Sorry to hear about your dogs attack. Agree with Torminalis, it does work just dont expect things to change overnight.

We have a rescue greyhound who was attacked just before we got her, she arrived with lots of stitches and was in a terrible state. She is a timid type anyway but we try and keep her mixing with other dogs, join friends who have dogs and go for walks. Also, my Mother has a whippet and our Greyhound has really sparked up a friendship and is learning that not all dogs are out to hurt her. She is getting there, slowly but it is worth the effort for them for sure.

You really need to do this as often as you can and build their confidence back up. Perhaps see if there is a dog training place nearby and see if there is a class that you and your dog can join in with just to socialise them.
A good dog trainer will be able to help you out and get your dog back on the mend.

thankyou smudger : sound advice 😉

Get some ‘Pet Corrector’ spray and / or carry some ground pepper as previously suggested.

The spray is just compressed air, but dogs really dislike the noise, so may help should any future confrontations occur.

I have always had a bit of a problem with those leads. When the dog is on the lead, he should behave like it, when he is not, he is free to do as he chooses within reason. The boundaries of each are very important.

Surely those extending leads just train the dog to pull against the resistance?

Not at all,mine has both & he soon worked that he could run about on the play one(the extending one),but couldn’t on the other one, so just stays at my side.The breeder I bought him off had play leads & show leads for her dogs,she said the dogs soon learnt which was which….

Also sorry to hear about your whippet and the resulting problems.

Regarding leads – our dog had an extending one whilst he was being trained – came in very useful on hols at Mum’s house on Skye – the place is crawling with bl00dy sheep. He’s only ever on it now if he’s being looked after by friends / relations who aren’t happy with letting him run free.

He has a normal lead too, which comes with me on every walk, but rarely (perhaps once a month) gets used. He walks heel when asked to (Damn, but did that take some work!!) and will WAIT! too, which is useful!

Strongly agree about keeping your dog used to other dogs – perhaps the extender lead could be a useful ‘interim’ accessory, allowing him a bit of jiggling space when approached by other dogs, and until he is ready to walk without one? Also agree that a whippet on a leash for life would be a far sadder thing than a whippet with the odd skirmish 🙂

ok heres an extract from the paper (very interesting)…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/pets/7587312/Dogs-banned-from-almost-all-parks-in-council-area.html

Erm – isn’t that more about dogcr@p issues than lead issues?

it is yes but still they have to be on leads and banned off certain areas ! so at least there are dog wardens around in some places and it appears to be working…

Not sure it will TBH – we had dog wardens here in Sunderland when I was a student working a summer on the beach. These guys supposedly had the power to give ‘on-the-spot’ fines to anyone allowing their dog to foul the beach.

In practice though, they had absolutely no power and were consistently ignored or told to F right OFF. The kind of folk who allow their dogs to crap everywhere and don’t bother picking it up (or flicking it into bushes in rural places) are never going to meekly stand there and accept a fine.

anagallis_arvensis (man up – ?

twas a joke! Maybe a very poor one.

As far as my advice it would be as said try and socialise our dog with some nice dogs, even if your dog is scared at first try and persist. Find a big wide open space that is enclosed. My lurcher is part whippet and prone to being quite timid around bigger dogs, but when she is able to realise that the big rottie or whatever cannot get to within 20m of her unless she wants it too she gets less worried, in fact she then taunts other dogs less blessed in speed capabilities. On the lead she’s a nightmare with big dogs.

so you dont want the tracking line then? ive not got an email.

its a serious offer, i used the line for the first three weeks after i got a rescue dobe and its since lain in the cupboard unused.

that way your whippet will be able to run about and you can still reel him in.

I nearly had a set to with a dog owner over a similar incident on a quiet walk on the wye….their dog came over to attack my parent’s terrier which promptly hide behind my legs meaning the bloody thing nearly bit me. They were less than impressed when I gave it a fairly strong kick to the stomach. Seriously if it’s likely to attack people it needs to be muzzled

Dogs feed off the owners vibe (as has been said above) and the only time I’ve had a problem has been with owners shouting and screaming at their own dog and in turn mine (who are under control).

I was very heartened to see my usually very placid black lab (off lead but within 10 feet of me) have a right go at at an aggressive Jack Russell yesterday which had run fully 50 yards to have a fight, closely pursued by its shouting owner who had no control over it whatsoever. This was the 5th or 6th time he has been attacked by a JR and I think he’d finally had enough and sent the little b@st@rd whimpering back to its owner.

The owner was most apologetic and we ended up walking up the path for a bit with absolutely no problem from his 2 JR’s and my 2 BL’s. It’s often just a case of dogs getting used to other dogs but very difficult with some of the complete dickheads who look upon dogs as a status symbol and haven’t a clue how to train them or show consideration to other people/dogs. Not surprising really as that is how many of them go about their lives anyway.