Hi we recently took on a 5 month old whippet who has been kept in a house since 7 weeks without any contact with the outside world, we were expecting problems but have been pleasantly suprised how well he is getting on.
We have got him going to obedience classes and he is quite well behaved while there but out on walks if he sees another dog he goes nuts!! not agressive in any way but he jumps all over the other dog and its just luck we've only come across really friendly dogs who have put up with him.
We've tried to make him sit and he does until the other dog makes any movement at all then he's like a loony on a lead with legs everywhere, he's so sedate with our dog now so we're hoping he'll calm down with others as well or are his solitary early months likely to have made this a long term problem.

Steve

hi steve

i have a 6mth old border collie and he still does this now  :0(  he just crouches first then when they come closer and after he has rolled on his back for a sec he just pounces and i find it very hard (due to his size and weight hes a very big BC for his age) to control him at all - he doesnt listen to sit, want a treat or anything at all. one dog did actually bite his ear for doing this, so we hoped hed stop but no didnt change him one bit!
i look forward to responses here too as i would love to be able to learn how to prevent this.

nails :0)

He really needs to be allowed to interact with the dogs that he meets as oppossed to being held back and made to sit whilst on a lead.  The more dogs he meets and chats with the calmer he will become around them.  Dogs will not want to sit when they meet another dog.  They need to sniff butts amongst other things.  I would very rarely, if ever interfere, in my dogs having a conversation with another dog.  Having said that, it would always be off lead.  When they are on lead they are with me and we wouldn't stop to chat.  Leads and owners cause too many problems.
Sally

Hi Nails the crouching down thing is exactly the same as he does before the acrobatics start.
Thanks Sally ,we can't let him off lead to greet other dogs yet as he's had no recall training whatsoever we only make him sit to try and stop him spinning and leaping up in the air.
We know a beach that he couldn't get out of once there, would you advise letting him off for a run with other dogs it might take us a while to catch him but at least he could meet other dogs off leash.
We're also a little worried about the reaction of other dog owners if we can't call him off if he gets a bit out of hand.

Steve

You really do need to start on his recall training then.  Here's what I'd do.  Get yourself a long line (at least 50 ft).  Find somewhere safe, take some really tasty treats and a favourite toy.  Attach the line and let him off his lead and tell him to go play.  Whichever way he goes, you go in the opposite direction.  Don't call him.  When he turns and catches up with you, change direction.  Keep changing direction and keep him behind you.  When you are absolutely certain that he his heading for you then call him with his name and your recall command.  Give him a treat or a quick game and send him away again.  You are only asking him to come when he already is and you must reward the response  That is stage 1 of a recall.  Stage 2 would be when he his stood looking at you and thinking about coming anyway.  Stage 3 might be when he is very close to you but sniffing a blade of grass.  Stage 100 is when he is playing with another dog.  There are 76 stages inbetween.  You must succeed at each stage before progressing to the next.  The time it takes to train a recall will be dependant on many things but an average dog trained this way should be reliable by about age 2!!
You must try this out in a safe place then if he doesn't want to follow you when you let him off  you have 50 ft off line to stand on. Then you go home and make his food, his toys and your attention valuable by not giving them for free and try again a week later. 
Sally

Thanks Sally we also have a 7 and a bit month old whippet whose recall is very good we're hoping that they will stick pretty close together and the younger one will hopefully take his cues from our older dog.
We did the long line training with our first dog after advice from this board so we know it works, but we don't know what to do for the best in the short term with him greeting dogs.
We've only had him with us permanently for a week and he's only known us for two weeks so I realise its early days, his walking on a lead has improved 100% just in this short time, so we're hoping this will sort itself out in the coming weeks with his meeting lots of other dogs in obedience classes.

Steve

Well - I would let him meet as many dogs as possible on a LOOSE long line.  Then when you want to move on you just pick up the line and go.  Only dogs that are off lead mind you or you will end up with chinese knitting.
Sally

Hi Steve, this made me chuckle thinking of Morse's puppy days when he was exactly the same, all in a rush to be friendly, no brakes, no idea about dog manners... happy days! :D The long line is a great help and he will calm down. Just to cheer you up, Manic Morse can now play fetch with me in one corner of the field off lead while dogs exercise just across the way, and comes when called even if playing with his best mate. Having your first whippet around gives your new fella the edge on poor Morse who was an only dog, as he'll be taught manners by the resident boss rather than being decked by a grumpy old man labrador. And yes we have been responsible for Chinese Knitting when a kind lady allowed Morse to meet her lovely black Afghans ( on flexis). I still shudder at the memory of crossed lines, blue fingers and knotted Afghan hair......shes such a lovely lady she still speaks to us! :D

Thanks Lorelei we had a chinese knitting experience this morning with a Yorkshire terrier but it was all very friendly, we let him off lead this morning with our other dog in a deserted field and he followed him like a shadow coming back with him when he was called.
Thanks for the reasuring manic Morse tales its always nice to hear from people who have been there done that, we're so glad we took him on we can't believe how well they get on together their sleeping on the sofa at the moment doing their own version of chinese knitting you can't tell where one ends and the other begins.

Steve

See your No 1 Whippet is teaching him already! What are their names BTW ? Glad you like the Morse tales. :)

Hi Lorlei our first whippet is called Luca and new whippet is called Neave its what the previous owner called him but we like it ,I presume its got Irish origins.

Steve

Neave is Irish and usually spelt Niamh - and its a girls name, but if you all like it who cares? John Waynes real name was Marian. :D

I thought it was a girls name when I first heard it , perhaps they thought he was a girl I wouldn't be suprised to be honest LOL, but we do like it and it would only confuse him further to change it now.

Steve

Hello,

Only just picked this up, glad your recall is going well nothing better to teach a pup recall than an older dog he/she adores :)

Didn't have that with Sal and at 14 months she is still occasionally nutty around other dogs...mos she just meets and comes back but some dogs seem to really get her attention..then whoosh she's off. I have experienced spaghetti-leads, but it does get better then some days back to "nutty"

Karen