Hello everyone,

I'm so happy to have found this group. It's been quite a while since I
was on Usenet.

We have a Whippet (Charles) who is going on 2 years old. We got him
this summer from a breeder who decided not to show him anymore. He is
my 2nd Whippet, though the first is not here anymore.

Since Charles was trained as a show dog, he was crate trained and used
to being handled. However since being at our house he has developed a
major problem. When we put him in the crate and we are around, he's
fine. However, the moment we leave the room, or worse, the house, he
completely freaks out. He starts chewing at the crate, chewing at the
door, and eventually has an accident in the crate. We are to the point
where we are afraid to go anywhere because when we get back we'll have
to clean the crate and give him a bath.

We have tried putting him in the crate most of the day (my wife is a
stay-at-home mom so he goes out at 8am, noon, 3pm, and then after
dinner he comes out for the evening) to get him back to where he was as
a show dog, but nothing is working. The crate we use is the same size,
shape and color as the crate he was trained in, so it's not unfamiliar
to him.

My wife set up a video camera to capture his behavior and I've posted
it to my website. Please help. We cannot continue to come home to a
poopy crate/dog to clean up. If we cannot solve the problem, we are
going to have to send him back to the breeder.

I am hoping someone who has experience with whippets will answer,
because they aren't like other types of dogs and many times don't
respond the way say a retriever may respond.

The video is located here (its about 4 minutes long - but he does this
for nearly an entire video tape):

http://www.fusiondigitalproductions....yCharles-1.wmv


Thank you for any advice or help you can give.

Paul

On 21 Jan 2007 09:49:51 -0800, wrote:

Hello everyone,

I'm so happy to have found this group. It's been quite a while since I
was on Usenet.

We have a Whippet (Charles) who is going on 2 years old. We got him
this summer from a breeder who decided not to show him anymore. He is
my 2nd Whippet, though the first is not here anymore.

Since Charles was trained as a show dog, he was crate trained and used
to being handled. However since being at our house he has developed a
major problem. When we put him in the crate and we are around, he's
fine. However, the moment we leave the room, or worse, the house, he
completely freaks out. He starts chewing at the crate, chewing at the
door, and eventually has an accident in the crate. We are to the point
where we are afraid to go anywhere because when we get back we'll have
to clean the crate and give him a bath.

We have tried putting him in the crate most of the day (my wife is a
stay-at-home mom so he goes out at 8am, noon, 3pm, and then after
dinner he comes out for the evening) to get him back to where he was as
a show dog, but nothing is working. The crate we use is the same size,
shape and color as the crate he was trained in, so it's not unfamiliar
to him.

My wife set up a video camera to capture his behavior and I've posted
it to my website. Please help. We cannot continue to come home to a
poopy crate/dog to clean up. If we cannot solve the problem, we are
going to have to send him back to the breeder.

I am hoping someone who has experience with whippets will answer,
because they aren't like other types of dogs and many times don't
respond the way say a retriever may respond.

The video is located here (its about 4 minutes long - but he does this
for nearly an entire video tape):

http://www.fusiondigitalproductions....yCharles-1.wmv

Do you have other dogs, or is Charles now any only dog? If he's by
himself, that could very well be the problem. Whippets generally do
better in multiple-dog homes than as single dogs. It's possible that
Charles' problem is separation anxiety, or maybe it is the crate
that's causing the anxiety. Putting him in the crate most of the day
"to get him back to where he was as a show dog" is not going to help
the situation, and the fact that it's the same type of crate he was in
at the breeder's is irrelevant, because he is now in a different
environment. If he's an only dog at your house, this is probably the
first time he's been alone, without other dogs around, and that's
going to require some adjustment for him. One way to find out whether
the anxiety is due to the crate or to being alone is to leave him
loose in the house and leave for a short period of time. You can also
observe his behavior in the house while you're home - does he follow
you from room to room? (This one isn't foolproof, as Whippets are
usually Velcro dogs and often follow their humans around.) What
happens if you go into another room where he can't see you - does he
whine and get agitated? If he really has separation anxiety, you can
either train him to accept being alone (get Patricia McConnell's book
"I'll Be Home Soon"), or you can get another dog.

Is it necessary to crate this dog while you're gone? If the problem
is the crate and not being alone (one of my former show Whippets, who
was crated extensively at the breeder's, hates being crated but is
very well-behaved loose in the house when we're gone, except for
destrying my bedmaking to get under the covers. But we have a
multidog home.), you could try confining Charles in a room where he
would be safe and unable to do any damage. That can be tricky with a
Whippet, though, because a closed door might exacerbate his anxiety,
and Whippets generally laugh at baby gates (as they're sailing over
them).

Mustang Sally

We are presently training our welsh springer spaniel ....who is a
velcro dog !
Hes only 4 months and we have a similar problem.
Our solution was to have a few toys including a food toy. However the
best result was also to put a sheet over his crate it seems to quiet
him down when we go out.
I also made sure he had a gap for breathing fresh air .
When we introduce him to entering the crate we also bribe and reward
him with a food treat.

