I need some help before I turn my puppy into Whippet Pie

[WhereTheWildThingsWere]

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

My long awaited little puppy is a swine, already having huge problems with leaving him see other thread, now we have taken a huge step back with house training.

While the weather was dry we were doing really well but in turns out he hates the rain, while I understand as he has very little coat what on earth am I supposed to do about it?

The problem is he doesn't want to go in the garden at all anymore, I think this is after several times when I know he needed to go (sniffing circling etc) so took him out in the rain and waited.

He goes mental, whining, crying, yelping as though he is being skinned, throwing himself at the door, trying to jump in the window....... I am of course outside with him the whole time, telling him to 'go wee' in a happy, encoraging voice.

Every time this happened I would give up eventually as he just wouldn't go, the minute he got all four paws into the house he would squat and wee.

I then tried to wait him out, knowing that he needed to go, to no avail, he would cry and carry on for an indefinate length of time, I would let him in he would wee.

Now he doesn't want to go in the garden at all, cannot be tempted out even with really high value treats (chicken, sausage) just looks at me from the door and then runs away, so the only way I can get him out is to carry him. Upon which he creates as above.

Heeeeeeelllllllllpppppppp mmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeee

Please.

also he is a sod with the children but maybe I will save that for another thread

Sorry this is so long, all suggestions gratefully considered

Take him back and buy a handbag instead

oh dear Wildy

umm

Do you think it is just your back garden that he has the negative associations with or just everywhere outside?

Can you take him out the front of your house for a bit (with all the uber treats) and just leave the garden for a bit?

Or maybe training pads in the garage? Do you have a garage? At least then you can do all the praise for wees NOT in the house iyswim.

Gawd what a nightmare. poor you

Do you have a clicker?

I'm sure you could get him to fall in love with your garden again slowly by clicking and treating if he puts a paw out of the back door, 4 paws out of the back door, standing on the grass, standing on the grass for 5 seconds etc, progressing that way.

I'm just throwing out ideas here

Could you just regress completely with him and start again?

Problem is, if you carry on doing what you do, then it becomes more habit with him than anything else, which leads to re-inforced behaviour.

Try starting again....but this time, head to your local pet shop and get a clicker first. Put newspaper by the door and every time he goes (when you see him go - not at any other time, it will have no effect), click and treat. Lots of fuss. Do this for a couple of days.
Does he like fetching toys? If so, try playing in the garden with toys - purely focusing on just being outside - do not ask him to go to the loo. Randomly click clicker when he is wagging/playing/not whinging.
Carry this on for a few days.
Move paper outside while he is playing. If he goes outside on paper - biggest fuss of his life!! Gradually take paper away.
Click and reward only the psoitive stuff.

The clicker is a brilliant way of rewarding - it will possibly help a lot with other problems (with children) too if you use it in the right way.
You don't always need a treat with the clicker either - after a while the click becomes a positive communication between you and him which shows your pleasure with him, which will be reward enough.

Hope this helps!

Okay some whippets can not bear the feel of rain on their thin skin and these dogs need a coat when ever it rains. So as well as a everyone else's advice it maybe worth trying a little light weight coat.

Right. He is already clicker trained and loves it for lots of things but is the stubbornest little fucker puppy, I have ever encountered, (this is not my first dog).

I have sat on the back door step for ages with a pile of treats armed with the clicker waiting for him to even step near the door so I can click him, he just lies about six feet away in the kitchen and watches me and eventually goes to sleep (the only thing he is good at so far ).

Slubber, sadly I live in v. small terrace, the front of our house is the street and he is not fully vaccinated yet so is no go and we don't have a garage.

I could paper train him, just am a bit loath to do so when he was doing so well, he was asking to go out at the door ffs, until he encountered rain.

Positive play in the garden, very good idea, but the only way I will get him out there atm is to carry him, he cannot be tempted I have tried so hard. His favourite toy is squeeky duck, he will play happily with it in the kitchen until we get within a critical distance of the door, then he runs away.

Keep 'em coming everyone, I am at my wits end.

Oh and monkeyfacegrace, this morning, if I could I would .

Awww, poor wee guy, ha ha ha (sorry, sorry, know it's hard serious face)

Ahem.

on't know what else to suggest

just know that with rescue dogs/dogs where they need to re-house train or have problems with training that's what they do. And lots and lots of perseverance.

He sounds like a nervous wee lad - have you tried relaxation with him (I know it sounds mental, I know!!!)?
My mum's dog had issues like these (she is also terrified of flies, chewing gum and grass) and she attended relaxation classes with her where they did massage (mental) and the trainer advised bach rescue remedy for her (also crazy, but does work believe it or not) .

Ummm.....I really don't know what else to suggest......

We had a whippet. She hated the rain too! In fact any water. She would walk round puddles.

She would 'man-up' and wee in the rain though.

Poor you. I have mucho sympathy. No useful aadvice i'm afraid. Am having my own issues with timid weeing Chihuahua.

Blardy puppies!

A coat, as Lizcat said. Definitely the first thing I'd try.

