The Most Dog Friendly Community Online
Join and Discover the Best Things to do with your Dog

Register

Whippet Running Up To People And Other Things

Sarah86

Sarah86

Active Member
Registered
Messages
2,717
Reaction score
0
Points
36
Hi, I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice. I have a 4 year old whippet who is the sweetest little thing, she is very friendly and affectionate and great in the house. The problem is when we are out, generally she is great, she loves to meet other dogs in the park and running around, I think because she knows none of them can catch her yet, and with their owners she is very quiet and doesn't bother about them. The problem is when a single person walks by without a dog sometimes she will go running up, normally what I do is try and keep central in the park so I can keep an eye on entrances, but today I was walking round with another dog walker and a person walked by who she ignored at first, then she turned round to have a sniff at something and decided to follow the person. She jumped up at him and then started wagging her tail and barking, she just wanted him to give her attention and play, but obviously he wasn't too happy.

Does anyone have any suggestions that could try and prevent this, i've decided just to keep her on her lead in park now and only let her off if one of her doggy friends is there and no passers by. As its not as if she would never get off lead. The other problem is she chases bikes and barks at them... she doesn't jump up or do any harm but I understand that this could frighten someone.

I carry chopped up treats, but it seems they aren't enough when she gets something in her head... I think only a nice roast chicken would prevent her going up to people!

Its such a shame as she is so sweet and just wants everyone to say hello to her.

Thanks

(the culprit)

IMG_2365.jpg
 
sorry, can't give you advice, my dogs aren't always perfect angels either o:) :- "

but I can say welcome to K9, the culprit looks very amused in her pic, she looks a real character :wub:
 
Sarah86 said:
Hi,  I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice.  I have a 4 year old whippet who is the sweetest little thing, she is very friendly and affectionate and great in the house.  The problem is when we are out, generally she is great, she loves to meet other dogs in the park and running around, I think because she knows none of them can catch her yet, and with their owners she is very quiet and doesn't bother about them.  The problem is when a single person walks by without a dog  sometimes she will go running up, normally what I do is try and keep central in the park so I can keep an eye on entrances, but today I was walking round with another dog walker and a person walked by who she ignored at first, then she turned round to have a sniff at something and decided to follow the person.  She jumped up at him and then started wagging her tail and barking, she just wanted him to give her attention and play, but obviously he wasn't too happy.
Does anyone have any suggestions that could try and prevent this, i've decided just to keep her on her lead in park now and only let her off if one of her doggy friends is there and no passers by.  As its not as if she would never get off lead.  The other problem is she chases bikes and barks at them... she doesn't jump up or do any harm but I understand that this could frighten someone.

I carry chopped up treats, but it seems they aren't enough when she gets something in her head... I think only a nice roast chicken would prevent her going up to people!

Its such a shame as she is so sweet and just wants everyone to say hello to her. 

Thanks

(the culprit)

IMG_2365.jpg


Click to expand...
Hello Sarah, nice looking dog you have there, have you had the dog from being a pup, it really shouldnt be chasing bikes now at 4 yrs old, maybe you need to go back to basic training

:cheers: keith :luck:
 
Awww, she's a lovely girl :D

My Jinny is the same but luckily we don't meet anyone where I live. I think you're right though - whippies just want to say hallo and spread the love :wub: :wub:

Sorry I can't offer any solutions but welcome to K9

:cheers: Jane
 
What a lovely whippy you have there :wub:

I used to and sometimes still do have the same problem with Logan. He wants to be everyone's best mate and sometimes they don't want to be his!

