Free Running

[jayp]

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As i am new to this dont know if this has been covered elsewhere but i would be interested how your whips are exersised. i know of quite a few show whippets never allowed to free run except in the garden. lots of excuses such as fear of injury, not showing as well etc. How do you all manage exersise,have you a fenced safe area? what do you do when they all disappear over the horizon? Am i the only one whose nerves are often shredded by a typical whip walk when all appears to be fine until a "situation "arises such as the "pop up cat" for instance. I would love more dogs and my only concer is when free running a few at atime it can all go titsup in an instant and 4 is the max i feel in control of. I am lucky as my boss at the place i work has allowed me access to a fenced area of fields so at the moment it is brilliant for dogs. I used to exersise along canal towpaths but our local council has just put dog control orders in place in ALL public areas and dogs are not allowed off the lead My whips i hasten to add are trained to recall but typically are not reliable in hunting mode, and not through lack of effort as i have trained them to retrieve which i was told was really hard for a whip. Ireally dont know if this is the reason lots do not freerun teir dogs but this is not an option i would consider. What to you all think? :- " jan

 

[alfyn]

To me,a whippet is born to run,so i can't imagine what life must be like for those that never get let off the lead!

I take my lot out everyday,the one's i show do have road work 3/4 days a week,but that walk includes some free running in a field too.

On the other day's,i'm fortunate enough to have access to a huge area of private land directly across from my house,& they freely root around the hedgerows & run on the tracks & stubble fields.

Yes,it is a worry that they'll put up a hare & dissappear,which happened for the first time last week (w00t) ,though thankfully they were back in a few minutes,but the risk of them charging off after something, is something i just have to live with for the sake of them having their freedom!

 

[nicky12]

i always let my two boys run free but then im surrounded by fields .but still get little nervouse if they run of on ther own a little to far for me to see ..but ther big babies if they cant see me they panic and coming charging bk to look for me

 

[saraquele]

mine always have free running every time we go out .

its nice and quiet where i live , loads of access to fields away from roads , its a chance you take if they go after a rabbit , ive got mine microchipped and they always have a collar and tag and are also reg with the dogs lost service .

i remember last year at manchester CH show , jan had been in a bramble bush days before and had a nice red scab to show the judge on her white foreleg :lol:

even though i show my dogs they are whippets first and foremost , to never let one run and explore would be cruelty in my HO :- "

 

[jok]

As Debs said, Whippets were born to run. I think it is such a breathtaking sight to see them running at full pace - i love it. :huggles: I let mine free run everyday. My two show Whippets go off the lead together with my Dobermann and have a great time together on massive open fields. They also do road work daily. However, on a 'pet' point of view, i don't think they would be properly exercised without their free running.

Yes, i do worry about injuries. Frankie seems to get little nicks and cuts quite easily, he's got a superficial scab on every leg at the moment, although this isn't normal! :b However, he gets so much pleasure out of running i would never restrict him to just lead work.

With Frankie it's been a lot of trial and error with exercise and food to get him to a weight and muscle tone that im happy with for the show ring. Im now happy and proud with the way he's looking. :wub: Above all, i've got two very happy Whippets who enjoy galloping across the fields on a daily basis. :huggles:

 

[jok]

I've just noticed the lines on Frankie - drawn on when myself and husband were talking Whippet anatomy!! (w00t)

 

[imperative]

Our boys run free too.People stop and stare when they see them running free.So graceful!They all get too naughty together so I take Scarlett around out local lake so they dont all roll like thunder! (w00t)

Nothing as beautiful as a Whippet in full flight!

:huggles:

 

[dawn]

[SIZE=21pt]Nothing as beautiful as a Whippet in full flight![/SIZE]

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Couldn't agree more

Ours always have free running when they are out. If there is a suitable area at a show, or close by, they will be allowed off the lead for free running - after being judged as they do tend to get rather 'mucky' .

 

[Trish]

ours run free twice a day,we have two places where we take them,which we consider safe,ones 30mins drive away which is in woodlands away from the roads and the other is 10mins which is a nature park with the river down one side and train tracks which are totally fenced off down the other,so depending on what time we have is to where we go.

got to agree with everyone else ,theres nothing better than seeing your whips running free :thumbsup:

 

[Whippets Rule]

Never had a whippet run away myself,they all used to run beautifully but all had really superb recall even when on a rabbit.

