Whippet behaviour-at the end of my tether.

[PencilFace]

I need to vent about this. I have had my whippet since a pup, he has always been hard work and high energy but his behaviour is really getting me down.

He has zero recall despite me trying and trying, if another dog is about he is gone and he is so so rough with them. He will crash into them and try to flip them over (he once flipped a springer spaniel) its awful. So now he can't go off lead around other dogs which has led to the second problem...

He has become leash reactive to some dogs. He will snap and snarl if an off lead dog comes towards him, its generally bigger dogs. He randomly hates some other dogs, such as both my neighbours dogs and I can't work out why.

He goes totally crackers when he sees a squirrel or cat. I know hes a sighthound and it's to be expected. But he has pulled me over before and makes this awful sound almost like baying. He just looses the plot and I can't drag him away until its out of sight.

I am finding the whole situation very depressing. I'm having to pay money I can't afford to take him to a secure paddock every day as its the only time I can let him off lead. Is there anything anyone can suggest? Is this typical for a whippet?!

[adaline]

My point is he was totally non aggresive and full on but friendly. However if he had been on a lead and one of them had approached him it would have been a different story, but then off lead he is fine but I have no control if he sees something.

Leash reactivity is a real thing and it's incredibly frustrating as so many people see it as being full-on aggression when it's not.

You can work on leash reactivity but it will take a long time.

[Gwynfluff]

We have a nearly 5 year old whippet. Is yours neutered? We had ours in puppy training from 5 months and followed those methods for months after and returned to them during his teens. We used a hell of a lot of cheese - as whippets do love a treat!

It all seemed to work - he has good recall, good with other dogs and not reactive at all. Does chase squirrels but never catches them.

Really hope you can get it sorted. We had an ex racer (probably lurcher who was raced on flapping tracks) years ago and we couldn’t walk him off lead and he was reactive. So I insisted on a puppy we could properly train this time and it worked.

[PencilFace]

Thank you RidgedPerfection I am intending to get a flirt pole and check out control unleashed. The emergency stop and lying down sounds amazing but my dog just goes so deaf when he starts chasing it would certainly be a challenge and would probably require someone more experienced than me to help.

Gwynfluff He is neutered but didn't get him done til age 3 when he decided to start a blood feud with the neighbours dogs. In hindsight maybe should have got him done sooner. Just curious, did you ever have issues with your Whippet chasing other dogs and playing in an overly rough way with them?

[RidgedPerfection]

@PencilFace it took me a while to get it in the face of distractions!! The toy that gets chased is my best "tool" for coming off a real chase. Takes lots of looking like a lunatic to become sooooooo interesting to your dog that they'll consider your existence in the face of some things though!!!

[Gwynfluff]

@pencilface he has on the odd occasion when younger sprinted with dogs and knocked one over if they were smaller. But never regularly. He’ll have the odd run with a dog now. Prefers bigger dogs and other whippets. But he’s not aggressive at all and he’s had to run for his life with a couple of really big dogs (he hates huskies) and backs off immediately if any dog, including a tiny one, so much as gives a tiny snarl at him.

[bluetongue]

I really feel for you Pencil My whippet is also very ‘full on’. He does get to play with other dogs but I watch his every move and he’s put back on the lead if he even looks at another dog the wrong way. He’s nearly three so a similar age to yours. I’ve even had the ‘why can’t my whippet be like the others’ thoughts

As well as the rough play he is extremely vocal while playing and while I know his noises are just play growls, to be honest I don’t blame the other dog owners for being horrified at the noises he makes.

At home he’s just lovely and sleeps in my bed every night. He’s also great with kids and adores pretty much everyone. He just needs lots of management to keep him safe. Luckily he has fairly good recall and long as I call him before he takes off he usually comes back.

It’s so hard when dog ownership doesn’t look like you imagined. While it definitely sounds as though he needs some help with training I’ve also found it helpful to adjust my mindset and concentrate on my whippet’s good points.

[frostedviolets]

Out of nowhere someone appeared with two off lead dogs, my dog actually stopped and looked from us to the other dogs and for a moment seemed like he was going to listen and come back but then changed his mind and off he went. He did his normal crazy behaviour of chasing them round

With all due respect, he absolutely must be on a long line until he will return reliably.

I apologise in advance if my post comes across unnecessarily aggressive, I am frothing even writing it thinking about what my dog has been through and the stress it has caused us.

You are so very lucky the other dogs played along and the owner wasn't bothered.

I guarantee you if this had been me I would have gone absolutely beyond apoplectic at you and if your dog failed to return I can't guarantee he wouldn't have been hurt.
By me or my dog.

My dog has been the victim of nightmare whippet 'play' more than once - chasing, biting legs, flipping, being held down by the throat on her back, growled at.

Believe me, hearing your dog scream like a small child and piss themselves in terror is not something you forget in a hurry.

She cannot cope with dog on dog greetings at all now.

I am sick to death of owners allowing their dogs to race towards her and frighten her.

If it doesn't recall reliably it shouldn't be loose. No excuses.

I had a whippet owner just the other day, her dog raced over from huge distance (my dog avoids other dogs!) and immediately growled in her face.

Don't worry he's only playing she screams at me 😡

Keep it leashed until it's reliable.

[PencilFace]

frostedviolets Totally understand and agree. We've walked many times in this place before and never seen a soul so took me by suprise and I guess I was complacent. Sorry that happened to your dog that sounds awful for you both.

bluetongue Our dogs sound very similar, in fact they would probably get on! Before I got a whippet I imagined a dainty little dog trotting along nicely. Instead I end up with a big strong brute with bags of energy. I agree with adjusting mindset and trying to be positive as similar to your dog, he has many good points. I think its just I waited so long to get another dog after my last dog died, spent so long researching breeds, talking to owners and things have just turned out very different to how I hoped/expected, such is life I suppose!

Gwynfluff Thanks I was curious to know as there seems to be such a variation in the breed as to how they act/how trainable they are, not to mention their apperance. From what I can tell mine seems to have a lot of working in his pedigree which maybe explains some of his behaviour.

[chwmn]

I had a reactive whippet too. His trainer told me never to tighten my grip or pull his lead towards me when I saw another dog, or he would assume I was scared too. I talk to him in a calm voice and then walk on a different path or away from the dog (even if I end up in the bushes!)

As long as Charlie thinks we aren't walking towards the dog he settles down as it's not a threat anymore. He still anxiously pants until they're far enough away, but its much better than the pulling and barking I was used to. I first took him to a trainer who agreed that he wasn't aggressive, just scared, and I was most concerned about making sure he wasn't as worried anymore.