Hope that is of some help in your case with Charles.

NZed

wrote:
Hello everyone,

I'm so happy to have found this group. It's been quite a while since I
was on Usenet.

We have a Whippet (Charles) who is going on 2 years old. We got him
this summer from a breeder who decided not to show him anymore. He is
my 2nd Whippet, though the first is not here anymore.

Since Charles was trained as a show dog, he was crate trained and used
to being handled. However since being at our house he has developed a
major problem. When we put him in the crate and we are around, he's
fine. However, the moment we leave the room, or worse, the house, he
completely freaks out. He starts chewing at the crate, chewing at the
door, and eventually has an accident in the crate. We are to the point
where we are afraid to go anywhere because when we get back we'll have
to clean the crate and give him a bath.

We have tried putting him in the crate most of the day (my wife is a
stay-at-home mom so he goes out at 8am, noon, 3pm, and then after
dinner he comes out for the evening) to get him back to where he was as
a show dog, but nothing is working. The crate we use is the same size,
shape and color as the crate he was trained in, so it's not unfamiliar
to him.

My wife set up a video camera to capture his behavior and I've posted
it to my website. Please help. We cannot continue to come home to a
poopy crate/dog to clean up. If we cannot solve the problem, we are
going to have to send him back to the breeder.

I am hoping someone who has experience with whippets will answer,
because they aren't like other types of dogs and many times don't
respond the way say a retriever may respond.

The video is located here (its about 4 minutes long - but he does this
for nearly an entire video tape):

http://www.fusiondigitalproductions....yCharles-1.wmv


Thank you for any advice or help you can give.

Paul

in thread ups.com: "NZed"
whittled the following words:

We are presently training our welsh springer spaniel ....who is a
velcro dog !
Hes only 4 months and we have a similar problem.
Our solution was to have a few toys including a food toy. However the
best result was also to put a sheet over his crate it seems to quiet
him down when we go out.
I also made sure he had a gap for breathing fresh air .
When we introduce him to entering the crate we also bribe and reward
him with a food treat.

Hope that is of some help in your case with Charles.

NZed

wrote:
Hello everyone,

I'm so happy to have found this group. It's been quite a while since I
was on Usenet.

We have a Whippet (Charles) who is going on 2 years old. We got him
this summer from a breeder who decided not to show him anymore. He is
my 2nd Whippet, though the first is not here anymore.

Since Charles was trained as a show dog, he was crate trained and used
to being handled. However since being at our house he has developed a
major problem. When we put him in the crate and we are around, he's
fine. However, the moment we leave the room, or worse, the house, he
completely freaks out. He starts chewing at the crate, chewing at the
door, and eventually has an accident in the crate. We are to the point
where we are afraid to go anywhere because when we get back we'll have
to clean the crate and give him a bath.

We have tried putting him in the crate most of the day (my wife is a
stay-at-home mom so he goes out at 8am, noon, 3pm, and then after
dinner he comes out for the evening) to get him back to where he was as
a show dog, but nothing is working. The crate we use is the same size,
shape and color as the crate he was trained in, so it's not unfamiliar
to him.

My wife set up a video camera to capture his behavior and I've posted
it to my website. Please help. We cannot continue to come home to a
poopy crate/dog to clean up. If we cannot solve the problem, we are
going to have to send him back to the breeder.

I am hoping someone who has experience with whippets will answer,
because they aren't like other types of dogs and many times don't
respond the way say a retriever may respond.

The video is located here (its about 4 minutes long - but he does this
for nearly an entire video tape):

http://www.fusiondigitalproductions....yCharles-1.wmv


Thank you for any advice or help you can give.

Paul



I would also feed him in the crate. The treats "only" offerings should also
be crate related

Thanks everyone.

We tried putting a sheet over him and he pulled it in to the crate and
destroyed it.

We feed him only in the crate, and give him a treat for going in to the
crate. Toys don't make a difference - he never plays with any toys and
could care less about them.

I would love to think that we could trust him loose in the house, but
he still has accidents in the house as well. And right now there's no
way to try this out a few minutes at a time - it's winter and we have a
4 year old. They've tried to fool him by putting him in the crate and
then pretending to leave, but that's hard with a 4 year old.

Previously we tried reducing his time in the crate to only when
necessary and that didn't make a difference. And when we're home and
put him in the crate, he's mostly fine.

He doesn't follow us room to room if he's napping. He'll stay on our
bed or on the floor of the living room for hours.

Unfortunately the money, time and space are not there for a 2nd dog
either.

Thanks for all the help!

Paul

We have tried putting him in the crate most of the day (my wife is a
stay-at-home mom so he goes out at 8am, noon, 3pm, and then after
dinner he comes out for the evening)


what exactly does this mean? how much of the day is he in the crate? how
much of the day is he out? When he comes out of it at the times mentioned
above, what does he do before going back in the crate? How long is he out
of the crate before going back in it? Is your wife home when the dog is
crated?

