Question About Serious Whippet Accidents

[Esty]

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With two neck breaks in the last 24 hours on here I am really worried about just how many of these serious accidents happen. I can't imagine how heartbreaking it is to lose a dog in its youth. One of the many reasons I got whippies was how long they live before you have that painful goodbye. Obviously I know that the problem is how fast and blindly they can run but it got me wondering just how common these tragic accidents are. I know we shouldn't wrap them in cotton wool (what kind of life would that be?) but are accidents common or is it just that with so many whippet people on here, we hear about every single one and it seems more common than statistically it is? Do they have many more accidents than other breeds of dogs?

Heart goes out to those who have lost a dog this way.

 

[Suerose]

Thanks for asking that question Esty, I've been wondering the same. Agree with you that keeping them in cotton wool is not an option, but would so hate anything to happen to my lovely girl. My heart goes out to those people and their whippets who are suffering at the moment.

 

[TC]

Hi Esty,

I lost my whippet on Sunday to a tragic fatal accident well before his time. He was simply running after a ball in the fields in front of our house. I have since found out (via a message from someone else) that two others have serious injuries.

All I can say is this is what I posted on another forum in answer to a similar statement from someone else...

I thought it might make me all worryheaded too but they are born to run and run they will so it won't stop me letting the others enjoy their speed and agility. What happened was a freak accident and the odds are very small of it happening again. I've read stories of whippets running into trees and other objects causing serious injury, I've had Winx snap his toe off on a pulley at lure coursing, Ruso cracked his leg this year on a pulley as well and I think you could try and protect them but that would be unfair to the breed that they are. You've seen them, they bloody love that lure just like yours do and the thought of not letting them do it because they *might* injure themselves doesn't cross my mind because I see and feel the adrenaline rush they get when they're chasing. I've always said they could injure themselves in the garden or running round the fields. How blooming right.
I've often thought about the fact that I am sure Badger will die in a fatal accident while chasing a bunny rather than old age, and have talked about it with Slipper before. I think I just expected Winx to be around til he was all really old and creaky and just slept all day with the odd walk when he felt like it, so I think that's why it's hit me so hard him going young. The sad thing is we've moved to a lovely big house with a really nice garden and we step outside the front door into fields. He'd only had a week of that bless him.

TCx

This is 100% how I feel and mine will continue to run as a pack enjoying their life as they know it. It won't stop me from getting other whippets in the future either. For me there is no other breed.

Please try not to worry, the odds are very small, it's jsut very sad that they've all come at once on this occasion and that can be a bit scary.

TCx

 

[anslinmcg]

Hi Esty,
I lost my whippet on Sunday to a tragic fatal accident well before his time. He was simply running after a ball in the fields in front of our house. I have since found out (via a message from someone else) that two others have serious injuries.

All I can say is this is what I posted on another forum in answer to a similar statement from someone else...

I thought it might make me all worryheaded too but they are born to run and run they will so it won't stop me letting the others enjoy their speed and agility. What happened was a freak accident and the odds are very small of it happening again. I've read stories of whippets running into trees and other objects causing serious injury, I've had Winx snap his toe off on a pulley at lure coursing, Ruso cracked his leg this year on a pulley as well and I think you could try and protect them but that would be unfair to the breed that they are. You've seen them, they bloody love that lure just like yours do and the thought of not letting them do it because they *might* injure themselves doesn't cross my mind because I see and feel the adrenaline rush they get when they're chasing. I've always said they could injure themselves in the garden or running round the fields. How blooming right.
I've often thought about the fact that I am sure Badger will die in a fatal accident while chasing a bunny rather than old age, and have talked about it with Slipper before. I think I just expected Winx to be around til he was all really old and creaky and just slept all day with the odd walk when he felt like it, so I think that's why it's hit me so hard him going young. The sad thing is we've moved to a lovely big house with a really nice garden and we step outside the front door into fields. He'd only had a week of that bless him.

TCx

This is 100% how I feel and mine will continue to run as a pack enjoying their life as they know it. It won't stop me from getting other whippets in the future either. For me there is no other breed.

Please try not to worry, the odds are very small, it's jsut very sad that they've all come at once on this occasion and that can be a bit scary.

TCx

I agree with Tracey.

