Training

I enjoy the sporting activities with Ella, without being anxious that she will become uncontrollable. All dogs will potentially chase a cat that runs away, a rabbit that jumps up in front of it. And a Whippet? Oh yes! Of course they will and they are faster than most. But I can honestly say, I have had much more difficult Labradors to train. It has nothing to do with whether a dog goes to sporting events or not. On the contrary, sighthounds that are satisfied and have to opportunity to live the life they were bred for, where they are physically challenged are often easy to handle in everyday life.

Every dog will chase, and yes, sighthounds notice things moving at quite long distances. But so do an aweful lot of other breeds. It‘s all a case of bringing the dog up to be obedient and some good basic training goes a long way towards that. Whippets don’t have to go coursing or racing. When they have reached adulthood they are happy doing a variety of other activities with their owners, such as mantrailing, search and rescue, agility and other dog sports. Some go on to be even service dogs or just being with active people that like to walk. An adult Whippet is happier than most breeds when the exercise is limited. It is not true that they have to walk 2-3 hours a day. They are quite happy with a brisk 1 hour walk a day, if you have a garden or one longer and two short walks if you don’t have to much time.

But like all dogs they need a sensible, aggression free training to learn the basic needs of living with a family. And they need a safe place to run 2-3 times a week when they have reached a good standard of recall.