Before you commit
How to choose a greyhound trainer — and what to ask
The governing body tells you to shortlist a few trainers and go and visit. It does not tell you what to ask when you get there. This page does, and the questions apply to us as much as to anyone.
The visit
Most people leave without asking
A kennel visit is a strange thing the first time. You are shown round, you meet the dogs, you are offered a cup of tea, and you drive home having asked nothing you actually wanted to know. It feels rude to ask a trainer how many dogs they have or who feeds them on a Sunday. It is not rude. It is the whole point of going.
You are about to hand a living animal, and a monthly bill, to somebody you have met once. The trainer who is worth that trust will not mind the questions. The one who does mind has told you something useful.
So here is the list. Take it with you, to every kennel on your shortlist. Bring it here as well.
The questions
What to ask any trainer, Ivanhoe included
None of these has a single right answer. What matters is that the answer comes easily, and that it is the same answer the next time you ask.
How many dogs do you have?
Not because big is bad or small is good. Because the number tells you how much of the trainer's day your dog will get, and whether the person you are talking to is the person who will know your dog by name and by nature.
Who walks them, and who feeds them?
Every day, including the ones nobody wants. Ask who does the early kennels on Christmas morning. If the answer is a name and a shrug, good. If it is vague, keep asking.
What happens if my dog is injured?
Who notices, who rings the vet, who rings you, and in what order. Ask who decides whether to treat, and whether anything is done to your dog without a conversation first. Ask what it costs, because it is your bill.
How often will I hear from you?
And about what. Some owners want a message after every trial. Some want a call once a fortnight. Say which you are, and ask the trainer which they are. The gap between the two is where most owners end up unhappy.
Can I visit?
How often, on what notice, and what happens if you turn up on a race morning. A kennel with a routine will have an answer, and the answer may be no on certain days. That is fine. What you want is a clear one.
What is your retirement plan for my dog?
Not for dogs in general. For yours. Ask who takes the dog if you cannot, which homing centre they use, and what it costs. A trainer who has not thought about this for your dog has not thought about it for any of them.
Add your own. What does the fee include, and what does it not. Who holds the prize money and how it reaches your bill. Whether your dog will be trialled before it is ready because there is a gap in the card. The awkward questions are the useful ones.
What the dogs tell you
Then stop asking, and look
The answers matter. The dogs matter more. Watch how they come to the front of the kennel when the trainer walks past. A dog that is settled, in good flesh and pleased to see the person feeding it has already given you most of what you came for.
Look at the water bowls. Look at the beds. Smell the place. A working kennel is not a show home and should not be, but clean is clean, and you will know it when you are standing in it.
Then ask yourself the last question, which is whether you would be happy to ring this person at nine on a Sunday night because something is worrying you. If the answer is yes, you have probably found your trainer.
Our answers
The ones that can be written down are written down. The fee is £12 a day, VAT included (£10 before VAT) for kennelling and £60 a race, VAT included (£50 before VAT), which covers transport, handling and entry. The vet is separate and you are told before money is spent. The whole sum is set out here, with nothing left off.
Visits are by prior arrangement. That is not a way of keeping owners out. It is because the dogs have a routine, and race mornings in particular are not the time for a tour. Arrange it and you are welcome, as often as you like.
Retirement is planned while the dog is still racing, not afterwards, and the scheme that funds it is explained here. The rest of it — how many dogs, who does the early kennels, how often you will hear from Deborah — are her answers to give, in her own words, in person. Ask them on the telephone or when you come to visit. What we promise every owner is set out on the ownership page, and you are welcome to hold us to it.
If you take one thing from this page, let it be the list. Ask it everywhere. Then choose.