Fortunately, with the help of lots of treats and a lot of cuddles and praise he has learnt to come back almost every time when I call. He still does get over excited and ignores me, but these times are becoming few and far between. It did take lots of persistence and I felt like he would never learn but eventually it seemed to sink in :lol:

I know this isn't much help as you are already carrying treats but don't give up and hopefully someone else has some better advice for you :luck:
 
midlanderkeith said:
Sarah86 said:
Hi,  I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice.  I have a 4 year old whippet who is the sweetest little thing, she is very friendly and affectionate and great in the house.  The problem is when we are out, generally she is great, she loves to meet other dogs in the park and running around, I think because she knows none of them can catch her yet, and with their owners she is very quiet and doesn't bother about them.  The problem is when a single person walks by without a dog  sometimes she will go running up, normally what I do is try and keep central in the park so I can keep an eye on entrances, but today I was walking round with another dog walker and a person walked by who she ignored at first, then she turned round to have a sniff at something and decided to follow the person.  She jumped up at him and then started wagging her tail and barking, she just wanted him to give her attention and play, but obviously he wasn't too happy.
Does anyone have any suggestions that could try and prevent this, i've decided just to keep her on her lead in park now and only let her off if one of her doggy friends is there and no passers by.  As its not as if she would never get off lead.  The other problem is she chases bikes and barks at them... she doesn't jump up or do any harm but I understand that this could frighten someone.

I carry chopped up treats, but it seems they aren't enough when she gets something in her head... I think only a nice roast chicken would prevent her going up to people!

Its such a shame as she is so sweet and just wants everyone to say hello to her. 

Thanks

(the culprit)

IMG_2365.jpg


Click to expand...
Hello Sarah, nice looking dog you have there, have you had the dog from being a pup, it really shouldnt be chasing bikes now at 4 yrs old, maybe you need to go back to basic training

:cheers: keith :luck:

Click to expand...
Have a look under FAQ, there may be help there for you

keith :cheers:
 
Thanks for help. Yes we have had her from a pup and introduced her to lots of different things, i guess meeting a bike off-lead wasn't one of them. As for running up to people, she doesn't always do it, normally I can tell when she is going to go over and get her in time. I guess today just shook me up since the man she went up to wasn't too pleased. It's good to hear some others have whippets that like to meet people too. I think im just comparing her to the collies at the park that don't leave their owners side. i giess I will just need to be extra careful when i'm in the public park with her which is a shame as she only wants to say hello.. it's not as if she isn't socialised, there are always people visiting and saying hello to her. It's great to see so many whippet lovers here, since getting Penny I have just fallen in love the with breed, she is just to cute!!
 
Have you tried a rattle tin - I had a dog that did that and so I kept dried food in a tin and whenever he came back I shook the tin and gave him a treat. Then when he ran off down the field I could shake th tin and his little brain thought food and he was back like a shot. Mind you it took a fw months to train him.
 
hi sarah wellcome to k9,im sure you will enoy this site as everyone else on here does :)

by the way penny looks a beautiful girl :wub: :huggles:
 
Hi Sarah welcome to k9, its a great site and full of info :thumbsup: Coco will always bugger off after people and dogs,no matter how much we train her,it's just in her.Daisy and Murph are excellent and Blue has been known to run off too but he is not as bad as Coco. Your whippie is really beautiful :wub: .
 
Well i have to say the culprit is extremely beautiful :)) you know it seems it really is a whippet trait to be super friendly and loving :)) yes my boy likes to run up to everyone and say "HELLO COME ON LETS PLAY" but not everyone is happy about this(miserable sods!!) i don't know what to tell you really except in my experience it is the minority that are not to happy if somebody is not to pleased i just keep walking sharpish whilst saying" come on Finn" and thats usually the end of it as he follows me :thumbsup:

welcome to k9 and we look forward to seeing much more of the beautiful Penny :)) :))

Rachel and Finbarr
 
:( Well, let's see if we can't, between us all, give you some constructive advice. MidlanderKeith had his finger on the button really, you will need to go back to basics. As I see it from what you have written, your dog is beginning to believe that it leads the pack, not you. Sweet doesn't even begin to come into it, as nowadays we have to remember that if people feel threatened by our dogs (however lovely we may believe them to be), then our dog(s) could be in deep mire under the Dangerous Dogs very poorly drafted act.

