Greyhound Nation

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Episode 52: Recorded December 28, 2025</h3> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> <p>&#8220;We take these dogs out of pain. They&#8217;re miserable. We get them back to normal happy dogs.&#8221;</p> <p><cite>Dr. Mike Guilliard on the impact of Greyhound corn surgery</cite></p></blockquote> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Show Notes</h3> <p>If your Greyhound has every suddenly and mysteriously gone lame — unable to walk or lifting a paw — there’s a good chance it’s due to a corn in their one of their pads. These keratinous growths are often misdiagnosed, leaving a Greyhound or other sighthound breed in pain and discomfort when walking on a firm surface.</p> <p>Enter English veterinary surgeon and Greyhound corn specialist, Dr. Mike Guilliard. Since earning his veterinary degree from the University of Cambridge Veterinary School in 1972, Dr. Guilliard has spent over 50 years in surgical practice and consultation. Early in his career, his senior partner owned a Greyhound, and Dr. Guilliard found himself studying the anatomy and orthopedics of the Greyhound. He has authored research papers and developed orthopedic treatments for many athletic dog ailments, but none may be more beneficial to Greyhounds and sighthounds than his surgical techniques for treating corns.</p> <p>In this episode, host John Parker sits down with Dr. Guilliard to discuss the tendonectomy or tenotomy and its impact on Greyhound and sighthound health and happiness over the years. Dr. Guilliard shares his <a href="https://nittanygreys.org/gig-home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2025 Greyhounds in Gettysburg</a> presentation on the topic, offering viewers and listeners a deep dive into the development of a welcome solution for lameness and discomfort for so many breeds.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Links</h3> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.mikeguilliard.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Mike Guilliard Orthopaedics Ltd</a> (Website)</li> <li><a href="https://www.veterinarypracticenews.ca/tendonectomy-offers-relief-for-chronic-corns-in-sighthounds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Veterinary Practice News, Canada</a> (Article)</li> <li><a href="https://cdn.greyhoundnation.dog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/greyhound-nation-episode-52-presentation-doctor-mike-guilliard.pdf">2025 Greyhounds in Gettysburg Presentation</a> (PDF)</li> </ul>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Episode 51: Recorded July 13, 2025</h3> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-default is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> <p>&#8220;One of the things that really struck me&#8230;the car park was the most egalitarian place in all of England&#8230;&#8221;</p> <p><cite>Harry Jennings on the &#8220;great leveler&#8221; of the Waterloo Cup</cite></p></blockquote> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Show Notes</h3> <p>Many first-time Greyhound adopters will tell you that they didn’t grow up with Greyhounds as kids. Their interest in the breed started with a meet-and-greet at a local rehoming event, or they had a friend or relative that had adopted a Greyhound. Harry Jennings didn’t grow up with Greyhounds either, but he did become interested in them in quite a peculiar way.</p> <p>He discovered the breed in graduate school while thumbing through medieval French literature manuscripts about coursing.</p> <p>Harry’s first Greyhound — Charlie — actually belonged to his housemate, Lauren, but it was his gateway Greyhound into the vast and varied world of the breed. Charlie had an Australian pedigree, having raced in Florida and been adopted out of the Philadelphia area. Harry and Charlie took to the road to try out lure coursing in 1992. By 1993, Charlie was the number one Greyhound in <a href="https://www.asfa.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ASFA lure coursing</a>.</p> <p>The making of the Jennings Greyhound man continued with ownership of American racing Greyhounds and a visit to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_Cup" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Waterloo Cup</a> in England in 1999. There, he crossed paths with this show’s host, John Parker, and together they experienced the premier coursing event in the world at the time. There on the field, the &#160;two “Yanks” and a few other American friends found themselves before the microphone of English television presenter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarissa_Dickson_Wright" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Clarissa Dickson Wright</a> as part of her <em>Clarissa and the Countryman</em> series.</p> <p>In this episode, host John Parker explores this unconventional making of a Greyhound man &#8212; Harry Jennings &#8212; one who immersed himself in all things Greyhound-related over three decades. Harry shares his thoughts on training and conditioning for lure coursing; navigating the ins and outs of Greyhound racing organizations in the United States and England; and remotely participating in the sport of Greyhound racing through the syndicate model.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Links</h3> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://youtu.be/Xc2jh9ncuFE?si=MerBPyCpRfTeAsmI">Waterloo Cup episode of <em>Clarissa and the Countryman</em></a> (YouTube)</li> </ul>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Episode 50: Recorded May 24, 2025</h3> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> <p>&#8220;[The Virtual Coursing Museum] dovetails so nicely with some of the goals of our podcast&#8230;&#8221;</p> <p><cite>John Parker, on the announcement of the Virtual Coursing Museum by the National Coursing Club in Great Britain</cite></p></blockquote> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Show Notes</h3> <p>For the 50th episode of the <em>Greyhound Nation</em> podcast, we have the unique privilege of announcing the opening of the <a href="http://thecoursingmuseum.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Virtual Coursing Museum</a> by the <a href="https://www.greyhoundstudbook.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Coursing Club</a> on June 24, 2025. The website is open to anyone interested in learning more about the sport of coursing and the Greyhound breed. It features video interviews, historic photographs, artwork, and more. It captures the rich history and heritage of coursing and the Greyhound in Great Britain.</p> <p>The museum is the brainchild of former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_Cup" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Waterloo Cup</a> chairman, David Midwood and historian and author, Charlie Blanning. In fact, the museum can be considered an extension of Charlie&#8217;s <em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/greyhoundandhare/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">The Greyhound and the Hare</a></em>, published in 2018. Additionally, both David and Charlie felt an urgency to document and preserve the history of the sport, including photographs of trophies and memorabilia, anecdotes and interviews from its most famous characters, and a catalog of coursing- and Greyhound-related artwork.