 

[affieluver]

i too lost my dear girl due to a road accident in january and its something you can never prepare yourself for at the end of the day they love to run and like tracey its something i certainly wont deny them but i do worry about it all the time and even now im always thinking what if but all i do know is i would rather they went happy doing something they love because i have given them the chance to enjoy themselves than never seeing them run and enjoying life at all

i think they do tend to be more accident prone than most breeds but we probably do hear more about these things due to the forums but as tracey said these things just dont happen every day and i hope i never experience anything like it again

 

[dawn]

Totally agree with Tracey

It is something we are aware of but (try to) not worry about.

 

It is such pleasure to see the dogs in full flight in an open area, that is what having Whippets is all about.

 

Too many people keep them on a lead all the time 'So they don't hurt themselves' that it ruins the dog's life.

 

If you can't let them run free - either because their is nowhere suitable OR you feel it may damage them - don't have a Whippet.

 

By all means try your damnedest to prevent accidents but don't put your dog through the pain of not being able to do what the breed was bred for - running!

 

[masta]

i agree with previous posts, but would issue a warning re ball throwing i used to train mine with a ball catapult and had to have one of my dogs to a bone man as she was obviously was not right, when he checked her over the first thing he said was "do you throw balls for this dog" apprently her shoulders were in a right mess due to the stress of continous stopping to pick up the ball whilst travelling at topspeed , my dogs race and lure course and work but he said it was the repetative nature of ball throwing that caused these problems, and when i thought about it the dog tends to look up at the ball and then stoop to pickup many times in a session

 

[TC]

i agree with previous posts, but would issue a warning re ball throwing i used to train mine with a ball catapult and had to have one of my dogs to a bone man as she was obviously was not right, when he checked her over the first thing he said was "do you throw balls for this dog" apprently her shoulders were in a right mess due to the stress of continous stopping to pick up the ball whilst travelling at topspeed , my dogs race and lure course and work but he said it was the repetative nature of ball throwing that caused these problems, and when i thought about it the dog tends to look up at the ball and then stoop to pickup many times in a session

Yes, a good point from your expert. That's why I love the £1.99 ball thrower I bought a few years back as I like to be able to throw mine far enough so that they pick it up on the bounce. Not easy with my pathetic throw but with the ball thrower and a bit of practice it's easy to time it right so they can catch it as it bounces up from the ground. I don't get it right every time, but most of them!

I suppose another point to make to keep things as safe as possible is to teach the dogs their turn so they don't get in each other's way. Mine knew that the balls got thrown in the same name order everytime and they knew which ball was theirs so we didn't get any collisions. Not a worry really if you only have one but when you're throwing 5 in sucession it could have got hairy if the dogs all tried to get after every ball.

TCx

 

[beaubeau]

A running dog.. ( especially a pure sighthound) will be at a higher risk of injuries for obvious reasons but to have a running dog and not let it run would be cruel !!

 

Meg came back with this injury a few weeks ago... chasing a rabbit.. crashed a hedge and got spiked.. She had her stitches out and chasing again... that's what they do.

 

Sound advice from TC..... keep it as safe as you can and be aware of the dangers. It's the same when people allow more than one dog to run a rabbit.... :wacko: it's only a matter of time before the dogs get in each others way and bang !!.. IMO

 

Very sad to hear of the recent fatalities with these lovely dogs....

 

Tracey x

 

[eve]

I have kept whippets for 16 years and apart from lots of nicks and tears (one or two caused by infighting by siblings) I have been really lucky :luck: :luck: :luck:

My whippets are just pets and chase the usual, balls, frisbees rabbits and each other. I think that the spate of VERY serious injuries in that last few days is just REALLY BAD LUCK and my heart goes out to all involved

They are probably more liable to accidents because it is in their nature to chase things with total single mindedness.

They do however have the plus side of being a healthy breed with few of the problems seen in other breeds.

I have insured Toddy this year to help pay for any more costly accidents as he is a clumsy, bumbling Puppy.

I am at times wary of letting mine run free where there are a lot of things to chase but obvious risks (sheer drops etc)

BUT One of the joys of having a whippet is the glory of watching them run (quite apart from their amazing personalities and loving natures )

I could not imagine having any other kind of dog

 

[~Annie~]

I was told when I first started enquiring about the pro's and con's of whippets as a breed to expect injury not illness and so far this has been the case ... luckily though so far any injuries have only been minor.

