Please tell me about your Whippet's recall.

[PencilFace]

I have a 2 year old male Whippet, he's such a good dog in many respects apart from his recall. He will come back fine if there are no other dogs around but the minute he sees one he is gone.

I think in part I may have caused this problem as I let him play with other (willing) dogs as much as possible as a pup thinking this would socialise him well. I feel so bad though as now he is on a lead 90% of the time as I can't have him sprinting up to every dog he sees.

He is also very rough with other dogs which is another problem!

Does anyone else have a similar issue? Or a Whippet with perfect recall? I'm trying to decide whether to keep trying to train him or just accept he'll have to be on a lead.

Awww look at that face! Is it bad that sometimes i prefer my whippet to the kids

Whippets first kids second husband third

Awww trying again with a photo

Sorry that was to Ooogetyooo

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I just love the look of utter adoration he gives us. Never get that from anyone else in the family (especially not the moody arse cat). Although potentially not today as he’s still in a strop re the bath stinky git.

My Florence .

So pretty! Nice to see another black whippet, they don't seem that common.

Beautiful!

Poor recall and bad manners (When other dogs let her away with it) during play

Unfortunately a couple of common "faults" with whippets.

I take mines on the fields and throw a ball prior to going the actual walk to get rid of some energy and she is far better behaved if we come across another dog.

Recall is a balancing act. Mines far better at four than she was at two. As much as i used to want to strangle her at times, the only way to improve it is lots of praise.
Not too bad now.

My whippador is generally pretty good - unless she sees a squirrel or a fox 🦊 then no chance

Oh drinks those ears!

We used to have recall, now we don’t - she only comes back when she’s ready. Luckily it doesn’t matter where we are but it is very frustrating. This is what she does the rest of the time!

Ah, the disappearing recall - I’m so
relieved it’s a thing. I thought it was me not keeping up enough with the training. He’s also forgotten he’s house trained and wees in the kitchen every night.

But all your pictures are gorgeous.

What a gorgeous girl frostyfingers! I just took mine out for a walk at the woods and a woman asked me why he was on the lead, I explained about his recall issues and she said 'oh no well that takes all the fun out of it!'

I know I'm being sensitive but it made me feel really bad, but I can't have an out of control dog pestering everyone. Have ordered recall book and whistle so hoping that might make some difference.

My three are generally very good but I do tend to walk in fairly quiet areas and I’m careful about both when and where I let them off lead.

I never let mine play off lead with strange dogs, far too much scope for injury, upset or escalation however they do run and play freely with each other. I’m sure this is part of the reason why so many whippet owners end up with multiples

Two things I’ve found really help with the recall are 1) working on impulse control in general, and 2) giving them appropriate outlets for their prey drive and desire to play with other dogs. Flirt poles (I made mine out of a cheap lunge whip from Decathlon and one of these) are amazing for both impulse control training and giving them the fun of chasing/catching something. If you’ve got the space I would highly recommend one.

Secure fields (of which there are an ever increasing number) are great if you’re having recall issues. As well as being able to have a stress free off lead walk knowing your dog can’t get into mischief they’re great for recall training as well. This site has listings for loads, well worth a look to see if there’s any near you.

The flirt pole looks amazing! Can't believe I've not seen one of those before. I think that would help with the prey drive as you say and also get him more focused on me instead of scanning the horizon for things to chase as he does at the moment.

I agree with you about the reason people end up with multiple whippets, I've often thought if I had a feild and another whippet for him to play with then he would be the perfect dog.

Florence is driving me mad, she will play in the snow, but doesn't want a walk. So omg the pacing and pacing. We are playing games instead and trying to teach her to fetch, that was interesting 😒 I wish mn could let us post videos .
She won't wear her coat, still. And I'm worried about her little paws in the snow. I've read and heard about the salt grit irritating the pads so clean her feet after her evening walk recently.