Hello everybody,
I have a year old whippet who is mad as anything and needs a saw place to run off lead with fences to keep him in! Does anyone know anywhere in cheltemham Gloucestershire which may be of use?

Thanks.

If he is "as mad as anything" why don't you attend some training classes.  There are several in your area.  As long as you use positive training methods, it will help both of you.

Mad as anything is a positive term here. He is just young. My only problem is the nature of hounds and their tendency to chase things until they are lost. He is extremely well
Behaved as it happens, Learnt all the usual dog tricks in hours. Just needs high
Fences and room to sprint.

Whippets can be taught recall quite easily, unlike some sight hounds(Saluki's & Afghan's). Start in your garden, then progress once he is deffinately returning to you.

Without seeming ungrateful I will clarify this, after a great deal of research I am not letting him of lead anywhere which isn't enclosed. This is for his safety and nothing do do with discipline. If I was asking for advice on getting him back I would ask that directly, since this is not the case I don't need any advice on anything other than my initial question.

Hi hburch...this morning i thought about you and your whippet as I'm in the same boat.We live in beautiful Italian countryside,but the potential for danger for my young pup is overwhelming. We have heron on the fields,deer,rabbits ....the lot! Then  there are the hunters,many are amateurs but their bullets are real enough.My high energy breed(st.poo) is only seven months but so  needs to run. Today I tried him on a 20m long line,attached to a harness....not his collar.He ran like the wind,generally circling me, and then we had a half hour of fun recall,with treats and run /recall games.I felt exhilarated that he came home satisfied,tired and had also begun some serious training.Its definitely worth a try until to find your safe enclosed field.
  With regard to your breed you can also use a stick with a lure attached to a string  to refocus attention.The greyhound shops also sell a loud squawker  which the sight hounds respond to like prey...all good motivatersfor recall,and great fun for the dog.These can all be used whilst dog is on long line too.

If your whippet wants to run off it would have to be a very good fence indeed to keep him in, they can squeeze through the tiniest spaces. I'm afraid I agree with everyone else, training and alternative outlets for his energy are the way to go. There is no reason at all why you can't walk even a young whippet in a public park during the day. Avoid dusk and dawn when bunnies are likely to be around and you should be fine :-)

Training won't change his instinct. He comes
To me when I tell him to but he will Chase things
Based on instinct, that's a hound thing you can't change. He lives with a rabbit and is terrified of it so
Rabbits not a problem but he will chase birds forever
If I let him. He doesn't need to run in the sense of he doesn't get any other exercise he is perfectly well exercised and trained as far as I can. I DON'T NEED ADVICE ON TRAINING! all I want is somewhere safe and enclosed where I live to let him run without te fear of him running away chasing something as he loves doing.
And you have to consider the safety of others, If he hits you running he does damage, first hand experience. Safety is my only concern in this.

I certainly am well experienced on what Whippets are like, after being born into them & this year is my mother's 47th year of involvement with them but it seems you are turning away some helpful advice from those who have replied.
You can train him it is certainly possible, good luck withyour future recall training & free running!!!

I am not ignoring any advice, I am grateful of any advice for sure. But first I need somewhere to take him which is safe so I can work on recall etc. I don't want any risk to my dog.

As Lexy says many of us have owned sighthounds for many years, I've owned borzois for 25 years and now silken windhounds and I walk most days with a whippet too. I'm very aware of hound chase instinct and prey drive. If you just want somewhere to work on recall outside the garden I recommend tennis courts or 5 a side football pitches, I've used both in the past. After establishing a recall in such safe areas I walk in public spaces, beaches, parks, everywhere really and you just learn to keep scanning the horizon for things that may interest your dog and get them back before they see it :-)

Now that is helpful, I thank you.
I will look for some. And how would is best go about teaching him not to chase things? Or is it simply a case of call back before he sees?

> And how would is best go about teaching him not to chase things?

When you work that out please let me know :-)

With most sighthounds you have a 2 second window, they see something and you have about 2 seconds to stop them before they take off, once they're actually chasing not many will come back. With mine I use a 'voice of doom' NO which does work but mainly I work on making myself fun so they want to be with me and are watching me rather than looking for things to do and I'm also scanning for things they may chase so I can get them back beforehand.

Any sort of training, playing with a ball, teaching tricks, training agility or obedience, whatever, builds a bond between you and your dog and makes them a happier, better behaved pet.

I actually encourage the hounds prey drive by taking them racing every week, that way they have an outlet to chase in a controlled environment. It doesn't make them any more (or less) likely to chase outside but they do look to me for instruction.

