Questions about dog park

[keith_h 420]

We are starting to plan a trip to WDW sometime next year. By that time we will likely have a new family member and I was wondering about a couple of things related to our four legged friends. We are working on getting a Whippet. I'm not concerned so much about when we are away as we are going to crate train the dog. While they are couch potatoes during much of the day they only stay that way with some vigorous exercise each day. My concern is more about exercise for a dog that hits 35 mph before you can blink your eyes.

- What is the height of the fence at the Fort Wilderness dog park? While many Whippets aren't jumpers some are (especially of they see a squirrel or rabbit they want to bring home for your dinner). 

- Are there any other fenced/confined places where I could take the dog out for a while to run off the excess energy? Doesn't have to do with WDW specific and we would be looking at a fence height of 5 feet or more.

I'm also planning to call Best Friends to see what they might have available for day use as some of their rates don't look too bad for a vacation. 

[tim5055 120]

The fence is about 4 feet tall.  Our Husky/German Shepherd Dog mix is an escape artist and can jump or just climb most fences.  I have to keep her and our German Shepherd Dog busy and excited or she will be over the fence.  She has "excaped" a couple of times but like at home, all I generally need to do is hop on the golf cart and honk the horn and she comes running as she loved to ride the cart.

 

There is a public dog park over in Clermont, but it's really not convenient to the Fort.  We generally just use it when we sty at Lake Louisa State Park before the Fort.

[ThemeParkCommando 81]

I have not been to the Fort's dog park, but I have owned and loved whippets since 1983.  I've had over 8 whippets in my life, and fostered a dozen others for whippet rescue.   

Since you have over a year to plan here are my suggestions for your new whippet family member: 

Teach your whippet to respect baby gates in your house.  If the dog learns not to jump a baby gate, they generally will not jump a short fence.  

Make a flirt pole and teach your pup to love it.  I use a buggy whip ( bought at a feed store) with a 4 foot length of rope on it.  I have a rubber donut tied on the end, to which I attach a cured rabbit skin ( can be found at hobby lobby or craft stores).    You can use the flirt pole at the dog park if you are the only dog in the place or if there is an open area where other dogs are over 25 yards away.  Most dogs don't go after flirt poles.  10 minutes of flirt pole play, 20 minutes of walking or regular play then 10 more minutes of flirt pole play will make for a tired whippet. 

Invest in a 30 foot long lead.  This can also be found at a feed store, as a horse lunge line.  When you are out in a big field where there are no fences, you can stand on the end of the lunge line and still safely play with the flirt pole.  Caveat:  Never play fetch with any loose toy while the dog is on the lunge line.  If the toy gets away, the dog may hit the end of that leash going 35 MPH, and that is dangerous. 

Use the lunge line to practice recalls and check ins.   Let the dog roam to the end of the leash, then call them back and have a spectacular reward waiting ( like steak / liver / stinky cheese)  Praise, reward and then let the dog roam off again.  Also, invest in a loud whistle that you can take with you on walks.  Teach the dog to come to the whistle, both on and off leash, with the same spectacular reward.  Whistle sounds carry further than human voice, and if your whippet ever gets lost this is a great way to help them find their way back to you. 

Using Doggy Day Care at Best Friends may also be a good bet.  If you get your pup in on the first or second day of your vacation, it should keep them tired for 2 days after.  If you whippet is less than 2 years at the time of your trip, s/he'll have a great time at day care.  If they are over 2 years, you can expect them to be a little more reserved around other 'non sighthound' dogs, but still have a good time at day care.  Whippets are snobs, and prefer socializing with other whippets / greyhounds / sighthounds as they get older.  They will start to ignore other breeds. 

Feel free to message me if you would like any other whippet related tips. 

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

2 hours ago, ThemeParkCommando said:

I have not been to the Fort's dog park, but I have owned and loved whippets since 1983.  I've had over 8 whippets in my life, and fostered a dozen others for whippet rescue.   

Since you have over a year to plan here are my suggestions for your new whippet family member: 

Teach your whippet to respect baby gates in your house.  If the dog learns not to jump a baby gate, they generally will not jump a short fence.  

Make a flirt pole and teach your pup to love it.  I use a buggy whip ( bought at a feed store) with a 4 foot length of rope on it.  I have a rubber donut tied on the end, to which I attach a cured rabbit skin ( can be found at hobby lobby or craft stores).    You can use the flirt pole at the dog park if you are the only dog in the place or if there is an open area where other dogs are over 25 yards away.  Most dogs don't go after flirt poles.  10 minutes of flirt pole play, 20 minutes of walking or regular play then 10 more minutes of flirt pole play will make for a tired whippet. 

Invest in a 30 foot long lead.  This can also be found at a feed store, as a horse lunge line.  When you are out in a big field where there are no fences, you can stand on the end of the lunge line and still safely play with the flirt pole.  Caveat:  Never play fetch with any loose toy while the dog is on the lunge line.  If the toy gets away, the dog may hit the end of that leash going 35 MPH, and that is dangerous. 

