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[Molly123]

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Hi all,

I’ve been looking to get some advise on my whippet for a while, he is a 2 yo neutered male. We got him when he was 12 weeks and he was not kept in ‘normal’ conditions, kept outside in a cage with other siblings, he was the last of the litter to leave.

We have a few problems with him, I don’t know if it’s our fault he’s our first dog.

Our main issue is barking, he barks when we cook, when we eat, when we are doing anything eg gardening. Anything that doesn’t give him our full attention. He also is really reactive to sounds, if someone is singing loudly, shouting, dancing, play fighting etc he goes crazy and tries to bite & barks! If we are sat down watching tv for example, usually he is chilled but always has to be with us!

When we are out he had to stay on a lead as he has ran off a few times into busy roads chasing deer, we live on open parkland and woodland so he is constantly alert. When he was younger this was not an issue, I think it’s where we live. When we can we take him out on a secure field we hire or to the beach!

We are really struggling, we got a new pup after Xmas as we thought it would help take the attention off us, which it has but when they play- again the barking is out of control. Our pup is a really good boy and is always off lead.

Since having our new dog I think we have realised how bad our older dog is to the point where we are considering rehoming as I feel we are letting him down and he doesn’t enjoy life. It’s awful I love him to pieces but we don’t know what to do.

 

[JudyN]

What training/mental stimulation have you done with him? I'm wondering if he would benefit from some more structured activities to work his brain cells. And when he is being a pain, how do you normally respond - do you give him attention, or ignore him, or shout at him?

Could you find alternative activities for him when you're busy, e.g. a meaty bone/stuffed Kong while you're cooking or eating, a sandpit for him to dig in when you're gardening?

Also, a bit of a long shot, but what do you feed him? Brand & variety, whether grain free or not?

 

[Molly123]

Hi,

Thank you for the reply, when we eat and cook now we are starting to give him treats to keep him entertained and he has a Liki May and treat dispenser frozen when we eat dinner now, all though as soon as he finishes which is normally quick or he looses interest, he is back to bedding and jumping on surfaces to find food.

When he barks we normally say no, and he just barks more. Sometimes we do give him attention but it normally only stops him for a second. I know that’s the worst thing to do!

He is fed a mix of Rocco tinned food( from Zooplus) and Harrington’s, but we are looking to change their diets to better quality but he is so fussy!

Thank you

 

[JudyN]

Rocco's looks pretty good, Harrington's is middling, I'd say - this website is great for judging different foods: AllAboutDogFood.co.uk Have you considered raw feeding? A lot of fussy dogs really love a raw diet.

I'd find a way of keeping him out of the room while you're eating - if he can jump up on surfaces and find food - even if he only finds food once in a blue moon - he's going to keep doing it.

Saying 'no' when he barks is still giving him attention in his eyes - and as you've found, it doesn't work! He needs to learn an alternative behaviour so you can ask him to do that instead. Like 'go to your bed'... I know, I know, but bear with me ;-) This video will really help with teaching him to settle down and relax while you're eating:

And for learning self-control in general, I like this one:

The more calm, constructive training you can give him, the more he'll learn to listen to you and to do as you ask because that is more rewarding than just barking the whole time. Try very hard to ignore his barking - it's better that you simply get up and leave the room, or calmly put him out of the room, than saying 'no' or giving him attention in any form. And make a point of giving him attention whenever he is being calm and quiet - it's all too easy to ignore a dog who is being 'good', but that's when we need to reward them!

It will take a lot of consistency, and beware of the 'extinction burst' - if at first the barking isn't getting him the attention he wants and expects, he will bark more for a while, till he realises it's not working any more.

When the dogs play, is he playing nicely, if boisterously and noisily - is there give and take in the games, and do they take breaks? If so, I don't think I'd worry about the noise, but just separate them when you can't put up with it any more!

 

[Molly123]

Thank you for the feedback, i have concidered raw feeding, our other pup was on it before he came to us, I just don’t know what brands etc are best, it’s such a mindfied.

I don’t know If you saw the edit with regards to him nipping when people are being loud eg singing, dancing, play fighting he goes crazy and has whipped clothes until you stop!

I’ll try shutting him out with a toy at dinner times etc, and egnoring him more. My god it’s just so hard



Being lurchers they can be quite boisterous but they have breaks, it’s maibly just chasing.

I will look at the videos, thank you

 

[JudyN]

I don’t know If you saw the edit with regards to him nipping when people are being loud eg singing, dancing, play fighting he goes crazy and has whipped clothes until you stop!

Do you tend to have a noisy household? It might be that that is part of the problem here. If the people are acting all excited, it's only to be expected that he will too, and nipping & grabbing clothes is just part and parcel of that - h's just joining in! It would at least be interesting to see if he calmed down generally if everyone else did - but then we need all the singing and dancing (and maybe even the playfighting!) we can get right now!

Another member recently switched their pup to a read-made raw - have a read of this thread, which mentions a couple of guides for if you want to do DIY raw: Changing Puppy to Raw

 

[Molly123]

Since lockdown other family members have been around and we are all isolating together, generally me and my partner are quiet but other family members of mine are fairly loud! And he really dislikes them. In general if we are calm he is normally better.

I’ll have a read, thank you

 

[JudyN]

If he's used to a quiet home, then he can be expected to really struggle with lound people. My dog gets in a state if the two of us get at all heated so it's a good job we get on! You do need to try to convince your family that it is your dogs' house and they need to understand that it's affecting him.

You said above that he's a whippet, but you've also referred to him as a lurcher - do you know what cross he is?

 

[Molly123]

I will try and talk to my family, no one likes poor old Ziggy in my family, he’s just seen as the annoying dog

He was advertised as a bedlington x whippet. We only saw mum who was a small whippet, but he’s petite and has really short hair, I’m sure he could be crossed but I’d say he’s more whippet as he’s crazy

Our other dog is bedlington x whippet on both sides and is really hairy!

 

[JudyN]

He's probably very sensitive and he will sense how everyone is feeling. He can't help the way his brain is wired, but you can help him cope by managing his environment and teaching him how to relax :-(

Bedlington whippets are usually hairy - I'm not sure if a first cross can come out smooth, though a whippet crossed with a beddie whippet could. They can often be quite challenging, having the sensitive lively whippet genes plus terrier genes - and their prey drive is usually very high too. It sounds like you got lucky with your other pup!

 

[Molly123]

I know I think he had a rough start and that’s why he’s so sensitive , poor lad I love him so much he’s just soo hard. Thank you, I’ve looked through the videos and I’ll be making a sheet on what to do with him and what not to do!

So far with our other pup we have been very lucky but I guess it could change. Ziggy was fab on walks when he was younger and now can’t come off the lead, we just can’t trust him & if anything happened to him I’d feel awful. His prey drive has just gone through the roof now we have woodland surrounding us. Our new dog came from a what I call normal home, busy household with children and other dogs and came to us at 8 weeks which I think helps.

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

He will be a 3/4 whippet x Beddy, seen them throw rough,broken and smooth pups in the same litter.