Whipitgood

We can really only speculate without knowing the owners or the dogs full story and circumstances. I wonder if the Whippet came from a registered breeder, my owners always know that i am their first port of call at any point in the dogs life, regardless of circumstances - if they have any problems. But he may have already tried that.

If the owner signed a consent form for euthanasia and rehoming wasnt discussed, i dare say the deed has already been done.

ETA: we dont get storms often enough to warrant getting anxious about it as an owner, but i do have one storm phobic dog, she is sedated and crated. Simple as that. I would rather she is sedated and slept it off in the peace and safety of her crate, than do herself damage or damage to any furniture.

The problem isn't always caused by owners rewarding behavious, some dogs are just hard wired with anxiety ect.

And sadly, crating isn't always a solution either, I have seen dogs with horrific injuries caused by panic behaviour in their crate.

The very sad reality is that some dogs with these issues are better off PTS.

Yes its true, but before condemning the dog to death, it would me nice to know the full situation first. NASO - Here is a link to the Victorian Whippet Association and South Australian Whippet Club, who do rescues. They can at least assess the dog, talk to its owners and get the full story first. Some dogs just do better in a different environment.

Vic Whippet Assoc

SA Whippet Club

Pass that info onto the vet (if the dog is still alive), hopefully the poor whippet is rehomable

ETA: Hmmm my linky thing didnt work, but the web address is there!

I have made some for my Whippets, although I don't use elastic as they hate their ears left in them. I tuck the bottom bit inside their coats.

I also make my dog coats with extended necks that sit just behind their ears but you could make them longer if you wished. That way they wouldn't get lost.

I have some of Rommi N Lewis's snood and coat creations - she is very smart and my whippies LOVE them! Great for keeping their ears and necks warm. My dogs have a better wardrobe than me!

Thanks Aloysha. The second time she got an infection after mating, the first time she was fine throughout pregnancy but still had a hard time whelping. So third time lucky. Im convinced its the herbs and antibiotics! Small sample size of course!

Thanks Chocolate! Got mostly boys again but at least they are healthy - 2 bitches and 4 dogs. All varying shades of brindle and white!

Well i am now a convert. I decided to mate my bitch shortly after i posted this thread. I had her on prophylactic antibiotics at mating (She got a post mating infection last time), gave her kelp throughout her pregnancy, rasberry leaf tablets from 7 weeks onwards and antibiotics the week before she whelped and she has just had the easiset whelping that any of my bitches have ever had! I also gave her calcium in between pups. 6 puppies in 2 hours, the first was born within 40 minutes of pushing (usually her first takes and hour and a half and is born dead, no surprise). The rest were all born healthy, no stillborns or decomposed pups and no detached placentas which are all problems ive had before. It will now be interesting to see if i get any fading puppies, another issue ive had in the past, including one in her last litter. Im hoping the antibiotics she was on for a week before whelping may eliminate the risk of fading puppies.

Im no expert and who knows if any of this contributed, but i do know i have a healthy litter which was whelped very easily and im happy with that!

Thanks to all those with advice regarding kelp, rasberry leaf and calcium. I will now be using that in the future.

Whippets are supposed to be gentle and most of the time they are but when these two go off, they're like bloody chainsaws.

Bloody whippet bitches!!

I can sympathise, i have an alpha bitch here who is dominant over bitches and dogs, shes such a gorgeous gentle thing but can be such a cow sometimes! She has injured my boy after a big bust up, my future star in the ring that ive had to pull out of showing for the past 4 months because it looks like his stifle is permanatly injured. :D

Its amazing how quick they can turn. Hope your girls recover well. Trouble is, once two of them start, its often really hard to break that habit and tension between them.

EDT: i just could not imagine standing by and letting 2 dogs sort it out for themselves. There is no way i would let it go on - i too would immediately separate them and if clobbering them with a cobweb broom does the job then so be it!

was this the labrador waiting to whelp? I wondered what happened to her and that thread?