For every serious accident I'm guessing that there will be a million minor ones. Finn is as dedicated to his ball as TC's Winx was and like TC I use a 'whanger' to ensure that mostly he catches it on the bounce. Only the other day he leapt, missed the ball, misjudged his landing and ended up rolling over and over like a kid on a grassy slope, his legs flailing everywhere and me with my heart in my mouth ... but he was fine, and mostly they will be. It is only the unlucky few who will have to endure the agony that poor TC, who my heart truly bleeds for, is experiencing.

Yesterday I decided to walk the boys in the woods rather than go to the green and throw balls ... stupidly it felt safer ... but Tyg and Finn decided to have a mad chase in just the wrong place (some recently coppiced wood) and even though I called them straight back in the few seconds they'd been crashing about Finn had managed to sustain a 2 inch cut in his leg, luckily not too deeply but borderline as to whether we needed the vet and I'm keeping a very careful eye on it.

I think all we can do is try to make sure that our dogs run and chase in as safe an environment as possible, e.g. if I run mine somewhere new they don't go off lead until I've sussed out any holes in the ground, sheer drops, etc. .. because the one thing we should never do is stop them running.

Annie

 

[haycroft]

i echo with the advice given above..Bow loves her ball and yes i have a thrower aswell and like TC has said i try and throw the ball and Bow catches it at the bounce but not all the time...and its not everyday im playing ball with them,sometimes i take her on the bike,field, L/C/race and if shes really lucky down the beach

Peggy cant do all of this due to her accident but i do question myself is she enjoying life..and i think she is atm she certainly not in any pain but there will be a time when i would have to make that dreadful decision(for the ones who dont know she has had a spinal injury/spinal cord damage)

yes some whippets can be accident prone...Bow has just had the old scratch where peggy has had a serious accident or two

Theres so many whippets out it would be nice if someone knew the percentage of serious accient and fatel ones...But you cant stop this breed of dog doing what its bred to do...its an athelete and running machine...if we live our lives with too many ifs and buts we wouldnt do anything and have the fun and joy a whippet brings

These dogs are alot tougher than most people think inspite their lighter frame compared to other breeds

im so glad for our first dog we decided on a whippet

 

[jinnyfizz]

I have two lame dogs at the moment - Poacher and Irie.

Both separate incidents and both caused whilst coursing/running/chasing - don't know the precise cause though.

In each case the shoulder muscle is damaged and rest plus meloxicam is the treatment.

Their injuries could have been far worse but on this occasion they were lucky.

Irie has also run headlong into a muck trailer chassis and survived, albeit with an extremely painful and stiff neck for a week or two.

I do insure mine, for which I am thankful because I have had numerous vet bills for stitches etc already, but I shall keep letting them run because they are born for it and their enjoyment of life is paramount to me

 

[Esty]

Thanks for the replies, especially TC as things must be raw for you

 

I wouldn't ever stop my boys running together in safe areas as it just wouldn't be fair - there's few things match the exhilaration of watching them run and I don't know how they would maintain their muscley good looks without a good run!. I had toyed with the idea of racing/ coursing them but have made the decision not to do this now. I know others do, and in many ways a managed course is safer than a local walk, but it's a personal decision at the end of the day. I don't throw balls for them because it just makes them barge and fight anyway - being so evenly matched they just need each other for a good chase. When they do take tumbles they seem to do it with a gymnastic lightness and even though it looks grim they are so used to it they tend to roll with it - perhaps other breeds would be more clumsy in the same situation?

I guess what I was wondering is as haycroft questioned - what percentage of whippet deaths are caused by accidents as opposed to illness and how does it compare to other breeds? It would be a morbid job to collect the data on that and would be upsetting.

 

Even in the light of recent events I'd still only have hounds now :wub:

 

[meddling]

This Data is causes of death for whippets, I've highlighted the accidental death, this is from a small sample though, under 500

Full survey is here - http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/download/1642/hswhippet.pdf

Mortality data

A total of 486 deaths were reported and this represents 3.06% of all deaths reported in the

survey (486/15,881). The median age at death for Whippets was 12 years and 10 months

