SAVVA ON TRAINING – 1

TRAINING SECTION – part 1

There is a small cabin in the main yard at Westmead. It is where owners and visitors meet up, enjoy a coffee or something stronger, and talk all things doggie.

The walls of the cabin are plastered with dozens and dozens of presentation jackets dating back to the 1970s. Trophies fill every available space – and they are just the ones that the owners didn’t take home!

Since 1969, literally thousands of winners have made their way home along Cow Lane. Yet the subject of training has been by far the hardest section of the book to complete.

The problem is certainly not down to a lack of transparency. Just as he was helped and advised when he was a novice trainer, Nick gives advice freely and openly.

There are really two main issues that make this section particularly difficult to convey.

The first problem relates to diversity in greyhounds and methods. Nick doesn’t train all his greyhounds in the same way.

There is surprising variety in how he does things, or used to do things. Throughout the chapter the reader will be given alternative options for feeding, exercising and handling. Certain aspects of Nick’s methods are set in stone, many others can be adapted.

The second major difficulty that cannot be understated (and a frequent source of frustration for the author) is Nick’s overwhelming modesty.

Any line that suggested ‘this is how to do it’ was thrown out. Any hint that another method was wrong or inferior, went the same way.

We were left with a methodology based on ‘it works for me’ and hopefully it would work for anyone who cares to emulate it.

 

RACING KENNELS

The main racing kennel at Westmead is far less salubrious than many people might imagine. The kennels are over 40 years old, and there aren’t many of them, 14 to be exact.

Nick says: “We have some additional kennels on the other side of the property where I tend to put pups when they first come in from the paddocks.

“I also used them for graders when I was contracted at Wembley and Walthamstow. At that stage we had around 50 on the strength.

“Now it would be rare for us to have more than about 16 racing dogs plus pups being schooled.

“The kennels were meant to be temporary but I never updated them because I was never convinced we would last.

“They are fairly basic, but they are clean, dry and spacious. Every one is bigger than the GBGB minimum specifications, some considerably so.

“They face south to give the best light throughout the day and they are all heated in the winter.

“We don’t put down sawdust anymore because it is very rare for the kennels to be soiled. Besides, it causes a lot of dust for the dogs to breathe in, and it blocks the drains.

“In the winter, if it is damp outside, we may put newspapers on the floor.

“In the summer we use carpets and fleeces on the beds. In the winter, the best paper that I can lay my hands on.”

Had Nick been building his kennels today, he would have made one significant change.

He said: “They would all have been singles instead of doubles. The downside is that they take up more space, but there are many more positives.

“It is simpler to feed, less hassle when you are trying to put excited dogs on leads, and immediately obvious where the problem lies if one of the dogs has a health issue such as a stomach upset.

“Last, but not least, you greatly reduce the chances of kennel fights.”

 

 

ROUTINE

The working day gets underway at 6.30am in the summer and half an hour later in the winter.

All the dogs are paddocked and any soiled kennels are cleaned. Since most of the racers are let out late in the evening there is seldom any cleaning out required.

Paddocking, like most procedures at Westmead Kennels, is a slick operation. The dogs do not have to be put on leads. The kennels and paddocks are all interconnected and the dogs can be directed to the individual paddocks by a combination of open or closed gates.

The dogs are then taken for a 15 minute walk.

Nick says: “Years ago, I could take them further, but there are now so many pet dogs loose in the village that it became dangerous so they would generally just be taken down the lane.

“Or as a change, we might put them in the van, or even walk them muzzled, to the four acre field at the end of the lane.

“Apart from breaking up the routine for the dogs, this is an ideal time to check out what condition the dogs are in.

“I’ll be looking to see how the dogs are behaving. Do the racing dogs seem tired? How are they emptying out. Are there any obvious injuries? You can learn a lot about the wellbeing of the dogs if you are observant.”

Following the walk, and a quick check on the scales, all the dogs who have raced or trialled the previous evening, are checked over for knocks or bruises.

Following a cup of tea for the staff, it is grooming time.

Nick says: “I don’t suppose our routine varies greatly from other kennels. The dogs are lightly brushed over. If the coats are a bit scurfy, I use a liniment to clean them up. In warmer weather we shampoo the dogs if necessary.

