Whippet To Adjust To Town Life

[parker ink]

Some of you may have read some of my posts re our 2 yo castrated male whippet. He is high energy but very biddable, gentle and reasonably respectful.

Due to a new business venture that will benefit the whole family (well, bumpkin me has soem reservations as I am very happy grotting about in the mud and hills in our extremely rural location) we will be moving to a small, (2.5 thous head of population) bustling and friendly country town to take over a small hotel.

The kids are delighted as they are at an age where they need access to hang w thier friends (they are teenagers of 7, 14 and 17) and to have thier own bedrooms. We can expand our already thriving business and take it to the next level, using our already good reputation as a boost. My pony will be liveried at a farm a mile out of town and the area is very horsey and the riding is great, so I am not totally heartbroken. (Actually, I am but we wont talk about that )The cats are indoor cats anyway and wont notice the difference.

So all is good for everyone. However, Cody may not find the transition so easy.

Our current location is ultra rural and he does not meet much traffic or many other dogs. He only knows and plays with one other dog (a black lab of similar age) and is very nervous of all other dogs. He doesnt love it when a huge lorry trundles past us on a narrow lane so I need to fnd a way to make him traffic proof and not so nervous. The hotel is on the main street and has no garden. So in order to take him for walks he will have to pass traffic and other dogs. I think he is going to have to be on the lead a lot and I am hopeful that the farmer who owns the property that the pony will be staying on will be amenable to letting cody have runs on empty fields. Cody will miss our country life in which he came everywhere with me, often for miles and often off leash. The owners living quarters are very spacious (more so than our current cottage) so he will not feel cramped or repressed in the house. There is no garden so he will have to be walked everytime he needs a pee. One good thing is that the plus of having a dog in the town is that you can walk them after dark because there are streetlights to light your way. Its more difficult in the country.

I am rambling and fretting a bit, but any tips on how to help cody to adjust to the new life and to be happy in it would be very much welcomed.

Thanks in advance.

 

[meddling]

I reckon he will be just fine with you, whippets are so adaptable with effort...its amazing how many great walks there are right in the middle of towns and cities. I've done dogs in flats before and yes, its a bit of a pain and takes effort but my two boxers that I had at the time adjusted perfectly well. :thumbsup:

Don't fret too much for him, he'll be good if he gets plenty of company, he'll get used to the traffic...just take it all slowly :thumbsup:

Good luck with it all :luck: :luck: :luck:

 

[kirsty]

Good luck with it all. It sounds a great set up for you all :luck: :luck: :luck:

 

[alilemur]

I agree, he will settle. I have just done the same (ish) from a seaside town with nature reserves, quite streets and huge open beaches to run on, to a big town on a busy main road. My girls hated walking past traffic before the move but I keep them on the lead and make sure they are on the side away from the road as they tend to wander into it otherwise! They are totally used to it now.

There are probably lots of open spaces if you ask around. I asked a dog owner in my first week and found a huge field where all the local people go and it's safe to let the whippets off there. It's a 10 minute drive away but worth it. In the morning I walk to a nature reserve but it's too near the road and full of squirrels so no chance of being off the lead! The dogs were mortified at first, but now they know the routine and trot around really well behaved on the lead, which has been good for them.

Taking them out for a pee might be a tiring job - I was giving them 4 walks a day minimum, even just a walk to the nearest grass as they won't pee on concrete. This took up so much of my time! I fitted a dog flap into my postage stamp sized yard (tiny tiny tiny) and put a scrap of turf down for them to pee on, and this has really helped get my life back!

Maybe you could go to socialisation class like puppies do, just to get him used to being confident with other dogs. Let him sniff and be sniffed and i am sure he'll learn all the rules on dog etiquette in no time!

Good luck with the move - it sound exciting, although I am hoping to go the opposite and get more rural again if I can as i miss the open spaces.

Best wishes,

Alison

Willow & Buffy

 

[Loopy]

You might want to get him a snug fitted harness that he can't back out of til he gets used to walking near traffic. Sure he'll enjoy having more sofa space and there's bound to be some safe dog offlead areas on the outskirts if you ask around :luck:

 

[parker ink]

Thanks for the tips and reassurance guys. I am reminding myself he does not need to go on th e high street at peak time on his first day there. Like you say, we can introduce him to it slowly.

In some ways this might be a better life for him as we wont be "going out" to work anymore and will be around during the day much more.

I am hopeful this is going to be a good thing for all of us and didnt want it to be a bad move for any member of the familiy - including the dog.

good tip re the harness btw - I will get one.

 

[Nicola]

Good luck with impending move. As you say your kids will love being in town

I live in a small rural town, in a small terraced house with no real garden (unfenced cottage garden). However, I'm lucky enough to live on a road where the park entrance is 50 yards from my house. You will bump into more dogs as parks are a magnet for dog walkers, but if you get there early/off peak you tend to be able to avoid most of them. I'm sure you'll soon suss out some other dog walk areas too...buy an OS map?

It is a bit of a pain not having a garden to speak of (especially if the dogs are ill... :- " ), and I have to go out with mine 4 x a day for toilet breaks. I got quite stressed about this at first, and obsessed about having a garden but have now resigned myself to it and actually mostly enjoy the enforced routine and exercise now (I don't have kids though...). The dogs take it all in their stride and soon adjust (Fred used to have a dog flap and a huge back garden to run around in). I do find you make more of an effort to give them varied walks in your free time, and I'm often out in the hills, not having to worry about any real gardening and not wanting to be indoors either.

'Necessity is the mother of invention', as they say. You'll find ways to make it work...and it only sounds like a small town. You'll find some good rural access I'm sure :thumbsup: Good luck :luck: