A double for the Kennel.

Great day at Addington on Friday when Feral Whanau (Daisy) won race 1 in a time of 17.95 and then 15 minutes later Feral Kaiaka (Darth) came out and won race 2 in a time of 17.72. 

I knew Darth was well but after the previous weeks race where he left the boxes 6L behind the others I was worried he would do it again but no he came out first !

Daisy (Feral Whanau) 3rd at Addington today.

Daisy Yellow Jacket showed a bit of pace today and I was pleased with her 3rd after a moderate break!

Darth ( Feral Kaiaka ) First race !

This was Darth's first race today at Addington. Could not ask for a slower break (Red Jacket) from him but hopefully he will learn !

Back to Normal !

Not published for a while but should be back with a few more post over the next couple pf months. Had a trip to the UK so the dogs were kept ticking over but due to niggling injuries they did not race. 
Daisy ( Feral Whanau) has had one race back where she missed the kick but managed to get a 5th. She was over weight so hopefully a bit of improvement to come. The others are coming back from small injuries and hopefully will be back on the cards soon.

Great to see our retired ones living the life of luxury !!

Feral Helen ( Mo) and mum Collision Risk (Lizzie).

Latest News

Had 2 runners at Addington Christchurch on Friday. Both ran in Maiden Sprints over 290m. Feral Steadfast ran a 3rd and Feral Whanau ran a 5th. No excuse for Dexter (Feral Steadfast) because he led all but the last 30 Metres. Poor old Daisy (Feral Whanau) was meat in the sandwich on the run to the bend and recovered to run on well. Will be entered for this Friday.
Other news is that both the other 2 are just waiting for a qualifying trial.

Updates

Tried to qualify Darth this week but still no good. Was disappointed with his run but after talking to a couple of people who watched the trial they said it was pretty rough. When I went over him later that night I found an area of pain so feel a little happier after that. He will  now be on the a easy lift for a couple of weeks and then given a couple of solo trials to get him back on the hunt!

The others are doing OK but again a couple of small niggling injuries have limited the work time for a couple of them. Took two to Carrs Road trial track this morning and was pleased with how they went. Will hopefully be entering a coupe to run this week or next.

Free Galloping Pups

Dexter (Feral Steadfast)

Dove (Feral Dove Love)

Dexter (Feral Steadfast)

Furtherest to closest Daisy (Feral Whanau), Darth (Feral Kaiaka), Dove (Feral Dove Love)

Having a run. Feral Kaiaka in the lead

Dexter (Feral Steadfast) out running his wee sister Dove (Feral Dove Love)

A man and his dogs

Dexter and Daisy

Dexter

Waiting for the less obedient ones to join the pack.

Feral Whanau, Daisy, more interested in the camera than posing. 

The pretty boy, Darth, Feral Kaiaka

Feral Dove Love, Dove, being tailed by Feral Steadfast, Dexter. 

Feral Love Dove, Dove, snuggling

Shock! Horror! Mick (aka Feral Grumpy) can smile! 

Reluctantly walking back to the kennel block. 

Two pups have qualified.

Both Daisy (Feral Whanau) and Dexter (Feral Steadfast) have qualified to race. Daisy won her trial and Dexter came 2nd after getting pipped on the line. Both times were not the greatest but I hope there is room for improvement. Dexter is still a big baby so will be put away for a while to let him mature both physically and mentally.

Disappointing at the moment is the fact that both Darth (Feral Kaiaka) and Dove (Feral Dove Love) have failed to qualify. Darth is missing the kick badly and hopefully he will calm down when in the boxes soon. Dove I am not sure about at the moment but she seems to be immature mentally at the moment.

The Feral Team

Darth aka Feral Kaiaka

Daisy aka Feral Whanau

Daisy followed by Darth

Dove, Mick and Dexter

Dove

Dove 

Dove aka Feral Dove Love

Dexter aka Feral Steadfast

Dexter

Daisy

Retirement for Lizzie (Collison Risk)

Lizzie has gone to live with her daughter Mo (Feral Helen) at Mildred and Rons. She has settled in really well and seems to be enjoying herself.

Busy day at the Trials.

Took all four Pups to Addington Christchurch this morning. The weather was awful with a cold drizzle making it unpleasant for both dog and handlers. Gave Dexter and Dove their first look at the track and to be honest Dexter took to it well but Dove looked completely lost so will take her back for a handslip next week. The wide open spaces sometimes makes it difficult for some dogs to concentrate and this was certainly the case with Dove.
 The other two Daisy and Darth had a two dog trials with Ray Caseys pups and the all went inside grading time and broke the 18 barrier which was pleasing to see. Hopefully they will improve and the more experience they get running with other dogs the better they will become.