“But I am not a big fan of strenuous massage. I used to massage all their muscles with liniment but with my own back giving me problems bending over, I stopped doing it as an experiment and could see no difference in terms of performance or condition.

“We also check ears and teeth. We give the dogs bones about once every fortnight but I still like to have their teeth brushed regularly too. I used to use a hydrogen peroxide solution but recently switched to mouthwash. Nails are trimmed every two weeks.

“Sore quicks are also important and can soon lead to bigger problems so they are regularly treated with antiseptic creams.

“We don’t have many race dogs, so grooming doesn’t take long, but there are always plenty of other jobs including cleaning the paddocks, which are done every day, and other odds and sods involving the pups.”

Interestingly, Nick allows the small group of dogs to wander around the kennel off a lead during grooming for ‘socialising’ with each other.

After a lunch break for the staff, the whole kennel is fed the main meal of the day.

After feeding, all dogs are paddocked again and any that are off racing are readied for the journey.

At 8pm, all the adult dogs are given another 15 minutes in the paddocks and are then put away for the evening.

However on race nights, the whole kennel will be given a final outing in the paddocks while the racers are eating their late meal.

Apart from that final late night paddocking, there are no major variations between race days and non-race days.

 

ACHIEVING FITNESS

There are many aspects to training a greyhound though few can matter more than the monitoring and achievement of race fitness.

Nick says: “Although the people reading this book would probably want a foolproof method of getting a dog 100% fit, I do not believe that is achievable.

“The problem is, dogs vary so much. How can I say ‘Give a dog X number of gallops or trials when it might prove ideal for one dog but totally unsuitable for another? Apart from anything else, one might be a sprinter and the other a stayer.

“Greyhounds vary so much in terms of their ability to respond to work, it is impossible to produce a ‘one size fits all’ approach to reaching racing fitness.

“Secondly, training methods vary considerably. Other trainers may use methods quite different to mine but still get to the same position as me at the end.

“Thirdly, the way I train has changed many times over the years. Some of the changes came because of changes in circumstances where I had no choice.

“I can’t say that my methods today are better than those I was using 30 years ago. I had a fair amount of success for an amateur trainer and my dogs were pretty fit.”

Nick’s first attempts at training were from the back of a small house in Collindale, North London.

He said: “We had a small converted shed with a concrete run and two dogs, Pincano and David.

“I used to walk the dogs every day but most of their exercise came when I took them to a disused private airfield nearby. I would let them loose and just call them back after they had run around for a while.

“I didn’t have any major plans but would do things on instinct.

“Overall, I don’t think I made too bad a job of it. David never won a race but never ran a bad one. Pincano was seldom beaten on the inside hare and although I was only a novice, I don’t think many professional trainers would have done much better.

“When I first started at Westmead, I would walk the dogs probably four or five miles a day – one main walk early in the morning and another shorter walk in the evening.

“I would walk up to 10 at a time, which was risky looking back, though I never thought so at the time.

“I would let the dogs off in the 20 acre field, two at a time and allow them to exercise until they had had enough. Sometimes, if I had someone with me, we would gallop them between each other.

“If there were cattle in fields, we might go to Ashridge where we would gallop them over 500-600 yards.

“Sometimes we would take them in the van to George Hunter’s farm just to give them a change of scenery. I also had my track operating and would gallop them around it without the hare.

“As I said earlier, it was due to the increase in pet dogs that I realized that I had to change my methods, not only for walking, but galloping too.

“It was for this reason, and also because I was struggling to find staff that I built my gallop. It enabled me to single-handedly exercise a large number of dogs.

 

Many trainers use straight gallops for exercising; but Nick relies on a form of free galloping that is tailor made to the available land and manpower.

He said: “Most professional trainers tend to use a straight gallop of around 300-400 yards. They might whistle them or use a skin or drag hare to encourage them to chase. I don’t have this option.

“My dogs gallop on the basis of their natural enthusiasm and that can vary quite considerably. You can gallop them behind an apparently keener dog though even then they seldom give it 100 per cent.”

The start of the gallop is situated at the right hand edge of the property. It comprises a 300 yard straight gallop before turning left onto the back straight of the schooling track.

