Hi there everyone, I haven't posted for ages but I'm glad to see CD is still going strong.

I have a couple of questions, this is a bit long winded so bear with me, I live with my husband, toddler and labrador (he is 4), my mum also lives with us for 5 days a week to look after my son. She decided she wanted a dog and we agreed that it would be OK as we already have a dog in the house and it is something she really wanted to do. My mum picked this pup (a whippet) and brought it back to us, it is 10 weeks old and has not been socialised at all, from what I gather it has spent most of its young life in a shed and away from it's mum (not great, I know). We spent a long time choosing the breeder for our labrador and worked very hard to make things work, we feel we have the perfect family dog and he is really well adjusted and a valued member of the family.

The new pup has been with us for 3 days now and I'm going mental, he won't be left alone for even a minute, he is trying to dominate my dog (and my dog is as daft as a brush and very well tempered, he doesn't seem to know what is going on), and the house training is going very very slowly. I wouldn't mind so much but my son is only 2 and I am worried about the barking and teeth baring. I was hoping that my dog would be a good example to him but all that seems to happen is the pup goes for my labrador's throat alot and bullys him out of his own bed.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I should handle this, we really want to make it work but my dog was nothing like this when he was a pup and this has thrown me totally. I know that we probably have made mistakes so far but how should we carry on to help him settle in and become a trustworthy well mannered dog?

Thanks in advance for any help
Sarah

hi sarah sounds like your puppy has had a bad start in his early life being bought up in shed away from his mum, as its only three days you have had him then its still early days so i would think positive and start by spending one to one time with puppy with basic training, maybe use a crate to help him with house training and where he can rest in his own as his den, i would make sure your older dog gets fed first so puppy learns to respect him. I would also firmly but calmly intervene when puppy is going for your older dog, this could just be an insecure unsocialised puppy

Thanks for that, I will try my best. yes he hasn't had the best start and I am trying to be patient with him but it is quite difficult, also he absolutely hates his crate. We tried introducing it as a nice place and feed him etc. in there but he HAS to go in it as when my son needs attention then it's for his own safety. This has just made him hate the crate basically.

I'll intervene next time the pup goes for my dog, fingers crossed he calms down a bit!

i had a similar problem with my last pup, she was already six months and although was kenneled with two other dogs had no other experiences or training.
i had to take things very slowly for a few weeks as one of my other two dogs wasn't sure of her. The new pup was quite dominant and very excitable so i put up stair gate(the extra high ones) so i could give time out to all the dogs when things got abit silly.
I would put the pup on a lead in the house sometimes so she could learn not to jump on my other dog but could get close to her. it took a while for things to settle down but the new pup needs to learn good behaviour and not all other dogs like being jumped on. Which ever dog got silly then there would be time out behind the stair gate, where she could see but couldn't come and join us. she did cry sometimes but i ignored her and she learnt thats where she would go if she over stepped the mark. i never shouted just said NO then put her out to calm down for a few minutes.
I also walk her on her own at least 70% of the time so i can train her better, i think one to one is very important for a young dog.
Good luck hope things get better but i'm affraid it's alot of time and patience but worth it in the end.

how are things going now? I have an 8 month old whippet, i bought her home at 8 weeks - and she's the most difficult puppy i've ever had!!! She took ages to be house clean, and won't be left either. she has to be crated when i'm not around as she is extremely distructive. She's ruined an antique chair, chewed childs toys, a dog bed, and will soil anywhere. The list is endless. I find she sulks if she is scolded, can be dominant refuses to spend more than 2 mins in the garden and is slow with training methods. But is daft as a brush, wants to play with anyone / anythihng that moves.
We've been very strict with her, as we feel we weren't to start with. Now if she's done wrong we'll scold her and put her in her timeout. We did struggle as we were advised to ignore the bad but reward the good... but she only destructs when left alone, she's only left for about an hour a day and then when i;m in bed. And i cant punish if not there.
I wish you all the luck with your new addition.

> Now if she's done wrong we'll scold her and put her in her timeout

I'm not intenting to sound like I'm having a go at you here, but to scold a dog & then put them out for a time out doesn't teach much of a lesson, it only teaches a consequence to the action and if that action is self-rewarding there is no reason for the dog to stop the action, personally I think time-outs only work when the dog is trying to interact with others (people/dogs) but not doing so in a manner that you want or to calm the dog when it's too exited to learn anything.
If the dog is chewing something it shouldn't be,  saying 'no'  then offering an alternative (dog toy/chew) then rewarding once the dog chews the toy, teaches the dog what they can do instead of the behavior you don't want (if you get what I mean?).

