Advice

[laurab]

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Hi, I’m wondering if anyone on here can give me some advice.

I have an 18 month boy whippet whose sister was tragically kicked by a friend’s horse a month ago and killed. As you can imagine we are all devastated. She was the kindest, sweetest, most mischievous little girl I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Her brother who is left behind is trying to be a brave boy, and he is much brighter than he was, but is still very subdued. When they were together they were always quite independent of each other- often sleeping separately and quite happy to be walked individually- but little Cleo was always the more outgoing of the two. She loved people, especially children, and was so gentle with them. She would trot up to any toddler or pushchair with a little wag and let them cuddle her. Her brother, by contrast, has always been more reserved with strangers and this is getting more noticeable now Cleo is not here. He was obviously picking up a lot of confidence from her.

I don’t know how to help him become more confident. Do you think he will improve as his grief lessens? He also misses having a whip to run around with at home and play chase games with- I’m just not fast enough! Should I get another companion for him? If so puppy or rescue? We’ve had rescue Danes before and they all had issues, which wasn’t a problem because they were only dogs, but Monty is a bit of a follower so I wouldn’t want him picking up bad habits. But would a puppy pick up on his nervousness and so become a bit timid itself? Or would he come out of his shell again?

Sorry for rambling. Any help appreciated.

Many thanks,

Laura x

 

[Dr B]

What a sad story! Poor little mite. I had a similar problem as I had an old jack russel cross when Ash was a pup. When we lost Billy Ash really grieved and would wander around the house looking for him. He also started walking to heel off lead when we were out, almost as if he didn't want to leave my side. Needless to say he would come home from walks just as bouncy as when we went out!

I took the decision to get another whippet to keep him company so got a rescue called Hector. You are quite right, rescues often have issues and Hector is no exception but it has been the making of both of them. It is generally chaos in this house now and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I can't advise you on what you should do but it does sound like he needs a playmate.

Hope it all works out.

 

[FeeFee]

I'm so sorry you lost your girl so tragically

I suspect that Monty would appreciate another confident companion, and I would personally look for an adult rescue rather than a pup - but it would need to be the right dog.

Many dogs come into rescue directly from owners who can no longer look after them for one reason or another, so it's not the case that all have had a bad past or will come with issues. I'd suggest that you talk to Scruples Whippet Rescue and also to Greyhound Gap who have several whippets for rehoming at the moment. Both use foster homes for their dogs so they are very well assessed in a home environment and they will give you and honest and realistic picture of them and help you find the right match for Monty.

Good luck, I hope things all work out for you :luck:

 

[eve]

If your boy is used to whippet company he is probably very lonley for whippet companionship.

Perhaps you could contact Jane at Scruples whippet rescue. It may be that you could foster a whippet for Scruples and if things work out between the two dogs consider adopting. My gut feeling would be to adopt a whippet 1 -3 years that has a fairly confident attitude. If your boy is depressed and nervous, you may find all the attention that a puppy requires makes him even more depressed.

Poor lad. I hope things improve. :luck:

 

[moonglow]

What a horrible thing to have happened

 

Although another whippet around would be an excellent idea, your lad will still grief for the loss of his friend,so i would reccommend homeopathic Ignatia which is excellent for grief,well worth a try :thumbsup:

 

[TillynPip]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss, it's devastating for all the family, including the dogs left behind. From personal experience, we lost Pip in a tragic accident 18 months ago leaving behind Tilly (then 4 years) and Gracie (then 8 months). Tilly is quite an independent girl and, although she definitely missed Pip she is always very busy trying to track down the squirrels and rabbits. However, it left Gracie without a playmate and she and Pip adored each other, always looning around, so she was definitely at a loss as to where her friend had gone. We decided she needed another friend and the following May, 10 week old Milo came to live with us. A year on and he is a complete delinquent but boy do he and Gracie have fun. I miss Pip every day but for Gracie, Milo was a God send and probably for us humans as well.

However, I agree with Eve and FeeFeethat in your case maybe an older whippet might be better and the benefits are two fold - giving a loving home to a rescue and, to a degree, you can go for a dog with the sort of temperament that will suit Cleo :thumbsup: I really hope things work out for you all. :luck:

 

[hayball2001]

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your whippet girl and the effect it has had on Month.

I can only echo what the others have said and just wanted to say that if you decided to get another whippet then please get in touch with us at Scruples.

You can email us at scruplesteam@yahoo.co.UK, or ring us on 0845 625 6211 and I can then have a chat with you. We do have whippets at the moment who may be perfect.

Rachel x

 

[meddling]

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss, how tragic and devastating for you all.

When Bluebells best friend died a couple of years ago, I'd never seen such grief from a dog, after 6 weeks of moping, not eating, not running or playing etc we went away on holiday and that was the turning point of her returning to her normal bouncy self...

so maybe a break away may help him to move on...and a new addition to the family possibly???

 

[Esty]

Firstly, so sorry that you lost your girl in such tragic circumstances I can just echo what others have said about getting a companion and also add that we adopted a 2 yr old whippet x bitch last August and haven't looked back. She was a stray so we had no idea of her background or any issues she might have. We fostered her initially, thinking that she would be claimed but she slotted into our pack so well that we adopted her. She wasn't house trained but this was completely sorted in two weeks and her only other 'issue' is recall - she's very easily distracted by other dogs! However, one of my male dogs who I've had from a pup gives us more problems than Emmy ever has as he has fear aggression after being targeted by a couple of nasty GSDs last year. You never know what you are going to have to deal with, whether you get a pup or rescue... If you get a whippet from Scruples you will know of any issues as the dog will have been assessed in foster. They will match you to the right dog and offer follow up support.

