Hello To All!

[Mort]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a brand new member and I wanted to stop by and say hello. I stumbled across the site while doing some research. It seems like a wonderful place; everyone seems so friendly... and it definitely contains a fantastic wealth of information too :thumbsup: I've spent a fair bit of time reading past and present messages and have found a huge number of tips and tricks and have also spent several hours laughing (and sometimes welling up) over the many tales and adventures recounted. So, a big thank you to the owners, operators and all the members. Keep up the fantastic work! :cheers:

If I may, I'm also seeking a little help and advice from anyone willing to offer up an opinion based on their experience with Whippets (it always feels a little rude to jump straight in with questions, but I'm hoping I can be forgiven (w00t) )

To cut a long story short, I've been living on my own for several years now and it's a lonely old life sometimes. Although I've been saying that I would do it for a while (there never seemed to be a right time), I'm now seriously looking to find a doggy companion that I can hopefully give a good home to.

I did a fair bit of initial research to try and find an appropriate breed that would be suitable for me and, most importantly, that I would be suitable for them! I must admit though that I've fallen for Whippets in a big way and based on the information I could find there are very few other breeds that seem to be as suitable. Although I feel a bit like I want to rush in head-first, I also want to be responsible here. 10-15 years is a serious commitment after all!

So if I might include a little bit of an introduction about myself, I wonder if someone would be kind enough to offer their opinions about how suitable my circumstances would be for a Whippet (and vice-versa)?

A little bit about myself and my circumstances to help you judge.

My name is Adam -- I guess that doesn't help much, but just for completeness -- I'm 28 years old and I live in Warwickshire. I'm self-employed and work from home so I'm here pretty much 24 hours a day. Although this would be the first dog that I've ever "owned" myself (I hate that term), I don't recall a time when I haven't lived with them until I moved out of the family home.

I live in a 3 story terraced house on the very outskirts of a town. I don't have a huge garden, but I am surrounded by fields and countryside which could provide some fantastic opportunities for running and walks.

I do sometimes get quite busy with work to the point where I could only spend 30-45 minutes for walks in a day, but those occasions are relatively rare.

I'm ideally looking for a dog that is fun loving (I actually like dogs who are a bit cheeky :thumbsup: ), is a devoted companion, but also has some individuality / is not too obsessive.

I realize that this is probably nowhere near enough information to form an accurate opinion, but hopefully it's enough to get a general idea. If you can think of anything else which might help ensure that I'm making the right choice, please do ask! It will help immensely.

My second question is about the Sight Hound aspect.

I've read a lot about how you should never let a Whippet go off-lead because of their instinct to chase. "Never" seems a bit extreme, assuming the area is safe, but I will admit that it does concern me a little. My parents have two cats and my neighbour has two rabbits. I'd be horrified if I were ever responsible for my dog having injured or killed them, but by the same token I wouldn't want him/her to spend their entire life on a lead.

How likely is this to be a problem if I attempt to socialize him/her with smaller animals as soon and as often as possible?

The other aspect to this is the thought of them running into traffic and injuring themselves. As I mentioned, I do live on the outskirts of a town and there is a main road near here. Although I'd of course keep them on a lead at all times during walks near population, there is the possibility of an escape etc.

Really I'm just trying to gauge how paranoid I'd need to be (any more than you normally would with a dog that can run at 30mph )

Anyway, I'll leave it there. I have so many more questions, but this is already turning into a wall of text!

My sincere thanks in advance for any advice or opinions that anyone is willing to offer.

Kind Regards,

 

[Sarah86]

Hi.

I still live with my parents, and my first dog is a whippet. I wouldn't have it any other way!

I dont have the experience as most people here. I just thought id say we have 2 guinea pigs and 3 pet ferrets, and my whippet has no problem with them at all. She comes and has a sniff of the guinea pigs. Although, I would never leave any dog unattended with a small animall. If you get your dog used to your neighbours rabbits it should be ok, especially if they are in a secure cage. Mine isn't too keen on cats, but that has only been since the one next door scratched her when she was getting attention from its owner.

I don't think whippets are the type of dog you really could keep on a lead all the time, mine just loves running and playing with other dogs but I never let her off a lead near a road just incase.

We have had ours 4 years now, and she is an absolute angel in the house, from 8 weeks she has never done the toilet in the house and never destroyed anything so we didnt have much house training with her to do at all, not all are like this though. My mum never really wanted a dog or is much of an animal person, but Penny has transformed her and my mum adores her... this shows how special whippets are. When she is out she does like to run up to people though which not every one likes.

Good luck in finding a little whippet for you

 

[Janimal]

Hi Adam,

Welcome to K9 :cheers:

Im sure if you chose a whippet you wont be disappointed..

Ive only ever owned whippets so Im a bit biased. :lol: Anyway I had only ever owner 1 dog till the last couple of years and now Ive got three...they are very addictive.

I also own 3 cats and have 5 rabbits which I keep outside. The dogs all get along fine with the cats ..they have learned to share their household very well. As for the rabbits I know people on here whos dogs can be trusted with their pets one hundred per cent but I have to be careful with mine....I would never leave them alone with them...but Im sure with a bit of patience you can teach them right from wrong.

Sorry for going on a bit....but it was just to say that they can be taught to share lives with many other animals. :thumbsup: and as for letting them off the leader, I have let mine off right from being young puppies (in a safe secure place) and although they like a chase now and then....will come back to me. :thumbsup:

Good luck in your seach :luck:

 

[Sunrise08]

Welcome to K9. There will be many people on here willing to help you. They are all a friendly bunch :huggles:

 

[FifeJillandIan]

Hi Adam

It sounds like you've put an awful lot of thought into this which is great. I think a whippet would fit very nicely into your lifestyle, although you might find it difficult to concentrate on your work while he or she is a puppy! It might even be worth considering a slightly older dog - my whippet Blue really settled down at around 8 or 9 months, before that I didn't get much time to myself, although he was happy to go to his cage (sounds awful but it's his wee den really where he has nice comfy bedding, water, chews and can't get at anything that might hurt him)

Blue is one year old now and we live on the outskirts of town. I always keep Blue on his lead near roads etc but there are plenty of places where he can get a good run off lead that are out of the way and quiet. I think it would be an awful shame to have a whippet and never let them run freely as the look of absolute joy on Blue's face when he is running is wonderful to see.

I've never had a whippet before Blue but now can't imagine having any other breed of dog. They really are the most affectionate wee things you could wish to meet and so full of character and charm. And on those days when you could only fit in a couple of 20 minutes walks, he or she would be fine - they are pretty lazy when they're not tearing about the place!

Good luck in your search for the perfect companion :luck: and I hope you'll be posting pics of your new best friend on this forum soon.

:cheers:

Jill

 

[AnnSa]

Go for it :lol:

I have lived with several breeds over the years and never regretted

having any of them but the is something very special about whippets.

Little demons that they are :thumbsup:

Bet you wont stop at one either :*

 

[nicky12]

hello and welcome to k9 ,iv got a bit of advise for you [SIZE=21pt]ONE IS NEVER ENOUGH (w00t) [/SIZE]

 

[littlenell]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Im sure you get loads of excellent advice on here. Dont forget to post lots of pictures when you do get your canine friend :thumbsup:

 

[Trish]

[SIZE=14pt]well ive just got my 6th whippet and lifes fine here,though my girls are course bred and tend to run off looking for prey :wacko: my show bred seems to prefer to stay close to us and as never gone off with the girls,hes mummys boy :huggles: [/SIZE]

 

can i also say my maiden name is mort so it is nice to have another on board :thumbsup:

 

[Mort]

Wow! Thank you all for the incredibly warm welcome and the fantastic advice so far (w00t) I hope it wasn't too much of a chore reading through the auto-biography I posted above

I definitely agree about the "life on a lead" issue. I think it would be a travesty if they didn't have the opportunity to run and play as often as possible. I had read some real horror stories though and wanted to make sure that it wasn't necessarily as big an issue as it was made out to be.

After seeing a lot of wonderful pictures and videos on here though, I can see that they certainly do seem to absolutely love tearing around in fields

Bet you wont stop at one either

LOL! I would take you up on that bet Ann and Nicky, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I'd probably lose :b

Good luck in your search for the perfect companion and I hope you'll be posting pics of your new best friend on this forum soon.

Thanks Jill! (Also for your advice about the potential benefits of considering an older dog too). I can see that I'm going to have to dig my camera out again pretty soon

Thanks again everyone. I'm sure once I get over the nerves of posting on a new forum, I'll be able to participate a little more with the discussions.

--

Adam

 

[Mort]

[SIZE=14pt]well ive just got my 6th whippet and lifes fine here,though my girls are course bred and tend to run off looking for prey :wacko: my show bred seems to prefer to stay close to us and as never gone off with the girls,hes mummys boy   :huggles: [/SIZE]

 

Awww I had heard that show bred whippets tend to be a lot calmer in that respect. I definitely think that's the area I should be focusing on.

 

can i also say my maiden name is mort so it is nice to have another on board :thumbsup:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

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Wow. I've never heard Mort used as a surname before. A pleasure to meet another one My reason for chosing that name is far more geeky though I'm afraid to say. I'm a fan of Terry Pratchett and Mort is the main character in one of his books :">

Dont forget to post lots of pictures when you do get your canine friend

Thanks for the welcome. Will do! :thumbsup:

 

[rls22]

Welcome the forum, sounds like you can offer a wonderful home to a whippet, you've put a lot of thought into it and it sounds like whippets would fit the bill perfectly for you.

