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[whippetwise]

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Hi all

I am new to this website but im very glad I found it. So much info on whippets!! I am in Ireland and have been fostering dogs on and off for the last three years. I lost my own dog a year ago and now I am ready for a new canine life companion. My mother owns a whippet cross and two cats, I live on my own with one cat. I am here to meet other whippet owners and to find out as much as I can about the breed. I am considering getting a whippet pup from a friend and I want to know is all I have read about the breed true? Are whippets really hard to train? Will they chase anything that moves or are there exceptions to the rules. I would love to hear stories of your experiences with your pet whippets and any advice would be greatly appreciated. :thumbsup:

Sarah

 

[Lynn-Alexandria]

Hey Sarah

Welcome to K9!!!! (w00t)

 

[stormy weathers]

Hi sarah, welcome to K9.

My experience of whippets is all good, I wouldn't say they are very hard to train. I have grown up with whippets, they make great pets.

I can't really comment about them chasing every thing that moves or not because I race my whippets so they are trained to chase.

They are very loving and you would be surprised at how lazy they can be.

This is the best site for you if you want to know more about the breed, you will get lots of great advice here.

 

[running_free]

Hi Sarah

Welcome to K9 you certainely have found the right site for knowledge about the Whippet. They are a brilliaint pet, so loving and always pleased to see you even after 2 minutes away from them they will greet you with enthusiasm. I couldnt recomend a better companion for you and your cat who if anything like our cat chilli will enjoy playing chase and winding your whippet up.

 

[aslan]

G'Day Sarah and welcome to k9!

Your questions have been asked and answered a number of times over the years on k9. Have a look in the "Frequently Asked Questions" Forum (on the main page) and I'm sure you'll find all the answers you need.

Best of Luck becoming a Whippet Owner in the near future. You'll never regret it!

 

[*Lesley*]

Welcome to K9 sarah, I'd say all the good things you've ever heard about whippets is true, most I'd say will chase anything given the chance it's in their nature, but you just need to be aware of it if you live near any dangers, roads, farms ects :thumbsup:

I have a cat and they all chase it a bit but not in a harmful way and she just tells them off anyway :angry:

I've never regretted getting whippets :huggles:

Good luck :luck:

 

[Janimal]

Hi Sarh and Welcome to K9 :cheers: I have 2 whippets and 3 cats - it is not always harmonious all the time but :clown: most of the time it is :thumbsup:

they can be naughty and chase - but I just tell them off and I think they know who will come off worst. (w00t)

I also have rabbits and most times they would rather steal the food from the hutch than attack the 'pet' rabbits - but wild ones are another story. :- " :- "

 

[Louise_Simon]

Hi

I've been taking my whippet to training class (KCGCS) since she was 3 months old and although it took her twice as long as all the rest (westies labs etc) she finally got her basic puppy foundation cert. We are now doing the bronze cert and although all the original class mates have moved on to silver we are nearly ready for the test at the end of the month. So you can train them if they feel like it. But since she started racing training she has got more naughty in class.

 

[Whispersmum]

Whippets are a brilliant choice, they are really quiet in the house and don't

moult much. I can walk mine off lead anywhere and we also have a cat who

he's fine with. He gets on with all other dogs, large or small, although he is

a great rabbit catcher.

Good luck you won't regret it.

 

[OEH]

I have two whippet lurchers (both 3/4 whippet), one long dog (grey whip cross), and a whippet puppy. They are all reasonably obedient. The long dog has won an obedience competition. One of the lurchers (the one I had from a puppy) won the competition at the end of her training classes. The whippet pup was the youngest puppy in the class and came second in the competition (out of 12 dogs).

Both the lurchers are excellent rabbiters but I can call them off bigger prey and feather if I need to. They all have their deaf moments, but are basically very good. I have found the two I have had from puppies very easy to train, and once I got through to the two rescues they have been very good (though I can't for the life of me to get one of them to retrieve).

I think that one of the members on here, Helen, is progressing well through the Good Citizen awards.

So in conclusion I would say that they are very trainable, they are also fantastic company, very inteligent and extremely cuddly. Hope this helps.

 

[whippetwise]

Thanks for all your replies, I cant tell you how excited I am to have found this sight, its great to hear about all your whippets, not to mention being able to see the adorable photos of them all. My mothers whippet cross was what made me decide on this breed, she has a 5 month old female she got from rescue and I am smitten with her :wub: I love the way they want to be so close to you, their beautiful muscular form, their soft coat and those big beautiful eyes. Who could resist! I will have to put up a picture of her once I work out how to do it! I intend to have a whippet as a pet and not to hunt. I am an all round animal lover so bunny hunting is not for me although im sure my whippet wont have the same ideas!! I would like to be able to bring him or her to the beach and let him run free but another thing I have heard is that because they are sight hounds if they see something they want to chase, they are off like a shot and decide to become completely deaf to your recall commands. What are your experiences?