Remember that hounds don't like repetition the way a collie does, so your whippet will not appreciate being called back 20 times on a walk, call him occasionally and have a game or give a really tasty treat.

If he's staring into the distance contemplating running off to hunt that's the time to run the opposite way and divert his attention back to you, the trick is to stop them when they're simply thinking about running off, by the time they're actually doing it it's too late.

Hi,
I know exactly what you mean. I have a terrier that has excellent recall, however I still would not chance letting her offlead outside as she too is likely to chase anything that catches her eye if the need happens. Excellent recall maybe but I would not trust her life to this. I am lucky enough to have my own fields and woods where she can run free and be as mad as she likes ( all fenced) as all dogs need some free time to be loony and run like bats out of hell without being called to heel. She comes to heel 99% of the time, but that odd 1% could be dangerous, but she needs to let off steam as well.

I am sorry I cannot help with your area, maybe ask at your vets or contact local dog training classes to see if anyone there knows if there are any safe running areas for dogs, it will probably be by word of mouth that you will find somewhere - good luck

Agree with all the responses about training a recall/focussing on you when you ask for it. Would also add teaching him an emergency stop so you can 'stop'/interrupt him before he even gets to thinking about full flight.

Would it also be worth ringing local riding stables to see how much they charge per hour to hire an indoor arena? (Our local one has a Flyball team who practise there on Sundays, which is what makes me think it might work, if it was affordable). Otherwise, enclosed tennis courts (high fencing lol), you could also see if any boarding kennels have enclosed runs they would be happy for you to hire (if it doesn't drive the other residents potty to see him looning round lol).

Completely understand where you are coming from Hburch. I was going to suggest a stables that has indoor (or safe secure) outdoor arena. The enclosed tennis court suggestion is a very good idea...its whether anywhere would be happy for you to hire it for dog use though.

> its whether anywhere would be happy for you to hire it for dog use though.

doubtful, but round here the council owned ones are never locked at night, as long as you clean up I see no harm in using it ;-)

Looking at the council guidelines I should imagine that they wouldnt allow it.
http://www.cheltenham.gov.uk/info/200040/environmental_health/299/dog_control/2

Be careful if you go down the arena line.  My beagle managed to squeeze between the boards while in one (I was working there so she was just with me and found a sniff).  Maybe if I had been entertaining her not working it would have been ok but she found a little hole, squeezed out the boards then managed to get herself out and down the field to play with the ponies.  She came back to my call (not rapidly but she is a beagle) but if I were paying hire fees I would inspect very carefully before handing money over

Well don't the council just love spoiling my fun! Not the first time either. I will investigate though. I have found some small parks which I should be able to use and am exploring another lead tomorrow to see of any good.

I don't know which part you live in but the fields along Swindon Lane are really good. The small one in the middle is the best. All 4 sides are hedged with two gated entrances/exits for a public right of way. There is a break in the field on one side which is used as an informal entrance/exit. There are bunnies there but I've never actually seen one, 2 fields along on Evesham road you'll see them all day long, in that particular field they do their best to never be seen. Never see any birds either. I go frequently as I can guarantee it'll just me and my dog. Very peaceful and stress free. The only downside is it's on a slope. I taught my dog her recall there as it is distraction free.

As for the council list. Sandford park has two parts - one with a pond and fountain in it and another large green area across the road. The big bit always has dogs offlead playing. It's fenced but there are a lot of distractions as it's a popular place. Imperial Gardens always has people playing with their offlead dogs so I don't think the council enforces the dog control orders very much, if at all. I like Swindon Village as it's enclosed (apart from the entrances to the 2 car parks) and huge but it's very popular, definitely a good place when recall is better.

Also the racecourse is good. There is a massive field at the back, behind the riding for the disabled. It is a popular dog walking place but is very spacious. Great place if you are doing long lead recall.

I can't thank you enough, that is exactly what I needed! I will explore all those places
Ad see what they are like for us. We had out first run off lead today in a secure park we found and he had great fun, was great to see.
Thanks again

You are very welcome. I'm so glad to hear you've found somewhere, you can't beat the enjoyment of seeing them having the freedom.

I just thought, Elmfield park (by the animal shelter) could be an option for you. It's a very nice size, perfectly flat and they keep on top of the grass cutting. All 4 sides are high fenced (it does have 3 and a half entrances). We did actually avoid it for number of years as there were always obnoxious people with ill mannered dogs but we've recently gone back to including it as nowadays we always get the entire place to ourselves, which is just how we like it. I've got a car/bike/anything with wheels chaser so know what it's like to need a safe place. My dog needs a good place which is safe where she can run around playing fetch without being bothered by other dogs stealing her ball.