After clearing the third and fourth bends of the track, the dogs then set off, across the main paddock and on the third leg of the 500 yard triangle finishing within around 20 yards from where they set out.

The system can be operated by one person, and unlike other gallops, there is no requirement for either a drag hare, skin, or second person encouraging the dog to gallop.

Nick said: “On our gallop, the dogs are not going full speed, but I estimate that a 500 yard gallop here, is the equivalent of a 300 yard gallop at 100% effort.

“Apart from a titbit at the end, the only encouragement they need is their own enthusiasm. New dogs follow one of the more experienced dogs for their first time but they soon pick it up.

“They love to run. In fact, Westmead Chick would try to go a second time if I didn’t catch her. On one occasion she got away from me and ended up dehydrated.”

 

Nick would never trial an unfit dog without a string of gallops.

He said: “Typically, after a long lay-off, I would start them off with gallops every second or third day, and incorporate a walking machine.

“The machine can be particularly useful in the winter if we can’t gallop the dogs because the ground isn’t suitable.

“I would also use it to take the edge off a few hot heads before I put them on the gallop. A couple of minutes at a slow trot calms them down a bit and also enables them to loosen up.”

In fact, no dog goes on the gallop ‘cold’. If he doesn’t go on the walking machine he will be given a few minutes in a paddock to warm up and encouraged to run around if he is a bit reluctant to move around.

Nick says: “If there was a decent walk between the kennel and the gallop I wouldn’t bother. But it is only about ten or twelve yards.”

On average, it would take about two weeks of intensive galloping before I would even consider trialling a dog.

The balance between galloping and trialling a dog in an attempt to achieve race fitness varies from trainer to trainer.

Given the unusual nature of Nick’s gallop, it is possible that he gallops more, and trials less, than some trainers.

He said: “I don’t know in detail how they do things but I think the amateur could learn from top trainers like Charlie Lister and the late Geoff De Mulder.

“Before they raced their dogs, they would usually start with a sprint, and then perhaps another three trials over the standard distance.

“It would be unusual for me to trial dogs that often, but clearly they have been getting excellent results over many years with a slightly different approach.”

“There was a time that I used my schooling track but it isn’t necessary.”

Sometimes Nick will allow racing dogs the freedom of the big paddock just to top up their fitness and they thoroughly enjoy it.

He said: “If you get a highly spirited dog who is inclined to build up a bit too much speed, then you might put him in a smaller paddock to reduce the risk off injury.”

On average, Nick believes that following a long lay-off for lameness or a winter rest, it would take six to eight weeks to bring a dog back to sufficient fitness to contest a major competition like the Derby.

 

BUT – there is more than one aspect to fitness and it is something that this particular writer has never seen discussed in a training book.

It is the mental aspect of fitness.

Nick has no doubt that some greyhounds need a number of races or trials to overcome ‘freshness’.

He says: “No matter how physically fit you produce a dog in home gallops, the excitement of returning can affect the performance, with the most genuine dogs particularly vulnerable.

“The dogs simply get too hyper at the thought of being back racing. They put too much effort into the early part of the race and simply blow up. But its not a physical thing, its purely mental.

“I first came across the problem years ago with Westmead County. He had been off for the winter but I was determined to bring him back 100 percent fit to win first time out.

“I did everything that I thought was necessary. He was fast walked for miles and had several hard gallops, much tougher than I would use on my dogs now.

“Yet in his first race back, after one satisfactory trial, he led up but faded in the latter stages. I couldn’t believe it, he was never caught once in front over 525 yards. Yet three or four nights later he romped up in another open at Wembley.

“I racked my brains to work out what had gone wrong in his first race and I came to the conclusion that he was simply ‘over keen’.

“He had got himself into such a state of excitement that he had gone too fast too early and his body went into overload.

“His stamina never had the chance to kick in. What I should have done, is given him another couple of trials.

“I have seen many times since. Hawk was very similar. He was so keen that it took three or four races, before he settled into his best form.

 

ASSESSING FITNESS

The process of assessing fitness, is on-going throughout training and is the interpretation of a combination of various signs.

Nick says: “The starting point is a mental check list that most experienced trainers will run through automatically.

