whippet

[cf jones 0]

question what should i start her she's 9 an half month's now an iv been taking her out 2 watch my mate's dog an she is very keen like she would go after a rabbit but dnt know 2 start her now or wait a bit...would like 4 someone els opinion thank u

[jamiew 11]

to young yet mate you can do alot of damage if you enter them to early,wait for the spring when the young bunnies are about,just keep doing what your doing and work on the retrieve atb jamiew

[hunt and fish 35]

to young yet mate you can do alot of damage if you enter them to early,wait for the spring when the young bunnies are about,just keep doing what your doing and work on the retrieve atb jamiew

 

:thumbdown:

[Ideation 8,216]

IF she seems ready for it give her 1 run but pick the rabbit well, see what happens. Just don't go crazy.

[brian c 58]

she aint to young for rabbits i would run her mate it wont hurt her

[Sonny Brindle 2]

No harm in giving her an easy run or two - just take it easy on her.

 

From my experience – and I've heard others say the same – whippets can take longer to mature than other breeds/crosses and probably don't start reaching their full potential until they're about two, so be patient and you should be on to a winner.

[fresh earth 47]

From my own experience i have owned a fair few whippets and you can enter her just now but she may start yapping her tits of if its hard runs your giving her also she is still not totaly hardened of as yet i started a bitch 2 year ago of at that age she was taking long ears etc and she done a hock i ended up having to rehome her and she had cost me 600 as a pup that was before injections etc.

 

Id just keep her fit yes by all means take her along show her the crack if theres a squater in the middle of a feild with nowhere to go slip her but only give her the odd easy run patience is a virtue. Best bitch ever iv had never saw a thing till i got her at 10 month and it took me till she was 15 months to steady her to ferrets and get her fit enough to feel she was ready to start. I have a 16 month old bitch whom im just entering tonight as i wasnt running her on ice and wasting her working career. She will catch rabbits the now and by all means as i say give her easy ones but i for one wouldnt go to hard.

 

I also wouldnt take advice on running young rabbits let them grow on if she pegs a few mooching fair enough but the amount of 13-18 year olds in my area killing young rabbits by the bucket load is a disgrace.

[langouroux 14]

Here is what my mate does who is a keen whippet owner.

 

His dog was 7 months old when we started ferreting at the beginning of the season. We never let him work, he is just there to watch for the first few outings.

 

Then we catch a live rabbit preferably something small that isn’t going to be to quick although still fully grown due to time of year obviously.

 

He let’s his dog run and catch it. Then at the end of the season we will let him run on 1 other rabbit. Then leave the dog until the following winter. So the dog doesn’t start proper work until it is well over 12 months old. My mate swears by this method and so far it hasn't let him down.

 

His whippets are then keen as mustard the following season….and his terrier is a machine at marking the holes!