(min = 2 months, max = 18 years and 2 months) and this was higher than the overall median

of 11 years and 3 months (Figure 1). Table 1 shows the causes of death for Whippets. Age

at death is presented for the most common causes of death

Cause of death N % Most common specific causes in descending order

1 Old age 130 26.7 Old age & age combinations

2 Cardiac 67 13.8 Heart failure; heart defect unspec.; heart attack; cardiomegaly; MVD

3 Cancer 50 10.3 Unspecified; brain tumour; lymphoma; throat (unspec)

4 Urologic 31 6.4 Kidney failure (chronic>acute)

5 Trauma 28 5.8 Unspecified; road traffic accident; attacked by dog; spinal injury

6 Cerebral vascular 26 5.3 Stroke or cerebral vascular accident

7 Combinations 23 4.7

8 Neurologic 23 4.7 Seizures; spinal disease (unspec); IVDD

9 Other 15 3.1 Uncodeable; unspecified:

10 Immune mediated 13 2.7 Unspecified; AIHA; thrombocytopaenia

11 Gastrointestinal 11 2.3 Gastroenteritis; pancreatitis; unspecified

12 Unknown 10 2.1

13 Endocrine 9 1.9 Cushings disease; diabetes mellitus; Addisons disease

14 Hepatic 9 1.9 Liver failure (chronic>acute); cholangiohepatitis

15 Reproductive 6 1.2 Pyometra; prostatic disease

16 Behaviour 5 1.0 Unspecified; aggression; rage syndrome

17 Musculoskeletal 5 1.0 Arthritis; brittle bones from steroids; joint pain

18 Respiratory 5 1.0 Pneumonia; rhinitis; lung lobe torsion; respiratory failure

19 Senility 4 0.8

20 Internal bleeding 3 0.6

21 Sudden death 3 0.6

22 Perioperative 2 0.4

23 PSS 1 0.2 Portosystemic shunt

24 Collapse 1 0.2

25 Dermatologic 1 0.2 Chronic skin infections

26 Drowning 1 0.2

27 Ocular 1 0.2 Glaucoma

28 Poisoning 1 0.2

29 Septicaemia 1 0.2

30 Systemic 1 0.2 Allergy to insect bite or sting or snake bite

Total 486 100.0

 

[Suerose]

Thank you, it is encouraging to see that by far the majority of whippets die of old age (at least from that sample). I've told Grace I am ordering her zimmer frame now.

 

[pippywhippet]

Hi,, I lost my first whippy Isis over 10 years ago- she broke her back after she lost her footing jumping a dry stone wall. She was not a silly puppy, she was 10 yrs old and it happened in a second, my Ridgie and my other whippy had run up the hill on the far side of the wall, and Isis jumped to join them I was heartbroken and it does still haunt me.

Sometimes I watch my 3 with my heart in my mouth, but my pleasure at their joy and speed and exuberance is usually my overriding feeling They would be sad and frustrated to be always kept on a lead

My heart goes out to the people whose dogs have been injured recently.

 

[jinnyfizz]

my pleasure at their joy and speed and exuberance is usually my overriding feeling

One of the decision factors in the prescribing of drugs for humans, which may have undesirable side effects, is to assess whether the benefit outweighs the risk in the patient.

I think this is the same with our whippets and, by the look of Clair's (meddling's) research data, the risk is fairly low compared to the huge benefit of happy whippets :thumbsup:

 

[Salty]

On a german weblog whippet owners could "vote" w.r.t. a poll question regarding accidents some two year ago..... it turned out that 1 in 6 whippets of those german owners had a fatal accident - i.e. running into an obstacle such as a fence, into another whippet or being hit by a car. It is scary information, and I always keep this in mind when I walk my dogs. I try to have eyes in my back as well ;>))

 

[fallenangel]

i dont think i have a whippet or greyhound that doesnt ave a scare of some size through charging about like loonys. its what they do and what they love. I know like most your hart in your mouth as the charge about but they love it and i would rather lose one of mine thats had a full and happy life even if short than one never being a whippet. even or indy with her dodgey bones runs round with he others and has a fab time and shes very high risk of a knock or bang doing her serius damedge but at the end of the day hes a whiippet and born to run. The only thing I have tryed to teach mine in verying degrees is if i shout steady it means slow down. its worked a few times even with forrets last week as he head strate for a fend post flat out twice. shouting stead just slowed him enghe to spot and aviod it.

when i used to do alot with rescue its amazing who many fisrt time sighthound owners tell you there dog they have from a rescue must ahve been mistreted cos of all the scars it has on its legs. when you look its all nick and grazes from running about. all mine must look like abused dogs then lol. let whippet be whippets if not you might as well get a pug