Kennel News

Picked up Dexter and Dove from Bruce Danns on Saturday. Pleased with how they have broken in. They will get a bit of rest now seeing that they have been full on for 4 weeks.
The other two Darth and Daisy had their first look of the wide spaces at Addington today. They were slipped and both chased hard and railed well. Their times were pleasing seeing that it was their first look at the track. They will go back in a weeks time.

Mick Butler

Minnie's New Home

We just received this lovely email and these beautiful photos of Minnie aka Feral Hoki,  our kennel sweetheart, that was re-homed through Nightrave and Tracy recently. 

"Thank you so much to Minnie's trainer and family, for bringing up such a beautiful dog.  Her gentleness, friendliness and calmness blows me away every day!  She has settled in so quickly and she is just so easy to love!!"

Sat 29th April... Another day schooling

Took the dog and the bitch to the schooling track again today. Walked them through the boxes a few times and then put the lids down and gave them a blast out of them. Both took to them really well and Darth was a natural and came out very well. Both ran well with Darth showing a little more than Daisy but not by much. 


News from Bruce is that both the dog and the bitch are going good and will be ready to be collected next week.

Ben is now in the house and has already settled in. He gets on well with Charlie the Retriever and has not troubled the cat at all.

Busy day at the kennels today. Took 2 to the OTB trial track this morning. Always nervous when they are having their first handslip but both Darth and Daisy chased the lure which was great to see. Hopefully they will progress over the next few weeks.
Two other of the litter, the more mature dog/bitch Dexter and Dove were taken to Bruce Danns place to be broken in. 

Digby below before he left.

Talking to Bruce he reckons Digby who has been there for 2 weeks is progressing nicely.

Minnie ( Feral Hoki )

Minnie has left the kennels and has gone to Nightrave greyhounds on the North Island to be re homed. It was a hard decision but we felt that she deserved a loving home. We were going to bring her in here but have decided to bring Ben ( Feral Poutini ) into the house. Minnie is a caring girl who always chatted her teeth when she greeted you. I am positive she will bring a lot of fun and enjoyment to her new home when she finds one. 
Other Kennel news is that Digby has gone to Bruce Dann to be educated in the racing game. The 4 pups left at these kennels have been well galloped and have been Carrs Road Christchurch to the OTB training track to watch others being schooled.

Kennel view form the Drone !

As you can see on the second picture there is a bit of rain on the drones lens. The Kennel block is at the top and has room for 10 dogs. You can just make two pups out in the bottom run.

RIP Zac

Sad to report that Zac who's racing name was Lots of Beersies and earned just short of $16,000 has been put to sleep by his last owner who was his trainer. Not happy about it and not the ending that any breeder wants from one of the pups we have bred. Certainly will not be having any of my dogs again. 

Pups at twelve months

Just a few quick snaps of the pups today. The pups are now exactly one year old and in the middle of losing their puppy coat. The change in hot to cold weather and back again isn't helping them lose it quickly. They are groomed everyday but you certainly wouldn't believe it to look at them. It is evident that they are at the "scruffy stage" of their transition from puppies to dogs.

Dan left just after Christmas to his new home so we are down to five pups. We have let them off in the paddock in ones or twos and seem to be showing a bit of pace out there. We are more than happy with what they are doing at the moment.

They all show character but the bitches are pretty feisty and full of energy. All of them seem happy enough. Handling isn't a problem and their walks has gone from lead training to just walking them although they do pull like mad when they see magpies when we are out in the paddock. The hares and rabbits haven't appeared yet when we have been walking these guys.

Dove

Dexter and Dove

Dexter

Daisy

Digby

Darth

Sad News for the Kennel

We are absolutely gutted and devastated by the news the Sam had to be put to sleep because of an shattered hock in 3 places which occurred during a race last week in which he got knocked over. Sam was the most placid dog in the Kennel and it is still hard walking in to the kennel and seeing the empty space. He was a handsome beast who just took everything in to his stride. He was in fact going to be our house dog in a couple of months because of his caring nature. Sam raced 29 times winning 5 times and this was an achievement because at one stage i did not think he would even make the track because of a stopper pad injury.