 

[jnjsse]

ello, we have 2 whips charlie an dylan, 1 jus over 2 yrs the other under a yr, charlie (older) was bought up around guinea pigs rabbits cats etc, and he just ignores the ones he knows dylan has more or less followed his example thankfully! although when we're out on a run an somethin catches their eye they can start to run after it, although with a stern command we can get their attention long enough to call em to heel (90% of the time) but we cant help thinkin that if we had been a few secs late in shouting them the chase instinct would have taken over completly, theres ppl on this site that can explain wat i mean better, its the same with any dog but with running dogs they can be out of site within seconds which makes it very important that a eye is kept on them, and thought gone into where they are being run!

 

[gavo]

Thanks for all your replies, I cant tell you how excited I am to have found this sight, its great to hear about all your whippets, not to mention being able to see the adorable photos of them all. My mothers whippet cross was what made me decide on this breed, she has a 5 month old female she got from rescue and I am smitten with her :wub: I love the way they want to be so close to you, their beautiful muscular form, their soft coat and those big beautiful eyes. Who could resist! I will have to put up a picture of her once I work out how to do it! I intend to have a whippet as a pet and not to hunt. I am an all round animal lover so bunny hunting is not for me although im sure my whippet wont have the same ideas!! I would like to be able to bring him or her to the beach and let him run free but another thing I have heard is that because they are sight hounds if they see something they want to chase, they are off like a shot and decide to become completely deaf to your recall commands. What are your experiences?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

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Hi Sarah, and welcome to K9.

You have deff found the right site to get info on Whippy's.

I was trying to get myself a whippet for ages, and eventually found my boy on this site from what has turned out to be 2 of the biggest threads on K9 " Buffys babies "

The people on here are so nice and very helpful.

The good thing about it is that there is loads of people here so no matter what the question, you will always get a prompt answer.

As for owning a Whippet, I have had many diff breeds of dog in my life, but since getting Codie, I will never have anything but a whippet from now on.

Good Luck with your dog,,, youll never look back.

Regards

Gavin & Codie

 

[~Sarah~]

Hi Sarah - Welcome to K9. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: I am sure you will enjoy this site. People are really helpful and informative.

You have made a great choice in deciding to have a Whippet. :wub: :wub: You definately won't regret it. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[whippynit]

Thanks for all your replies, I cant tell you how excited I am to have found this sight, its great to hear about all your whippets, not to mention being able to see the adorable photos of them all. My mothers whippet cross was what made me decide on this breed, she has a 5 month old female she got from rescue and I am smitten with her :wub: I love the way they want to be so close to you, their beautiful muscular form, their soft coat and those big beautiful eyes. Who could resist! I will have to put up a picture of her once I work out how to do it! I intend to have a whippet as a pet and not to hunt. I am an all round animal lover so bunny hunting is not for me although im sure my whippet wont have the same ideas!! I would like to be able to bring him or her to the beach and let him run free but another thing I have heard is that because they are sight hounds if they see something they want to chase, they are off like a shot and decide to become completely deaf to your recall commands. What are your experiences?

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Hi Sarah.

I dont think you label a breed a set way. Same as people, they all have different personalities. The hunting instinct is obviously there but not all will be the same (i.e 'going deaf' and off like a shot' as you say).

If mine see something they will go to shoot off sometimes ( depending on what it is!) but ive worked really hard with their recall training and they 95% of the time will stop dead in their tracks and run back to me!

Thats not to say that one day they might not slip up though and not come back! :lol: Their recall is atchully loads better than our EBT who with his instinctive stubborn side plods reluctantly back most of the time!

Id say alot of it is down to how you train them!...In my opinion :- "

 

[Macha]

Hi allI am new to this website but im very glad I found it. So much info on whippets!! I am in Ireland and have been fostering dogs on and off for the last three years. I lost my own dog a year ago and now I am ready for a new canine life companion. My mother owns a whippet cross and two cats, I live on my own with one cat. I am here to meet other whippet owners and to find out as much as I can about the breed. I am considering getting a whippet pup from a friend and I want to know is all I have read about the breed true? Are whippets really hard to train? Will they chase anything that moves or are there exceptions to the rules. I would love to hear stories of your experiences with your pet whippets and any advice would be greatly appreciated. :thumbsup:

Sarah

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I wonder have you got a whippet yet?

anyone looking for a rescue whippet in Ireland, there is a young whippet cross in Limerick rescue - see Arthur at http://www.ispca.ie/content/munster.html