I would place my bets that as you gave up quickly on ignoring bad behaviour & rewading the good, coupled with using punishment, that is why you are finding she is slow to learn, it's probably more of a case that she still doesn't know what you expect from her and her 'sulking' is probably confusion.

i agree totally with masstifflover, :)

I feel for you as my last addition was quite difficult but all i can say is keep calm,take a deep breath and stick at it.
Puppies are like children, they need to know their place and limits.
always stay calm,never shout and make sure you deal with any situation that keeps happening in the same calm but assertive way.
If my youngest gets silly with the other dogs i tell her 'leave', if this doesn't work and she want calm down i calmly remove her behind a stair gate for a couple of minutes but the best way is to distract, i carry treats round in my pocket all the time and if things like barking in the garden or being too aggressive in play start then i will call her and make her sit then treat her. of course it helps if you can teach her some  commands and this small distraction gives everyone the chance to calm down.
I expect she will settle down in time as my girl has and i've got to say i lover her to bits now but i did have to out in some hard work and also go to training classes which really helped build up a good relationship between us.
If you can try not to expect too much too soon and get the pup booked into some classes where she will learn self control and meet lots of other dogs and learn how to behave with them.
all three of my dogs are very different but they have all be given the same rules and are well behaved, some dogs just take longer and given the fact she's not used to being with you it will take time.
don't give up you will get their in the end, i never thought i would but i've had my newest four months now and she's great, a little mad  but lots of fun.         

Thanks for the advice everyone, I must say I didn't realise how easy a pup my labrador was until we got this new pup! The whippet is just getting worse and worse by the day at the moment, he spends most of his time hanging off my lab's throat and growling. All I can do when I'm at home (my mum is there in the day but I am not) is remove the pup from the situation or remove my lab which I don't want to do because he has done nothing wrong.

I was hoping that the pup would've calmed down a little by now but I am really afraid that he may bite my sone and he will not stop jumping at him. Getting to my wits end very quickly. I have taken the end of the week off so that the pup can go to it's 'other home' with my mum for a few days.

Is there anyone else here who has specific knowledge of whippet pups? He seems such a scatter brain and will not concentrate on anything (including his food). I am going to look into local training classes today.

Cheers
Sarah

I've got loads of friends who breed &/or own whippets. BTW your puppies behaviour is quite normal & it is not aggression with your older dog but a learning curve of a normal puppy. If your labrador was an only puppy you will not have seen the same behaviour as what appears to be aggressive play with your whippet & your labrador is totally different to  play & interaction between a human & a puppy.

My Cavalier puppy drags my middle Cavalier around by his ears making him squeak & the noise sounds really aggressive but it isn't, believe me. If you stop the interaction removing one of the dogs then your puppy will never learn how far your lab will let him go. I do impose a rest period for all my puppies, be they GSDs, Cavaliers or BCs when they are"put to bed in their crate"to make them rest up & also to allow the older dogs to have a rest from the mayhem all puppies cause.

Whippets are a very clever breed & need to have their minds occupied & trained to acceptable behaviours.

I go along with the praise the good & ignore the bad 100%, at our motivational pet dog training club we had a super puppy Jack Russell whose owner could not get him to stop jumping up, using a clicker & special treats he learnt to stop the jumping up in less than 2 mins & now sits when greeting people. All it took was the help of one other person to act as the"visitor"& the click & treat only when he was sat-I've seen it done quickly but this was almost instantly & he continues to learnt weekly & is well on the way to being that "perfect"puppy.

Hang in there & using positive methods will result in better behaviour

Thanks for that, you're right I haven't ever seen a pup and an older dog interact. I just think my lab is a daft as a brush and doesn't have a snapping point, but I guess he does. I will try to get everyone to do the positive praise thing, it's going to be more difficult to train everyone around the pup I think! And yes I agree that they obviously both need rest time as both of the dogs are not agetting any sleep at the moment.

Thanks again everyone, I'm sure I will back for advice (or a rant!)

Sarah

Your Whippet pup sounds pretty normal to me ;)  he's treating your child like a playmate but needs to be taught not to, so supervised contact only would be best ;)  and pups get very excited when little people run around, they react the only way they know how - to chase and try to bite ;)

Puppies are very much like babies, the more tired they are, the more fractious they become and in pups that means more bitey, more frantic etc ;)  

With pups, I start them off with a play for an hour or two then feed then sleep.  When they wake again it's the same routine, play, feed and sleep - make sure pup has a quiet place and isn't disturbed and he will go to sleep ;)

This gives you time to be with your child and ensures that pup doesn't get over-tired and wound up.  It's amazing how much longer a pup will sleep with a full tummy :-D

All this then makes it easier to housetrain as a pup will need to 'go' on waking and after eating so you then have 2 predictable times when pup needs toileting and you can build on those successes :)

Don't worry, he will improve, but it all takes time :)