Whippet Advice Please

[Lynnie]

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Hello everyone,

I've been wanting a dog for some time and after much persuasion my landlady and also hubby agreed. I had my mind set on a whippet as I thought I had done extensive research on the breed, and eventually found a cute black puppy and put a deposit on her. I am due to collect her in a couple of weeks but I am worried after reading your comments on here mainly due to destruction (I've seen the photos) and cats. As I live in rented accommodation I really can't have a dog that is going to be very destructive (although I realise that all pups like to chew etc. but having yorkies in the past these haven't been a problem). Also, I have 2 gorgeous cats who are my first priority as they are already with me, and although I am happy to monitor the situation, I don't want to become a nervous wreck each time they wander out of my sight. So, I would dearly love to be owned by a whippet but the last thing I want is to have to rehome her due to problems with the above. I'd love to know your honest thoughts on this please.

 

[Esty]

Hi Lynnie

I've got two whippets aged 5 months and although there have been a few minor incidents, nothing to worry your landlady about. Just make sure the pup has plenty of chew toys and, when older, is exercised well before you leave her alone - and of course gradually build up leaving her alone to a max of 4 hours so she doesn't develop separation anxiety. Note that whippets can and do develop sep. anxiety so it's something you need to be aware of. Mine seem better because I don't leave them for long (fortunately I don't work at the moment) and of course they have each other for company. The most they've done is chewed a small section of wallpaper and some paintwork around the kitchen door, both of which look a mess but can be fixed. There's loads of advice on here if you look through the Frequently Asked Questions.

I also have a cat and was really worried at first - I thought he would put them in their place when they were little but he didn't, he let them crawl all over him and looked terrified for a few weeks which made me feel horrible as he was here first. Now they are bigger though he is standing up to them more and in the last couple of days I've seen him stand on his hind feet and really lash out at them and they've got the message now. He's learned that if he walks slowly they don't chase and they do all lie on the sofa together if I'm there, too. However, no matter how good they seem, never leave them together unsupervised, because instinct can kick in. It was worse at first I think because it was two dogs on one cat. You should have no problems with two adult cats and one puppy. She'll learn very quickly, as someone put it on here, that cats are 'spikey'!

The pics of destruction you've seen are startling but not the norm!

 

[Lynnie]

Hi LynnieI've got two whippets aged 5 months and although there have been a few minor incidents, nothing to worry your landlady about. Just make sure the pup has plenty of chew toys and, when older, is exercised well before you leave her alone - and of course gradually build up leaving her alone to a max of 4 hours so she doesn't develop separation anxiety. Note that whippets can and do develop sep. anxiety so it's something you need to be aware of. Mine seem better because I don't leave them for long (fortunately I don't work at the moment) and of course they have each other for company. The most they've done is chewed a small section of wallpaper and some paintwork around the kitchen door, both of which look a mess but can be fixed. There's loads of advice on here if you look through the Frequently Asked Questions.

I also have a cat and was really worried at first - I thought he would put them in their place when they were little but he didn't, he let them crawl all over him and looked terrified for a few weeks which made me feel horrible as he was here first. Now they are bigger though he is standing up to them more and in the last couple of days I've seen him stand on his hind feet and really lash out at them and they've got the message now. He's learned that if he walks slowly they don't chase and they do all lie on the sofa together if I'm there, too. However, no matter how good they seem, never leave them together unsupervised, because instinct can kick in. It was worse at first I think because it was two dogs on one cat. You should have no problems with two adult cats and one puppy. She'll learn very quickly, as someone put it on here, that cats are 'spikey'!

The pics of destruction you've seen are startling but not the norm!

Thanks for that Esty, you've put my mind at rest a lot. The only thing that worries me (and I forgot to mention) is that one cat is 18 months and the other just 4 months, they race around everywhere, especially the youngest one as she is still a kitten, and even my older one is very small for her age, is this a potential disaster?

Luckily I don't work so they only time my pup would be left is for a couple of hours at the weekend but at that time I would certainly seperate her from the cats.

 

[Esty]

Hi LynnieI've got two whippets aged 5 months and although there have been a few minor incidents, nothing to worry your landlady about. Just make sure the pup has plenty of chew toys and, when older, is exercised well before you leave her alone - and of course gradually build up leaving her alone to a max of 4 hours so she doesn't develop separation anxiety. Note that whippets can and do develop sep. anxiety so it's something you need to be aware of. Mine seem better because I don't leave them for long (fortunately I don't work at the moment) and of course they have each other for company. The most they've done is chewed a small section of wallpaper and some paintwork around the kitchen door, both of which look a mess but can be fixed. There's loads of advice on here if you look through the Frequently Asked Questions.

I also have a cat and was really worried at first - I thought he would put them in their place when they were little but he didn't, he let them crawl all over him and looked terrified for a few weeks which made me feel horrible as he was here first. Now they are bigger though he is standing up to them more and in the last couple of days I've seen him stand on his hind feet and really lash out at them and they've got the message now. He's learned that if he walks slowly they don't chase and they do all lie on the sofa together if I'm there, too. However, no matter how good they seem, never leave them together unsupervised, because instinct can kick in. It was worse at first I think because it was two dogs on one cat. You should have no problems with two adult cats and one puppy. She'll learn very quickly, as someone put it on here, that cats are 'spikey'!

