Comment by 40four | Hacker News Reader

Comment by 40four | Hacker News Reader

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This is off subject of the worm issue, but my mom has owned retired racing greyhounds for years, and I’ve grown to love the breed.

I get your sentiment, the tracks have been notoriously bad in many aspects of the dogs safety and health. But the issue is more complex then just ‘shutting down’ the tracks I think.

They are wonderful dogs, I love them so much, great personality & demeanor. Especially for a hunting dog, they are great house companions.

But after Florida banned dog racing a couple years ago, the sport is all but dead. ‘Coursing’ in the UK is all but banned as well, so my point is the future of the breed is in jeopardy.

Nobody really hunts with these dogs anymore, so once the competitive outlets are gone ( coursing & track racing), the will be no reason left for breeders to invest time and money into the breed.

Maybe a handful of niche breeders will keep them alive to breed for show or something, but other wise I think it’s important to remember that when we talk about eliminating track racing, we are therefore talking about eliminating the breed from existence.

Sort of a catch 22 right? As distasteful as racing tracks can be, they also are the main reason the breed still exists. Personally I don’t want to see the breed go extinct. They are amazing dogs when you get to know them. It would also be ashamed to lose the bloodlines & the history, the centuries of breeding to create them.

I’m not necessarily trying to support track racing, but I don’t know what a good answer is.

> when we talk about eliminating track racing, we are therefore talking about eliminating the breed from existence

I am struggling with this logic. It's not like the dogs themselves will be put to death. We won't be selectively breeding them anymore other than to enjoy their company.

I agree with his point that in a few generations, greyhounds will be a lot less common to see if there isn't strong interest in breeding them for companionship. They aren't particularly fashionable (like a Corgi), or useful (like a Shepherd). It wouldn't be the first breed to go nearly extinct due to a lack of interest.

But it will be BETTER FOR THE DOGS, if they are bred for health and happiness as companion animals, rather than race performance.

A species or a breed can't suffer, only the individual animals.

That's great and all, but there are other externalities that GP was referring to. Animal wellbeing doesn't mean a whole lot if all the animals have died out.

The issue you usually run into is that the alternative isn't breeding for health or happiness, it's breeding for some arbitrary "standard" of aesthetics. It results in substantially less healthy animals (see: bulldog, German shepherd dog, for examples).

It's no different than mourning the old 90's internet or music from a certain era. A thing gp loves about the world will diminish drastically because it's no longer viable, and they're going to miss it when it's gone. Makes sense to me.

I get what you’re saying and think you’re right, but it is very different.

Someone keeping the 90s internet alive will cost them money but have no other collateral damage.

Keeping dog tracks alive means subjecting many sentient living creatures to a fairly cruel life.

You can keep the breed alive using time/money too. Make a YouTube channel about the breed, ask for donations from like minded people or use your own money to breed them etc

But it won't be gone. Greyhounds will continue to exist because people like them merely as companion animals and not for their racing or hunting skills.

Breeds have absolutely vanished in the past(1). It takes an awful lot of effort to breed dogs and if there isn't money in it most breeders won't. Without the main financial incentive it's not crazy to think that within a human generation everyone who did it for money will have moved on and anyone who did it for love will have retired.

1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extinct_dog_breeds

Breeds vanish because too few people care. If too few people care, then...who cares exactly?

I don’t quite understand: lots of people buy purebred dogs from breeders for lots of reasons. If greyhounds are such amazing dogs why wouldn’t people continue to buy them, just perhaps at a smaller scale?

I'm not mourning the loss of greyhound racing in any way shape or form.

But I will say Greyhounds and retired racing Greyhounds seem pretty different. Most of the behavior that defines mine is a result of racing, for better or for worse.

Mine didn't even know how to bark until he went to a dog park for a few months, and to this day it's exceptionally rare to hear him bark or roo

The way they're brought up around other dogs for most of their lives is also somewhat unique and contributes to their demeanor

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I don't think it's any sort of loss compared to what Greyhound racing was doing to dogs though. To this day I get people complaining to me about my dog being skinny... he's 15 lbs over the weight I got him at (75 lbs from 60 lbs).

Pictures of him from when his was racing are depressing, despite constantly being happy and inquisitive today not a single one shows him as anything but scared and/or disinterested.

I can only theorize they will no longer be selectively bred for performance, only looks and behavior. In a few generations, the performance will start to diminish until it's no longer an advantage.

What advantage would their performance have, if they have no outlet for the performance? And you can still have your bitches and studs run a 200m race and breed the fastest ones, just not in the context of that's-their-whole-life...

I’m a long-time greyhound lover (6 adopted, and fosters), and I’m not worried about the future of the breed.

They are “greyt” dogs. Many other breeds survive and thrive without racing or other working roles, and I have no doubt greyhounds will as well. People will want them as pets and that will take care of that.

(Personally, I’m only going to adopt rescues, so maybe there won’t be a greyhound in need when the time next comes — but that will be only a temporary disappoint. Really, it’s a sign of progress.)

I have mixed feelings about dog breeds. They are selectivly bred for a specific set of features for a use-case, if that use-case is gone, is there a purpose for the breed? Other than a companion or to look pretty? Should we feel bad if they go away?

I always owned mutts because that is what all shelters have. And they offer the same amount of love if not more. I didn't pay a cent apart from a donation and I don't have to fear any specific heridetary problem (which is a good and bad thing because I cannot predict health issues).

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