Whippets And Pet Rabbits

[Cal]

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Hi Everyone,

I was brought up with working Lurchers many years ago and now having a young family myself we are planning to get a Whippet pup early next year mainly as a pet but also perhaps to race.

However, we have a problem in that we have two pet Rabbits which we all love and that spend time free in the garden. I am aware that this may be considered a silly question but does anyone believe it it possible to train/socialize a Whippet (if introduced to them from 6wks old) to ignore the pet rabbits perhaps while encouraging them to race? Maybe someone has already had success with doing this?

It's obviously possible for Whippets to be socialized to live alongside cats and I've read that it is possible with rabbits also!?

What are your thoughts?

Thanks,

Cal.

 

[maggiemay2]

i have four whippets, three yorkies and a rabbit. They all get along fine, the whippets seem to know that the rabbit is a 'no go' area.

was quite funny the other day actually cos the rabbit was running free in the garden and a cat was stalking in. The dogs chased the cat off and then all stood next to the rabbit like they were all part of the same pack (which i guess they are)

my dogs do however still chase wild rabbits.

think as long as you set the rules right from the start they all will be ok. I wouldnt ever leave them all unsupervised tho, instincts are still instincts :b

 

[AnnSa]

I have 22 Chinchilla's and non of my girls harm them.

They get their heads in the cages and try to steal the

food and chewing wood and get pee'd on for their

troubles :lol:

 

I must admit one got out when the two older girls were

in the room and they did chase it a bit. But they made

no attempt to pick it up or anything.

 

As Sarah said you just have to teach them to stay away,

from other animals in the house. And just be sensible as

to who you leave alone with who :lol:

 

[Cal]

i have four whippets, three yorkies and a rabbit. They all get along fine, the whippets seem to know that the rabbit is a 'no go' area.
was quite funny the other day actually cos the rabbit was running free in the garden and a cat was stalking in. The dogs chased the cat off and then all stood next to the rabbit like they were all part of the same pack (which i guess they are)

my dogs do however still chase wild rabbits.

think as long as you set the rules right from the start they all will be ok. I wouldnt ever leave them all unsupervised tho, instincts are still instincts :b

Maggiemay,

Thank you for your reply, everything you have said is what I thought should be possible and was hoping that someone would confirm. This is the only concern my missus has and this will help to reassure her that our plans for early next year can go ahead. Cheers.

 

[Cal]

I have 22 Chinchilla's and non of my girls harm them.They get their heads in the cages and try to steal the

food and chewing wood and get pee'd on for their

troubles :lol:

 

I must admit one got out when the two older girls were

in the room and they did chase it a bit. But they made

no attempt to pick it up or anything.

 

As Sarah said you just have to teach them to stay away,

from other animals in the house. And just be sensible as

to who you leave alone with who :lol:

Thanks Ann,

As with the other reply it reassures me that if we spend time socialising the Whippet while still very young with the rabbits it should be possible. Thanks for your advice.

Cheers Cal.

 

[Seraphina]

I am sure Whippet puppy can be taught to live with a rabbit, but I would not leave them alone. The dog may be just too rough trying to play with the rabbit. I had no problems introducing hens to the Whippets, even though they were already adults. In the past i also had pet rabbit with our Borzois, and again the rabbit came after the dogs. Interestingly the dogs would hunt wild rabbits, but shown no intention of harming our rabbits, although they would steal their carrots

 

[rls22]

My sister has just introduced 3 chickens to her gang - her whippets happily play out in the garden with the chickens and show no interest in chasing them what so ever.

I am sure starting with a puppy that you will have no problems establishing that the bunnies are a no go area!

 

[paddysmum]

agreed. its totally possible. obviously it will depend a bit on the dog but you should be fine. never ever ever leave them alone even for five minutes though!

my first dog paddy lived with several rabbits that we already had and was absolutely fine.

 

[k4tie-d]

im a bit surprised no one has mentioned the "6weeks" part??

pups shouldnt leave there mums till at least 8weeks :b

but im sure you should have no problem intorducing a pup to a rabbit, you may have had problem introducing a rabbit to a whippet but as the rabbit was there first you should be fine. :thumbsup:

 

[Seraphina]

im a bit surprised no one has mentioned the "6weeks" part??pups shouldnt leave there mums till at least 8weeks :b

I too missed the 6 weeks bit. Totally agree; if a breeder says you can have a pup at 6 weeks, find another breeder.

 

[Cal]

im a bit surprised no one has mentioned the "6weeks" part??pups shouldnt leave there mums till at least 8weeks :b

but im sure you should have no problem intorducing a pup to a rabbit, you may have had problem introducing a rabbit to a whippet but as the rabbit was there first you should be fine. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the advice. I've been reading about puppy socialisation and the author debates the pro's and con's of 6 or 8 weeks leaving the mother and although not committing herself to 6 weeks seemed to suggest it a best age particulalry for smaller dogs. However, I don't believe she has had Whippets so I'm happy to taken on the advice of someone who has! Thanks.

 

[Seraphina]

I've been reading about puppy socialisation and the author debates the pro's and con's of 6 or 8 weeks leaving the mother and although not committing herself to 6 weeks seemed to suggest it a best age particulalry for smaller dogs. However, I don't believe she has had Whippets so I'm happy to taken on the advice of someone who has! Thanks.

I do not know about other breeds, or other Whippet breeders' pups, but my babies are not anywhere near ready to leave their mum at 6 weeks. Actually I do not let them go until about 9 weeks, unless somebody has a particularly good reason why the need him/her bit earlier. I only start weaning my pups at about 4 weeks, and by 6 weeks they usually only just start to really feed themselves, although they still have the occasional drink from their mum.

During the last few weeks I encourage the new owners to come for visits, and also have my friends to come and have a play with puppies, so these puppies are not missing out on socialization. But during this time they also have lots to learn from their mum and their siblings.

In any case here in OZ it is against our KC regulations to let puppies go before they are 8 weeks old.

 

[Esty]

I was visiting my pups with their breeder from 5 weeks onwards and to be honest there's no way I would have wanted to take them away from their Mum at 6 or even 7 weeks. They are still learning manners from mum and siblings as well getting to grips with toilet training, feeding, socialisation from the breeder and her family. When we went to collect them at 8 weeks they just seemed so much more independent and ready to go.

Regarding the rabbits - if you had one whippet pup I think it would be possible but we got two at the same time and in some ways it is harder to control their instincts as they become more 'pack like' in twos. Our dogs will still try to chase the cat even though they get told off every time - they don't try to kill him but they do try to dominate him by putting a paw across his back etc. I thought he'd just tell them off when they were pups but he was too nice and ran away...a couple of days ago they caught their first bunny and yesterday they chased the cat with a little more enthusiasm than I would have liked and got duly told off for it.

We had an Afghan Hound years ago who loved the rabbits in a nice way and we only got him at 2 years old.

 

[Cal]

Thanks Everyone for the advice and for pointing out the best age for taking a puppy home - the points raised do seem to make sense. Cheers.

 

[rls22]

Oh dear I had missed the 6 weeks part too.

I think the earliest age for a whippet to leaving it's mother and litter mates is 7.5 weeks - any earlier and they are missing out on all sorts of vital lessons from their 'pack'. Thinking back to how little our babies were at 6 weeks, the thought of them leaving at that age is just awful, the difference in just two weeks is huge.

I would certainly question any breeder that would suggest taking a pup this early.