The pics of destruction you've seen are startling but not the norm!

Thanks for that Esty, you've put my mind at rest a lot. The only thing that worries me (and I forgot to mention) is that one cat is 18 months and the other just 4 months, they race around everywhere, especially the youngest one as she is still a kitten, and even my older one is very small for her age, is this a potential disaster?

Luckily I don't work so they only time my pup would be left is for a couple of hours at the weekend but at that time I would certainly seperate her from the cats.

Hi again - even though the cats are young they still have the edge over the whippie in age and the fact there are two of them. The kitten and whippie will probably play rough and tumble but as long as you are there, the whippie should learn 'leave' or 'no' when she's getting too rough. Just watch the pups eyes - cats can be mean when they get going

 

[~Sarah~]

Hi, and welcome to K9. :thumbsup:

I have two whippet girls, now aged 5 yrs and nearly 3 yrs.

One I had as a puppy, and the other at 10 months. I really don't think they are any more destructive than any other breed. I have always crate trained mine from the start and found this very beneficial. You then know they are safe and also not being destructive, and it also assists with house training. They then treat it as their little space. They should be provided with suitable toys in the crate. Obviously they should not be left in the crate for long periods. I don't need one for them nowadays, although have one which they happily go in (we use it for our Collie X who has phobias about fireworks, gunshot noises etc, so he feels safer in the crate when necessary).

Mine were not bad chewers, but more opportunistic if something was left lying around. My OH doesn't seem to be very dog 'aware' and would leave things (like pencils/biros) lying around. :- However, we don't really work now, so they are not left for long periods.

As already said, it is important to excercise them before they are left, if possible. (Not too much for a young pup though). I find my two sleep for most of the day. -_- -_-

I would say they are a far easier breed than our Collie X, who although is now 10 is still far more 'on the go' than the whippets.

Good luck with whatever you decide. :luck: :luck:

 

[jazad]

Hi

I have two pups as well - a little younger than Esty's, mine are crate trained too and I think this is hugely beneficial to all of the other training that you need to do. They do chew and scratch (I've never had dogs before so I have no clue as to whether it's more or less than with another breed), but that bitter stop chew spray does work (although it smells minging!) - vinegar (which I also tried) doesn't!

What I find most interesting is that the breed standard describes them as an ideal companion - which they are, very bouncy and very friendly.

Good luck and as Esty says - loads of advice etc in the FAQs (just avert your eyes from the dog who chewed half a door!) 8)

zahra

 

[teachtrinity]

Hi Lynnie

I have a 5 month old whippet called Molly and 2 cats, Jack and Ellie who are 3 years old. The cats have always lived with a dog but a puppy is considerably different to an elderly 14 year old! The best thing we did was get some stair gates to give the cats somewhere to go away from Molly, she cant go upstairs or in the living room, but one of the cats is a bit lazy (and fat!) and wont jump over the gates but I'm sure he could if he needed too! Molly is pretty good with the cats, Ellie just ignores her so Molly ignores Ellie, Jack tries to play with her and they can get a bit rough but it is only playing. As far as chewing goes the stairgates help with that as well since everywhere Molly can go on her own doesnt have much she can damage, if she has started to nibble on things we spray grannicks bitter apple spray. Hope this helps a bit, there will be loads more helpful info on here for you

Good luck with your new pup

Gaynor

x

 

[Nicola]

Just keep plenty of chew friendly toys and frozen carrots handy at the teething stage and don't leave things lying around. Pop the pup in a crate when you go out (get them crate trained first) as long as it's for no longer than the recommended max time in a crate.

Most of the damage occurs to furniture when they are unsupervised, so if you can keep an eye on the pup for most of the day you'll be fine, and ensure they are chewing on a permitted toy, you should be fine. Just don't let them out of your sight for longer than 5 mins.... (w00t)

Whippet pups will sleep a lot after bouts of playing, so it's not as burdensome as it sounds......

 

[k4tie-d]

Most of the damage occurs to furniture when they are unsupervised,

yes this is true, but usually our house the toilet roll is the first thing they go for when they are board.

i found my 2 arnt keen on dog chew toys, but love my sons power rangers or my little girls barbies,

i think now every power ranger or barbie has at the very least a leg missing :-

we have 2, 11month old whippets and 2, 7year old cats, they get on fine, never left alone together, we always have the whippets in a crate at night or if we go out.

but they get along just fine

good luck with your new pup,

remeber you can never have just one whippet :lol:

 

[rls22]

We have 6 whippets and one whippet X none of them have ever destroyed anything major - no furniture, kitchen cupboards, phones, remotes etc, only things left lying around like toys and shoes. I think that is a natural thing for any puppy to do and can easily be remedied by not leaving things like that around as temptation for them. The worst chewer we had was Holly who had a penchant for shoes, she grew out of this by 12 months. The litter of pups she had last year have all also been fantastic and non-destructive apart from the odd childs toy etc.