</p> <p>In this episode, host John Parker sits down with David and Charlie to talk about an idea that became reality &#8212; the Virtual Coursing Museum. John explores the process by which the museum came to be, including all the work involved in cataloging its contents. David and Charlie also reminisce about some of the people most associated with the sport of coursing and Greyhounds in Great Britain, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Prescott" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Sir Mark Prescott</a> and the late <a href="https://www.facebook.com/greyhoundandhare/posts/sadly-peter-sant-lifetime-trainer-of-coursing-greyhounds-has-passed-away-at-the-/990913553048426/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Peter Sant</a>.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Links</h3> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://thecoursingmuseum.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Virtual Coursing Museum</a> (Website)</li> <li><a href="https://www.greyhoundstudbook.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The National Coursing Club and Greyhound Stud Book</a> (Website)</li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/greyhoundandhare/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Greyhound and the Hare</a> (Facebook)</li> </ul>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Episode 49: Recorded March 6, 2025</h3> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> <p>”If someone has a giant nose, you’re not going to cut off their nose…”</p> <p><cite>Dr. Guillermo Couto on why he chose to focus his career on Greyhounds and their unique physiology and health characteristics</cite></p></blockquote> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Show Notes</h3> <p>Dr. Guillermo Couto’s veterinary career started in the 1970s in Buenos Ares, Argentina. He started with a small practice across the street from his parents. Five years later, he became board certified in veterinary internal medicine and oncology at the University of California, Davis. In the 1980s, he started a thirty year career at The Ohio State University where he made a name for himself as the foremost expert&#160;and researcher in Greyhound hematology and oncology.</p> <p>That focus on Greyhounds started 30 years ago when Dr. Couto adopted his first Greyhound. He was intrigued by the unique physiology of the breed, and he sought answers to questions about Greyhound health that other veterinarians and researchers might have dismissed as abnormalities. In 2013, Dr. Couto retired from teaching and founded the Greyhound Health Initiative (GHI) to further explore the internal medicine and oncology landscape of the breed.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Mandy Albert started her veterinary career as a registered vet technician in 2004. Two years after Dr. Couto founded GHI, Mandy joined the organization to help establish its canine blood bank. Together, they have expanded the GHI well beyond its canine blood bank. The organization’s current initiatives include Greyhound and sighthound research, education and outreach, advocacy for retired racing Greyhounds and collaboration with veterinary professionals.</p> <p>In this episode, host John Parker sits down with Dr. Couto and Mandy to explore the doctor’s career, the origins of the Greyhound Health Initiative, and the contributions that both professionals have made and continue to make to the well-being of the Greyhound. It’s an exciting hour of discussion about everything from Greyhound blood factors to osteosarcoma to the cutting edge of Greyhound orthopedic research.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Links</h3> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://ghi.vet" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greyhound Health Initiative</a> (Website)</li> <li><a href="https://greyhoundhealthinitiative.org/category/videos/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greyhound Health Initiative &#8211; Videos</a> (Website)</li> <li><a href="https://coutovetconsultants.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Couto Veterinary Consultants</a> (Website)</li> </ul>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Episode 48: Recorded February 21, 2025</h3> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> <p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve never screamed so loud. The bug had bit. I had a tremendous passion for it.&#8221;</p> <p><cite>David Peck on watching his first Greyhound nearly win a stakes race at Victoryland</cite></p></blockquote> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Show Notes</h3> <p>David Peck started out training bird dogs in the early 1970s. One of his clients was a friend who became involved in the new parimutuel racing in Texas. He visited David and recommended that he try his hand in training Greyhounds based on his success with bird dogs. Greyhounds gave David &#8220;renewed energy and lit me up.&#8221;</p> <p>David started out with two pups, and he started training them like his bird dogs. His methodology worked, and one of those first Greyhounds became a top competitor at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoryland" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Victoryland Greyhound track</a> in Alabama. During one of his summer bird dog training sessions, he was called away to cheer on his Greyhound at a final stakes race. That hound took second place, just barely beaten at the wire. It was the start of an American Greyhound racing career that lasted well into the 2010s.</p> <p>After founding Clear the Way (CTW) Kennels, David continued to improve his training methods. In particular, he focused on track design and surfaces. He encouraged American dog tracks to adopt Australian-style track design to improve the overall footing and safety for racing Greyhounds.</p> <p>In this episode, host John Parker talks with David about his decades of dog training &#8212; bird dogs, American racing Greyhounds, and &#8212; now &#8212; Belgian Malinois. David shares his experiences with both training and breeding Greyhounds, describing the differences and similarities between the breeds with which he&#8217;s worked. He also talks about how he worked to make Greyhound racing safer and keep the sport alive.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Links</h3> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoryland" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Victoryland Dog Track</a> (Wikipedia)</li> <li><a href="https://galtx.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greyhound Adoption League of Texas</a> (Website)</li> </ul>