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I havent posted for about a year but the last time I posted I was wittering on about moving my country whippet to town. Then my internet went down, then I got busy . . .
Anyway, my fantastic fawn whippet, Cody, adjusted much better to life in town than I hoped. It's a very small town anyway so the countryside isnt ever anymore that 5 minutes walk away. He was very nervous at first but I followed the Cesar Milan advice as far as I was able and just tried to be casual and relaxed about things rather than feeding his anxiety.
(I know that a lot of dog ppl say that the Cesar Milan thing is just common sense but my reply is, "it's ok for you. Your dad was a gamekeeper/farmer/whatever and you grew up with dogs. I did too but they were badly trained, frustrated urban dogs and I dont have that natural knowledge that you might have."
)
Anway, defensiveness aside, I have to say I am so pleased w Cody. He has done really well and makes me proud. Several proper dog ppl have said to my OH in the pub "thats a really nice dog you have". He is very attractive and quite big for a whippet. He walks nice on the lead with a nice "float in the rope" not pulling at all. He (almost always) has excellent recall and is very well mannered.
When I walk to get my boy from school tiny tots grab him round the neck and I have no fear. He really doesnt seem to have a bite in him and, believe me, I am not naive re this. I couldnt have trusted beloved deceased Milo (a lab/greyhound x that we had till Cody was a few months old) to have been so tolerant.
The cats have dispensed with thier own beds and sleep in his bed beside/on top of Cody. He likes it for the warmth and company.
So, now that I have finished babbling about how brilliant he is I need advice on a couple of things so that I can help him to be as happy as he can be.
When we walk along a busy road he loses his manners and trots ahead of me (I am a fast walker) and the float in the rope is lost. I know that it's because we are headed home and he hates the traffic. Is it best to insist on good manners or just let it go? He is doing well with things and my instinct is to let him have a little leeway and that nagging him re manners (as I have done in the past) is pointless and negative. Or will that attitude breed further bad manners?
There is a GSD (lovely btw) and a couple of Boxers that bark at him and he barks back. He is generally nervous of big dogs that are assertive or insecure in a noisy way. He especially gets nervous of the kind to dog that is marching at the end of the lead in front of its owner. Is almost funny as he is delicate and he squares up to these big noisy dogs and charges, barking. Is very not like him. Do I correct this or just keep walking and refocus him on what we are doing. If I correct, how? I actually made friends with one of the boxers' owners and we made a point of walking together and the dogs calmed down. We were almost at the point where they were friends but they moved away. I cant ask all the owners of these dogs that Cody doesnt like to walk with us, partly because I am pretty sure some of them couldnt hold the dogs. He is not nervous of all large dogs. My friend came to stay with 2 lurchers and they had a wonderful time together. So its not a size thing.
Anway, these are pretty minor problems when I think of some of the stuff some dog owners contend with.
Here are a couple of pictures of him - partly for showing off purposes and partly so that you can have a look at his condition and let me know what you think - too thin? too fat? ok? This does concern me. The vet says he is fine and better for being lean. The only thing I wonder about is if he actually gets too much long slow excercise and would prefer shorter walks and more opportunity to run around like a nutcase. He gets about an hour to an hour and a half in the morning, 20 minutes early evening or if time another hour to hour and a half and then 20 minutes at night. But its all more stamina kind of stuff than sprinter stuff. Is this ok?
Anyway, my fantastic fawn whippet, Cody, adjusted much better to life in town than I hoped. It's a very small town anyway so the countryside isnt ever anymore that 5 minutes walk away. He was very nervous at first but I followed the Cesar Milan advice as far as I was able and just tried to be casual and relaxed about things rather than feeding his anxiety.
(I know that a lot of dog ppl say that the Cesar Milan thing is just common sense but my reply is, "it's ok for you. Your dad was a gamekeeper/farmer/whatever and you grew up with dogs. I did too but they were badly trained, frustrated urban dogs and I dont have that natural knowledge that you might have."
)Anway, defensiveness aside, I have to say I am so pleased w Cody. He has done really well and makes me proud. Several proper dog ppl have said to my OH in the pub "thats a really nice dog you have". He is very attractive and quite big for a whippet. He walks nice on the lead with a nice "float in the rope" not pulling at all. He (almost always) has excellent recall and is very well mannered.
When I walk to get my boy from school tiny tots grab him round the neck and I have no fear. He really doesnt seem to have a bite in him and, believe me, I am not naive re this. I couldnt have trusted beloved deceased Milo (a lab/greyhound x that we had till Cody was a few months old) to have been so tolerant.
The cats have dispensed with thier own beds and sleep in his bed beside/on top of Cody. He likes it for the warmth and company.
So, now that I have finished babbling about how brilliant he is I need advice on a couple of things so that I can help him to be as happy as he can be.
When we walk along a busy road he loses his manners and trots ahead of me (I am a fast walker) and the float in the rope is lost. I know that it's because we are headed home and he hates the traffic. Is it best to insist on good manners or just let it go? He is doing well with things and my instinct is to let him have a little leeway and that nagging him re manners (as I have done in the past) is pointless and negative. Or will that attitude breed further bad manners?
There is a GSD (lovely btw) and a couple of Boxers that bark at him and he barks back. He is generally nervous of big dogs that are assertive or insecure in a noisy way. He especially gets nervous of the kind to dog that is marching at the end of the lead in front of its owner. Is almost funny as he is delicate and he squares up to these big noisy dogs and charges, barking. Is very not like him. Do I correct this or just keep walking and refocus him on what we are doing. If I correct, how? I actually made friends with one of the boxers' owners and we made a point of walking together and the dogs calmed down. We were almost at the point where they were friends but they moved away. I cant ask all the owners of these dogs that Cody doesnt like to walk with us, partly because I am pretty sure some of them couldnt hold the dogs. He is not nervous of all large dogs. My friend came to stay with 2 lurchers and they had a wonderful time together. So its not a size thing.
Anway, these are pretty minor problems when I think of some of the stuff some dog owners contend with.
Here are a couple of pictures of him - partly for showing off purposes and partly so that you can have a look at his condition and let me know what you think - too thin? too fat? ok? This does concern me. The vet says he is fine and better for being lean. The only thing I wonder about is if he actually gets too much long slow excercise and would prefer shorter walks and more opportunity to run around like a nutcase. He gets about an hour to an hour and a half in the morning, 20 minutes early evening or if time another hour to hour and a half and then 20 minutes at night. But its all more stamina kind of stuff than sprinter stuff. Is this ok?
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