So what to do? Well, you could begin with training in the house and garden. Little and often, recall, reward, praise and release. Remember to release them, a simple word (I say 'off you go', you have to release them formally 'cos if you don't you're not the boss, they are!) If the dog moves before the release, call them back, go through it again and release. Make it fun, make it happy. At the same time, if it was me, when out and about I would re-firm up on heel work, make it fun, but make it harder, make the dog think and have to watch me. No free running, which would mean walking further, longer and faster, but the dog and human will benefit from it!! Should the dog lunge at others whilst on the lead, then you could use the clackers (or tin with pebbles in). This only works when we have control of the dog, lobbing it in their direction is pointless until they have got the message close to you to begin with. Another useful tip, and I found more effective than the clackers is to grasp the offending animal around the muzzle, eyeball him and say firmly down his nostrils, LEAVE. (A cross between Barbara Woodhouse and me). That works better with mine than clackers. But you have to do it as soon as the dog misbehaves. When you have mastered the not lunging after bike, person etc, then begin the same exercise with an extending lead. I use it as a training aid only. A few feet away from me only, so that I have control. Not all 16 feet, it's not safe. Work on positive, immediate recall, using treats at all times. You will have already re-trained your dog to NOT approach any person without your permission, using positive re-inforcement, the dog sits, you allow the dog to say hello. With all four feet on the ground, if it jumps tell the person to ignore it, and you say LEAVE, SIT. You will never allow your dog to chase a cyclist, and the only way you can do that is to re-train the dog, as midlander said. When to dog is rock solid on your few feet, you then introduce the lead rein principle. The rein allows the dog more freedom, but you still have control. You drop the rein to the ground, and still work on training, (you will see from this that walks are worky walks not play walks!). Sound recall, sit, stay. Should the dog move away at speed, you step on the end of the rein, and yes, it does work. When the dog is sound then you can begin to gently allow the dog more freedom. But, you will never have freedom when out, if you forget yourself, and forget to keep your dog under control, then once again, your dog will begin to disobey you as you have given up leadership without even a fight! It is my experience that a whippet owner can never take their eye off the ball when whippets are off the lead, they are hunters through and through.

The times you would like to see your dog running free, then go out for a proper walk, out into the woods or forests, heath or moor, walk a linear walk with the dog on a lead on the way out to check for farm stock and on the way back, if its safe for livestock (ie NONE ABOUT), the dog may have a run. Letting your dog have fun in the park with lots of other dogs (when they become a pack and you are NOT the lead dog), is not a good idea as you have no control over the 'pack mentality' and thus no control over the dog.

There are loads of very good, helpful books on obedience training available, dip into one and see if you like what they do and how they do it. If you do, buy it, it's worth it. Many of us know to our cost, that although we don't want a robotic dog, we do need a well trained dog and the only way we can have that is with knowledge, time and effort. And as they say in the books, it really is worth the time and effort in the long run.

I hope you enjoy working with your whippet as much as your whippet will enjoy knowing where it lives in the pack, it will be able to relax again 'cos 'it's hard being at the top' as they say!

If you would like the titles of some quite useful books, pm me.
 
Hi Sarah, welcome to k9 :D my Molly does this sometimes too, but we walk in fields where only dog walkers walk so its not a problem. If we walk round parks we keep both dogs on lead. Thats not helped you much though has it?!

Probably the only way you could stop her is if she has your undivided attention, when she ran off yesterday were you talking with the other dog walker? I find that if I'm walking the dogs on my own they don't run away as I like to keep them close by all the time, but if I am with my OH (and we're gossiping) I can turn round the next minute and they can be halfway across a field!!! Does that make any sense to anyone? I find it easier to recall from a short distance (ideally before she has even seen the other person), once she's started running there is no stopping her so I have to follow in hot pursuit :lol:

If she likes roast chicken then I would suggest taking some chopped up in a small bag, it sometimes helps to warm it in your hands as well because it smells more, so is more likely to keep her attention on you.

Don't know what to say about the bike thing, I cycle and it can be quite scary if you get chased, and also a bit unnerving if the dog can run fast enough to outrun you! I know a whippet doesn't really look scary but maybe to some people they are :p I got chased while jogging by an akita, don't know a lot about that breed other than I had heard they could be aggressive, I really didn't know if to stop or sprint. I decided to stop, luckily that was the right choice, it just wanted to say hello :sweating: have you got a friend who has a bike who could help you with some training?

