Shy Puppy

[michael darrington]

Hi , I am new to this forum so if some of my questions seem a little stupid please forgive me.

I have just got an 8 week old male Whippet puppy.

I know it is very early days and everything must seem strange to him but he appears to be extremely shy. He dosent seem to want to play , eat very much and is very slow in coming forward.

He howled and cried for 2 hours on his first night . As soon as he started crying I got up to see if he wanted to go out to the toilet but he just just wanted to sleep and cuddle with me so i put him back in his bed where he continued to cry. This coninued for another 2 hours and i adventually succumbed to sitting with him and he went straight back to sleep.

I also have a 7 year old male black labrador , who is very laid back and gentle but has managed to coax the whippet into a little playing.

My question is , is it normal for an 8 week old whippet to behave this way and is there anything i can do to build up his confidence?

I have always had bouncy , confident labradors so this behaviour is a little strange to me.

 

[FifeJillandIan]

I'm not too sure what to advise but when we got Blue (at 9 weeks) he was outgoing and playful from the outset (although he did sleep a lot as well as all young pups do). What was your wee boy like when you saw him with the rest of the litter? Did he seem quite playful and outgoing then? If there has been a change he's maybe feeling a bit off colour - they can sometimes get an upset tummy for a day or two if you're feeding something different or just through the upheaval. Good luck with him :luck: - he's gorgeous :wub:

 

[TillynPip]

Hi, We have two rescue dogs (one a whippet X) and collect our very first whippet puppy in about three weeks. However, I grew up with working black labs and they are a very different dog to the whippet. I don't feel qualified to advise on whippets yet but I would try not to compare your puppy too much to your lab and he must feel very strange having left his mum and litter mates. Did the breeder give you a piece of blanket or anything that the litter had been lying on? This does help in settling them but I wouldn't worry too much yet, just give the little boy time to settle and become familiar with the different scents and sounds. Good luck.

 

[TillynPip]

Hi, We have two rescue dogs (one a whippet X) and collect our very first whippet puppy in about three weeks. However, I grew up with working black labs and they are a very different dog to the whippet. I don't feel qualified to advise on whippets yet but I would try not to compare your puppy too much to your lab and he must feel very strange having left his mum and litter mates. Did the breeder give you a piece of blanket or anything that the litter had been lying on? This does help in settling them but I wouldn't worry too much yet, just give the little boy time to settle and become familiar with the different scents and sounds. Good luck.

Very remiss of me - what a beautiful puppy, what's his name?

 

[michael darrington]

I'm not too sure what to advise but when we got Blue (at 9 weeks) he was outgoing and playful from the outset (although he did sleep a lot as well as all young pups do). What was your wee boy like when you saw him with the rest of the litter? Did he seem quite playful and outgoing then? If there has been a change he's maybe feeling a bit off colour - they can sometimes get an upset tummy for a day or two if you're feeding something different or just through the upheaval. Good luck with him :luck: - he's gorgeous :wub:

Thank you for your reply.

Eddy came from a litter of 8 . Five of the puppies were similar to him and the other three were a little more outgoing. I wasnt sure if this was normal with whippets as i have only ever had labradors to compare with.

His tummy seems to be ok , everything looks normal with that.

He is sleeping a LOT though , he has been sound asleep since 8 o`clock this morning.

I think this might just be his character and unlike labs he is going to need a lot of slow , gentle encouragement.

I will keep you informed and keep posting pictures.

 

[michael darrington]

Hi, We have two rescue dogs (one a whippet X) and collect our very first whippet puppy in about three weeks. However, I grew up with working black labs and they are a very different dog to the whippet. I don't feel qualified to advise on whippets yet but I would try not to compare your puppy too much to your lab and he must feel very strange having left his mum and litter mates. Did the breeder give you a piece of blanket or anything that the litter had been lying on? This does help in settling them but I wouldn't worry too much yet, just give the little boy time to settle and become familiar with the different scents and sounds. Good luck.

Hi , yes he has a towel that used to be in his old bed which i tranfered to his new bed but he seems to prefer sleeping in my arms or on my bed. I didnt want to start bad habits by letting him sleep on my bed but at the moment it seems to be the only place where he seems content and relaxed.

 

[peppermint sue]

firstly what a sweet boy :wub: most pups cry at night when you first get them home they miss their siblings .

its a big thing for a little pup in a stange house sounds like he will come round quite quickly if he has had a bit of a play with your lab )

has long as he is eating and showing no signs of being unwell i would just give it a bit of time .

in a few days when he has settled it will be the lab looking for somewhere to escape to for a rest .

goodluck with him he looks lovely :thumbsup:

 

[Suerose]

What a little darling :wub: . Once you are sure there is nothing wrong with him I should be grateful for a quiet pup! Grace was manic in her early months, very hard work! Does he have nice soft toys he can cuddle with? I expect he is missing his mum and litter mates, and whippets are very fond of a cuddle. He might enjoy being wrapped up in a soft blanket when he is sleepy, that can give a sense of comfort and security. Or you could just take him to bed with you ....

