We have a one year old whippet. Perfect in the house. Lovely natured.
In the house and garden she knows all her commands. She goes to dog day care and no problems, has done from being tiny and so socialised. Recall there and home and garden fine. Have had dogs all my life but none like this :( Other dog hasn't been on the lead in ages no problems.
Out of the house the last few months she has turned into a flaming nightmare.
She has started jumping up again and will now chase bikes and joggers and anything that runs therefore we do not let her off anymore despite my father telling me continually I should, I make her sit before she is stroked but I have had people pat their stomachs for her to jump despite insisting to them not to every time I get this sorted someone ruins it. She's lost all recall. I don't let her off so she whines and lurches with her legs in the air to play if we see a dog over on the park (doesn't do this at day care or in the street). Twice she has broken off her lead. When this happens her brain switches off, no amount of treats or toy or running in the other direction works, she runs up towards me and either tries to snatch the treats or barks at me backing off.
Today she got off on a country park and would not come back AT ALL. She ran full pelt in circles around the field completely ignoring me.
She ran twice near another dog and barked. I apologised to owner and explained that she had snapped off the lead and I was trying to catch her but the only way to catch her is for her to let off steam as you cannot get anywhere near her she is so fast. While I was trying to catch her the woman had a go at my elderly disabled Dad for not running after her catching her quick enough and told him he should hurry up and move.
In the meantime she had knocked over another puppy who had got in the way her running then dove on her. I was mortified. I apologised to the owner and I was in a complete state by this point.
I live in a stupid place and don't drive and there are only puppy classes here which she has done.
I am at breaking point with her and don't want to leave the house with her anymore. and to be quite honest I don't know what the hell to do :(
If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.
The doghouse
At the end of my tether with our dog and don't know what the hell to do please help
owlsintheflowerpatch · 12/03/2016 18:40
www.amazon.co.uk/Total-Recall-Pippa-Mattinson/dp/1846891493?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21
www.amazon.co.uk/Bonding-Your-Dog-Trainers-Relationship/dp/0470409150?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21
both v good.
She must never get to ignore you.
If she gets away and you aren't 100% confident she'll recall, then don't even call her, just go get her, however long it takes.
I know how you feel. I have a young collie :o
Just take no notice of other people. Some people are just miserable. She snapped the lead, it was an accident, you apologised. Really don't sweat it
You sound like a fantastic owner. Lucky dog. I agree with all the people who are saying that she'll grow out of this silliness - I remember when my dog was about the same age I nearly booked him into boarding school out of sheer annoyance at him, despite masses of training. (I didn't send him btw, don't really like the idea.)By the time he was two he was rock steady.
You have to do two things. You have to make recall 1) not optional and 2) extremely rewarding.
If I were you, I'd pick a new word for "come". I would then make it damn sure she never ever heard that word in vain. I would initially only summon her when she was coming anyway. I would give her fabulous treats - hot roast chicken, smoked salmon, frankfurter chunks - and better still, immediately release her again. That is often the best reward for a running dog.
The efficacy of the food rewards can be improved by not leaving food down for her, in case that is something you do. I'd give her her ration with no additions and leave it down for 20 minutes only.
I would wait a long time before calling her for anything she doesn't like (like going back on the lead, leaving the running field, a B.A.T.H. 
or anything like that, or before calling her when she's running loose. I'd sit down on the grass and wait for her to come to me if possible and then ply her with luscious snacks and send her off again.
I also think clicker training is brilliant for getting your dog and yourself to think, it's entertaining and it will settle her.