ETA - Aaahh ive just found the thread and saw how it was turning out. Shame. No wonder she hasnt come back to inform us. Hope all is well.

Yes i agree, shes an inspiration and an amazing young lady. She has achieved so much and im so glad she shoved it up the critics and completed her trip safely. Just watching it unfold on telly now, brings tears to my eyes!

There are many teenagers that could learn a thing or two from this amazing girl

I have whippets that love chasing small furries. My guys are inside and outside dogs, treated as part of the family. So are the cats. I have 3 whippets that have grown up around cats since birth and 2 that have been introduced to them at a later age. They have always been taught not to chase them and are usually good. However, i have had 2 cats that are very friendly with the dogs, playing together and one cat that wont let the dogs anywhere near him and will lash out if the dogs so much as glance at him.

Both cats that were too trusting of the dogs and despite the dogs being trained not to chase them - were killed by my whippets. I was horrified because they would sleep together on the bed and would play quite happily together. The cat that stands up for himself is still alive and they stay well away.

Unfortunately, a running cat has proved to be too much for the dogs on both occassions and instinct took over. The first time i only witnessed the end so am not sure what triggered it (they were all asleep together on my bed and i think the aircon blew the door closed, startled the cat and the dogs reacted). The second time i did see it and it simply started off as a game, then chase, then they caught him and before i knew it they got too rough, the cat naturally reacted, so they got stuck in some more and that was the end.

My point is - never trust that they will be OK together, I would never have suspected my beloved dogs would kill my beloved cats. They always got on so well together. I was devastated and learnt my lesson the hard way. It turns out it was one of the bitches who has been around cats since birth - who was the instigator in the 2nd incident and when there is a pack of dogs i think it turns into a bit of a frenzy.

How many are your expecting vanessa, hope its not another litter of 10 for you!

looking forward to photos Kanati. Sounds like she doesnt mess around and just gets on with it!

Thanks everyone, ill have a look at the TOT way of training.

I can understand the issues surrounding food refusal if you are strict about it. I too have heard of dogs that literally starve if they get themselves into a pound or go missing etc. Not sure if this is true or just an urban myth. I find it hard to believe that instinct wont kick in if a dog was starving to death, but that is to the very extreme i surpose.

I mainly want to start training my dogs food refusal because i am tired of them constantly thieving food, our food, each others food, eating cat poo (and im talking raiding the enclosed litter tray, not just in the garden!!) eating blow fish at the beach, dead decomposing animals at the river ... im not kidding - anything they can eat they will! And i assure you they are not starving and get fed twice a day!

So its just another type of training and discpiline that i want to incorporate into their lives.

Dogs can easily learn to wait for for their food until you give a command.

They already do this. I want to train them to only eat things that i allow them to eat and to leave the things i dont want them to touch. I can recall them or tell them to leave if i see they are about to eat something, but i want them to learn not to touch it if i dont see them! I dont want them to think that everything is free and they can eat what they like.

Thats pretty impressive for a Lab MM! I have Whippets that will gobble up anything within a 5 mile radius and will even counter surf to get a roast dinner off the bench!!

I have heard of guard dog owners doing this to prevent their dogs from eating things they shouldnt or being poisoned.

Is teaching a dog to only eat when it is gven a command and easy thing to teach and do they stick to it? For instance, teaching a dog that the only time it can ever pick up food of any sort is when it is given a specific command or word. Do they adhere to this if you are not around, so much so that they will never pick up food without associating it with that particular command?

Would appreciate the experiences and feedback of those in the know.

Pick them up one at a time and hold them against your skin at the base of your neck and remain very calm and just talk to the pup. Usually after a few minutes you will find the pup starts to settle and relax into your neck. The warmth of your skin will comfort the pup and the vibration of your talking will feel reassuring to the pup.

