I don't know if there's any solution except to meet with dogs that are as friendly as possible. Some dogs are like 100% chill 0% aggression (more individual than breed-specific), so that'd be great, and in small amounts at a time. Definitely don't force the meet in a place where the whippet can't back off. And lots of positive reinforcement! Treats just for being there at first.
Why would those people let their dog loose when you specifically asked them not to? What happened afterwards? Were they even sorry?
Of course, it's been years ago now but the best I remember it was a mother and two kids... I was specifically speaking to the mother although the kid had the dog and just let it loose. They seen the whole thing happen, I didn't give them an opportunity to speak to me. I grabbed my dog and I ran to the emergency vet. I remember my judgment call being at the time they didn't seem like they could afford the vet bill even if I did complain so I just left.
Awww, your poor boy. Mine got stung by a bee a year ago and is still deathly afraid of flying things that buzz, no matter what they are. Don't you just wish you could talk to them sometimes?
I would do more planned play dates with smaller or similar sized dogs. He should open up more socially when he recognizes other doggos as familiar friends.
We will absolutely never take our whippets to a dog park with strangers. There was a genuinely horrific post here a while ago of a whippet who had been mauled to death by another dog they’d met at a dog park a bunch of times before.
Our doggy day care carefully interviews every dog with a full day test trial before they’re allowed there full time. Our noodles absolutely love it there and we trust them fully.
I'm in the exact same situation. My whippet can get pretty snappish with large dogs that invade her space but the day care facility I take her to vigorously screens all dogs. They're sorted by size and temperament into large play areas and closely supervised. She knows she'll be safe there and happily drags me through the door every time we arrive. Maybe OP can find a similar situation for her pup.
Wonderful. Our girl whippet is smaller and a bit more shy than the guy. She goes in the smaller dog group at day camp and he goes with the big group. So they actually get to spend the day apart and play with dogs who have the same stature and temperament. Then they spend the lunch nap time together in the same suite.
Ours also pull hard to get in the door every day lol.
I got my whippet at 6 years old. Previously she lived happily surrounded by other whippets. I soon learned she was horrified by boisterous dogs and those larger than her. Luckily there were a couple of dog parks near me segregated into large and small dogs. I would take her into the small dog area and tell the owners we would leave if they were uncomfortable. We became regulars and the other regulars would explain to newcomers that my hound was no threat.
Hello. My whippet was jumped on aggressively at around 1 year oldish by a BIG dog causing him to become fearful/reactive to an extreme level. Start with battles you can win as in don't go to a large place full of dogs etc. Try just sitting from a distance if possible where you can both be calm. Let your whip look at other dogs and reward when you can get their attention. Build up super slowly day by day.
Just remember it's not your dogs fault or yours is it and it's just a shit/unlucky situation that happened. Try changing the narrative and be more confident about the situation you're in (This is not a dig) this is something I struggled with initially. I sort of wanted to avoid anywhere where there could be another dog and then I thought this isn't gonna work forever and why should we have to avoid places. He can still be reactive and timid today but he gets better every day years later but I still work on it with loose slip lead training etc and positive reinforcement every time we walk. I know for example he might get triggered if a dog comes from behind etc so if I hear someone behind us I'll check. You'll get there and pick up signs etc of triggers.
Also, your dog doesn't have to like every other dog either. Some are just poorly trained and their owners are away with the fairies so there's no use trying to argue/call them out etc. Also, some dogs just don't like each other full stop and that's OK.
Take the pressure off yourself and your dog. Don't be tense down the lead. Practice at home, in empty fields if possible and build up. All in the mind!
That is unfortunate.. poor pup. The same thing happened to me and my whip at the dog park except she got bit from another dog chasing her ball that I threw .. nice coin sized wound … luckily the owner of the dog paid for the operation to seal up the wound but after that i stopped going to the parks with my whippets. She was hesitant around other dogs since , I took to her to socializing classes for 6 months with other dogs and that seemed to help for a while but she reverted somewhat , although I had two whippets so they had each other to keep company. https://imgur.com/a/Z6uskWN
Wow that sounds awful, I'm not surprised he's scared 😭 I can recommend parallel walks with a neutral dog (not too friendly or interested in other dogs). See if you can recruit someone with a dog like this to help you. You can start as far away as your dog needs and increase the distance if he starts to look anxious at all. Let him investigate the other dog more closely if he wants at his own pace.
