Are All Whippets Wimps?

[LM1981]

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Are all Whippets wimps or just good at trying to get the sympathy vote?

I had the day off yesterday and thought it would be a good chance to get out in the garden and paint the fence. Me and Mae had been out for a long walk and she had pottered around quite nicely for the rest of the day, leaning a couple of times on the wet fence turning herself brown and trying to drink the wood preserver (why must whippets try at least once to eat or drink everything? you need eyes in the back of your head :teehee: ).

She had been sleeping on a bench whilst I painted down the garden. All of a sudden I heard her yelp, I started to move but the yelping didn’t stop so I dropped the brush in the dirt and squashed several plants as I ran to see what she had done. She stood on the patio front leg held up still yelping. Realising what she had done, got her foot stuck between two slats on the bench whilst she was jumping off it, coupled with the continued yelping and way she was holding her leg, my immediate thought was that it was broken . It took me what seemed like an age to comfort her enough to stop yelping, even the neighbours came running out to see what was happening it was that loud and prolonged. I took her inside and put her down to see if she would put any weight on it but nothing, she kept it raised then lay down where I had put her, still whimpering.

Panic!!!!

Within 5 minutes I had made an emergency appointment at the vets and phoned my parents in tears, to tell them my precious baby was severely injured (with the fuss she made you would have thought her leg was about to fall off).

After 10 minutes of laying there looking rather sorry for herself, her little friend (next doors cat) popped her head up at the window to see what was going on, Mae saw her jumped up and ran outside to play with hardly a limp.

So, rather embarrassed, I phoned the vets to cancel the emergency appointment, apologised to my parents for making them think my dog was mortally wounded, let the neighbours know she was ok and got back to the painting.

All of this in the space of 20 minutes; who needs soap operas, just get a whippet!

 

[~Sally~]

glad mae is ok and yes all whippets are wimps, this is typical whippet behaviour lol. i remember i entered eve in a fun dog show that was on along side one of our racing events. the judge was another racer who eve knew, all he did was stroke her and she started screaming! everyone just stared at her and i was left going ermmmm she's a bit of a baby, she still won the class haha

 

[Dr B]

Ash caught his leg in brambles and did hurt himself, just once and now screams blue murder if he so much as knocks it. Which, miraculously seems to coincide with him getting into trouble for something! Funny that! :-

 

[fallenangel]

I have to ay i get more worred about my dogs if tey dont make a fuss. i have noticed with little thinks there dramer queens squealing and making a fuss. but when its serious they seam to be much carmer and know to be quiet. indy makes more noise if one of the other dogs stands on her foot then she didn when she had any of her breaks.

 

[Haylsey]

I have Rocket a whippet and Libby a saluki whippet cross. Rocket is really tough which i know is very very odd for a whippet and Libby who is the exact opposite and is the biggest drama queen going. Earlier this year they were on their walk Rocket came out of the woods straight into a huge nettle patch, you could see he was uncomfortable but didn't make a sound. Libby was just behind him and also ran into it and you would have thought she'd been run over, she absolutely screamed the place down. Loads of people came running to help. She cried for at least 10 mins after. I know it must have hurt but the difference between the dogs was amazing. Poor poor Libby.

Libby thinks that paper bags, rain, deoderant cans, cameras (she hates her picture taken)the bathroom,trampolines (the noise they make when the children bounce) planes in the sky, water, puddles, snow and cold all kill whippets and she turns into a quaking shivering wreck at the sight of any of these. There are a number of walks where she refuses to get out of the car because in the past she has heard a crow scarer in the distance there poor poor lib. Rocket on the other hand is scared of nothing except maybe of getting too cold or someone stealing his squeaky!

 

[laurab]

My boy certainly is. My two whips come out with me when I ride the horse. We had just got onto the forest when I saw them both running through the heather then heard a twack as poor Monty hit his foot on a tree stump. Needless to say he immediately started crying. Things like this often happen to him and usually I get off the horse, give him a cuddle for a few minutes and it's suddenly all better. However, he wasn't weight bearing at all so we all turned round- him on 3 legs, his sister and the horse thinking that was a very short ride/walk. Anyway, I kept an eye on it for the rest of the morning to see if it would ease off knowing that he is sometimes prone to exageration, but he wouldn't put it to the ground so i duly called the vet. I lifted him into the car and out the other end, still on 3 legs in the vet's car park. Then as soon as we walked through the door, surprise surprise he starts walking on it!! I could have killed him. The vet was very good about it, examined him, probably bruised, rest, painkillers etc etc. And he had me thinking he had a broken foot.

