Hey guys
This is my first post on the forum here - seems a great place to chat to people who know about whippets specifically!
My wife and I have recently got our first whippet puppy (in fact our first puppy - my wife had a collie previously), we got her from a breeder at 9 weeks, and now our Nessa is 12 weeks today. She is a thing of absolute beauty, and such a lovely temperament too.
It's worth saying at this stage that we live in a block of flats in London, and although there is a communal garden only about ten stairs away from our front door, we don't have direct access to the green - it's not an insurmountable problem, but does make things a little trickier. Generally I think we're doing ok with our first pup, and are very dedicated, but are struggling/looking for some help with a few things:
Training - her recall is rubbish. We've been practising this in the house but even then it depends on how interested she is or distracted by other things (even though we only train when focussed solely on that). Outside sometimes she responds, other times it's as if I'm not there at all, and she simply runs where she wants. From a toilet point of view, we've put in loads of work. She now generally goes outside 9/10, and can hold it when needed. However this is because we take her out so regularly rather than her asking to go out - she's only done that twice, and even then it was just looking at me and then at the door, when I happened to be in the hall...
Exercise - we were told to stick to a maximum of 20 mins exercise at a time. She seems to enjoy walking on a lead with us (as long as it's not raining - she hates being outside then) and after her vaccinations ysterday we took her for a 15 min walk around the block this morning, and then out to a local park (15 mins walk there, 15 min break, 20 mins walk/running on lead). However is this too much? She seems to enjoy it and seems a good way for her to expend energy?
Playing - just wondering from your experiences what your puppies' favourite games are (especially things that will tire her out)? Nessa loves a squeaky squirrel we got her and a chewing bone, but sometimes they just dont cut it with her and it seems she has loads of energy but isn't interested in anything we have!
Chewing outside - one of the most frustrating things, when we're outside she chews and eats EVERYTHING! Sticks, paint flaked from windowsills, flowers, wrappers, cigarette butts... this afternoon I found her chewing on small bits of brick. Worst part is she doesn't listen to us when we try and stop her.
Separation - Nessa currently sleeps in a crate in our bedroom, but we're trying to move her further out. Currently she hates being left alone, she cries even if we're just in another room for 5 minutes or so. I know we need to leave her and not reward it, but it's hard to do anything with constant crying....
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but any help would be great!
Thanks so much, Naph
PS. here's Nessa relaxing on the sofa
This is my first post on the forum here - seems a great place to chat to people who know about whippets specifically!
My wife and I have recently got our first whippet puppy (in fact our first puppy - my wife had a collie previously), we got her from a breeder at 9 weeks, and now our Nessa is 12 weeks today. She is a thing of absolute beauty, and such a lovely temperament too.
It's worth saying at this stage that we live in a block of flats in London, and although there is a communal garden only about ten stairs away from our front door, we don't have direct access to the green - it's not an insurmountable problem, but does make things a little trickier. Generally I think we're doing ok with our first pup, and are very dedicated, but are struggling/looking for some help with a few things:
Training - her recall is rubbish. We've been practising this in the house but even then it depends on how interested she is or distracted by other things (even though we only train when focussed solely on that). Outside sometimes she responds, other times it's as if I'm not there at all, and she simply runs where she wants. From a toilet point of view, we've put in loads of work. She now generally goes outside 9/10, and can hold it when needed. However this is because we take her out so regularly rather than her asking to go out - she's only done that twice, and even then it was just looking at me and then at the door, when I happened to be in the hall...
Exercise - we were told to stick to a maximum of 20 mins exercise at a time. She seems to enjoy walking on a lead with us (as long as it's not raining - she hates being outside then) and after her vaccinations ysterday we took her for a 15 min walk around the block this morning, and then out to a local park (15 mins walk there, 15 min break, 20 mins walk/running on lead). However is this too much? She seems to enjoy it and seems a good way for her to expend energy?
Playing - just wondering from your experiences what your puppies' favourite games are (especially things that will tire her out)? Nessa loves a squeaky squirrel we got her and a chewing bone, but sometimes they just dont cut it with her and it seems she has loads of energy but isn't interested in anything we have!
Chewing outside - one of the most frustrating things, when we're outside she chews and eats EVERYTHING! Sticks, paint flaked from windowsills, flowers, wrappers, cigarette butts... this afternoon I found her chewing on small bits of brick. Worst part is she doesn't listen to us when we try and stop her.
Separation - Nessa currently sleeps in a crate in our bedroom, but we're trying to move her further out. Currently she hates being left alone, she cries even if we're just in another room for 5 minutes or so. I know we need to leave her and not reward it, but it's hard to do anything with constant crying....
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but any help would be great!
Thanks so much, Naph
PS. here's Nessa relaxing on the sofa
