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The doghouse

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Original poster

So I want a whippet or a border terrier ?

60 replies

Houndofthebaskethills · 13/10/2022 22:04

Been planning getting a dog for years but waited until the kids older. Now all high school age.
I have narrowed it down to the above breeds as good for first time dog owners.

wouldlike a dog that is great to snuggle with on the sofa ( or even sleep on the bed) but also will be good to walk out or play ball in the garden with. Neighbours don’t like noise but I believe neither of these breeds are loud.

I am out of the house for 5 hours twice a week but we can get a dog walker . Which would be happiest left alone for those times?

I have searched and searched rescues but nothing suitable comes up.they need adult only home or another pet or can’t be left or just aren’t the right breed. My first choice would have been a proper mongrel but they are gold dust!

OP posts:
Abei · 14/10/2022 21:01

I used to have a Belington X whippet. Best dog ever. She used to exercise in short fast burts although I couldn't let her off the lead in public. I had a big garden that helped. And she was very lazy and easy to leave for longer periods of time. She'd just curl up and go to sleep. Often she'd barely moved in the time I was out.

MarieCondom · 14/10/2022 21:03

I have whippets and they are wonderful dogs. They will chase balls, but won't return them, as retrieving things is not in their nature. They are very, very loving and cuddly.

MarieCondom · 14/10/2022 21:05

BTW if you are serious about being out twice a week for 5 hours per day, then whippets could cope. I wouldn't do it - the maximum I've ever left them is 3 hours - but if it's only twice a week and it's definitely no more than that, they'd be fine. But do bear in mind that whatever dog you have absolutely has to come first.

Original poster
Houndofthebaskethills · 14/10/2022 21:26

Thanks.
totally agree about dog coming first which is why we have waited. I have wanted a dog for 20 years now.
I work out of the house 2 days a week but my husband is back after 5 hours. I would happily get someone to come in during that time.
I have spent the evening browsing rescues and just can’t find anything . I assume any breeder on the kennel club website should be ok ?

OP posts:
Snugglywhippet · 14/10/2022 21:27

We have a whippet cross. Not sure on the mix as he is rescue but looks very much like a whippet but maybe a little taller. He is very affectionate and loves to cuddle on the sofa. Loves playing chase with a ball and will bring it back to be thrown again. We don't let him off lead on walks unless in an enosed padock though as his prey drive is strong and he will chase squirrels or cats. This was not a breed we originally looked for but he was suggested to us by a rescue we had been in contact with as they felt his personality fitted us... This was absolutely right and we wouldn't be without him now. Whippets are lovely breeds!

Snugglywhippet · 14/10/2022 21:31

Ours is left a couple times each week, usually for only for up to a 2 hours but on occasion has been left for 4 hours and copes well. We make sure he is fed an exercised before we leave and he tends to just sleep while we are out!

50plusandfabulous · 14/10/2022 21:32

I had two Borders, down to one sadly died aged 15. Adorable, spirited and a bit wilful. Great with kids, hardy and rarely ail. Other than jabs , my two have only been the vets once each, broken tooth and the runs respectively. I would have another in a heartbeat.

bravelittletiger · 14/10/2022 21:34

Houndofthebaskethills · 14/10/2022 11:12

Love the sound of both dogs! We do live in the wet north west though!
I would love a bedlington whippet or lurcher we had one growing up. Problem is you can’t find a breeder in the same way you can for a whippet. Will look at those links though.

Back of horse and hound magazine this month had an advert for exactly this sort of dog I think.

My mum had a border and it was very barky. Very friendly but not cuddly in the sense it would lie on you on the sofa. I much prefer whippets.

WizardOfUK · 14/10/2022 21:38

I've had both.
Borders are amazing dogs and I've got one asleep on the sofa next to me now.
Pros - they love people, are great with kids, will spend 10 hours walking up mountains, or 10 hours asleep on the sofa. They are hardy dogs with few health issues. A true companion dog, intelligent and funny with a huge personality

Cons - strong prey drive, some can't be let off the lead as a result, escape artists, they can dig. Some bark, mine doesn't.

Whippets

Pro - calm dogs, quiet and affectionate
Cons - not sure they'd walk as far as a terrier, also they are sighthounds, so like the bt, have a strong prey drive and some can't be let off the lead. Not that intelligent. Not as hardy as the bt

I'd have another border terrier in a heart beat, the whippet, not so much

bluetongue · 15/10/2022 10:57

MarieCondom · 14/10/2022 21:03

I have whippets and they are wonderful dogs. They will chase balls, but won't return them, as retrieving things is not in their nature. They are very, very loving and cuddly.

My whippet will retrieve balls and toys (not every single time though). He’s 5 and still obsessed with toys.

userxx · 17/10/2022 22:20

Border. Border. Border.

stevalnamechanger · 17/10/2022 22:36

tabulahrasa · 13/10/2022 22:41

Whippets aren’t hugely likely to play with a ball... well, to be fair, they usually will play with them, it’s the bringing them back they’re not so fond of. So I mean if you also playing the ball is what you’re after, they might not be the breed for you. They’re also pretty adamant that rain is evil, so your walking might be limited if you live in a wet part of the country.

I see many that do !

Terriers are prone to be barky I am afraid .

