Breeding purebred greyhounds can be a lucrative business, but there are many factors to consider before jumping straight into breeding. If you’re planning on breeding winning racing greyhounds, then you will have to do plenty of extensive research ahead of time and be sure to get the advice and guidance of fellow greyhound breeders. Professional breeders will give you unfiltered advice which is exactly what you need to hear! This guide to breeding with greyhounds is by no means exhaustive, and is only meant as a beginner’s overview.
The Basics of Greyhound Breeding
A common sense approach will most likely be the most successful one – you’ll only get out what you put into a greyhound. If you’re keen to get started with greyhound breeding, you have to start with a well-performed and well-bred female greyhound and do everything right from the moment you start breeding right through to the pup’s racing lives.
The Necessary Sacrifices
Becoming a greyhound breeder will require a lot of work – probably more than you even realise. It’s imperative that you speak to other breeders as they will be more than willing to share their experiences and advice with you. They will be able to best advice you on getting started in the breeding game and you have to be prepared to put in a lot of time and effort if you want to achieve the best breeding results. You have to make sure to look after your greyhounds to the best of your ability and forgo sleep your greyhound is whelping. You’ll definitely have to give your favourite betting apps a break during season!
The Intense Workload
Greyhound breeding is an intense full-time job – do not even consider doing this as a hobby! Most professional breeders will tell you that it’s a 14-hour / 7 days a week commitment and it’s not a task that should be undertaken lightly. Loving the breed is not enough, you will have to endure all the ups and downs of being a breeder and it won’t always be smooth sailing. If you treat your dogs like royalty, they will show their thanks by giving you little princes and princesses of racing.
Brood Matron Care
Your brood matron has to be your top priority at all times and if your dam is well looked after, you could see her producing litters right up to 10 years old. You absolutely have to treat her as well as you did when she was still just 12 months old and feed her the same as a racing dog. Give her lots of love and attention – don’t just discard her into the backyard until it’s time to breed again. As previously mentioned, you get out what you put in.
Brood Matron Feeding and Deworming
Right before your brood matron is mated, be sure to deworm her to make sure she is clean from the inside out. Be sure to give your brood matron plenty of special care during the 9 weeks of pregnancy and feed her on a steady diet of meat, high-quality dry food, and milk. Be sure to deworm her again just before she gives birth and you’ll have to up her food intake by about 3 times when she whelps. Feed her as much as she can eat so that she can produce vitamin-rich milk with which to feed her pups.