Greedy Guts Whippet

[KlarkyKat]

I had some lovely helpful replies when i asked months ago about advice about my non-walking whippet (who is now a big fan of walks!) so i'm back to ask for more help...
I grew up with whippets and was well aware they are often greedy buggers. However, now i'm the one in charge i am finding his constant scavenging a bit tiring. Any tips for getting him to leave us alone when we eat and to stop him jumping up at the table/kitchen?
He's 6 months btw. Generally he is a marvellous creature its just i wondered if i was missing a trick somehow.

Unfortunately, as we've discovered, sighthounds have this amazing talent for counter surfing. The hard truth is that you just have to be very disciplined about not leaving anything edible lying around on counter tops, tables etc. Our kitchen counters are now the clearest ever! This does become a habit over time, and you will find that even the tiniest relaxation will get noticed and things will get swiped. Sigh...

If he's jumping up at the table, that suggests he has learned this behaviour has been rewarded. Therefore, you need to make sure that everyone in the family is on the same page - NO treats, or hand feeding, no matter how soppy the expression, how big the eyes etc. The key here will be training the family, rather than the dog. You will probably find that there's at least one weak link who is a bit soppy and is passing bits of food under the table.

I'd think about popping him in a different room while you are eating.

We don't allow ours in the room whilst we are eating, for exactly this reason. It also helps to catch them in the act whilst scavenging (a friend of mine did this with a webcam, which had the dogs believing she was god-like). Our grippet (grey x whippet) recently broke a crystal bowl which was on the table whilst she was scavenging - the sound of it breaking freaked her out so much she does it notably less now.

Thanks for the replies, I will have another chat to the kids about it as they are only 4 and 6 I think its clear who the weak links are! Last night he did go in his crate while we ate because he was being a pest but because of the layout of the house he would have to go in the hall if I put him out the room (which I suppose is not the end of the world!)

We crate our lurcher (who is prob heavily whippet) while we are eating, as he is just too food focussed, esp around ds. I hope with time he'll respect the dining table more, and he is ok when dh or I are eating now. But I guess we don't drop food when eating either
We have a stairgate on the kitchen as thats where the cats eat