Waiting For Our New Arrival,and I Need Advice Please Xx

Hi everyone, im new on here and i would like a bit of advice please. We are getting our first whippet puppy in a weeks time, i cant wait, we ahve everything ready, crate, toys beds etc etc. How long will it take her to settle in ? also i will need to leave her for 3 hours twice a week for my job, will she be ok if she is in her crate? we have never had whippets before and we have heard so many lovley things about them, are they as good as everyone says ? Thanks for your help xxxxxx :thumbsup:

Hallo Welcome to K9!

Whippets are BRILLIANT :thumbsup: ......... I don't believe you can be owned by a better dog

It sounds as though you are doing all the right things and getting your new puppy used to the crate will be the first thing. Make it into a safe little "cave" for her by covering it with a blanket, sheet or such like. Ensure that it has lovely soft comfy bedding because whippets like to bury themselves in nice warm places and I would suggest feeding her in her crate to start with (leaving the door open) so that she sees it as her own little hideaway.

The aim is to make the crate a haven for her so that she wants to go in it to rest and sleep. That way it won't be a problem when you start to leave her.

When she is happy going in and out with the door open, you can start closing the door with you in the room and then opening it a couple of minutes later, gradually lengthening the time you leave it closed. Don't make a fuss of her whilst doing this, be very matter of fact about it and try not to say "good girl" if she cries because that is rewarding her for crying.

You can start to leave her alone by going out of the room and then returning and gradually lengthening the amount of time you are out of sight and finally she will be crate trained :thumbsup:

Hopefully you will be having time off so that you can spend the first week or so with her and not leave her alone too soon

Good luck with your little girl :luck: - and don't forget, we like to see lots of pictures here on K9 please! :cheers:

Hello and welcome

I would thoroughly recommend that you put your puppy in her crate at night beside your bed . If she whimpers at all just say shhhhh or give a little cough to let her know you are there . If she is really making a lot of noise and it's at least a couple of hours into the night then it may be that she needs out . Just take her out to let her do the toilet and keep as few lights on as possible ( I use a torch ) Don't speak at all and just put her back in her crate . If she cries just say shhh !

If you don't want to have her in your bedroom long term you can always wean her off this by gradually moving the crate further and further away from your bed eventually .

I have used this method with two puppies this year with great success .

When I put puppies or any dog in a crate they always get a couple of biscuits and very quickly they can't get in quickly enough !

A kong is also useful , you can stuff it with goodies for when you have to leave her for a coule of hours .

She will soon learn the routine .

Good luck :luck:

Hi there! You can try the old trick with a ticking clock and a warm water bottle when she first arrives. It simulates being with her mum i.e. a heartbeat and warmth. I've done that with all my dogs and it works a treat.

Whippets are as good as everyone one says....and a little bit more!!

What a great choice of breed yu have chosen

Lots of help and advice here on K9

Welcome

Jackie and the MULCAIRS

Hello and welcome

How exciting, your first whippet. I know I am biased, but what a fantastic choice. It will not be long before you have two (w00t)

If you HAVE to work in the first two - 3 weeks after puppy arrives (I understand that it is only 3 hours twice a week), try and have someone pop in for half an hour if it is at all possible. 3 hours is a long time to leave a puppy just when it is newly arrived.

Wishing you luck with your new family addition. :luck:

Ho everyone, thank you so much for all your advice and information, i will be off work for a while so she can settle in, i have got a lovely comfy bed for her to have in her crate, lots of toys and things for her to play with. I will also put some pictures on when i get her and she has settled in, she is Fawn with white feet and a white face, shes is gorgeous, im so looking forward to having her.

Thanks again everyone. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

max1 said:

Ho everyone, thank you so much for all your advice and information, i will be off work for a while so she can settle in, i have got a lovely comfy bed for her to have in her crate, lots of toys and things for her to play with. I will also put some pictures on when i get her and she has settled in, she is Fawn with white feet and a white face, shes is gorgeous, im so looking forward to having her. Thanks again everyone. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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She sounds adorable....am a bit biased though....funnily enough my whippet is fawn with white legs!!

cairo said:

max1 said:

Ho everyone, thank you so much for all your advice and information, i will be off work for a while so she can settle in, i have got a lovely comfy bed for her to have in her crate, lots of toys and things for her to play with. I will also put some pictures on when i get her and she has settled in, she is Fawn with white feet and a white face, shes is gorgeous, im so looking forward to having her. Thanks again everyone. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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She sounds adorable....am a bit biased though....funnily enough my whippet is fawn with white legs!!