“How did the dog perform in its last trial or race – which certainly isn’t the same as saying ‘did he win or not?’

“Did he perform to the level expected, after balancing out all the factors, the track, the distance, the going, the standard of opposition and any trouble in running?

“Be brutally honest but don’t be afraid to give the dog the benefit of any doubt.

“How did he come off the track? After the trial or race, watch the dog to see when he starts to labour. Does he drive all the way to the pick-up? Clearly, there is a balancing act to consider if the distance is beyond the dog even if he were fully fit.

“These are all fairly basic questions, but that doesn’t make them any less relevent for a grader or Derby dog.”

Many novice trainers will try to form an opinion of a dog’s fitness by how heavily he is panting when he returns to the paddock. Some may form an opinion based on how much water he drinks.

Nick says: “Personally, I don’t think either behaviour says much. Many genuine dogs come off the track panting like steam engines whether they are fit or not.

“The amount of water consumed varies from dog to dog, and it can also be affected by the weather.

“A better guide is to see how the greyhound behaves the next day. Is he or she lethargic? A bit slow to get off their bed or eat their meal maybe.

“The ultimate proof that the dog was not fit enough for the work you asked him to do is dehydration. This may onset within hours or may not be obvious until the following morning.

“It is certainly not a common occurrence but even after many years of training, I can still get it wrong.”

“There are various levels of dehydration and the book ‘Care of the Racing and Retired Greyhound’ describes them better in pictures than I can in words.

“Basically, the dog experiences significant weight loss and extreme thirst. The symptoms should be obvious even to the amateur trainer

“Minor cases can be treated by adding electrolytes to water and leaving them with the dog for a few hours after he returns to his kennel.

“For more serious incidents, you might have to put the dog on an intravenous drip into the vein on the foreleg. It is simple enough if you know what you are doing, but I would not advise anyone to try it unless they have been trained.

“At the lower end of the scale I would use Duphelyte around 100-150ccs.

“In severe cases, I would also give saline solution intravenously. I would usually give the whole sack of one litre, and sometimes include some Duphelyte.

“It takes between and hour and ninety minutes to assimilate into the dog’s system but it can be incredibly effective and bring about a very quick recovery.

“But it has to be done correctly and as soon as possible. In severe cases, you may have to repeat it.

“Many years ago, I took Delroney Leader and litter brother Westmead Valley coursing. Although they were very fit, my inexperience showed through – quite simply they weren’t bred for coursing.

“Basically, I saw a hare 400 yards away, and when the dogs saw it too, I set them off after it.

“It was a poor decision. The hare was too far away and the field wasn’t fenced. The dogs and hare soon disappeared out of sight.

“When we eventually caught them, they were exhausted. I realised I’d had no control over where they could run and they could easily have found themselves heading towards the road.

“Although they weren’t seriously injured, they became badly dehydrated.

“I don’t know what procedure the vet used to re-hydrate the dogs but it wasn’t very effective and they took three months to recover. Thankfully there were no long term effects and Valley eventually went on to win the Scurry Gold Cup.”

“I certainly learned my lesson. Never again would I even consider letting a dog loose in an unenclosed area.”

 

So should a dog be brought to peak fitness during a competition?

Nick says: “In my opinion, anybody would be ill-advised to attempt it. My dogs should be near enough 100 per cent fit going into the first round. Experience has taught me that it is simply not worth taking the risk.”

Despite the fact that Westmeads Hawk and Lord produced their best performances at the ‘business’ end of their respective Derbys, Nick refuses to take any credit for what many judges consider to be two great training feats.

He says: “It is likely that the five runs during the space of the competition brought them to their peak.

“My dogs naturally improve throughout the event because they learn to run the track better and mentally adapt to the competition rather than because of anything I do.

“In the case of Lord winning his Derby, he picked up a split web in the semi finals and even if I had wanted to gallop him during the week before the final it would have been impossible to do so.

“Yet with Hawk, I allowed him to exercise himself between the semis and finals. I took him into the big paddock and let him off. He galloped around a few big circles as he has always done and got it out of his system.

“I certainly didn’t encourage him to run, he just did what he felt like doing.