When I walk with my dog, who's always off lead except in town, I tell him to do stuff constantly. I put him in sits and stays and downs, I drop things and send him back for them, I do hide and seek with him, I make him do all his tricks; if I see something interesting like feathers or bones I call him to show him; I do everything to make myself interesting to him. I also do hand signals for all his commands as well as verbal which I think tends to keep the dog looking to you. And when he was young I used to click and treat him every time he glanced at me when he was off lead. All that sort of stuff helps to keep them thinking you're a god instead of a millstone round their necks 
villain, wow, I would love to do all the stuff to do, but I just find it so hard to remember 
- even click and treat seems to take more hands than I have. And what with DHound not being v food driven it's quite hard to come up with something portable to reward him with. I really must up my game.
owl, I too feel really stressed when DHound misbehaves (or is just over exuberant), just like I used to feel when any of the DCs used to have a temper tantrum or otherwise did not behave in public. I think in truth when I think about how I feel when I see somebody else's dog/child go off the rails in public and their owner/parent struggles to control them, I feel nothing but sympathy (or relief: that could so easily be me).
Don't sweat it too much - some people will always hate dogs, no matter how beautifully behaved, and the rest will likely sympathise with you.
I am so taking notes from this thread
Op I hear you. We were just saying today we have one of those dogs like the parents of a very naughty child where we will spend our lives explaining him and apologising. 
and just like yours he's great at home usually but just a knob when we're out . Sigh. We're persevering and I'm also encouraged to hear others say it might be boundary readying ours is 6 months . 
This reply has been deleted
Message withdrawn at poster's request.
Thank you! Helpful posts.
I did have a giggle at Fenton because that was ME yesterday although obviously not after deer. I was being told to run and catch her by the person bollocking my Dad. The whippet at this point was doing Usain Bolt speed circles around the field, the only way to blooming get her when she refuses to come back is either grab her when she is near someone else or let her run off steam until her brain switches back and she comes back :(
Yes I feel like the mother of THAT child in the school playground who is not a bully but large for their age and over exuberant and ploughs everyone else's children in their path over.
I am happy to not let her off the lead except for the paddock which is private land and secure but I also need to know that if she does get off accidently that she will come back!
Will try some new treats and a new squeaky to see if that helps.
You just described my life!
My dog is a sighthound crossed with...who knows what. Her recall is rubbish. She runs off and crosses roads, she flies over fences, she runs at other dogs at top speed and tumbles over the top of them. She jumps up on people - I'm talking six feet in the air.
She just isn't allowed off-lead at this point. it makes me a bit sad, but she's just uncontrollable! I am terrified that she will either catch someone's cat, or get herself killed running across a road.
As for recall training on a long lead - impossible. She zooms off at top speed and yanks herself silly, ties the lead in knots, and nearly broke my little finger last time.
Additionally, she is not food-motivated at all. I have tried every kind of delicious treat possible - if another dog/bird/cat (God forbid) hoves into sight, she's off like a rocket. And even if they're not in sight - she knows where they all live for miles around. She will leave the park and bolt through the streets to the nearest house where she's seen a cat. 
She is prey-motivated, end of.
Yes, I totally feel like 'THAT dog owner'.
I love her to bits, she is actually gorgeous and wouldn't hurt a fly, but it's hard work! Just wanted to sympathise.
I suppose that you are really up against it with the sighthounds. They are bred to run as fast as they can and that nature is hard to argue with. I have a very bossy friend who is a vet and has a number of sighthounds, and she can never let them run off lead. And she'd be very into training and discipline.
Greyhound racing people only work the dogs in an enclosed field too.
I think you're very lucky to have that field!
I wonder whether a squeaky toy would be a good "come back" lure, something to mimic the wail of the stricken rabbit? since that is the ultimate goal of the pointy?
If you chose a word, pick an odd one that nobody else will misuse so that it stays special. When I have my next dog I will speak to him only in Irish for this reason.
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It's a vicious circle, isn't it? The less they are allowed off lead, the more of a head of steam they build up and go absolutely bonkers the odd time that they are allowed off lead
I have also tried to have some hard playing at home before going out for a walk, so some vigorous tug of war or chasing a tennis ball in our (small) garden until DHound is panting properly. Then on lead for a civilised walk , off lead on the field if that is were we are going.
We are extremely fortunate to have a riverside woodlands walk AND a big fenced field within 2 minutes walk from our backdoor. I don't know how I would manage his behaviour otherwise tbh.
So, at 2 1/2 yo he might still grow up and calm down a bit? I live in hope
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