Nowadays only Badger really runs,Woody tends to just trot along although he can cover a bit of ground and is going a bit deaf so we have to keep a closer eye on him or he could get himself lost....silly old thing.

They free run most days depending on the weather really,if its really wet they stay on lead as they are getting on a bit and i worry when they slip over in case they break something.

 

[oakmoorehill]

We have a tiny park just along the road that small it only has one gate but its big enough for the dogs to have a good run round .The parkie has told me if I want to let them have a run to shut the gate to and most people who go in there know if it shut I am in there and wait until they are back on their leads as William is a bit rowdy to run with small dogs he tends to knock them over.

I have to make sure I never free run Bandit and Owen at the same time I usualy take Bandit and Tegan together then the others go together.

Yesterday was the first time Zoe went to the park as we were told not to free run her to soon so as not to damage her joints buther breder has said she can now run she has done twice at shows with her brother and sister. We ran her with William and she was great and came back when she was called .

My main problem is in the week it is dark when I go to work and dark when I come home and the park is locked at night so at the moment trips to the park are resticted to the weekends

 

[Seraphina]

I would not keep Whippets if i could not let them enjoy free run

 

[Rosie]

Quite agree with all the comments on here - I wouldn't have a whippet if I wasn't prepared to take the risk that comes with letting her run free. To me it is one of the highlights of owning one to watch her speed and the enjoyment on her face as she shows off :teehee: :wub:

I only have the one whipp though so recall is fine except when bunnies are around and then common sense applies and I let her have a chase for 5 or 10 minutes before I call her back and she always comes :thumbsup:

 

[DavidH]

great shot a whippet mid turn,like to free run my dogs as much as possible and as soon as possible even at 8 weeks they love to run trailing there bums as they go. but only one at a time until they know what they are doing. in the open fields must admit i pick my fields reasonable surface not horse fields. gardens to many hazards and injurys :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[gemsbok]

I let Fleet run free, it is in well fence in area. It is great to see them run I also take his outdoor toys with us which he enjoys playing. He run for about 15 to 20 mins and he is happy, if I can twice a day.

The only thing I cannot do is let Fleet run with other dogs as he is a big boy and his brakes are'nt that good.

 

[oakmoorehill]

I let Fleet run free, it is in well fence in area. It is great to see them run I also take his outdoor toys with us which he enjoys playing. He run for about 15 to 20 mins and he is happy, if I can twice a day.
The only thing I cannot do is let Fleet run with other dogs as he is a big boy and his brakes are'nt that good.

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Must be a greyhound thing Michelle thats theproblem I have with William although Owen and little Rosie have learnt to lie down when he catches up with them then he goes over the top rather than straight into them but with other peoples dogs he is just too big and powerful to risk it he could do a lot of damage if he ran full tilt into a smaller dog. Zoe ran for the first time yesterday but she is ok as she is quite chunky and is big enough to cope with him

 

[Lanakeshena]

We free run too, I get so much pleasure watching my whippets running, we run 7 between two of us at a time, they are so interested in playing with each other, they dont notice whats going on around them, we are lucky though the fields we use are often empty and have certain points that people can come on and we keep an eye out at those. On my own i'd run up to three.

Although we show ours, it would never cross my mind not to free run, as said before they are born to run, i personally dont think i know anyone that show,s that doesnt free run their dogs. :thumbsup:

 

[Trish]

we had an encounter this morning with a small deer,the first time mine have come across one,luckily millie was on its scent in another area away from where it was ,but phoebe saw it and made a dash towards it,strange thing was she caught up with it and just ran at the side of it for maybe 10 seconds then she pulled away from it and came running back to us,my heart was in my mouth,but was suprised she didnt bother it,ive heard lots of stories about whips and deers,anyway thank heavens nothing bad happened.

there was a elderly man watching them run and he came up to us and said it was lovely to see phoebe run she was so graceful,and nice to see her have no malice towards the deer,think she made his day :thumbsup:

 

[fallenangel]

I let all 3 whippets run free togethere no problem anywere were like parks and stuff but the greyhound go one at a time in encloed felds they have no breaks and no sence and just carnt see anything in there way including us

 

[JAX]

Whippets were born to run ,

Im lucky in that I have a horse race course mins away. with lots of crows and canadian geese to chase , I try to let them have run at shows too ,but you have to be careful where you free run if you dont know the area dont you , (w00t) I mean there might be the `odd dyke ` here and there :- "