Advice on whippet going awol...

[Rufushound]

Hi there, Our male whippet is two and half, and over the last month or two, has been making a habit of running off while out on a walk. He always comes back, but sometimes not for 15 or 20 minutes. We walk him in the woods or over the fields at the back of our house. I know he has a strong innate urge to chase/ to hunt - he will chase anything that moves, and if it's a deer, he goes and it is just a matter of waiting for him to return. However, lately he seems to just decide to leave us - he glances round at us, and off he goes - almost like he is making a choice! My response is usually to keep walking slowly and whistling so he knows that I am still moving and not waiting for him - hopefully letting him know who is boss. It would be nice if he came back when I asked him rather than choosing to come back when he decides to. Is this too much to ask of a whippet who seems to be permanently alert to the next possible thing he can chase?

His recall has never been great. This could be an underlying problem? Does anyone have any thoughts about how to keep him closer to us on a walk? Is it possible? Should I accept there are some places now that we cannot let him off the lead? My fear is that someday he will start chasing something and just keep going, not being able to find his way back to me. Is this just a hazard of having a whippet?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Yes, in my experience, it is one of the hazards of owning a Whippet. I believe the adrenaline rush they get from "the chase" outweighs any reward we can give when they come to call.

It should not stop you training him to come when called. Choose the right moment to call him and reward him with a fantastic treat. If the recall was a difficult one, away from an interesting smell, or another dog etc, then give several treats one after the other with a little pause between.

Try not to be cross when he does come back. If you are really fed up then just say nothing. Otherwise try very hard to be pleased and make a fuss of him. Try using a whistle to train recall. Whistles are never angry Set your dog up to succeed at all times.

There is a train of thought that says we should not keep calling when we know they are not going to return. It merely teaches them to ignore us. It also gives them confidence that we are still within range!

We managed our Whippet by only letting her off in safe places, away from roads. We would then continue our walk and she would catch us up eventually. Other times she would have to stay on lead. Sugar beet fields were a complete no no. She would hunt every single row until she was sure there were no hares hiding. It could take hours!

Our Whippet died quite young (Addisons Disease) but our previous Lurcher did get better with age and lots and lots of reward based training

There is an excellent article by a Manchester based dog trainer called "Diary of a Dog Trainer Controlling Predatory Behaviour". I am unable to post a link on here but you might find it if you search.

 

[Rufushound]

Thanks very much for your reply gypsysmum2. Very helpful and reassuring - our whippet isn't that unusual and just badly behaved/ trained then! I will try to find the article you suggest. Best wishes from the owners of rufushound.

 

[Jack18]

As gypsysmum2 says this seems to be in the nature of whippets because of their innate drive to hunt, and the best option may be to accept that it's likely to happen sometimes, to minimise the possibly dangers in the circumstances, and keep him on a lead in places where it really is unsafe.

We adopted our now-10 year old male when he was 3, and I don't think he'd really be taken out for proper walks until then. For the first couple of years he would run off hunting on every other walk, sometimes only returning home 1 or 2 hours later with bloodied ears, presumably from diving into brambles or blackthorn in pursuit of rabbits. Since we're in a very rural area there were fewer dangers from traffic than many people might have, but badgers are widespread here, and that was always a worry. However, 7 years later he's probably the most loyal and best behaved whippet we've ever had, and we now look back fondly, maybe even wistfully, on his past exploits.

Again I'd agree with gypsysmum2 that constantly calling your dog when he's clearly not about to return to you is probably counterproductive, and just reassures him that you're still around. If he's attached to you and he thinks that you've continued on your walk without him then that's probably the best way to get him to tag along, and when he does catch up then make a fuss of him as a positive reinforcement.

 

[Dylansmum]

We have just started to let Dylan off the lead in a fenced off park. All sides can be seen. Interestingly, if we turn and shout bye he runs after us. If however there is another dog to play with, he will ignore us.

Dylan circles the field at spee. As we know, they dont have the stamina to maintain it. He eventually runs to us knackered. Lol