I do not think that whippets are on the whole a destructive breed, certainly not in comparison to some.

 

[Macha]

I've found that no matter how many chew toys they have, they will still look for other things to chew. And a whippet can jump on places that a Yorkie couldn't get at. But you'll be able to keep a close eye on your pup and contain him/her (probably in a crate) for short periods when you are out, so it should work out fine.

 

[Blossom]

I have a Whippet, just the one hehe, had him since he was 8 weeks old and as a pup he never chewed anything - in fact he is more destructive now, but not with furnishing just "things"! I do have other dogs, but it is defintiely Harley!

I also breed and show pedigree cats and do have the odd litter racing around every now and again and this has never posed a problem at all.

Good luck

 

[Noise]

mine hasn't destroyd anything, unlike the cavalier :-

I'd also like to point out that the cat can also cause damage to the dog, so you always have to be careful

 

[nicky12]

well my boys used to be a nightmare look up my thread destruction ,then we moved to rented accomadation so got two crates and if i have to go out they go in ther and no chewed furniture or doors since

 

[caitlin]

Hi

My whippet has destroyed half a glazed kitchen door - she has nearly chewed and scratched out the glass panes. She would do this sometimes when left alone for just half an hour and do nothing to it when left for three hours!! We had owned her for about 3 or 4 months before she even started doing it and she no longer does it now. She is still a chewer of other things, toys mostly and pine cones which she collects from the park. One of the best cures for this sort of thing is exercise - and, of course, not working and being with them most of the time. (I have never used a crate as our whippet came to us 4 years old and also, I don't think I have room for a crate in my kitchen). If it was a rented property we could just replace the door before 'handing back' the property.

Also, another point - we had had our bitch just a week when, on a walk, she was scratched in the eyeball by a cat, which made a flap on her cornea and an ulcer. It is one of the most painful things a dog can experience and necessitated a minor op and lots of follow-up appointments at the vets. The whole thing cost about £200 but the eye is fine and you would not know it had happened. IMO you will have to be more careful of what the cats will do to the dog - you would not want your dog to get a scratched eyeball!!

Regards

Caitlin

 

[rls22]

Just so you are not worried - the previous poster is describing something that really is not normal whippet behaviour. So don't think that you will be faced with that situation!!!

 

[Lynnie]

Thanks for all your input everyone, it's much appreciated and has given me a lot of useful advice. I'll post pics when I get my pup

 

[Kimbo]

Hi Lynnie

I have one whippet - Otis who is now 7 1/2 months old. When he came home he was moving in with 6 cats! I was more worried for Otis than the cats and I trimmed my cats front claws so they would not be able to do as much damage if they scratched him - especially in his eyes. Two of the cats adore him and mooch around him, headbutt him when he is trying to eat his dinner and tease him beyond belief. The others can take or leave him - but they co-habitate! They are getting braver and will try and eat his dinner when he is eating it.

Otis is also a crate trained baby and loves it - he knows when we say "bedtime" he just mooches in and waits for his blanky to be put on top of him and tucked in with a kiss and a cuddle.

The only thing he has destroyed is my husband's sheepskin slippers! -_- . I believe he was silly enough to leave them lying around - and a Whippet will take the opportunity!

He has an old sheepskin which I have cut up which he loves chewing now - instead of the new slippers I had to buy.

So far - touch wood he hasn't done any damage to the house.

Otis is my first dog ever - and I researched what breed I wanted for ages - I am so glad I have a whippy in my life.

 

[caitlin]

Just so you are not worried - the previous poster is describing something that really is not normal whippet behaviour. So don't think that you will be faced with that situation!!!

Ivy was not amused when I told her she wasn't 'normal'!! Yes, I agree that not all whippets do this - but I think they are rather needy dogs sometimes. It depends what your priority is with a dog - mine is definitely that the dog is gentle and Ivy certainly is. My two young children dress her up and sit in her bed and she has bitten them only once, when her eye was ulcerated from the cat scratch. I never have to worry that she will be aggressive to other dogs or people when we go out and this is a great relief, as I'm sure most whippet owners will agree.

Some time ago, there was a survey in the paper about the cost of certain breeds during a lifetime and the whippet was in the top ten (presumably because of chewing?). I can't remember whether this was before or after Ivy's door-chewing, but I was a bit surprised to see that.

I wouldn't like to tell someone what to do, but I think if you're going to be with your whippet most of the time then you should not really have a problem with chewing.

Good luck choosing a puppy - can't wait to see the pictures!

 

[NickyVN]

Kendall is just over 5 months now and was moving in with a miserable 12 year old cat not used to dogs. We had to watch them at first as she would swipe at him if he got too close but we never left them unsupervised, now they will lie next to each other and she only hisses at him when he pushes his luck with her - she is definitely the boss. I too got a stair gate so the cat has areas she can go to get away from him if he gets too much.

He has not been destructive at all, he is crate trained though, but will steal biro's tissues etc to shred.

He is the best thing we ever did.