Use the lunge line to practice recalls and check ins.   Let the dog roam to the end of the leash, then call them back and have a spectacular reward waiting ( like steak / liver / stinky cheese)  Praise, reward and then let the dog roam off again.  Also, invest in a loud whistle that you can take with you on walks.  Teach the dog to come to the whistle, both on and off leash, with the same spectacular reward.  Whistle sounds carry further than human voice, and if your whippet ever gets lost this is a great way to help them find their way back to you. 

Using Doggy Day Care at Best Friends may also be a good bet.  If you get your pup in on the first or second day of your vacation, it should keep them tired for 2 days after.  If you whippet is less than 2 years at the time of your trip, s/he'll have a great time at day care.  If they are over 2 years, you can expect them to be a little more reserved around other 'non sighthound' dogs, but still have a good time at day care.  Whippets are snobs, and prefer socializing with other whippets / greyhounds / sighthounds as they get older.  They will start to ignore other breeds. 

Feel free to message me if you would like any other whippet related tips. 

WOW what a bunch of neat ideas.  I had no idea about whippets. 

18 hours ago, keith_h said:

We are starting to plan a trip to WDW sometime next year. By that time we will likely have a new family member and I was wondering about a couple of things related to our four legged friends. We are working on getting a Whippet. I'm not concerned so much about when we are away as we are going to crate train the dog. While they are couch potatoes during much of the day they only stay that way with some vigorous exercise each day. My concern is more about exercise for a dog that hits 35 mph before you can blink your eyes.

- What is the height of the fence at the Fort Wilderness dog park? While many Whippets aren't jumpers some are (especially of they see a squirrel or rabbit they want to bring home for your dinner). 

- Are there any other fenced/confined places where I could take the dog out for a while to run off the excess energy? Doesn't have to do with WDW specific and we would be looking at a fence height of 5 feet or more.

I'm also planning to call Best Friends to see what they might have available for day use as some of their rates don't look too bad for a vacation. 

There is a dog park at The DR. Phillips park.  I'll have to check fence height, don't know if big enough to make a whippet tired.

[keith_h 420]

On 1/22/2020 at 9:54 PM, tim5055 said:

The fence is about 4 feet tall.  Our Husky/German Shepherd Dog mix is an escape artist and can jump or just climb most fences.  I have to keep her and our German Shepherd Dog busy and excited or she will be over the fence.  She has "excaped" a couple of times but like at home, all I generally need to do is hop on the golf cart and honk the horn and she comes running as she loved to ride the cart.

 

There is a public dog park over in Clermont, but it's really not convenient to the Fort.  We generally just use it when we sty at Lake Louisa State Park before the Fort.

 

20 hours ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

WOW what a bunch of neat ideas.  I had no idea about whippets. 

There is a dog park at The DR. Phillips park.  I'll have to check fence height, don't know if big enough to make a whippet tired.

Thanks for the information about the parks. Gretchen, no rush on the fence height.

 

22 hours ago, ThemeParkCommando said:

I have not been to the Fort's dog park, but I have owned and loved whippets since 1983.  I've had over 8 whippets in my life, and fostered a dozen others for whippet rescue.   

 - snip -

Feel free to message me if you would like any other whippet related tips. 

Thank you for the ideas. While I had planned plenty of walks since we have miles of walking paths all within a few blocks of the house I was still trying to figure out what to do about vigorous exercise. Our current house isn't really laid out well for a fence so I had been leaning to build a 50 - 100 foot covered run but even that would be a lot of work/cost clearing trees when we plan on selling in the next couple of years. One of the criteria for the next house is it has to be easy to fence. The flirt pole is a great idea as we have plenty of open space for something like that and it would work when we travel as well.

I was also wondering about a retractable leash as some folks seem to be against them for the breed. I thought using it with a martingale collar and not allowing too much slack would allow the dog a little freedom to roam. By using it regularly I would think the dog would come to recognize the collar tightening and back off. I wouldn't let a dog off leash outside where we live. Too many tree rats, rabbits and cats with nearby busy roads.  

We are just starting our journey. We have a breeder in one of the neighboring towns I am hoping to get with to meet the breed  and talk about acquiring a dog. We aren't beyond considering a rescue animal but they don't seem to be very common. While we would gladly take a puppy if we had the opportunity we would rather get an animal between 6 months a 2 years old. Again these are all things we were planning to discuss with the local breeder.  

We have owned more traditional breeds in the past (Golden Retriever, German Shepard, etc). Mostly large breeds. As Rene gets closer to retiring, I'm already retired, we have talked about getting a dog that wouldn't be too big or small and would travel well with the confined spaces of the truck and trailer. Travel is also the reason we would prefer a bit older dog. We are traveling more the closer Rene gets to retiring and trying to house break a puppy on the road just seems like an effort in frustration. We also want a dog that can handle the longer hikes we take when doing traditional park camping or weekend walks. The Whippet along with its other attributes seems to fit our lifestyle in a number of areas. By the way, I know it was a little tongue in cheek but I think the "snobbishness" is a good trait. At many of the places we go to there are people with other dogs so the ability to ignore them is a great in my mind. Much like crossed fishing lines the last thing I want to do is untangle a bunch of leashes.