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:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Welcome to K9...and good luck with your new puppy....once your hooked mind...its for life with whippets... :lol:

you may find by this time in 2 years you have doubled up...

I left my pups in a crate when I went to work for a few hours, without any problems...if they have plenty fuss

and excercise before and after going into the crate, they will be fine... :thumbsup:

Once you have established a routine that suits you and your new pup, things do get easier.

max1 said:

Hi everyone, im new on here and i would like a bit of advice please. We are getting our first whippet puppy in a weeks time, i cant wait, we ahve everything ready, crate, toys beds etc etc. How long will it take her to settle in ? also i will need to leave her for 3 hours twice a week for my job, will she be ok if she is in her crate? we have never had whippets before and we have heard so many lovley things about them, are they as good as everyone says ? Thanks for your help xxxxxx :thumbsup:

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Hi

We asked our breeders to supply us with an ol d towel/blanket which helped our Bo settle in as it had a familiar smell of her brothers and sisters.

Our first night she was a little un-settled and cried a little but we put in an old teddy along with the smelly blanket and a hot water bottle. 2nd night she was fine

2 months on and cant imagine our household without her

Good Luck

xxxxxx

It's a great time, if a little nerve wracking! Enjoy your puppy and look forward to seeing pictures of her.

Congratulation on the impending new arrival, you really couldn't have picked better than a whippet.

My first whippet arrived in March this year and she has been a pleasure o .

Like you I had all the bits ready including a crate which I intended to be her bed and she would sleep in downstairs in the dining room. During the day she was never any trouble making her self quite at home within a couple of hours of her arrival (she had seemingly christened every carpet in the house within the first hour :teehee: ). However the first 2 nights were absolutely heart breaking, listening to her cry for seemingly hours at a time and trying so hard not to go down and comfort her. On the third night, I have no idea what made me do it (probably lack of sleep!), I didn't shut her in her crate, I put a basket by the radiator and left the crate open for her; I didn't hear a peep all night and she has slept soundly ever since. It turned out that for some reason she hated the crate, I know most dogs get on really well with it and feel much more secure but not Mae, this was just my experience and the advice is just to keep an open mind if your pup won’t settle.

I also work full time and could only have a week off when she first arrived, over that week I made sure I built up her alone time from day one, starting with just a walk to the shop and back to leaving her for the full 4 hours by the Friday. She has never been a problem, in the early days of course she left me little presents on the paper and I think it probably took a bit longer for her to become house trained because I was not there to let her out whenever she needed. Now, I just walk her before I go to work, come home at lunch to take her for another walk (which incidentally I think is more for my peace of mind than for her, I really don’t think she would worry too much if I didn't), I then take her for a longer walk when I get in. My neighbours say they never hear a peep and she is always still in her basket when I walk through the door, pleased to see me but not stressed in any way.

If you do end up leaving your pup on it's own and not in the crate, get some of the spray that you put on doors and furniture to discourage chewing and scratching, if you do this from early on with any luck you will never have a problem, I think I only ever had a couple of little teeth marks in a bookcase but never anything major.

The best of luck to you, I can’t wait to see all of the pictures. :wub:

max1 said:

Hi everyone, im new on here and i would like a bit of advice please. We are getting our first whippet puppy in a weeks time, i cant wait, we ahve everything ready, crate, toys beds etc etc. How long will it take her to settle in ? also i will need to leave her for 3 hours twice a week for my job, will she be ok if she is in her crate? we have never had whippets before and we have heard so many lovley things about them, are they as good as everyone says ? Thanks for your help xxxxxx :thumbsup:

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Whippets are generally quiet and laid back dogs as adults, although they enjoy a good run and lark about when out. However, do be prepared for puppyhood/adolescence...it can be quite testing at times. Generally whippet pups like a few hours play and then some sleep and then some play again. Quite often they'll have a mad 10 mins in the evening just when you want to settle down and watch TV (as they get bigger). Their timing can be immaculate. And when I mean a mad ten minutes, it can be a flying circuit of the room, from settee to armchair, to settee, round and round. They are athletic dogs, so just be prepared for some dynamic leaping and counter surfing for food, as they get bigger too. Don't leave any food on the tops or anything around that you don't want them to chew (like any pup). Whippets are very agile and can leap high in one easy move, so they can quite easily get on to table/kitchen tops if the opportunity arises.