I've told him about the boy who cried wolf but not sure he was listening!!

 

[whippetsrus]

Yes they are wimps but they also like milking everything for what its worth.

 

[spooksnscout]

Oh yes! Spooky is a super-wimp This first came to my attention when he was about 9 weeks old. I was on the phone booking him into puppy classes, he was rummaging about under the kitchen table. I was chatting to the trainer, telling her his age etc, when all of a sudden this blood-curdling screaming started. I yelled down the phone that I'd have to call back, slammed down the phone and dived under the table, convinced Spooks was mortally wounded. There he was with his head in a shopping bag (w00t) I removed the bag and called the trainer back. She asked what breed of dog he was, and when I said "a whippet", she roared laughing and said she should have guessed! If his beloved tennis ball bounces into grass longer than about 6 inches, he howls and refuses to get it, just in case there might be a stinging nettle within a 10 foot radius!

Scout, on the other hand, is a real ruffty tuffty! Nothing phases her at all. Mind you, she's only a year old, so maybe her wimpy gene just hasn't kicked in yet

 

[Nicola]

I had to laugh at your story. :lol:

Fred was the same as a youngster...the number of times he had me worried sick, holding up a paw and crying, me thinking he'd broken his leg judging by the pitiful sound he was making.

These days he's a lot more stoical. He has 2 corns on his feet that cause him a little discomfort but he never complains (tried getting them removed but they came back)...he once knocked his shin badly and you could tell by the expression on his face that it really hurt, but he didn't make a sound. The last time I heard him scream was a few years ago when he was being playfully pinned to the ground by a huge alsation...but then I think I would have done too under those circumstances. (w00t)

 

[JAX]

I have Rocket a whippet and Libby a saluki whippet cross. Rocket is really tough which i know is very very odd for a whippet and Libby who is the exact opposite and is the biggest drama queen going. Earlier this year they were on their walk Rocket came out of the woods straight into a huge nettle patch, you could see he was uncomfortable but didn't make a sound. Libby was just behind him and also ran into it and you would have thought she'd been run over, she absolutely screamed the place down. Loads of people came running to help. She cried for at least 10 mins after. I know it must have hurt but the difference between the dogs was amazing. Poor poor Libby.
Libby thinks that paper bags, rain, deoderant cans, cameras (she hates her picture taken)the bathroom,trampolines (the noise they make when the children bounce) planes in the sky, water, puddles, snow and cold all kill whippets and she turns into a quaking shivering wreck at the sight of any of these. There are a number of walks where she refuses to get out of the car because in the past she has heard a crow scarer in the distance there poor poor lib. Rocket on the other hand is scared of nothing except maybe of getting too cold or someone stealing his squeaky!

We make `um tough in Nottingham and he is a MULCAIR whippet afterall :thumbsup: AS regards his sqeeky toy , sounds just like Uncle Montee

 

[Hula]

I have had some whippets who were wimps and others the total opposite . Hula my whippet never made a sound when she was hurt and has come back to me on walks having ripped herself open and had flesh hanging out of her wound and never made any fuss , She was like that all her life . Some of my others wounld be screaming for little or no reason . I think you can tell almost right away when you get a pup what sort it will be . :unsure:

 

[TillynPip]

We have the builders in (joy) and one of them called me in a somewhat panicky voice and I found him looking up at Milo who was standing on the turn in the stairs, one hind leg gingerly held up and head hung low looking very sorry for himself. He then very carefully hopped in a circle and gently laid himself down, his big, soulful eyes pleading for help. I started to move up the stairs to investigate the trauma but, before I could reach him, he'd heard the faint sound of my husband opening a tin of tuna in the kitchen and was off as fast as his four legs could carry him. The builder was speechless at Milo's Oscar winning performance and I could find absolutely nothing wrong with said leg! (w00t)

 

[Susan]

Last night Gozmo,,who I thought was made of tough stuff,,screamed in pain when jumping onto the sofa,,He lay next to Rachel,,still screaming, John said he's got a dead leg,,as he hit it off the coffee table,,me being a parinoid mum,,said no its worse than that,,well it was Gizmo, not Robbie,,yes it was a dead leg,,walking about 2 mins later,,after I fed him chicken,,hand fed him too,,it does scared me to hear a dog yelp or scream,,but Gizmo went over the top,,and he normaly takes a hit or running into walls / doors/ fence in his stride,,Robbie does scream if he thinks he will run into things,,glad all was well,,they do keep us on our toes (w00t)

 

[olismum]

