New Sighthound puppy mum here...

[Wolfspirit]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Hi everyone,
I am mum to a 9yr old chihuahua and have just brought home a new puppy.
He mum is a whippet x Greyhound and dad a saluki. I only know of these breeds by what I have read but have been attracted to them for some time. My boy is only 12wks old and the peeing everywhere and doesn't seen to be abating. Any tips on raising a healthy happy sighthound would be much appreciated.

 

[DixD]

That’s going to be an interesting combination, size wise, especially at playtime. . Even with the whippet, your pup could turn out quite large, and will be very fast. It sounds bred for speed, covering distance very quickly. Eg., a whirrier (whippet/terrier is bred for rabbiting. A saluki cross would be a bit of overkill, so to speak, for that, more bred for deer, I imagine. It’s a combination I have no experience of, We did the same as you, but the other way round, introduced our toy dog to older lurchers, who were used to socialising with small ones, at agility, and they were very good with him, so they didn’t bowl him over or anything. Apparently, the KC describes the toy dog we have as robust enough to play with normal sized dogs like collies, spaniels, etc., not sure what size your chihuahua is? But, sighthounds are gorgeous, and love mooching about when at home. The ease of training often depends both in the characteristics of the breeds involved and the level of prey drive.

 

[JudyN]

Yep - your pup is likely to be the devil incarnate on caffeine, and will need careful handling with your chi so he doesn't treat your chi as a very entertaining toy - how are they getting on together so far?

I don't have a saluki x but have known several and they can be quite wild. Make recall an absolute priority. Also, don't expect him to be like other dogs at training class. He is likely to regard all that 'sit', 'down', 'stand' nonsense as a waste of time and either go on strike and lie down for a snooze instead (if you're lucky) or turn into a kite in high wind (if you're not). He also might not actually be comfortable sitting, so don't push it (literally and figuratively' if he's not keen.

Some background reading: Walking Ollie and Along Came Dylan by Stephen Foster - hilarious, catches the saluki spirit brilliantly, though not to be regarded as a 'how to' guide I also recently found this article about lurchers in general: The lurcher - a designer cross-breed dog - Shooting UK

Also, this is a must-read: Lurchers for Beginners - greydogtales

AS for the widdling - would it be worth having him checked for a uti? @JoanneF is an expert on house training, so I've tagged her.

 

[DixD]

I’d forgotten all about the potential discomfort in sitting, JudyN. Our original lurcher was like that, and also NOT very easy to train, but loveable with it. He got a special prize in obedience at a little exemption show once ”for effort”, and was allowed to lie down in the sit/stay element of the test. <3. Unfortunately, he was never really 100% toilet trained, we worked around it as well as we possibly could, his whole life. We suspected slight brain damage, as he had a life threatening infection as a rescue pup. But, also, we found he reacted very badly to specific dog foods, or even if he stole the cat food. His metabolism went haywire, and he’d rush downstairs in the middle of the night to get out. If you couldn’t get there in time, too late. But, at least, it was linoleum in the kitchen. so, if it seems an unnatural amount of widdle for a pup, it might be worth looking at food sensitivity.

. My friend I walked with could tell if he’d been at the cat food by his wired behaviour!

 

[JoanneF]

Thanks @JudyN.

Toilet training happens when two things come together - the ABILITY to hold the toilet, along with the DESIRE to hold it in order to earn the reward for doing so. Ideally you want him to not be in a position where he needs to toilet before you have him outdoors, so that every toilet is outside - as far as possible, there will be accidents! So set him up to succeed by taking him out even more than he needs; for example every 45 minutes to an hour and always after sleeping, eating, playing. The time between a puppy realising they need to toilet, and being unable to hold that toilet, is zero. So your aim is to have him outside before he can't help himself. When he toilets outdoors make a huge fuss (never mind the neighbours, act like outdoor toileting is the best thing you have ever seen) and reward him with a high value treat. Do that immediately, don't make him come to you for the treat so he is clear that it's for toileting and not for coming to you. The idea is that he eventually wants to earn the treat enough to hold the toilet until he is outside - once he is physically able to control his toileting obviously. As he is actually performing the toilet you can introduce words he can associate with it (like 'do weewee' and 'busy busy') that later when he is reliably trained you can use these to tell him when you want him to toilet. If you take him out and he doesn't toilet after five minutes, bring him in but don't take your eyes off him. Any hint of a toilet inside, scoop him up and get him out fast. If he doesn't try to toilet indoors (great!) take him out a second time and repeat until you do get outside toilets. You need the outside toilet to happen SO that you can reward SO that he learns. If he has an accident inside don't react at all. If you get annoyed he may learn to fear your reaction and avoid you if he needs to toilet - the opposite of what you want. Dogs cant make the distinction between you being annoyed at him TOILETING, as opposed to toileting INDOORS. Take a rolled up newspaper and hit yourself over the head for not having taken him outside in time. Not when he is there though in case you scare him. Then clean the area with an enzymatic cleaner to remove any trace of smell that might attract him back to the spot. Indoors if you see him circling or scratching the floor, that can sometimes precede toileting so get him out fast. Overnight he is unlikely to be able to control his toilet as his little bladder and bowel are underdeveloped and not strong enough to hold all night so set your alarm to take him out at least once if not twice during the night.

I don't know if you are using them, but I really don't like puppy pads for toilet training puppies. They have their place for elderly, sick or injured dogs but for pups in training they give mixed messages about whether it's ok to toilet indoors and confuse the puppy.

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

Odds on you've got a looker on your hands. If your pup turns out to have them saluki eyes ...... don't fall in to the trap thinking butter wouldn't melt.
Number one rule with any lurcher/longdog .... never leave anything food wise laying around,in the blink of a eye it will be gone.
One important thing is to look after them young legs of the pup. Don't let it do too much running,especially hard running or things like stairs in a house. Ideally until your dogs legs have developed. We always wait until its 15 month old.It's a pain sometimes but what you gain in later life of your dog out weighs any hassle.

 

[Wolfspirit]

That’s going to be an interesting combination, size wise, especially at playtime. . Even with the whippet, your pup could turn out quite large, and will be very fast. It sounds bred for speed, covering distance very quickly. Eg., a whirrier (whippet/terrier is bred for rabbiting. A saluki cross would be a bit of overkill, so to speak, for that, more bred for deer, I imagine. It’s a combination I have no experience of, We did the same as you, but the other way round, introduced our toy dog to older lurchers, who were used to socialising with small ones, at agility, and they were very good with him, so they didn’t bowl him over or anything. Apparently, the KC describes the toy dog we have as robust enough to play with normal sized dogs like collies, spaniels, etc., not sure what size your chihuahua is? But, sighthounds are gorgeous, and love mooching about when at home. The ease of training often depends both in the characteristics of the breeds involved and the level of prey drive.

 

[Wolfspirit]

Thanks for that I am getting a little nervous over the possible end size of him. They just said his mum isn't that big

 

[DixD]

Is he from a rescue so you weren’t able to see his mum. If so, were they aware you had such a small dog at home? I’m not sure if pups are inclined to take after mother’s size so she can give birth ok, but Salukis are pretty tall, around 23” to 28” at the shoulder, and greyhounds can vary from reasonably dainty to enormous. Even working whippets can be quite substantial. Our lurcher stands 24” at the shoulder, and I consider him quite tall, once you add the head and neck on. Not sure what height JudyN’s dog is.

 

[JudyN]

Not sure what height JudyN’s dog is.

30" - but he has deerhound in his mix.

Size isn't necessarily a problem - your dog might be quite dainty in her behaviour rather than plonking a great big paw on your chi to bowl him over as a smaller but more rambunctious pup might. And a lot may depend on whether your chi makes it clear to her what type of interaction is OK and what isn't. Bear in mind that your chi will become more frail as he ages so err on the side of vetoing boisterous play.

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

Don't worry about the size,he won't be one of the big boys so to speak who make 28 - 32 tts.
What plans have you got for him in time, is he just going to be a pet

 

[Wolfspirit]

Thanks for your help.My Chi does tell him off but sometimes I step in. My friend and I were a bit unsure about where I got him from so didnt have any details really. He will just be a pet.
He had worms and fleas and hadn't anything else so I have had to start from strait he but we are getting there. I am lucky as just outside my garden is a common and a forest so he will get plenty of space to run in.
I am feeding him raw puppy he dropped a bit in weight and at the moment is 4.8kg I am feeding him 100g x 4 times daily.

 

[DixD]

A forest, and a common... Sounds like your saluki cross will have a lot of fun!

 

[Wolfspirit]

A forest, and a common... Sounds like your saluki cross will have a lot of fun!

Yep I am certainly lucky and can't wait until I can take him out

 

[Wolfspirit]

Is he from a rescue so you weren’t able to see his mum. If so, were they aware you had such a small dog at home? I’m not sure if pups are inclined to take after mother’s size so she can give birth ok, but Salukis are pretty tall, around 23” to 28” at the shoulder, and greyhounds can vary from reasonably dainty to enormous. Even working whippets can be quite substantial. Our lurcher stands 24” at the shoulder, and I consider him quite tall, once you add the head and neck on. Not sure what height JudyN’s dog is.

