It was Dawn that bought up the 'fact' that working dogs ie greyhounds, collies etc are not loved but stock and merely there to make money from - not sure how your hubby makes money from them though?

No Spot, I didnt say they werent loved did I? READ what I said, no, here it is:

and
Still cant find where I said they werent loved?

To answer your question farmers make money from their collies by selling puppies or part trained youngsters.

it is totaly natural and rewarding for human and dogs to form a partnership
dogs have been bred to work and please people
the happiest dogs you see are dogs who are doing something with their human

but i dont think they should be thought of as stock, when we are just using them for money then people get greedy and the dogs suffer

as long as the dog is well cared for, given a purpose and time with its human then its a happy life
working dogs can have far better lives than some pet dogs, shoved in a garden all day then expected to lie on someons lap infront of the tv all evening

obviously in a shed churning out puppies with no other purpose is never going to be a good life

I think perhaps SPOT was referring to your quote in post 3 which I'm presuming was taken from the split thread

They are not peoples pets being used to bring income, their owners do not claim to be loving them and they be their "babies" they are a working dog, period.

Speaking generally.....
I still find it hard comparing racing greyhounds to working dogs. Where as the first is purely for human entertainment value where money is made and exchanged off the back of the dog whereas a working dog is there to assist a person not to primarily make money but to partner and assist that person with a job, whether it be herding, policework, snifferdogs, mountain rescue, or working gundogs etc, etc. Where as i understand you could split these into two further groups ie, your collies and gundogs (for collecting on a shoot) and your service dogs (armed forces etc). With the agricultural working dogs shall we say, yes money can be made as a side product, ie the dogs are assisting in a job to raise money for the farmer, estate etc. The outcome here is a positive one. As if people work the land and maintain it they are putting something back. The dogs love their work.
These type of dogs are doing a service. As yet a replacement has not been found for a canine nose or for unaccessable terrains or for assisting the blind. Only dogs can do them. But most are treated and respected as part of the team and very much loved as much as any so called pet owner.
That's why i cannot see how greyhounds can be put in the same categories as these other working dogs.
If greyhound racing stopped tomorrow. The world wouldn't stop.
If blind people didn't have guidedogs, shepherds didn't have sheepdogs, the forces didn't have sniffer/armed dogs then you have a problem as there's nothing out there that even matched up to the skills of a dog.
The huge factor is all of these dogs are not primarily working for monetary gain, whereas the greyhound industry is solely for monetary gain.

Yes it was a different thread megan.

As I thought. I think it has just caused slight confusion as the quote has been lifted from another post

The quote was lifted from another thread. However, the subject being discussed was the same. These subjects were being discussed on a breeding thread, where someone was just posting asking for advice. His girl had got pregnant from a recently neutered dog so he was asking for help, basically. This discussion was hardly apt on his thread, so I see why Spot brought it over here!

Really enjoyed reading this one guys.

I've not been on much late (new baby and all) so it was nice to have a 'good' thread that I could zip through that wasn't already 300 posts long.

I'm not giving an opinion (wimp I hear you cry) simply because:

I now have a Springer as a pet. Being a pet entitles him to be treated as one of the family.

I also have experienece of dogs being classed as a tool.

I would never post in a forum what I've seen done to working dogs that are no longer of use .......but it's fair to say I understand why (if they are no longer of use) people do what they do.

It was from that thread but Spot was referring to the locked thread. So totally unrelated. Spot wants to resurrect greyhound racing again, she doesnt like the fact that some people support it and they can see greyhounds as dogs that make money for people, my point being when somebody claims their PET is their BABY, they cannot be seeing it in the same light as a racing greyhound can they? Yet the thread was about somebody mating a puppy large breed intentionally without health testing, so what other reason could there of been than financial gain? I.E in relation to racers making money for their owners too.

I agree with this Phil, a pet is just that, I think they are much removed from dog that is soley for working, but I know many who are treated as well as yours or mine too.