What the hell is he doing in a crate? Poor thing. I suggest you spend a
few hours locked in a box every day when everyone around you is off
enjoying life and see how you like it. He just wants to get out and be
a dog. You people need to take a long hard look at yourself and your
lifestyle and decide whether or not you really need a dog. I can't
believe you complain that he 'has an accident' in the crate and you
have to clean it out! Ohhh diddums. Didn't you think that he might want
to go to the toilet? Morons!

Wow, thanks for the constructive advice. Yes, the crate is a jail, a
prison, it's a horrible thing for any animal to be in. Nobody should
ever use a crate. It's torture!

Did you watch the video? And who the F*** do you think you are to call
us morons? Do you know me? Do you know the situation? Freaking
Usenet trolls never do go away, do they?

We can't leave the room for 2 minutes before he TOTALLY FREAKS OUT.
Can you get that through your thick head?

The dog needs help so my wife can actually leave the house for more
than 2 MINUTES. Right now she can't go anywhere!!!!! He freaks out
and poops all over his crate. She's trying to train him to be able to
stay in there so when she leaves he doesn't freak out. Your comments
do nothing to help at all.

This has nothing to do with him needing to relieve himself. If you
actually read (and I'm assuming you can read some of the bigger words -
people who attack the way you did often times have trouble with the big
words) what I wrote and watched the video you'd understand that he is
losing control of his bodily functions.

For everyone else, thank you for the constructive advice.

For you jerk-wad, get out of your mom's basement for a while and
socialize with actual human beings.



On Jan 22, 1:00 am, wrote:
What the hell is he doing in a crate? Poor thing. I suggest you spend a
few hours locked in a box every day when everyone around you is off
enjoying life and see how you like it. He just wants to get out and be
a dog. You people need to take a long hard look at yourself and your
lifestyle and decide whether or not you really need a dog. I can't
believe you complain that he 'has an accident' in the crate and you
have to clean it out! Ohhh diddums. Didn't you think that he might want
to go to the toilet? Morons!

Hey MauiJNP,

In order to try to get him to settle down in the crate, my wife has
tried a schedule. He goes out in the morning between 6am and say 8am,
then his in from 8 until noon. Then a lunch break & potty break, then
back in until 3pm, then another break, then until dinner. We're been
trying to set up a routine so he learns that the crate is nothing to
fear, and that he's used to people coming and going while he's in
there. He's not being left in there from morning until evening
non-stop. But we've been trying to train him to be able to stay in
there for about 3 hours, so my wife can go to the grocery without
having to come back to a poopy crate and dog every week.

I apologize for those who think we should keep him out of the crate
unless we're actually leaving, but as someone who has a degree in
psychology it seems like that would actually make the crate LESS
desirable than it already is. Feeding him in the crate, giving him
treats in the crate and praising him for going in the crate seemed like
it would associate positive things with the crate. However, so far he
still loses control the moment he can't see or hear us. Which is why I
was asking for help from other people who have experience with
whippets.

Again I appreciate the positive responses.

Paul




On Jan 21, 11:58 pm, "MauiJNP" wrote:
We have tried putting him in the crate most of the day (my wife is a
stay-at-home mom so he goes out at 8am, noon, 3pm, and then after
dinner he comes out for the evening)what exactly does this mean? how much of the day is he in the crate? how
much of the day is he out? When he comes out of it at the times mentioned
above, what does he do before going back in the crate? How long is he out
of the crate before going back in it? Is your wife home when the dog is
crated?

On 22 Jan 2007 03:11:33 -0800, wrote:


Hey MauiJNP,

In order to try to get him to settle down in the crate, my wife has
tried a schedule. He goes out in the morning between 6am and say 8am,
then his in from 8 until noon. Then a lunch break & potty break, then
back in until 3pm, then another break, then until dinner. We're been
trying to set up a routine so he learns that the crate is nothing to
fear, and that he's used to people coming and going while he's in
there. He's not being left in there from morning until evening
non-stop. But we've been trying to train him to be able to stay in
there for about 3 hours, so my wife can go to the grocery without
having to come back to a poopy crate and dog every week.

Does your psychology degree tell you that if the dog freaks out after
two minutes in the crate, the best thing to do is to put him in there
for most of the day while people are home so that he'll think the
crate is a happy place?

I apologize for those who think we should keep him out of the crate
unless we're actually leaving, but as someone who has a degree in
psychology it seems like that would actually make the crate LESS
desirable than it already is. Feeding him in the crate, giving him
treats in the crate and praising him for going in the crate seemed like
it would associate positive things with the crate. However, so far he
still loses control the moment he can't see or hear us. Which is why I
was asking for help from other people who have experience with
whippets.

I have experience with whippets, and in fact both my whippets were
show dogs, and in fact one of them had pretty severe problems being
crated ni spite of the fact that she was crated most of the time at
her first home, which was her breeder's. I gave you specific
recommendations for how to try to determine whether the problem is the
crate or being alone, and recommendations for trying to solve the
problem. Apparently you have reasons that all those recommendations
won't work or can't be tried at your house. That's fine, but don't
come back here asking for more suggestions from people who have
experience with whippets.

Send the dog back to the breeder so the breeder can find it a good
home.

Mustang Sally