Whippet training troubles

[bluetongue]

Anyone that frequents the puppy survival thread will know about my bumpy first puppy journey with my six month old whippet boy.

He's coming along with his separation anxiety but is proving a bit of a handful in general. I've started a basic obedience course and while I think he's actually pretty smart ( I might be biased) he's somewhat frustrating to train.

He knows exactly what sit means but while sometimes he responds to the command with distractions and no treats, other times even with high value treats he just gets too distracted and won't listen. I knew before I got him that Whippets aren't as trainable as say a border collie or Labrador but it's still frustrating when others in my training class are more advanced than we are.

On top of this he also takes great delight in pulling up carpet and shredding the underlay and trying to my food when I'm eating while watching telly. Not very relaxing!

On the plus side he's absolutely adorable and super cuddly and hopefully will mature into a lovely dog.

Is this just life with a teenage sight hound? (or teenage dog in general)

Lovely to find another whippet owner, they're fantastic dogs, I'd never have anything else now. Just wanted to say that there's light at the end of the tunnel! My beautiful blue boy was a terrible teenager (I could write a book) and he's grown up to be the most chilled out, loyal and loving dog I've ever had. And I've just started again with whippet pup number two!

Whippets are somewhat addictive

I certainly wouldn't swap him for a Labrador. They are very cute but all that hair and mud. Most seem to smell very doggy to me as well.

There may be a second whippet in my future but trying to train the one I have is enough at the moment!

I find it sort of ironic that such svelte dogs are such terrible food thieves

Ah yes I must confess he's still an opportunistic food thief! I swear he has extendable limbs!

Can whippets sit comfortably? I kind of assumed they have the same issues greyhounds do as they're a similar shape...

My first thought was along the same lines as tabulahrasa. The actual sit position isn't as much of an issue for them as it is for some larger sighthounds but they can be very reluctant to sit on hard/cold surfaces. Is there any pattern to him being reluctant to sit on certain surfaces? If so, a small mat of some kind (I use a bit of pre-cut VetBed) might help so he's got something suitably comfy for his delicate bum

It's also worth seeing if you can find some higher value treats for him. I see a definite drop in my whippets' responsiveness if I'm not using suitably high value treats. For example cheese is fine for training at home but not good enough if we're out and about anywhere.

Lastly I'd suggest doing some impulse control work at home. The is a good place to start. As they're generally quite prey driven whippets tend to respond really well to a flirt pole (I've bought one but you can easily make one by attaching a toy to the end of a horse lunge whip) and it's another really great tool for teaching impulse control.

I actually hadn't thought about the surface being an issue before. The biggest problem I have is with one day care place where they want all the dogs to sit before they go in. It's outside and concrete. Not exactly whippet friendly!

Will have to look through my old horse supplies and see if I can find a lunge whip. Impulse control is exactly what he needs.

I feel like Ineed the old pointy dog cushion back!

Took a Bluepuppy to the nearby off lead dog park this morning. At first he was playing nicely but then a very young collie came in and Bluepuppy decided he wanted to play whippet Bitey face style. Other owner was horrified and asked me to put Bluepuppy back on the lead He goes to two different day care and they don't have any issues with him.

At least he has a whippet group he can go to once a month and play whippet style there.

I had the best whippet in the world,till he passed away earlier this year...6 months is still a baby.hes still learning about the world...mine liked cuddles on my lap and a taste of whatever I had.he liked a cup of tea if he found one liying around.nothing ever caught him ,when he was running..nothing ever.he was like the wind..enjoy yr boy bluetounge x

Could have been worse blue, my two youngest have each nipped another dog's ear (drawing blood, ears bleed a lot) during chasey-bitey-face when they were puppies. Thankfully it's only happened with my own dogs (seems to be a right of passage in this house, new puppy chomps the ear of the next dog up) but poor DWhippet1 still has a slightly tatty ear several years on.

It's totally normal sighthound play and nothing to worry about though understandably some dogs (and more owners!) aren't keen. If he starts off playing nicely then I'd let him play for a bit but try and step in before he gets too silly. You may also find that he's more likely to want to play rough with certain individuals or certain breeds/types of dog and eventually you'll be able to gauge when and with whom you can safely let him play off lead.

Mine are all absolute thugs as they're used to running free together and play coursing each other so I very rarely let them off lead with other dogs, especially when I've got them all together.

Thanks Cornflake. Before the puppy came to the park he was being more gentle with the older westies and oodle there. He gets day care twice a week where he can play under supervision but the issue is I only have a small backyard and like him to have a chance to stretch his Whippety legs when he can.

Being a first time dog owner I'll admit to being somewhat ignorant about dog play and behaviour. I had imagined myself at the dog park with my dog happily (and gently) playing with all the others. Real life isn't that simple!

Before the puppy came to the park he was being more gentle with the older westies and oodle there.

It sounds like he just got overexcited by the presence of another puppy, especially as BCs tend to be quite quick moving and exciting to chase.

Don't get disheartened about him being able play with others. As he matures he may well be absolutely fine with a huge range of dogs. I freely admit that my choice to allow mine to play freely (and at speed) together means that, as a group, they're far too overwhelming for the majority of dogs. Individually they're much less obnoxious

We have a 5 month old whippet puppy and whilst we don't seem to be having too many issues we're fairly relaxed as luckily we don't meet many other dogs out and about. Sit is coming along, we just have to pick our moments - when she's sitting nicely (and she can, very cutely with her front paws tight together if she's after her dinner!) we give her loads of praise. Recall wise, as soon as she starts coming towards us, no matter why, we blow the whistle and reward as soon as she's back with us - it helps that we have a greedy lab who comes zipping back for treats too! The lab also helps with the exuberant play too, if whippety pup gets too bold she gets a growl and a warning snap which makes her back off.

She's a great paper shredder and loves emptying the office bin, chewing bits of wood, and generally picking up all sorts of rubbish to shred. She also looks positively insulted if you ask/tell her to get off the chair/sofa/bed!

I love watching her run, there's such joy in her and she's so graceful. She won "dog the judge would most like to take home" at a local fun dog show recently and is much admired with everyone she meets - she adores meeting new people and just assumes that they'll love her, luckily they generally do. I certainly love her to bits.

Lovely whippy Frosty. My boy loves everyone he meets as well.

I can certainly relate to the shredded paper

Would now be a good time to mention none of mine have grown out of the paper-shredding stage?

She also looks positively insulted if you ask/tell her to get off the chair/sofa/bed!

You want to be careful doing that, she'll be ringing WhippetLine before you know you it......

Ha! I sometimes joke that Bluepuppy RSPCA on speed dial for in case I don't keep up with required levels of whippet comfort

The good news is that with better weather he did really well in training class today. To be honest I think the Labradors look a bit of a handful.