It definitely isn't the case that all rescues have issues. Emmy is fantastic with our cat, visitors, other dogs, kids, family etc and has never shown aggression. She's not destructive and has no food issues despite having to fend for herself as a stray. She is brilliant and loving and I wouldnt swap her for the world Keep us updated! :luck: :luck:

 

[Janimal]

Hi Laura,

Im am so very sorry to read of your sad loss, how very tragic....as a whippet and horse lover, I can imagine how aweful you must feel...

after reading what you have said, the first thing that came to mind was to get a companion for your little whippet, Im sure it would help

with the terrible grief you are all going through.

Best of luck with everything.

 

[Lal]

I am sorry to read about your loss, perhaps a companion for your boy may well help but it would have to be the right dog and rescue dogs often do have issues which need to be worked through. I certainly wouldn't rule out getting a more mature and confident dog as a companion but perhaps it would make sense to spend some time working with your boy, perhaps attending some training and socialisation sessions to improve his confidence before taking on another dog and giving you both time to grieve. You didn't mention how long it has been since the accident when you lost his sister but whatever course you take I doubt there will be a 'quick fix' solution.

I'm sorry if this sounds contrary to other posts, I had Rifle as a single whippet (not by choice but as a result of circumstance) until he was almost 5 when I took Rosie in as a rescue and it is certainly true that Whippets love the company of their own kind and the chance to run and play together but if your loss is recent then perhaps a bit of one to one time with Monty would reap rewards in the longer term. Dogs have their personalities and perhaps Monty will always be a follower, but maybe with encouragement he might become more confident and that in itself would make the introduction of another dog a better experience for him. Good luck with whatever you decide

 

[~Annie~]

What an awful thing to have happen, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I know Jane at Scruples has always been very anti placing dogs in homes where there were horses on the premises or in close proximity for precisely this reason.

My concern re. finding a new friend for Monty would be that however well assessed an incoming rescue may or may not be it would not be clear until after the event how introducing another dog any time soon might affect him, or the effect Monty's current slightly depressed mood might have on the rescue dog, which will inevitably bring some baggage with it, even if it has come directly from loving owners. I agree that whippets thrive with another whippet for company (we have five), but personally I would want to work on improving Monty's confidence before I introduced another dog to the family, just in case it had the opposite effect to the one I'd hoped for. I think he maybe needs time to come to terms with the loss of Cleo ... dogs do grieve very specifically for the friend they have lost, not just for the loss of companionship.

Good luck whatever you decide to do :luck:

 

[laurab]

Thank you all for your advice and condolences.

I might have been over emphasising Monty's nervousness. He is not too bad. He loves other dogs and is quite happy to meet people, its just that when Cleo was here she would rush to greet everyone and because he was the more apparently dominant of the two of them he would be pushing her out of the way to get there first. Now she is gone he is just much more reserved in greeting strangers.

I had also been saying for a while that he had quietened down alot as he had grown up whereas Cleo was an eternal puppy- she was the one usually yapping for a game or finding things to steal which he would then take off her! So he has always been the quieter dog.

Lal- it was a month ago that Cleo died. Monty and I have been having lots of quality time together and going out for lots of walks to try and meet new friends. The trouble is although he likes other dogs he doesn't seem to know how to play with them unless they are another sighthound- they definitely know their own kind don't they.

Rachel (Hayball2001)- There are some lovely looking dogs on the Scruples website, but Annie says Jane doesn't like to home whips with horses, and I have 2. Although it was NOT one of mine that kicked out and in the 30 odd years I've had horses and dogs together this is the first incident that has ever happened but I can understand her worries. So it doesn't sound like I would be suitable for a Scruples whippet anyway.

I'll keep you posted on Monty's progress and please feel free to keep advising!

Laura x

 

[~Sarah~]

So very sorry to hear of the tragic loss of Cleo. You must be devastated.

Some good advice has been given already. My feelings are that I would try to find another whippet in the near future, and probably I would choose a young confident adult. I do think Whippets need the company of other Whippets or Sighthounds.

I had Remmy when she was 10 months old - I already had Bobby (Collie X) and Dolly (Whippet). Remmy wasn't a rescue and had been looked after very well and was in lovely condition, so had no issues other than being a little nervous. She and Dolly are such a pair and get on so well, so I always feel I made the right decision to have a second Whippet and would always have 2 (or more!!).

Good luck with whatever you decide. :luck: :luck:

 

[jinnyfizz]

Hi Laura

I can't sympthise enough with you :huggles: I have seen first-hand the damage that a horse can inflict with what is (to the horse) a flippant lash out

I too have horses and I keep my whippets completely separate from them in case of accidents which can happen no matter how careful you are. We haven't yet found a way to train a horse not to kick or tread on a dog's foot! The bigger dogs are less at risk due to their size and comparative lack of chase instinct and they mix quite well with the horses but the whippets are at risk purely because of their ability to suddenly dash off and spook the horse or even quietly walk behind a horse because they just don't understand the danger.

A blow to a german shepherd's body doesn't have anything like the impact that the same blow to a little whippet would have.

Scruples does, occasionally, take whippets into care who are livestock trained and we are certainly not adverse to placing such dogs in a home with horses and/or livestock. We also have whippet crosses who are whippet sized but not purebred and they tend to be slightly more sensible/trainable around stock due to their breeding!

So we wouldn't be adverse to homing the right dog with you and the best thing is to go onto our website and fill in an online adoption application so that we can add you to our official database ...... http://www.scrupleswhippetrescue.co.uk/def...ion_application

It's all about placing the right dog in the right home and I think Monty would certainly benefit from having a companion again - they just love the company of their own kind and it must be very upsetting for you to see him feeling so unhappy