Love this idea! This works well in skin babies - skin to skin contact, so obviously skin to fur contact works just as well!

Milucca grin and bear it ...

Milucca The bear facts ...

Milucca bear essentials? ... ;)

For me personally, if a bitch is not a good whelper, I would not breed her again. I had years of ceasars when I started breeding, and kept thinking the next bitch would not have one, but she did. It only stopped when I bought a bitch from a free whelping line. I was once told by a long time breeder that you should never keep a bitch from a bitch that had a ceasar - and I have learnt she knew what she was talking about. I have only had one caesar since, and that was due to extreme external forces rather than a problem with the bitch, but I still desexed her afterwards. No herbs or additives in the world will, in my opinion and experience (yes I tried them all) will help a problem whelper, and a bitch who is a good whelper will need little assistance. All I will do now is maybe give a little calcium between births if I feel things are slowing down, but that is not necessary if the bitch eats some of the placentas.

Im not sure being a slow difficult whelper deserves desexing her and never breeding from her again ... just yet. She has never had to have a section. I was after advice to make it easier for her. If she had to have a caesarien this time then i would most likely desex her, but im not about to jump in and do that just yet, just because she had a hard time the last 2 times. She still did the job, albeit with difficulty! Sure, i dont agree with continually breedng a bitch that needs caesarians, but she hasnt needed caesarians.

yes thats probably the difference, running on a straight track is maybe less likely to cause injury than racing around the park where they twist and turn and run into things.

I would love to do it here in WA.

Great pics Kirislin, i would love to come to one of your days, bit far away for me to drive though!

Just curious, do any of them injure themselves? I only ask because i have stopped running my guys together because they barrell along at a million miles an hour and bowl each other over, ive had so many stifle, back and leg injuries lately, so ive stopped doing it. Which is a shame because they just love to run together at full speed in open space.

Please take care if you administer your own oxytocin. If there is a blockage you can cause MAJOR damage to your bitch if you give her this. It's not something to be dished out willy nilly.

Thanks Rysup, its OK, my hubby is a vet, so he is always on hand if needed. He is also reluctant to use it until absolutely necesary because it causes the placentas to separate early, therefore there is a higher chance of losing pups too. I usually try all other methods first.

Sneaking in a 3 week old puppy pic.........because I can

Oh dear, how cute is he/she! I love them at that age, just starting to growl and play and roll around! ;)

Yes the 3 x 3 room that is for the dogs is where ill have a whelping bitch, its inside the house attached to the laundry. Ill have room for a sofa in there too, for those long nights waiting and waiting!!

I know Sonnet is his mummy, whos his daddy?

Thanks for your replies everyone!

D4Dogz your place sounds great too. Would love to see photos if you have some!

Hi Whippets, your place sounds great! I am sooo looking forward to space, peace and tranquility, not only for our own sanity but also so i can have a better set up for the dogs.

I would love to see some photos if you have time please My email is [email protected] (its on my website too).

When you say you have covered the top with wire due to hawks ... is that because the hawkes pinch baby whippies???!!! We have many wedgetail eagles and i never thought of that! Oh my god could you imagine it? An eagle taking off with a whippet baby

Once the dogs are out in the runs, what do you have for shelter from rain, cold or heat? I have seen some people have sheds but i cant imagine that would be too comfy in summer?

This is more of a question for those who live on acreage who have multiple dogs eg. breeders etc.

We have just bought 5 acres. We are building a house that has its own designated 3 x 3 dog room for whelping, sleeping etc. This room has direct access to the outside.

I was wondering what people have set up outside for their dogs, in terms of runs, paddocks and shelter. I am trying to figure out the best way of going about fencing off areas. Ideally, i would like a few different areas to be able to separate dogs, such as bitches in season, puppy runs etc. But it needs to be functional and safe, with adequate shelter when they are outside.

Would anyone like to share some photos, experience and ideas of their set up at home? It would be much appreciated!

Cheers in advance!