“It was a chance that I had to take though the paddock was big and safe. If I was concerned that he was a bit too full of himself, I might let him loose in a slightly smaller paddock to restrict his speed.”

So how long can a dog be kept at peak fitness?

Nick says: “In most cases, probably for a whole season, around eight or nine months before they train off.

“Dogs like Special Account and Toms The Best eventually became so muscle bound by the end of the season that they started to cramp up; always an indicator that a dog needs a lay-off.

“In my experience, one race a week is ample for most dogs to maintain their fitness, providing that they are already fully fit.

“But I must stress, every dog is different. At the two ends of the scale you have a dogs like Flashy Sir and Special Account.

“In the case of Flashy, I already knew that he didn’t cope well with quick runs and I was very aware of it when he was due to contest the Laurels. He had to run Saturday, Thursday and then Saturday in the semis.

“He finished very tired in the quarter finals and really struggled to get through the semis just holding on for third.

“But I was confident that with a week’s complete rest he would fly in the final. Bob had a decent gamble on him, and he didn’t let us down.”

“There was a similar timescale for the Derby with Special Account, but he absolutely loved the quick runs and took off in the semis only two days after the quarter finals. It was for that reason that I trialled him on my schooling track in the week before the final.”

 

So what could Nick Savva of 40 years experience have taught the young novice who handled David and Pincano about racing fitness?

Nick says: “Probably not a lot. I think they ran pretty fit.

“I would possibly know a bit more now about injuries than in the early days – though I still learn something nearly every day. I also probably place the dogs a bit better than I did. I was a bit indiscriminate on where I raced them, inside or outside hare and without trials.

“There is no substitute for experience though the biggest difference between then and now is probably just better dogs and being more conscious of safety.”

 

RACING WEIGHT

The inclusion of a greyhound’s weight on a race card was the brainchild, many years ago, of former Wimbledon general manager Con Stevens.

Punters have been known to change their betting plans based on a quick glimpse of a pre-race weight sheet.

Nick says: “I am not too concerned about racing weights in most cases After all, we used to flap dogs who were never weighed.

“I think you form an idea of a dog’s correct racing weight according to how they look, but after a while it tends to settle at its own level.

“We do have regular weighing though that is just a simple safeguard for the kennel staff to keep track of things. It can certainly raise the alarm if any of the dogs have dehydrated and they haven’t noticed.

“Under normal circumstances dogs should not be underweight unless there is a reason.

“I would normally be happy for competition dogs to put on a bit of weight, rather than losing it. When Hawk won his first Derby he gained a whole kilo between the start of the competition and the finish. Lord gained half a kilo between the semis and the final.

 

FEEDING

Nick believes that correct feeding is equally as important as training in getting the best out of his canine athletes.

There are no shortcuts in terms of quality of food, but beyond that, the alternatives are manifold.

Most racing kennels in Britain feed two meals per day. In general, Nick does not feed breakfasts to racing dogs.

However, if the scales show that a dog in work is struggling to maintain weight, then he would rather feed it breakfast, than load up its stomach with a larger main meal. So what’s on the menu?

Nick says: “There is no set breakfast. It might be scrambled eggs and toast, or fish, with a few vitamins and additives. Or it might be Wheatabix with honey and in all cases with olive oil”.

The main feed of the day takes place at 2.30 in the afternoon. It will surprise many people to learn that the pups, their mums, every sapling in the paddocks and all racing dogs are fed from the same huge tub of feed.

Nick says: “I know that many successful kennels make up individual feeds for race dogs. My dogs are fed the same food, just in different quantities.

“I have changed the way I feed many times over the years. We originally used to feed a rusk with cooked vegetables plus meat.

“It was based on the ‘Northaw’ style of feeding which I had seen and thought would be a good starting point. Basically, they fed a ‘slop’ kind of feed.

“I wasn’t convinced that it was necessary to feed so much liquid because the dogs always have fresh water in the kennels so I started to experiment. You name it, I’ve tried it.”

Former head man Phil Bradley said: “When it came to feeding, the dogs ate like kings and queens. All the food was fit for human consumption, I would sometimes eat a mouthful myself.

“The chicken was from the same supplier as for the supermarkets. Even the vegetables were top quality. One of my jobs was to collect the veg from a wholesaler in Luton who also supplied the local greengrocers.”