I'm only saying this to prepare you....they are lovely dogs and a pleasure to own, but just be prepared for some manic moments and some naughty beaviour as they grow towards adolescence. Each dog will be different, some are angels; I think i just had a naughty one as a pup, but he's no trouble as an adult...just a few anxiety issues along the way (he hated car travel with a passion) but we overcame them eventually. A crate for when you are out would be a good move...especially as you're only out for 3 hours at a time.

Look forward to some updates when your pup arrives.

Welcome to the fab world of owning a whippet. They are a fantastic breed and I can't imagine having anything but sighthounds.

I was very luck that when i got Dolly and Mojo (and Maya and Runa my IGs) they were all used to their crates. Mojo has been a very ladi bad whippet even when a pup and was never any trouble, no chewing, really easy to house train etc. Dolly was a bit more fiesty and did chew the odd thing when we went upstaris and left her for a few mins (always the last thing we touched before we left). That stopped when we go Mojo.

They both cried the first couple of nights but were then fine and were fine being left when we went out. My husband works from home so most of the time he is home with them. On the occasion he goes away with work i come home at lunch. When we had the pups we also got someone to pop in mid morning ad mid afternoon for a play and to feed etc to break up the day.

I took a week off to get them into the routine, slowly building up them being left and just running through things so they knew where to go for the toilet, where the toy box is, a chance to make friends with the other dogs we have etc.

I am sure you will have a great time!! They grow up so fast and the time they are a puppy flys by when you look back at ti.

make sure you post loads of pics!!

Hi everyone, thank you all so much, your advice is brilliant, i need as much help as i can get, we get her on Sunday and we are so excited but nervous at the same time, if you know what i mean, my little boy is 5 and he can't wait. Im a bit worried as i have a cat but i have been assured by the breeder that our whippet will see our cat as family so she should not harm it in anyway. Hopefully we will soon settle into a routine and things will be fine. Thanks again everyone :thumbsup: Fionas your whippets are absolutley gorgeous xxxx

To be honest your puppy will probably chase your cat .She will probably see the cat as just something else to play with ! A lot depends on the cat's reaction . One of my cats stands her ground and sees the pups off with a fierce hiss . The other cat runs so he gets chased . Of course I do teach them all to stop chasing the cats but it does take time . It's not just whippet pups who do this though my poodle was a lot worse !

Even when they get over chasing the house cats , the cats outside are a different story !

Seriously don’t worry about the cat, just introduce them as soon as possible by letting your pup have a good sniff. Granted it is much easier if the cat is confident and holds its ground.

This is Mae having her ear licked by best friend Molly (next doors cat). This photo was taken a couple of months ago but they are still very close pals (the cat sits by my back door meowing waiting for me to let the dog out, go figure! ) :teehee: Mae will chase if a cat runs but she sees this as a game rather that as a potential chew toy. Just keep an eye on them and they will be fine.

max1 said:

Hi everyone, thank you all so much, your advice is brilliant, i need as much help as i can get, we get her on Sunday and we are so excited but nervous at the same time, if you know what i mean, my little boy is 5 and he can't wait. Im a bit worried as i have a cat but i have been assured by the breeder that our whippet will see our cat as family so she should not harm it in anyway. Hopefully we will soon settle into a routine and things will be fine. Thanks again everyone :thumbsup: Fionas your whippets are absolutley gorgeous xxxx

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Just make sure that the cat has places to escape to so that it can get some peace - up high is good. She is bound to chase it at first, anything that moves is seen as something to play with, but you need to make sure she knows that she must respect the cat. Demonstrate that the cat comes higher in the pack if you have problems - feed it first (somewhere it's food can't be stolen), and give it lots of attention in front of the pup. And I daresay the cat will also put the pup in her place! Bet you can't wait for her to arrive now. Lots of luck with her :luck: :luck: :luck: