Off Lead Whippets

[~elizabeth~]

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Off-lead walking is not synonymous with apalling recall, I think there is an assumption on this thread that it is.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that

Sorry Helen, you didn't and I didn't actually mean you :b - I was clumsily agreeing with you that even in circumstances where whips are well-trained and reliable there can be lapses. I worry equally about people with young dogs that never experience off-lead play/socialisation with other dogs, and those who are very categorical about the obedience of a sighthound; I dont' think it can ever be assumed to be 100% and it is safer to have practised backup techniques like noise distraction just in case.

:sweating: the internet is a blunt tool

 

[larv]

Mine are off lead exercised twice daily but hats off to anyone who can say, hand on heart, that their Whippet is 100% safe around deer ..................................

[SIZE=14pt]I WISH!!!![/SIZE]  (w00t)  

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Ok so I did cheat a bit! I know that white bobbing deer tail really gets the wippi going....but I am fortunate enough to have hand reared six fallow deer fawns, who spent thier early days sleeping on the sofa with the wippi, and now actually solicit play with the wippi....trouble is, they are now faster than and to rough for all but one of the dogs, so they are treated with a bit of respect...it's often the deer which chase the wippi out of the paddock....very comical! You can take your hat off me for successfully rearing them though...its not easy and one of the hardest things I ever put myself through, though the rewards of herd of deer as tame as nanny goats are beyond description.

 

[Seraphina]

Mine are off lead exercised twice daily but hats off to anyone who can say, hand on heart, that their Whippet is 100% safe around deer ..................................

[SIZE=14pt]I WISH!!!![/SIZE]  (w00t)  

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Ok so I did cheat a bit! I know that white bobbing deer tail really gets the wippi going....but I am fortunate enough to have hand reared six fallow deer fawns, who spent thier early days sleeping on the sofa with the wippi, and now actually solicit play with the wippi....trouble is, they are now faster than and to rough for all but one of the dogs, so they are treated with a bit of respect...it's often the deer which chase the wippi out of the paddock....very comical! You can take your hat off me for successfully rearing them though...its not easy and one of the hardest things I ever put myself through, though the rewards of herd of deer as tame as nanny goats are beyond description.

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That is lovely, any pics? Please!

 

[dessie]

Off-lead walking is not synonymous with apalling recall, I think there is an assumption on this thread that it is.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that Indeed, I think that off-lead walking is synonymous with good recall, or else a person wouldn't be confident enough to let the dog off-lead if they didn't think they were going to be able to call it back. :unsure: I was simply saying that good recall in most situations does not apply to my dog when there are deer in the vicinity, or even when deer have been in the vicinity. She will hunt them down by smell, even if they aren't visible, and at that point I cannot recall her. The point I was making is that it doesn't seem to matter how much I train and reinforce, because at all other times she will come to my call within 30 seconds... however if she's after deer, I could be as enticing as a human made entirely of sausage and cheese, but I am less enticing than a deer :thumbsup:

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Tell me about it!! You have just described Rupert exactly Helen!!! :b Mine also hunt pheasant by scent so they must be very 'gamey' as well! Luckily and bizarrely, my lot are not particularly interested in foxes. They will give chase if they actually see one, but very half heartedly. Of course, rolling in their poo is another matter ..................................... :wacko: :wub: LOL!

 

[~Helen~]

Mine are off lead exercised twice daily but hats off to anyone who can say, hand on heart, that their Whippet is 100% safe around deer ..................................

[SIZE=14pt]I WISH!!!![/SIZE]  (w00t)  

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

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Ok so I did cheat a bit! I know that white bobbing deer tail really gets the wippi going....but I am fortunate enough to have hand reared six fallow deer fawns, who spent thier early days sleeping on the sofa with the wippi, and now actually solicit play with the wippi....trouble is, they are now faster than and to rough for all but one of the dogs, so they are treated with a bit of respect...it's often the deer which chase the wippi out of the paddock....very comical! You can take your hat off me for successfully rearing them though...its not easy and one of the hardest things I ever put myself through, though the rewards of herd of deer as tame as nanny goats are beyond description.

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(w00t) Fantastic!!!

You lucky thing - although that is cheating :- " Maybe you should run whippet-tolerance classes a bit like those spider aversion therapy sessions where you have to hold a tarantula in your hand if you're scared of spiders:lol: :clown:

Yes, please let's have some pictures. What a delightful household you must have :wub:

 

[larv]

Mine are off lead exercised twice daily but hats off to anyone who can say, hand on heart, that their Whippet is 100% safe around deer ..................................

[SIZE=14pt]I WISH!!!![/SIZE]  (w00t)  

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

Ok so I did cheat a bit! I know that white bobbing deer tail really gets the wippi going....but I am fortunate enough to have hand reared six fallow deer fawns, who spent thier early days sleeping on the sofa with the wippi, and now actually solicit play with the wippi....trouble is, they are now faster than and to rough for all but one of the dogs, so they are treated with a bit of respect...it's often the deer which chase the wippi out of the paddock....very comical! You can take your hat off me for successfully rearing them though...its not easy and one of the hardest things I ever put myself through, though the rewards of herd of deer as tame as nanny goats are beyond description.

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(w00t) Fantastic!!!

You lucky thing - although that is cheating :- " Maybe you should run whippet-tolerance classes a bit like those spider aversion therapy sessions where you have to hold a tarantula in your hand if you're scared of spiders:lol: :clown:

Yes, please let's have some pictures. What a delightful household you must have :wub:

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[Indee]

I had a bit of a "to-do" with some American tourists yesterday. They were standing on the other side of a gate looking at a map when one of them opened the gate, we were walking towards its and when she noticed us she slammed the gate shut, I called down that it was okay for them to go through and she said "We are scared of dogs". I said sorry and called Milo and Riley to me (which they looked like little angels cos they sat down at my side!) and held their collars expecting them to come through the gate. I was standing there like a muppet so said "Are you coming through?" the man said Oh sorry and opened the gate for me. I walked through and when I was passed let go of Milo and Rileys collars. Now I know my dogs do not approach people unless it is someone they know, or someone obviously wants to say hello to them (or worse case they are eating a picnic) and good as gold they walked off a head. This section of the walk is a marshy woodland on the side of the lake, gated at both ends. The end I had just been walking on is a mile long drive way. The other said is a field which 95% of the time has livestock in and I always lead them through here. When I'd passed the woman shouted it was "The law to leash your dogs" I said- umm not that I know of. She pointed at the gate which read "please keep your dogs under control" It's the law see.

I said no, it mentions nothing about putting them on leads.

She said it’s said on that gate the next and the next, and those dogs had to be on a leash.

I said “No, they do not have to be on a lead it is advising that if your dog is not reliable maybe you should keep him on a lead or a close watchful eye on him. The only law about keeping a dog on a lead is when walking through a field of livestock.”

“It’s the law here, and your breaking it dogs are not allowed off the lead in England.” She said

“I’m sorry madam, that you are afraid of dogs, because they are truly wonderful animals. I have lived in this area for a very long time and walk my dogs on this route almost everyday. I know some of the National Trust wardens who work down here and I have never once been told by them or any authoritive figure to lead my dogs on this or any of the following sections of this walk. Now I’m going to keep my dogs off their leads and hopefully return to the peaceful walk that I was on.” And then I stalked off.

My dogs may not be perfect at recall, but they are 95% of the time, which is good enough for me. I do not let my dogs off lead on bridleways (incase of bikes or horses) and I do not let them off lead in an area that is not fenced (There is some woodland round here that goes straight onto the road and…… lets just say deer are put into the equation!!!) and I do not let them off in fields with livestock in. Off lead walking is better for dogs in my view, especially for Milo who has been attacked by a dog on a lead resulting in him occasionally (very hit or miss, it’s usually if they are bigger then him!!) being highly aggressive with other dogs while leaded, but a perfect gentleman off.

 

[Janimal]

Sorry about your 'do' Indee, you do meet some very strange people out walking dont you :blink: :- "

I also walk mine off the leader on most occasions.

 

[~elizabeth~]

I had a bit of a "to-do" with some American tourists yesterday. They were standing on the other side of a gate looking at a map when one of them opened the gate, we were walking towards its and when she noticed us she slammed the gate shut, I called down that it was okay for them to go through and she said "We are scared of dogs".

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Yes, I've had that a few times too; I had a confrontation with an American couple last week as well.

That's what I mean about some people with dog phobia always choosing to walk where they must know they will meet dogs. We have a lot of foreign tourists who like to walk to the pubs in the middle of the meadows here, and some of them are visibly terrified of dogs. Out of politeness you call your dog away or put the lead on, but again it comes down to a respecting how things are done in a particular area, and that means they should repect this too. I would do exactly the same as you did, and point out firmly what any local by-laws state.

If I go abroad I read up about and am prepared put up with the odd habits of the locals out of politeness; why can't visitors here do the same :angry: Pity help if they ever visit Thailand, you can't move for wandering dogs in some areas, something that seemed to cause a lot of distress to some Australian and US tourists.

 

[wilfred]

I love to see my dogs running free and I enjoy watching them as much as they enjoy running, I think!

Their recall is extremely good (ie in that they have never refused to come back and come back first time, every time). I always walk them on the lead where there is livestock but I appreciate not every other dog walker wants dogs they don't know (ie, mine!) bouncing up to their dogs so as far as I can I let them off and throw balls and stuff for my dogs, so they are not tempted to run after other dogs and nick their toys!

We had an "incident" on a local beach last week, we'd found a lovely "deserted" bit and I'd just let my boys off ... a family with 3 bedlingtons came marching down and let their dogs off; of course my youngster loved the beddy racing up to him, and they shot off together.

The "delightful" family roared like nobody's business at their dogs - I called my whippies back and put them on lead again for a minute, to let the beddys get further up the beach. Their dogs were lovely, but the people were a bit rough :b :b

Then we wandered off down the beach in the opposite direction and encountered a very fat sheltie being thrown a ball, so that set mine off wanting to chase balls - the sheltie people looked a bit bemused - possibly they might have thought the noise from mine meant he had vicious intentions towards the sheltie! :lol:

But no, I reassured them, I let my boys off again and threw their own ball for them and they ignored sheltie and its owners.

when walking along the path back from the beach to the carpark, tho, I always put the dogs on-lead ... and recently a German man was walking towards us, so I moved off the narrow path and put my dogs in a "sit" so he could see that he could pass without being bounced on. But no, he stopped dead about 10 feet away and called that he was afraid of dogs, so we moved ourselves further into the undergrowth so he could hurry past.

I find it extremely sad that so many people are afraid of dogs (and misunderstand the "keep your dogs under control" notices, like the Americans who hassled Indee). Have this always been the case, or are people getting worse with being anti-dog?

 

[~elizabeth~]

I find it extremely sad that so many people are afraid of dogs (and misunderstand the "keep your dogs under control" notices, like the Americans who hassled Indee).  Have this always been the case, or are people getting worse with being anti-dog?

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So do I. I think it is because, as dogs are increasingly better looked after and restrained for their own safety and well-being, non-doggy people have increasingly less and less contact with dogs. I didn't have the luxury of growing up to be afraid of dogs; everyone let their dogs loose; every roundabout on the estates had it's own happy resident pack. We also had horses that wandered freely everywhere, including gardens, too. You had to learn to live with them, and handle them without fear. It was actually very nice growing up with them, wherever you played you had at least one doggy companion. I'm glad it has eventually changed, as many roaming horses and dogs were, sadly, extremely neglected.

Re. foreigner visitors, you have to be slightly careful as they may come from countries where there is rabies or which genuinely regard dogs are vermin (so may have a similar reaction to them that some people might have to rats here), which you have to bear in mind as it does sometimes mean they have stronger reactions, but I think it is important to demonstrate to visitors that dogs are a normal part of life here, and demand respect for them.