I'd go with a whippet reading your post

Whippetlovely · 18/10/2022 23:08

I have a three year old whippet. He does love to chase his ball but as others have said not give it back! I take him running with me and do let him off lead (in safe places) as whippets love to do zoomies. They don’t need a lot of exercise an hour is enough. They are very lazy , I leave mine four days a week now as I have a new job for five hours per day and he could care less. He just sleeps on our bed. My neighbour checks on him and he sometimes can’t be bothered to come down the stairs to see him! I have a camera so I can keep an eye as I worried in the beginning he would be upset being left. It seems he likes the peace! He does love to snuggle with us in the evening and is great with the kids. We’ve had him from a pup and I never had a dog before they are easy dogs for first time owners as low maintenance. Also a lot of ppl say don’t have whippets with cats due to them wanting to chase but we have a cat and not had any issues , sometimes she even lets him lay on the same sofa as her (she is the boss!)

OldWivesTale · 18/10/2022 23:23

Try Greyhound Gap in Stoke. They sometimes have Whippet crosses/ lurchers

iamjustwinginglife · 18/10/2022 23:29

I've got a whippet lurcher-she's great fun but then sleeps for hours!! Loves a cuddle, incredibly affectionate and I have no choice whether she sleeps on the bed-she just lies on me half way through the night (and she's not small!!!)

OldWivesTale · 18/10/2022 23:30

My Whippet chases and retrieves the ball. But I'd go against the grain here and say that I don't think Whippets make good first dogs; mine is hard work compared to all the other dogs I've had and he feels very much like a hunting dog; he has a wild glint in his eye that I've not had with other dogs and I know that he would kill a cat in seconds if he ever got the chance. When he was a puppy he was like a little raptor - launching himself at us and biting. He's very fast and very strong even though he's skinny. I know not all Whippets are like this but I wouldn't assume that they are all super chilled and "easy". I know one of his littemates was returned to the breeder because she was too energetic and boisterous.

Tanfastic · 18/10/2022 23:47

I have a Border Terrier. He's as mad as a box of frogs 😂.

Pros : mine hardly barks, very affectionate and cuddly, easy to maintain, will walk miles (if you like that kind of thing). Lots of personality and very friendly.

Cons (probably more than pros at the minute as he's still quite young). Very very spirited, excitable and frantic. He's either going full pelt shoving a ball constantly in the back of my leg whilst I'm doing the hoovering or he's asleep. There's no in between!

Strong prey drive. Unable to let ours off the lead yet, we'd probably never see him again.

Needs a long walk every day in order to keep stop him getting up to no good. He's got his nose into everything at the minute so we can't leave him unattended for long.

He's a lovely little character though and k wouldn't swap him for the world.

I'm hoping he settles down and matures a bit still as most older borders I meet are quite mellow in comparison 😂.

pazwaz70 · 19/10/2022 00:08

I absolutely love Border Terriers,it's the only breed we've had, so I'm very biased. My one is very yappy but she's absolutely no bother. She's currently curled up beside me.
If you train them right they will go to bed very early. We can go to bed at 8.30 pm & she will be there until I get up.
I just love Borders!!

Yayyayitsaholiholiday · 19/10/2022 00:16

My puppy is nearly 9 months.
Despite doing everything by the book, he still can’t be left for more than a couple of minutes at home and he’s only just started being ok for short periods in the car.
Some pups don’t cope with being alone until they’re at least 1.5 years. Others are ok from 5 months or so…….
If I absolutely had to leave home for 5 hours, I’d have to pay for someone to be with him the whole time, or re-home. It would be cruel to do otherwise, he’d be so desperately unhappy.

userxx · 19/10/2022 19:38

@Tanfastic Spirited.... spot on!

Fondantginger · 19/10/2022 22:23

Are whippets not quite needy about being left alone? Our neighbours two whippets certainly are, they howl constantly when their owners are out…

MrsJackRackham · 19/10/2022 22:35

Rescue charities are best for whippets. I have a whippet and a greyhound in a one bed large flat and it's fine. Greyhound is by far the most lovable but the whippet is still very affectionate. Both can be left up to 5 hours, big walk before though. The greyhound is more rain rejecting, once a grey sits down it's an immovable object.

beeswa · 20/10/2022 06:18

Border for me too . She's great with the kids , rarely barks, doesn't dig , hasn't chewed anything . So affectionate to everyone .
Can be stubborn .

Frankincense88 · 20/10/2022 15:38

Bedlington x Whippet owner here. I know every dog is different and some manage well but ours cannot be left alone even for five minutes or he'll howl the house down. Whippets are known to struggle with separation anxiety so many would really struggle being left for 5 hours.

On the plus side, he will retrieve a ball (if there are no nearby distractions) and loves to play. Ours loves lounging on the bed and cuddling on the sofa but like many others cannot be let off the lead unless in an enclosed area as he'll chase things and go deaf when being called.

Day to day he's low maintenance but his prey drive is next level to the extent that I can't let anyone other than myself or my husband hold him and even then, he's pulled me over in the woods before when he spotted a squirrel (although pure whippets are smaller so probably wouldn't be able to do this!)

That being said we wouldn't change him for the world even if he is a barky gobshite that chases everything 😂

Frankincense88 · 20/10/2022 15:40

@OldWivesTale just read your post and know EXACTLY what you mean regarding the wild glint in the eye!! Ours has a thirst for chaos 😂