Despite the kennel success, Nick continued to experiment.

He said: “In recent years I have switched to a high quality all-in-one food which I feed in equal proportions with fresh meat.

“We then add a little bran, some sunflower or cod liver oil, some garlic powder and some cider vinegar.

“You cannot cut corners on feeding. It is vitally important that you keep their stomachs in good order, because when they go wrong it is impossible to train them to their potential.

“But there is some scope for manoeuvre. For example, we sent Westmead Harry to Scotland for the Scottish Derby with a bag of complete feed and vitamins and I told the head lad to buy half a pound of mince from the local butcher every day. The dog went on to win the final and break the track record.”

Overall, it is rare for processed feeds to fail. It has only happened to Nick once.

He said: “The dogs started to look poor in their coats. These things happen from time to time and I thought it might be a virus or some form of infection that we could treat with antibiotics.

“I had the dogs blood tested but learned nothing. No matter what I tried – the dogs didn’t improve. They weren’t ill, they just weren’t gaining any condition.

“The next likely scenario was that we had been sent bad meat. The problem was, you may get the odd bad batch but not one batch after another.

“The only remaining possibility was the dry meal. I found it hard to believe it was to blame because of the modern manufacturing process.

“But I started phoning other trainers who used the same meal and discovered they were getting similar symptoms.

“I questioned the manufacturers but they assured me there was no problem.

“In the end, with all the other options used up, I changed feeds and everything started to drop into place. There was an almost immediate noticeable difference in the dogs – within a fortnight.

“When I looked back afterwards, I realised how much it had affected my judgement. Young dogs hadn’t progressed as much as I would have expected, and I had blamed other factors.

“I can never prove how much the dogs were affected, but I am certain it cost us a lot of winners.

“For example, we had one dog in the kennel, whose best time at Henlow for the 460 metres was around 27.80,

“After we changed the feed, he recorded 27.40. This was a dog who was completely exposed at three and a half years of age.

“I can’t prove that feed was a factor, but we also had the highest level of injuries that I had experienced in many years, during the period when we were using the bad feed.

Under normal circumstances though, substandard meat is very much more likely to be the cause of upset tummies and dips in form.

Nick says: “I only feed meat fit for human consumption and even then you have to be so careful. Problems can still occur if it isn’t correctly handled.

“Years ago I used to feed knacker meat and it was a recipe for disaster.

“The dogs would regularly get the runs and when you think of the chemicals and medicines that were probably fed to the beast, plus the conditions that the meat has probably been kept under, its no surprise that things go wrong. And of course the implications for the pups are even greater.”

However, it isn’t just the quality of the ingredients that is important. The slightest change in ingredients, their storage or preparation can also have far reaching consequences.

For example, at one stage Nick noticed that several dogs were experiencing an allergic reaction with the skin becoming red and inflamed.

He said: “I racked my brain as to what had gone wrong. It finally occurred to me. I had started buying organic bran because I thought it would be better for the dogs than the original. As soon as I switched back, the problem went away.”

On another occasion, when Nick was away, one of the staff forgot to remove the frozen meat from the freezer and leave it to thaw out overnight.

It was cooked from frozen the next day, and while that shouldn’t present a problem, it seems likely that it wasn’t cooked thoroughly and many of the younger dogs developed upset stomachs.

Always keen to learn, Nick has discovered a surprisingly wide variation in feeding methods as he has travelled the world.

He said: “I was very interested to see how Australian trainers fed their racing dogs.

“The majority of trainers tend to feed kibble and raw meat. But one of the most successful trainers in Australia feeds coarsely minced chicken carcasses, bread and water.

“The American feeding regime is completely different again. American trainers feed a lot of raw meat, up to two and a half pounds per dog, supplemented originally by kibble, but more recently by a complete feed. No food is ever cooked under the American system from what I saw.

“Looking at both America and Australia racing, I came to the obvious conclusion, that there are many ways to feed greyhounds and be successful.

Former head girl Kelly Findlay said: “I learned so much during my time working for Nick, but the single most valuable lesson was his view on feeding – ‘get the stomachs right and everything else will fall into place’.”