?
i think there are greyhound blogs on tumblr that can answer this far more eloquently than i can, but i will try to give you a decent answer.
you’ve probably seen posts flying around that claim that we are about to lose “the breed as we know it.” i think that wording has been confusing to people who aren’t familiar with greyhounds.
to me, that phrase means that the lean, muscular, powerful, and yet sweet and humble athlete that so many people know and love will devolve into nothing more than couch ornaments. greyhounds are an extremely healthy and genetically diverse breed that has been bred to hunt for centuries. i think it is unfair to a dog to tailor its genetic code to not only excel at, but LOVE, racing, and then to pull the rug out from under that animal and keep it from the thing that makes them happiest.
over time, the genetic health and fitness of these dogs will likely deteriorate. it will become more difficult to find a greyhound capable of what it was bred to do. show greys will become more the norm, and it’s possible and probable that most dogs will go to homes that will never give them the chance to hunt.
this is where most parties diverge, i think. some people think this is all well and good—better to end it now, so that all future greys don’t have to “suffer”. they believe it is cruel to make a dog work or compete. that there is nothing wrong with leaving behind traits that traditionally make a greyhound a greyhound.
i don’t believe this. i believe it’s cruel to condemn a born athlete to live its life languishing on a sofa. and i think it’s just fine to have a breed that exists to hunt!
other breeds are looking at what happened with horror and trepidation because they fear what happened in florida could happen to their dogs—german shepherds that can’t do bitesports, huskies that can’t mush, retrievers that can’t retrieve.
mankind has spent its history with dogs forming a partnership that makes both parties fulfilled and happy. we have created dog breeds to fill spaces in our societies and cultures. we created most breeds with specific working purposes to help us in our daily lives. to deny decades or even centuries of this partnership with the belief that a couch dog is a happy dog is laughable and saddening.
a couch is nice for a while, but i know that if someone took my job away, i would be miserable. i was born to teach—it’s in my blood. i’m good at it. i want to do it. confining me to a house and a walk a day wouldn’t make me happy or fulfilled. it would make me less than what i am.
i only being up the couch thing because there’s this prevalent north american myth that all dogs would be happy as indoor couch ornaments. maybe some dogs would. but i think it’s foolish to cry “liberation” when all you’ve done is condemn.
i ENTHUSIASTICALLY invite greyhound people to correct me and add to this, as i am just blabbering at this point. i am on mobile and late to a workout so goodbye for now~