It was all a bit frantic when I picked him up and they had family are so it wasn't ideal. We will cope how ever he turns out cause I love him, lol

 

[Wolfspirit]

Thanks @JudyN.

Toilet training happens when two things come together - the ABILITY to hold the toilet, along with the DESIRE to hold it in order to earn the reward for doing so. Ideally you want him to not be in a position where he needs to toilet before you have him outdoors, so that every toilet is outside - as far as possible, there will be accidents! So set him up to succeed by taking him out even more than he needs; for example every 45 minutes to an hour and always after sleeping, eating, playing. The time between a puppy realising they need to toilet, and being unable to hold that toilet, is zero. So your aim is to have him outside before he can't help himself. When he toilets outdoors make a huge fuss (never mind the neighbours, act like outdoor toileting is the best thing you have ever seen) and reward him with a high value treat. Do that immediately, don't make him come to you for the treat so he is clear that it's for toileting and not for coming to you. The idea is that he eventually wants to earn the treat enough to hold the toilet until he is outside - once he is physically able to control his toileting obviously. As he is actually performing the toilet you can introduce words he can associate with it (like 'do weewee' and 'busy busy') that later when he is reliably trained you can use these to tell him when you want him to toilet. If you take him out and he doesn't toilet after five minutes, bring him in but don't take your eyes off him. Any hint of a toilet inside, scoop him up and get him out fast. If he doesn't try to toilet indoors (great!) take him out a second time and repeat until you do get outside toilets. You need the outside toilet to happen SO that you can reward SO that he learns. If he has an accident inside don't react at all. If you get annoyed he may learn to fear your reaction and avoid you if he needs to toilet - the opposite of what you want. Dogs cant make the distinction between you being annoyed at him TOILETING, as opposed to toileting INDOORS. Take a rolled up newspaper and hit yourself over the head for not having taken him outside in time. Not when he is there though in case you scare him. Then clean the area with an enzymatic cleaner to remove any trace of smell that might attract him back to the spot. Indoors if you see him circling or scratching the floor, that can sometimes precede toileting so get him out fast. Overnight he is unlikely to be able to control his toilet as his little bladder and bowel are underdeveloped and not strong enough to hold all night so set your alarm to take him out at least once if not twice during the night.

I don't know if you are using them, but I really don't like puppy pads for toilet training puppies. They have their place for elderly, sick or injured dogs but for pups in training they give mixed messages about whether it's ok to toilet indoors and confuse the puppy.

Thanks so much for your helpful and comical post. The tip about the pads makes a lot of sense. I am looking forward to when he can hold it, lol.

 

[JoanneF]

Yep I am certainly lucky and can't wait until I can take him out

It's a good idea to take him out in your arms or in a sling if it's easier, to get him introduced to the world from a safe place. If he isn't on the ground he will be safe from anything he might catch.

 

[Wolfspirit]

Yep - your pup is likely to be the devil incarnate on caffeine, and will need careful handling with your chi so he doesn't treat your chi as a very entertaining toy - how are they getting on together so far?

I don't have a saluki x but have known several and they can be quite wild. Make recall an absolute priority. Also, don't expect him to be like other dogs at training class. He is likely to regard all that 'sit', 'down', 'stand' nonsense as a waste of time and either go on strike and lie down for a snooze instead (if you're lucky) or turn into a kite in high wind (if you're not). He also might not actually be comfortable sitting, so don't push it (literally and figuratively' if he's not keen.

Some background reading: Walking Ollie and Along Came Dylan by Stephen Foster - hilarious, catches the saluki spirit brilliantly, though not to be regarded as a 'how to' guide I also recently found this article about lurchers in general: The lurcher - a designer cross-breed dog - Shooting UK

Also, this is a must-read: Lurchers for Beginners - greydogtales

AS for the widdling - would it be worth having him checked for a uti? @JoanneF is an expert on house training, so I've tagged her.

The links for good reads are well appreciated the more I can learn about sighthounds the better me thinks. PS what types of collars are best.

 

[Wolfspirit]

As I haven't had sighthounds before seeing my pups ribs and hips is freaking me out!! Is he starving am I feeding enough? What should he weigh? Worry, worry worry.
I just weighed him and he's 6.2kg @ 13 wks - whippet x Greyhound x sakuki he is on raw puppy mix and having 480g a day

 

[JudyN]

Almost certainly, he's doing fine and you're not underfeeding him. Some saluki crosses can be very bony when young, ... and even when fully mature. Could you post a side-on photo of him standing, and one of him standing where you're looking down on his back?

What are his poos like? How often, how bulky? And what raw puppy mix are you feeding?