Hope some of that helps, your culprit is beautiful by the way :wub:
 
She is very sweet :wub: :wub: Lots of good advice on here :thumbsup:
 
Hi Sarah,

We had this problem with Gypsy for a while, she would go after people walking, kids playing footy and cats!!!!..............................we started by not letting her off lead at all, but every walk we went on, we put her on the flexi lead and as soon as we saw a person, bike etc, we called her back and gave her a treat, now at first we had to give a little tug on the lead to encourage her to come back to us, but it really didnt take long for her to get the hang of it :)

we had to make sure we called her back as soon as she took a interest in anything at all :thumbsup: the timing i found, was important!

anyway..........we did this for about 3 weeks, (she has 3 walks a day)............when we thought she was ready, and she was coming back every time, we went somewhere pretty quiet and let her off the lead...........after about 5 mins i called her back with a treat in my hand...............and low and behold the little beauty came back :D .........we kept doing this throughout the whole walk with lots of praise, and also put her back on the lead for short amounts of time and she has been fantastic ever since :D :thumbsup:

even now shes soooo much better, we still carry on with the training on lead and off.

this has worked for us, just thought i would let you know :thumbsup:

:luck: good luck

p.s......... dont forget.......lots of praise :thumbsup:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Oh yes, how dumb of me to forget, Hely just reminded me! We use a long line on Lenny (bit of a tongue twister!), a 10 metre one, as he is fear aggressive, but I reckon you should use one on your whippy to stop her running away while you teach a good recall. One word of advice though, don't use the lead while she is playing around other dogs or you could end up in a right tangle!!!
 
Thanks everyone for the advice, what I had been doing was carrying treats and when she comes back, which she is very good at, I give her one. Whenever I see a bike appear or a person (especially child) I put her on her lead. What happened yesterday was she was walking fine with this other dog and I was just about to say bye to the person when she thought she would be cheeky and turn round and walk back to eat a bit of poo (disgusting!) so because she was focused on that and when i went to get her so is harder to get back when doing that, this man walked past just at this time and she came to life and it was very obvious that she wanted to play. What i've noticed about her is she just loves dogs and people to give her a bit of attention, even just a small hello, she would have left him, or if he had stopped walking and just ignored her. I will start trying these techniques with her and stay central in the park.

She gets off her lead at a very secure and quiet place in the morning and at night, so it isn't vital that she gets off in the park, the only reason I like her off is that is the only place where she meets dogs and just loves to play. She is very well behaved at home with our ferrets and guinea pigs and when we visit people and to be honest she is great off lead, it's just when something grabs her attention. Also, when she is on lead she walks very well and doesn't jump up at people as they pass or show any interest in bikes unless they go speeding past very quickly

I was also wondering has anyone tried these dog whistles? There was someone in the park one time before in the distance and she heard it and it seemed to get her attention, I don't know if that is worth a try?

I've really enjoyed reading the boards here and seeing pictures of peoples whippets they are all so cute, although aren't they all.

I've added another picture of her, she loves to pose for pictures whenever a camera gets turned on, she turns round and looks, lol!

Thanks again for help!

IMG_1932.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
we tried a whistle, and she did respond to it.............unforunatly she responed to other peoples as well :- "

so stopped using it in the end :thumbsup:

loving those ears :huggles:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yes her ears are really big compared to alot of whippets, she isn't registered, i'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. When she has them up full she looks like a pharaoh hound. I have to say this is a great place to talk about your dog, I love her so much but I think people start to get annoyed when I talk about her alot :wub:
 
my friend had a whippie with sticky up ears..............she tried to get them to stay down with sticky tape :- "

needless to say, it didnt work :oops:

i know what you mean about people getting fed up with hearing about your whippie, im always boring folk to death :- " but you can chat away to your hearts content on here :thumbsup:

she really is lovely :huggles:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top