Hi all! I'm new here and need a bit of advice.
I'm looking to adopt a little whippet girl in a week's time. I saw her at 2 weeks and again the other day at 7 weeks. I've not owned a whippet before but have had Cavaliers and understand whips are a more independent and can be a bit aloof at times.
She is beautiful but I am a little concerned that she might be a shy dog. She spent most her time sniffing the floor and wondering around trying to play with her litter mates but they didn't really respond to her.
Her litter mates are all showing signs of good development, like play bowing and prancing around. But she doesn't really do these.
The breeder said that the other dogs had bullied her because she was so much quieter too. She doesn't cower behind chairs or anything, but she wasn't really interested in anyone or anything around her.
She didn't really show much interest in me either. I know I am a stranger to her, but her litter pals were all jumping up at me and running over me, but she just sort of sat at my feet looking worried into the distance (when she wasn't hiding under the bookcase). She let me pick her up fine and even fell asleep on my lap. But when I held her up facing me she didn't show any sign of interest in my face unlike her bros and sisters (who were all lapping at my nose!).
I managed to get her to play with a rope toy but she didn't respond to my other attempts to play, like ground tapping and finger spiders, etc. I know small puppies of her age are unlikely to, but she didn't look up at me at all either, while some of her litter mates did. I didn't know if this all meant she will turn into a shy and timid adult dog?
She responded well when the breeder called them all to feed. In fact, she was one of the first pups to the bowl, and more than held her own while feeding.
She seems to fall over more than the other pups too. So I was wondering, is she a slower developer? Or does she sound like a poorly socialised pup? Should I be worried that she won't train well?
I really wanted a bounce around kind of pup that would be energetic, so how she had developed is a bit of a let down so far.
Am I worrying unnecessarily?
Thanks
xmiccix
I'm looking to adopt a little whippet girl in a week's time. I saw her at 2 weeks and again the other day at 7 weeks. I've not owned a whippet before but have had Cavaliers and understand whips are a more independent and can be a bit aloof at times.
She is beautiful but I am a little concerned that she might be a shy dog. She spent most her time sniffing the floor and wondering around trying to play with her litter mates but they didn't really respond to her.
Her litter mates are all showing signs of good development, like play bowing and prancing around. But she doesn't really do these.
The breeder said that the other dogs had bullied her because she was so much quieter too. She doesn't cower behind chairs or anything, but she wasn't really interested in anyone or anything around her.
She didn't really show much interest in me either. I know I am a stranger to her, but her litter pals were all jumping up at me and running over me, but she just sort of sat at my feet looking worried into the distance (when she wasn't hiding under the bookcase). She let me pick her up fine and even fell asleep on my lap. But when I held her up facing me she didn't show any sign of interest in my face unlike her bros and sisters (who were all lapping at my nose!).
I managed to get her to play with a rope toy but she didn't respond to my other attempts to play, like ground tapping and finger spiders, etc. I know small puppies of her age are unlikely to, but she didn't look up at me at all either, while some of her litter mates did. I didn't know if this all meant she will turn into a shy and timid adult dog?
She responded well when the breeder called them all to feed. In fact, she was one of the first pups to the bowl, and more than held her own while feeding.
She seems to fall over more than the other pups too. So I was wondering, is she a slower developer? Or does she sound like a poorly socialised pup? Should I be worried that she won't train well?
I really wanted a bounce around kind of pup that would be energetic, so how she had developed is a bit of a let down so far.
Am I worrying unnecessarily?
Thanks
xmiccix
) I suspect that she was born with it. Some of the conditions lie dormant for years and the breeder may be completely unaware of it in her line.