We have 4 whippets, all of them get a couple of chances to free run every day, I would never ever deny them that, as it is what they love. There is nothing more fantastic than seeing a whippet run. Our dogs all have fantastic recall, even when mid chase, they will come back immediately when called, it wasn't even something that had to be worked on, so we have been lucky in that respect. We don't have cats, although there are loads of members who have whippets and cats living in harmony, so I don't forsee a problem there either. My sister has 2 guinea pigs and the dogs aren't even very interested in them, although I don't deny that given the opportunity they would kill them.

And even though they look very delicate they are much more robust than they look, they're quite often coming back with little nicks and cuts, which don't seem to bother them in the slightest.

Good luck in your search for a whippet, they really are the most fantastic breed, we will never have another now that's for sure.

Rachel & the Citycroft whippets.

 

[meddling]

I've had many breeds over the years and have now been possessed by a whippet for 4 months - Bluebell is just over 6 months old and such amazing fun, very naughty, so loving and beautiful and so therapeutic!!

She goes off the lead when we're in a large area without other people around except for her ever growing band of canine friends - most days she's off the lead and has been very good so far - I was nervous about the hound thing - but make yourself more interesting to stay with than the rest of the world and you should be ok!

Good luck in your search and enjoy K9 while you look for your perfect companion

 

[Rae]

Hi Adam and welcome to K9.

Your set up sounds perfect for a whippy, even at your busiest times they can make do with 30 mins a day, preferably as long as its a good 30 mins off lead to have a run. There are lots of toys they can have to keep them busy too, ie kong toys.

I work from home too and it's scary just how distracting it is to have them around. You do realise your sofa wont be your own any longer, and possibly your bed too :- "

I have had very few problems with recall with my whippets - Star is a show bred and generally very lazy, however if she does decide to take off :lol: she's harder to recall than Lucas who is very focussed on me - he's coursing bred. (Lurchers, well theres a totally different scenario...) Obviously if you're likely to see deer in the fields where you'll be walking you'll have to be very careful but otherwise get your dog interested in playing with you.

Good luck finding a whippet :luck:

 

[Cornish]

Hi Adam and welcome to K9

Once you have a whippet you'll not think about another breed unless a greyhound or Italian grey of course :- "

 

[Mort]

Thanks again all for yet more fantastic advice and warm welcomes :b

Welcome the forum, sounds like you can offer a wonderful home to a whippet, you've put a lot of thought into it and it sounds like whippets would fit the bill perfectly for you.

Thanks Rachel. It's a relief I must say. A very small part of me had prepared for hoards of people telling me how I would be totally inappropriate followed by calls to never come back lol (w00t)

I think that the positive comments I've received so far have me pretty much convinced. I don't mind admitting that I'm really excited

I was nervous about the hound thing - but make yourself more interesting to stay with than the rest of the world and you should be ok!
Good luck in your search and enjoy K9 while you look for your perfect companion

Thanks Meddling. That's definitely reassuring to hear too that it is a common concern (at least... it's not just me ). I'm not sure that I can quite live up to being more interesting than the entirety of the world, but I hope I can get close most of the time

You do realise your sofa wont be your own any longer, and possibly your bed too

Absolutely. That's the best part! Someone to hang out and watch TV with, perfect =)

Overall though, I'm not obsessively house-proud, so hopefully they'll fit right in :thumbsup:

Thanks again!

 

[jinx and rubys mum]

Hello and welcome to the forum

You will never regret your decision to have a whippet they are the best dogs to have

They are loving and lazy and as long as they get a good run and plenty of toys to keep them occupied when you are busy you should get along fine

They are right though 1 will never be enough

Have fun and remember we all love photos of naughty whippets!!!!! :lol:

 

[rls22]

Have you any idea about what 'type' of whippet you would like?

Show, racing, working??

You'll have to start thinking about all that now too!!! (w00t)

 

[meddling]

Overall though, I'm not obsessively house-proud, so hopefully they'll fit right in :thumbsup:

Thanks again!

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I'm glad about that cos since Bluebell has arrived I've had chewed up 'bits' everywhere!!!

 

[Mort]

I had put some thought into maybe trying to find a show bred Whippet (or one that is at least a couple of generations removed from a racing / working line) but this was based initially on the advice that they tend not to be quite so obsessed with chasing small furry things

I'm a little unsure now though to be honest. I'd never be one to reject a dog purely due to their foibles so I think that ultimately I would be over the moon whatever the pedigree.

I guess at this stage the main thing that would concern me if I didn't start from the beginning with a pup would be any training they had already been given (being able to recall probably being the most important, with little to no experience of the breed itself).

Any advice you can give me on either of those things though would be gratefully received!

p.s. As you can tell, sometimes I have this nasty habit of over-thinking things