We have a whippet saluki collie whippet lurcher and she is a wimp. She was running around with our lurcher boy and ran into him - she instantly fell to the floor yelping and not lifting her head i thought shit shes broken her neck!! Then i noticed blood running out of her mouth - she had bit her tongue. If she gets a cramp she yelps for ages and ages, and when she got stung she came screaming in from the garden. My dog is like it too, 2 weeks after we rescued him he jumped a stair gate and bruised himself, i thought nothing of it as we had been out when he did it and he just had a bit of bruising. He wouldnt get in his bed that night and howled with pain all night and wouldnt wee etc. I booked him in in the morning he screamed so we carried him to the car and into the vets, i put him down so i could book him in and he jumped up at an old lady carring in a cat. And then when he saw me looking limped a bit than was magically better :blink:

 

[eve]

Definately and the bigger they are the bigger the wimp :teehee:

Just as far from home as possible and Bella collapses struggling to breathe, just lying there....I thought she was a gonner :sweating:

After a bit of reassurance her breathing returned to normal and I got her on her feet. Ho no, she would not stand on one front leg. I checked carefully for a sting, cut or thorn, nothing. She was hunched up so I decided she had hurt her neck or shoulder. She just would not walk.

I would have to CARRY her home :sweating:

Bella is no lightweight. although only 20" she is built like a prizefighter (from her working days) and weighs 15KG

Said dog collapsed comfortably in my arms like a sack of potatoes, pure deadweight :x I struggled home

I decided when I examined her foot at home it was a wasp sting (lots of wasps about at present and one of her toes was red and swollen)

Bathed foot with vinegar and fed her a Piriton. 5 minutes later she wolfed down her dinner standing squarely in 4 feet :- .

Her foot is a bit tender but otherwise she is fine.

I know she collapsed in shock at first, but she was a working whippet before she came to me and I thought she might be made of tougher stuff (w00t) :unsure: :teehee:

She is also my only whippet that point blank refuses to go for a walk when it is raining.

BELLA IS DEFINATELY A WIMP

 

[hollyvictoriab]

Hmmm, I am a very new whippet puppy owner, and still to experience wimp antics yet!!! :unsure:

Pixie is coming up to 9 weeks and VERY boisterous!! I am totally neurotic about her hurting her legs as she leaps all over the place off and onto things, incorporating forward roll routines a gymnast would be proud of!! Yesterday she charged through a patch of thistles and simply turned round and bit them!!! :wacko:

 

[TillynPip]

She is also my only whippet that point blank refuses to go for a walk when it is raining.

BELLA IS DEFINATELY A WIMP

Oooh I've got two of those. Milo can be tempted out for a widdle and then flies back in the house but Gracie puts the brakes on and hops around the house, legs crossed rather than get wet. I have been know to carry her to the lawn and dump her, she does a lightening wee and hurtles into the house, almost cat like trying to keep her paws as dry as possible. :blink: Having had labs all my life, this has been quite a revelation!! (w00t)

 

[hollyvictoriab]

Ok, so it didn't take long.... had my first whippet scare with Pixie yesterday.

We have a straight run through from the end of the garden, through the kitchen in across the lounge, which Pixie was using as a race track with her squeaky ball. On about the 15th go, she mis-judged the kitchen door and hit it with her shoulder going full tilt. She fell into the lounge screaming. I dropped everything in horror thinking she had dislocated it or broken a bone. She dropped to the floor and just lay there silent. I made a big fuss of her, panicking about what to do as I had to be at work in half an hour........ After manipulating and poking all of her leg and shoulder I couldn't find any point that made her wince, or that felt different to the other side. So I gathered her up into my arms and cuddled her to for 10 mins, after which she was able to walk fairly well. She had the afternoon to rest and seemed much better by the evening, although a distinct limp developes when she has to go outside in the cold! I carried her around at the stables last night in case she was still sore. She has a warm wheat/lavendar bag which I have been draping over her when she is lying on the sofa which she seems to like, although I obviously can't leave her unattended with it in case she chews it!

She seems much better today, and can easily do stairs etc, although as a neurotic owner I can still see a small limp in her gait as she walks. I am guessing she might be a bit bruised for a day or so, then will hopefully be ok!!! We have had a trip to pets at home for lots of treats, which I thought she would like, but it seems the electric doors are terrifying! So after making a bit of a spectacle of herself refusing to go through them I had to carry her. She is back home and seems happier now, especially with the treats to chew!

 

[TillynPip]

Welcome to the world of whippets! She probably bruised and sore but at least she's made sure you know about it :blink:

I hope she's 100% very quickly, rest and lots of tlc, but she sounds as though she's got you doing that anyway!