pets4homes

[bigbutsrus1]

Our wait is nearly over for our puppy to come home. We chose him when only a week old so it has felt like forever! I have a habit of googling his breed and colour just to imagine what he looks like when older . It is really worrying me that there are so many whippets for sale at 6-18 months old, really pretty KC registered etc....why?!? I have read that they can be high maintenance as puppies but then chilled out adults. I did lots of research on the breed and have always wanted one. Didn't do rescue as have cat and children (and me) wanted to do puppy stage. Please tell me I am paranoid! I have booked him into training, have a trainer coming to the house a week after he arrives and read loads of books......maybe I'll just shut up and stop worrying

My dad's whippets were really easy puppy's maybe because he had two at the same time, brothers ( litter mates).
They slept alot and when awake played like mad would have the zoomies at least once a day ( still do).
Pup 1 (teddy) was easy to toilet train and his recall is OK. Pup 2 (scooby) was really hard to toilet train, he still will sometimes pee inside and his recall is non-existent.
Now 3 years old they are really chilled out dogs they love to sleep and cuddle.
Both have totally different personalitys teddy is quiet and calm with very little prey drive, great with all other dogs. while scooby is more mischievous and naughty has a high prey drive and is nervous and fear aggressive around strange dogs.
You seem to have a good plan in place with the training so stop worrying and enjoy the puppy stage it doesn't last long.
Lots of people say puppy's are hard work but I've always loved the puppy stage it goes to quickly.

If you get a puppy at least all the mistakes are your own. Our first puppy is now 1 and we would never have got her as an adult dog. She is badly bred (probably a mistake), very wirey, but now as an adult she is the biggest snugglebunny you could hope for. Her training is coming on and she is a delight to work with. Pups look cute and cuddly but that's it. They chew things and poo and pee all over the place. They don't know who you are and frankly are a bit of a nightmare. Puppies are hard work. It's the adult you are going to be living with for a long time. It is worth the effort.

I worry about pets4homes and similar. So many adverts look like fronts for puppy farmers.
Sorry.

I should add we have taken a long time to find the right breeder (not through pets4homes), and are lovely people with pet dog only one litter of puppies etc. I am preparing myself for the worst with having a nightmare puppy so hopefully it will be ok!!

Its fairly common with all breeds not just whippets & plenty within that age range in rescues too. A few pups are kept & sold at a later date if turn out not to be suitable show prospect. Sometimes its due to life changes, relationship breakdowns, work hours, accommodation etc some unforeseen others predictable.
However far too many people get a puppy without proper thought or research to know if breed or even a dog is suitable for their situation, they aren't prepared for the work involved nor want to deal with potential issues that may arise. That's not to say these dogs are problem dogs they often thrive with proper guidance in a suitable home.

KC reg is more a proof of pedigree, it isn't any guarantee of a good breeder that cared who bought the pups. Have heard there are some dodgy breeders in KC assured breeder scheme too, but they do required health tests.

I would imagine the reason there are so many for sale in that age range is that it covers the adolescent period.

I was very luck with my dog (not a whippet) she was the easiest puppy imaginable: learned early what was her's to chew and what was mine, house training was a breeze and so on.

Got to adolescence (8 months) and although she was still okay generally she got pretty stroppy for quite some time over certain things: mainly recall.

As pp said, people buy a cute puppy. They often have no idea what's involved in the successful rearing of a dog and often don't much care, so when it gets to the not so cute and fluffy but hard work stage, they just give up.

Those sort of people are not serious about wanting a proper dog, they just want a cute toy.

OP did you mean to title this thread 'Pets4Homes'?

I am also puzzled by the title of the thread. If you didn't get the pup from there, why call it that?

And having a cat or children is no barrier to having a rescue.

Sorry, yes the title is confusing. I was typing as thinking a lot! I was looking on the pets4homes when realised that there was a lot of dogs being sold 6-18 months and wondered why. Think the posts about people buying cute puppies and not realising how hard it will be etc answered my question.

Has anyone had any positive experiences or is it all puppyfarming?

There are some decent breeders advertising on P4H, lonely, but they're few and far between.

It's highly unlikely that any good breeder would advertise solely on P4H so there are far better places to start looking.