Very excited about picking up our new whippet pup in a couple of weeks! Obviously we intend to take her with us when we go camping (usually 4 weeks in France in our trailer tent) and I was wondering if any whippet owners out there have any advice about how they travel and tips when camping with them. Any other words of wisdom about the wonderful world of whippets (what great alliteration!) would be greatfully received! Thanks in advance!
Agree with Jeff having had two lurchers who are classed as sighthounds and were a law unto themselves when off lead.
Both mine were rescue older dogs so couldn't get any recall from them at all, ok within a field with stock fencing.
So unless you can manage an excellent recall do not let them off.
Dogs seem to love the freedom of camping and being with their owners all the time, some people take a crate with them if they are used to them it helps them feel secure. our dog is in our bedroom with us at night and on the bed sometimes too, just home from home for him.
Always have water with you for them when you are out, take some toys and something to attach them to outside your tent like one of those screw things.
Most of all enjoy it x
Love whippys :
Whippet Laws
If I like it, it's mine
If it's in my mouth, it's mine
If I can take it from you, it's mine
If I had it a little while ago, it's mine
If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way
If I'm chewing something up, all the pieces are mine
If it just looks like mine, it's mine
If I saw it first, it's mine
If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine
If it's broken, it's yours !!
Definitely keep her on a lead. Just when you think you've got it and she's staying with you she'll disappear leaving you searching for ages till she decides it's time to come back!
We've got a lurcher (half whippet, quarter greyhound, quarter bedlington terrier) and when she was a puppy she didn't travel well, she threw up every time she got in the car till she got used to it.
She does get very nervous and while she's a lovely dog who likes nothing more than sitting on someone's knee on the sofa, I don't trust her with new people, especially when unknown kids come up wanting to stroke the dogs on campsites as she's so nervous.
Crate training was the best thing for our Tess, she loves hers and it's where she seems happiest when camping, rather than when she's tethered.
The most important thing about getting any new puppy is .... posting lots of pics on here!
I'm very jealous, I adore whippets and someone popped into work with theirs today. I had a lovely cuddle and she gave me a smashing snog.
If I thought Lola Lakie would tolerate another dog in the house, I'd be looking for a rescue whippet or Bedlington x whippet. I told her that earlier on and she went up the garden and had a big bark about it. I think she was telling all her mates about my treachery.
My only real piece of whippet advice is that they get cold easily, so may well need something to wear when camping at night. Whippet owning friends swear by Equafleece dog jumpers. They may seem a bit dear, but they are very well made (Lola's is 10 years old and good as new), washable, quick drying, and remarkably waterproof
Our lovely girl is part whippet and as well as feeling the cold whippets don't have a lot of extra padding, so take along the thickest memory foam pad you can get. As well as being very comfortable it also reflects heat back which will help her at night.
Oh, and something to cover her up as well, surprising how much body heat they loose during the night.
Definitely keep her on a lead at all times, and apart from that, enjoy your lovely holidays with the whole family.
If she turns out to be sensitive to car travel (lots of whippets are) there are some excellent homeopathic remedies.
You lucky thing! Getting a new member of your family is so exciting!
I found that my dog got used to camping very quickly - he's a rescue so was a bit older- I think they adapt quickly as long as they feel secure. We're getting a companion for mine after moving house in Oct and will probably get another whippet or cross- can't wait!
I do find I need to use more windbreaks though!? My last dog was a whippet/ saluki and current one saluki- I'm guessing this probably applies to all sight hounds that they are going to be fascinated by the view at all times- to get mine to 'switch off' and relax, I need to block his view so he's not constantly looking around and on alert.
I've also found that when the nights are chillier I have to leave a housecoat on him as he'll get cold and even if he's got a million blankets they'll fall off.
Ps not really about campIng but Have a look at kitsch collars for gorgeous sight hound collars! V cute!
Jess is 6 years old now, have had her since a puppy. She is greyhound/beardie cross. Highly intelligent, can be a bit defiant sometimes. Training and recall good "mostly". On recall, she can sometimes look as if to say "in a minute" but mostly returns straight away.
Unless I am at the local disused airfield or as nicknamed by myself "Harefield". I went there on SUnday. 5mins drive from my house and I was in a hurry to give her a good walk. It was about 6.00 p.m. We walked all round the route that I normally take. She was running around, in and out of the bushes and frequently checking that I was there. I got within yards of the car. She was right behind me sniffing around at the edge of the cropfield. (Should have recognised the signs). Turned round to call her to me to put lead on. Nothing. She had vanished into thin air. I couldnt believe she could disappear in such a short time, and you can see for miles. She was gone for 1/2 hr. I timed her, plus a man walking a retriever turned up and finished his walk and she still wasnt back. I had thin teeshirt and thin trousers on. I was freezing, frustrated and worried. Sun was going down
Then a dot appeared over the horizon. I went from wanting to hang her from the nearest tree to being so relieved that I just put her lead on and walked back to the car. Moral of story is, these running dogs/long dogs/sight hounds or whatever you want to class them as, can clear a county in less minutes than it takes to boil an egg once they get that irresistable smell. I can call Jess off rabbits, but hares, muntjacks and pheasants. Be warned. On a lighter note, she is brilliant in car and camping.
Lol at Jess, Elaine. My first dog was a whippet x lab and I swear he had a cloak of invisibility. He could slip past while you were at the front door, without you noticing, and take himself round to the pet shop for a biscuit!
I love Beardie crosses. I was very taken with a Beardie x grey puppy we met at Bainbridge Ings one year. She would escape from her tent early in the morning and come and join us in ours. She was an absolute sweetheart, I could happily have brought her home.
Jess is 6 years old now, have had her since a puppy. She is greyhound/beardie cross. Highly intelligent, can be a bit defiant sometimes. Training and recall good "mostly". On recall, she can sometimes look as if to say "in a minute" but mostly returns straight away.
She sounds absolutely gorgeous , would love to see a picture. We had a rescue Beardie for 14 years. The most adorable, intelligent, self-opinionated hairy horror you've ever met.
Ollie was almost too smart for his own good. He was very well-trained and 98% of the time would do exactly as he was told, when he was told. The other 2% I'd be met with "that look" and he would obey the command . . . in his own time.
He once decided that chasing a rabbit was more important than coming back to me, got his long coat caught in brambles, became completely trapped and started to panic - which tangled him up even more. I found him by following the barking and then spent nearly an hour completely shredding my hands as I tried to free him. That was the last time I ever walked a dog without gloves in my pocket, regardless of the time of year
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Whippet owners!