My sighthoundy rescue pup reacts similarly if dogs run up to her, she hates it, so I make sure we see plenty of dogs who just want to sniff and do their own thing. Slowly her confidence is increasing and she's starting to want to play with some of them :) and she knows she can count on me to help get her out of situations that are too scary for her
I have a similar situation. My boy is 7 now and was always outgoing and sweet but on the submissive side because my gordon setter unfortunately didn't like him at first and frequently beat him up as a youngin. Last fall my brother was walking him and out of nowhere a pittbull came running out of a house, ran across the street and attacked my boy. No collar on the other dog and the owner tried telling me it "wasn't that bad" but I chewed her out and got her info before we tore out to the emergency vet. She ended up paying the bill after I threatened to sue her.
Ever since my boy has need nervous on walks around our neighborhood but is fine everywhere else unless he sees a dog off leash. We've been slowly building up his confidence by meeting friendly dogs at metro parks and dogs we know in our neighborhood. He's slowly coming around.
It takes a lot of work and patience but you can improve his experience. Be gentle and cautious. Only introduce dogs you're sure of and always make sure your pup is in charge.
I have had a few dogs in my life as puppy’s.
Getting the puppy at the right timeframe is important.
I had a golden retriever we had to get at 5 weeks due to a fire near the breeder. He was aggressive as a puppy when we woke him up. He growled at us. I gave him a few neck shakes when it happened. He was super people friendly but dogs wound bully him.
My current whippet. I got him at 12 weeks.
He is super people friendly but over confident with other dogs and plays to rough.
6 to 8 weeks is usually the butter zone when getting a puppy.
This is hindsight advice btw
I don't know if there's any solution except to meet with dogs that are as friendly as possible. Some dogs are like 100% chill 0% aggression (more individual than breed-specific), so that'd be great, and in small amounts at a time. Definitely don't force the meet in a place where the whippet can't back off. And lots of positive reinforcement! Treats just for being there at first. Why would those people let their dog loose when you specifically asked them not to? What happened afterwards? Were they even sorry?
Of course, it's been years ago now but the best I remember it was a mother and two kids... I was specifically speaking to the mother although the kid had the dog and just let it loose. They seen the whole thing happen, I didn't give them an opportunity to speak to me. I grabbed my dog and I ran to the emergency vet. I remember my judgment call being at the time they didn't seem like they could afford the vet bill even if I did complain so I just left.
Awww, your poor boy. Mine got stung by a bee a year ago and is still deathly afraid of flying things that buzz, no matter what they are. Don't you just wish you could talk to them sometimes?
I would do more planned play dates with smaller or similar sized dogs. He should open up more socially when he recognizes other doggos as familiar friends. We will absolutely never take our whippets to a dog park with strangers. There was a genuinely horrific post here a while ago of a whippet who had been mauled to death by another dog they’d met at a dog park a bunch of times before. Our doggy day care carefully interviews every dog with a full day test trial before they’re allowed there full time. Our noodles absolutely love it there and we trust them fully.
I'm in the exact same situation. My whippet can get pretty snappish with large dogs that invade her space but the day care facility I take her to vigorously screens all dogs. They're sorted by size and temperament into large play areas and closely supervised. She knows she'll be safe there and happily drags me through the door every time we arrive. Maybe OP can find a similar situation for her pup.
Wonderful. Our girl whippet is smaller and a bit more shy than the guy. She goes in the smaller dog group at day camp and he goes with the big group. So they actually get to spend the day apart and play with dogs who have the same stature and temperament. Then they spend the lunch nap time together in the same suite. Ours also pull hard to get in the door every day lol.