 

[michael darrington]

Hi, We have two rescue dogs (one a whippet X) and collect our very first whippet puppy in about three weeks. However, I grew up with working black labs and they are a very different dog to the whippet. I don't feel qualified to advise on whippets yet but I would try not to compare your puppy too much to your lab and he must feel very strange having left his mum and litter mates. Did the breeder give you a piece of blanket or anything that the litter had been lying on? This does help in settling them but I wouldn't worry too much yet, just give the little boy time to settle and become familiar with the different scents and sounds. Good luck.

Very remiss of me - what a beautiful puppy, what's his name?

Thank you , i think he is beautiful too .

His name is Eddy , its hard to tell from the photos but he has a silver / fawn coat , greeny /brown eyes and a dark blue nose. :wub:

 

[FifeJillandIan]

Aw, he really is a cutie - looks like he loves you already :wub: I'm sure he'll soon be doing the wall of death round your living room - then you'll wish for the quiet version again!!!

 

[whippetmad]

Awwwww he is adorable :wub: :wub: I,m sure he will settled very soon,just give him time to adjust :thumbsup: Just give him lots of love and cuddles :huggles: :huggles: as whippets thrive on this :wub:

 

[chase69]

Hi welcome to the forum. Eddy looks very much like Chase did at that age. He was 8 weeks when we got him and the day we brought him home he walked straight into his crate and didnt come out unless we took him out for 3days. he was very quiet even at night once he sttled in things changed! WE HAD 1 WEEK WHEN HE HOWLED FOR HOURS EVERY NIGHT .He is 15months old now and a lovely combination of being just a little bit naughty but generally very good. Chase is quite sensitive and doesnt like lots of loud noise . Good luck with Eddy he is beautiful and sleeping is a whippets favourite pass time closely follwed by looking for something nice to eat.

 

[kirsty]

Good luck with him I hope he settles soon :luck: He is a little treasure :wub: :wub: :wub:

 

[cairo]

I'm not too sure what to advise but when we got Blue (at 9 weeks) he was outgoing and playful from the outset (although he did sleep a lot as well as all young pups do). What was your wee boy like when you saw him with the rest of the litter? Did he seem quite playful and outgoing then? If there has been a change he's maybe feeling a bit off colour - they can sometimes get an upset tummy for a day or two if you're feeding something different or just through the upheaval. Good luck with him :luck: - he's gorgeous :wub:

Thank you for your reply.

Eddy came from a litter of 8 . Five of the puppies were similar to him and the other three were a little more outgoing. I wasnt sure if this was normal with whippets as i have only ever had labradors to compare with.

His tummy seems to be ok , everything looks normal with that.

He is sleeping a LOT though , he has been sound asleep since 8 o`clock this morning.

I think this might just be his character and unlike labs he is going to need a lot of slow , gentle encouragement.

I will keep you informed and keep posting pictures.

He is absolutely beautiful....I had one exactly the same called Jake...he lived til the ripe old age of 16!!

 

[sue burton]

he is beautiful

 

[teachtrinity]

awww he is gorgeous :wub: :wub: It is very early days wit him and he will soon settle in, night times are hard though we lasted about 5 days before we let Molly into our bed,(where she settled down and slept right through ther night) now she sleeps with us every night :wink: Good luck with him and make the most of him being a puppy, it doesnt last long x

 

[michael darrington]

awww he is gorgeous :wub: :wub: It is very early days wit him and he will soon settle in, night times are hard though we lasted about 5 days before we let Molly into our bed,(where she settled down and slept right through ther night) now she sleeps with us every night :wink: Good luck with him and make the most of him being a puppy, it doesnt last long x

Thank you everybody for your kind advise ,yes he seems to be a little bit more outgoing by the hour . He had a ` mad 5 minutes ` this afternoon with my lab . Both of them were tearing around the living together as though their tales were on fire !!!

 

[annie2]

What a handsome little boy- i'm sure he just needs time- sounds as if he is starting to settle. where abouts in London are you?- there are a few of us who meet in the brockwell/battersea/wimbledon area.

anne

 

[boothros]

Oh Eddy's a little gem Michael. As lots of people have said, once he starts to find his feet in his new home, you'll be wishing for the quiet version back! If you do decide to let him sleep on your bed though, make sure it's something your happy to have him do for all time, as once they get a taste of that, they dont go much on having to sleep back downstairs again! Please keep those pictures coming, we could look at Eddy all day long!

 

[jinnyfizz]

What a stunning little pup you have there!!!!

He is GORGEOUS :wub:

My gang have always had the choice of where they want to sleep. When they were puppies they slept with me but as they have got older they tend to choose to go in their Anderson beds (see them on ebay) or stay downstairs on the sofas :thumbsup:

But with only one whippet you should have plenty of room in the bed!!!!! :lol: :lol: