Why I Can Run So Fast

It's Post Time

The snow has been melting and I have been able to run in the back yard more than I have been able to when it was cold and there was a lot of snow outside.  Papa and Daddy make paths so Nicky and I can go potty, but it's hard to run around because you have to follow the paths and that's not always easy.  Sometimes they end and you just have to turn around.  Besides, it is very cold outside and I don't want to stay out for so long.  I usually just go potty and come right back inside when it's very cold outside.  I can't stay outside for very long because I am so thin.  I get very cold very very fast and could get sick.  So I have to just potty and come right back.  But now it has been getting warmer and I can stay outside for a longer time without getting very cold.  So now that it is getting warmer, I can run again.  That makes me very happy because I really love to run. 

Papa told me that the stories I tell that you like the most are the stories I tell about greyhounds and puppies and why we are special.  He says that the stories about how I can see and how I used to race get lots of visits.  So that means that you all like when I tell you about the special qualities of puppies like me.  So tonight, I am going to tell you about running, because I really like to run.

And I can run fast.

The two ways all 4 feet are in the air.

Why is it that some dogs can run fast and others can't run so fast. It's all about what humans call gait.  Papa says that my gait is the quality of my running.  I just like running, so I do it.  But I guess greyhounds were bread to run fast a long long time ago.  And we have a special kind of running.  There are two kinds of running.  One is called single suspension, and the other is called double suspension.  Greyhounds run fast because we have double suspension running style.  That means that when I run, there are two different times when all four of my paws are off the ground.  When I start running, I just walk fast and pick up my feet two at a time and just do that fast.  But as I run faster and faster, I start to gallop.  When I push myself off by my back feet, I stretch out my whole body.  My front feet are stretched out in front of me and by rear legs are stretched out behind me.

The second time is when I am stretched out like that, my front paws hit the ground and I push off with them.  As I push myself in front of my front paws, I go into the air again and my front paws go behind me and my back paws catch up and go ahead of my front feet.  As that happens all four feet are off the ground again and my back feet are in front of my front feet.  It sounds confusing, I know.

Here is a picture of the double suspension gait.

http://www.oricomtech.com/projects/leg-run.htm

Here is a video of an Italian Greyhound running in slow motion. If my description was a little too difficult to follow, watch the greyhound run in slow motion and you'll get a better idea of how I can run.



Here is another good video of a greyhound running in slow motion and playing with another puppy friend.



And remember, just because we can run fast, that doesn't mean that we should be forced to race against our will.  We love to run, but we don't like to be forced to run around a track so people can bet on us.  And what's worse is that only a small portion of the dogs that are bred for racing actually are good enough to make it to the track.  The rest are just killed.  They die alone and unwanted.  So if you appreciate our running and love to watch us run, then adopt a greyhound and bring him or her to the beach or to a dog park and let him or her run around freely.  Don't make us run for sport.

It's not cool.  You bet.  We die.  That's not cool at all.




Here are some links so you can read more about my running gait, if you want to.

Running Gaits of Galloping Dogs
http://www.oricomtech.com/projects/leg-run.htm

Gait from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gait_%28dog%29

Keep your tail up and wagging!

-Katie