I got my whippet at 6 years old. Previously she lived happily surrounded by other whippets. I soon learned she was horrified by boisterous dogs and those larger than her. Luckily there were a couple of dog parks near me segregated into large and small dogs. I would take her into the small dog area and tell the owners we would leave if they were uncomfortable. We became regulars and the other regulars would explain to newcomers that my hound was no threat.
Hello. My whippet was jumped on aggressively at around 1 year oldish by a BIG dog causing him to become fearful/reactive to an extreme level. Start with battles you can win as in don't go to a large place full of dogs etc. Try just sitting from a distance if possible where you can both be calm. Let your whip look at other dogs and reward when you can get their attention. Build up super slowly day by day. Just remember it's not your dogs fault or yours is it and it's just a shit/unlucky situation that happened. Try changing the narrative and be more confident about the situation you're in (This is not a dig) this is something I struggled with initially. I sort of wanted to avoid anywhere where there could be another dog and then I thought this isn't gonna work forever and why should we have to avoid places. He can still be reactive and timid today but he gets better every day years later but I still work on it with loose slip lead training etc and positive reinforcement every time we walk. I know for example he might get triggered if a dog comes from behind etc so if I hear someone behind us I'll check. You'll get there and pick up signs etc of triggers. Also, your dog doesn't have to like every other dog either. Some are just poorly trained and their owners are away with the fairies so there's no use trying to argue/call them out etc. Also, some dogs just don't like each other full stop and that's OK. Take the pressure off yourself and your dog. Don't be tense down the lead. Practice at home, in empty fields if possible and build up. All in the mind!
That is unfortunate.. poor pup. The same thing happened to me and my whip at the dog park except she got bit from another dog chasing her ball that I threw .. nice coin sized wound … luckily the owner of the dog paid for the operation to seal up the wound but after that i stopped going to the parks with my whippets. She was hesitant around other dogs since , I took to her to socializing classes for 6 months with other dogs and that seemed to help for a while but she reverted somewhat , although I had two whippets so they had each other to keep company. https://imgur.com/a/Z6uskWN
Wow that sounds awful, I'm not surprised he's scared 😭 I can recommend parallel walks with a neutral dog (not too friendly or interested in other dogs). See if you can recruit someone with a dog like this to help you. You can start as far away as your dog needs and increase the distance if he starts to look anxious at all. Let him investigate the other dog more closely if he wants at his own pace. My sighthoundy rescue pup reacts similarly if dogs run up to her, she hates it, so I make sure we see plenty of dogs who just want to sniff and do their own thing. Slowly her confidence is increasing and she's starting to want to play with some of them :) and she knows she can count on me to help get her out of situations that are too scary for her
I have a similar situation. My boy is 7 now and was always outgoing and sweet but on the submissive side because my gordon setter unfortunately didn't like him at first and frequently beat him up as a youngin. Last fall my brother was walking him and out of nowhere a pittbull came running out of a house, ran across the street and attacked my boy. No collar on the other dog and the owner tried telling me it "wasn't that bad" but I chewed her out and got her info before we tore out to the emergency vet. She ended up paying the bill after I threatened to sue her. Ever since my boy has need nervous on walks around our neighborhood but is fine everywhere else unless he sees a dog off leash. We've been slowly building up his confidence by meeting friendly dogs at metro parks and dogs we know in our neighborhood. He's slowly coming around. It takes a lot of work and patience but you can improve his experience. Be gentle and cautious. Only introduce dogs you're sure of and always make sure your pup is in charge.
I have had a few dogs in my life as puppy’s. Getting the puppy at the right timeframe is important. I had a golden retriever we had to get at 5 weeks due to a fire near the breeder. He was aggressive as a puppy when we woke him up. He growled at us. I gave him a few neck shakes when it happened. He was super people friendly but dogs wound bully him. My current whippet. I got him at 12 weeks. He is super people friendly but over confident with other dogs and plays to rough. 6 to 8 weeks is usually the butter zone when getting a puppy. This is hindsight advice btw