After a challenging 2020, you might be thinking about having a holiday away from home!

GRV’s Greyhound Welfare Department wants to support all greyhound owners and carers in ensuring they get a well-earned rest this summer.

If you are planning to go away, here a few tips that can help reduce the stress on both you and your greyhounds:

• introducing the person who will be caring for your greyhounds into the daily routines before you go away will help the greyhounds get used to their voice, movement and smell;
• try and get away for short periods of time in the weeks leading up to your holiday. If you can coincide these short trips with your holiday carer coming to get used to the routine, this will help reduce stress and anxiety when you go;
• change the routine a little bit while you are away.
• For example, include additional enrichment activities to keep your greyhounds busy, introduce music or the radio, and schedule additional short periods of exercise; and
• make sure your kennels/housing areas are clean, comfortable, protected from the weather, and offer clean fresh water.

For greyhound trainers, you must ensure your EHMP protocols are clear and up to date. The person(s) caring for your greyhounds will rely on your EHMP to tell them what to do. This is especially important if there is an emergency; your EHMP must have detailed instructions about what to do in each type of emergency situation – illness, injury and, most importantly, fire and flood.

Separation anxiety is an issue for some greyhounds, and GRV’s Greyhound Welfare Department has some great resources to help greyhound owners with managing separation anxiety behaviours in greyhounds including:

• our Barking in the Racing Greyhound Kennel Environment  booklet, and
• our Greyhounds, Stress and Boredom  fact sheet.

If you are an owner of a pet greyhound, take a look at our detailed fact sheet here

Have a great holiday.