Any Advice On Dogs Feet And Flint!!

[DeerhoundLurcherMan 997]

There's flinty ground then there's flinty ground. Some ground we was on last season was shocking. Big rolling hills, at the top was like chaulky compost and found out the hard way that in the lower valleys there was boulders of flint the size of tennis balls, more flint on the ground than mud... Dog had slices off every pad and knocked a few nails back to the quick just on one bloody rabbit. Tough feet or not you risk ruining your dog IMO.

[davey 310]

I live in Hampshire and no matter where I run I have no choice !! You pick the best fields you can try and do your home work but no matter what happens they alway find a flint , I always run deer xs same as my father and bad cuts fractures knocked up toes have happened but good home work I've been lucky

[Neal 1,788]

I'm in South Hampshire too and, like you say, a lot of the ground is flinty...either that or heavy clay which sticks to everything in winter and then turns to concrete in summer. I used to get a lot of foot injuries when I had lurchers but since moving to pure kelpies I can't remember the last time I had a foot injury (touch wood).

 

A racing whippet breeder once told me that, in her opinion, racing and coursing whippets and coursing greyhounds had better feet than racing greyhounds because of the greater variety of surfaces they were expected to run on. However, as has been said above, most feet will be ruined on flint.

[kanigra 110]

I run rough ground got no choice. My breeding is saluki,deer,grey & never had trouble with foot injuries like the lads with other crosses a few nicks, lumps & bumps but nothing bad.This type of cross have harder,better & stronger feet for sure.But flint is a different matter altogether imho