The problem I have with putting a cat on him is he is hideously touch sensitive, it took him an amazing 8 days to get used to wearing a collar (he spent the whole time running everywhere on three legs, with the other leg up to his neck scratching)

I think the new sensation of a coat, combined with the rain would be enough to make sure he never went into the garden again.

A coat, though a cat may work by distraction......

As others have said many whippets hate the rain. You will be grateful when we have to put on our rain gear and wellies to walk our dogs and you can just wave from inside your house!

Get a coat also why not in the meantime try an umbrella to hold over the dog. Also you need to train this dog - he is training you!

I don't mean get strict and bolshy but maybe get a little bit more like you mean it. Don't ask him to go out tell him you are going out. A nice firm command put the lead on and go. As soon as he gets outside nice jolly voice and treat. If he tries to go back indoors ignore him he may get pull and whine a bit but he has to wee outside! Stay with him until he wees - you may need to take a coffee and biscuit with you (for you!)but do not come in until he has weed - he will have to eventually. His reward for weeing is to come in (if he loves being in so much) He will soon learn that if I wee quickly I get indoors quickly.

Just stay with it for a few days he will get it honest.

I have sympathy as greys hate the rain too! We have to be very stern when it is raining to "persuade" out into the garden. As minimu says, get them out, then ignore them. Yes, they are champion drama queens but they soon get the idea if you are sufficiently consistent - take a brolly, and sit it out. Ours have now sussed this, and form an orderly queue for the fern nearest the back door (now dying, not surprisingly....sigh), wee quickly and then dive back into the house for their sausage/cheese reward. When it is cold as well, a coat is actually very sensible, and your whippy will soon get used to wearing one. Ours love their fleece nighties.

You have to grudgingly admire the wippy's sheer balls! For such a feisty little fella, he demands an owner worthy of his determination. When ours are being like this, I think of myself as James Bond and the dog as being Bond villain with the underground lair and the fishtank full of piranhas - you wouldn't have half the fun if the villain just sat in the padded chair and didn't come up with the devilish plan to make the world into Wippet Island with a pair of giant exploding squirrels harnessed to a couple of white fluffy cats. You need a will of steel and the cunning of a chess grandmaster!

Oh Scuttlebutter, thank you that made me roffle.

Today as it has been sunny and hot the little bastard imp has been out there sunbathing and has done all of his toileting out there too, not a single accident, just wandering out on his own having a wee, you could almost hear his nonchalent whistling.

Problem what problem Mum?

Ah, you THOUGHT he was sunbathing. What he was actually doing was setting up the lasers, and the switch for the underground missile launchers...

One of the pups I looked after was like that, would scream bloody murder at the first drop of rain and training him to go outside, never mind the rule about going on cement and not grass. It was a long hard trek but you'll get there too.

The thing is to make him associate the garden with good things, don't lose your head or do anything that will make him think that going in to the garden is anything other than a delight. You will probably have to start the spending training from scratch.

Could you try and train him on lead? By taking him out into the garden, sort of ignoring him until he spends and then give big praise?

I love the James Bond scenario.

Daphne hates rain too, she is Maltese Terrier and will not go out for a walk in the rain at all. She goes out of the house, to the end of the porch, slides along the side of the house until she reaches the bench next to the front door. That is where she pees.

We are at my parent's house at the moment and they have a willow tree in the garden that she hunkers under.

You obviously need to build a doggy-port.

We are persisting, actually we do have the huge parasol up for him in the garden so there is quite a large dry area for him to pee in but no matter he can sense the rain.

Definately made progress yesterday though it was mostly wet but he did about 50% of toileting in the garden which is a huge improvement.

It is nice to hear that others have struggled too, sometimes puppy rearing can seem as competitive as baby raising, 'What you mean he had an accident in the house, oh mu puppy was housebroken from birth'

Scuttlebutter I wanted to say a big thanks, your posts really made my laugh, but I think also have caused a subtle shift in the way I will think about training this puppy, I am thinking of it more as a game and a challenge and it has taken much of the frustration away as I plot to outwit him, I think this attitude will continue to help in the future, he is very different from any other dog I have trained.

My pup loves the rain. He will stand out in the garden and refuse to come in so I have to go and and get him.

I'm so pleased!! I've had to learn a variety of "coping mechanisms" with our greys, who are very similar temperamentally to whippets. Especially in the early days, I kept finding they were totally unlike other dogs which was frustrating and odd as I'd been brought up around dogs and had continued to have close associations with a wide variety of them as an adult. Suddenly here were these bizarre creatures who looked like canine supermodels but couldn't bear going out in the rain - eh? As we live in Wales this was a bit Their other quirks and foibles make them delightful, eccentric and adorable but my goodness, there are some days when I just want a nice straight forward mutt!! If James Bond gets you through, then think of these new films - Quantum of Whippet, The Whippet who loved Me, and the classic The Man with the Golden whippet and of course Whippet Royale....

If it cheers you up (it might not ) my whippet bitch is 10 and still has to be -shouted- -at- cajoled gently into peeing outside if it is raining. Given half a chance she will wee on the floor by the kitchen door.

She will also -be- -forced- go out into the rain then stand by the back door staring resently at it (but not actually going for a wee mind) unless I stand on the step and stamp my foot and growl "Get Busy" at her.

They are such drama queens LOL