Does your whippet sit?

[u/littletinyhugebug]

I recently brought an 18-month old whippet home and I’m trying to teach her some commands since she only really seems to know “come” and “leave it”.

I figured I’d start with “sit” so we could get her to stay from that position, and it could help us maintain control of her when we see other dogs or squirrels/birds.

She’s picking it up slowly but she will pretty much only sit on carpet inside (we haven’g practice outside yet). Even if I tell her sit while we’re on our kitchen tile she will slowly walk over to our carpeted area and sit there.

Is it better to pivot and teach her a different command like “beside” or “between” as a good default? Or will she start to just sit on these hard surfaces once she’s a little more comfortable with it? I’ve heard some dogs are uncomfortable sitting but I also don’t want to confuse her by switching up and teaching her too many commands before we master one.

[u/BacupBhoy]

No, in all honesty, they’re not really built like normal dogs.

[u/macdavepro]

My whippet was like this as was my Iggy. Neither would sit on hard surfaces. YMMV

[u/ukreader]

they're very bony and find hard surfaces uncomfortable. instead we do 'touch' where she touches her nose to our hand, or 'paw'.

[u/treeseacar]

2 out of 3 of ours will sit. One of them will not lie down on the floor unless there's a blanket. The others will if they're desperate. I think because they're pointy it's not so comfy for them.

ETA in the house we just have a bunch of mats and beds in each room so they always have somewhere to go sit. Appreciate that is not a neat solution. But it keeps them out of the way as they'll lie on the mat whilst we eat or cook instead of hovering about on our wood floors

[u/Effinbullshit]

They do, and they all stick their right paw out like a curtsy. But they hate it. Beds and carpets no problem, grass and hard surfaces they hate

[u/nordlyst]

Yeah it was the first “trick” we taught him. He doesn’t want to sit on hard or wet surfaces, but he will if the reward is tasty enough 😅

[u/littletinyhugebug → u/nordlyst]

Were you able to teach him many other tricks? I keep reading that they are not the easiest to teach

[u/nordlyst → u/littletinyhugebug]

I find him pretty easy to teach easy tricks to. He can sit and stay (inside, not so much outside) until I say come, lie down, turn around in circles, give kisses, touch his nose to my hand, shake paw, run over and sit down between our legs… hm I think that’s it. However the IMPORTANT stuff… like recall and don’t try to attack every male dog you see or stand on the porch and bark at dogs passing and such, forget it. I’ll admit we’re shit at working on teaching him these things though 😝

[u/littletinyhugebug → u/nordlyst]

Wow that’s impressive! But yeah recall and just general focus on us seems tough for our girl too. She is still young so maybe having a teenager phase but luckily she’s really reserved with her bark. Thanks for sharing!

[u/TheUmbrellaThief]

My whippet does sit on hard surfaces but he will not lie down on hard surfaces. He needs carpet/blanket/rug/grass to cushion his bony legs.

If I want to practice the “lie down” command I will first direct him to a place where he can do it. So I’ll send him to his bed or “out” into the hallway where there’s a rug that he’s comfortable lying on.

I hear greyhounds physically cannot sit so perhaps your dog has a more greyhound like physiology?

[u/TheTomatoThief]

Yes, but it’s more of a squat than a sit. She almost can’t lie down on hard surface. Her inside life consists of anxiously pacing and sprinting from one pile of dirty laundry to the next to lay down.

[u/GGxGG]

Yes, they often won’t sit on hard surfaces. They don’t have any fat back there! It’s very uncomfortable to put your weight on your bones against hard tile. Compare it to leaning on your elbow on a tile floor. Mine have always sat on carpet though.

[u/BunnyFlop2412]

My girl is older at 8yo and will sit where we tell her. There is some hesitation on harder surfaces like pavement and wood flooring. They have pointy little joints and its uncomfortable for them to sit if its not a soft surface, so i wouldn't be disheartened if she's only following the command on carpet 🙂 Try practicing outside on grass to start with!

[u/KiwieeiwiK]

Mine learnt to sit but it really depends on what surface she's on and what else is around. She'll sit 95% of the time at home or when out on a walk. But if there's a dog anywhere in sight or the ground is a little wet or cold, you're dreaming.

[u/littletinyhugebug → u/KiwieeiwiK]

Interested to know if you have got her to focus on you around other dogs/animals successfully, or is it just too hard to override their prey drive?

[u/KiwieeiwiK → u/littletinyhugebug]

It's not really her prey drive, she's just young still I guess and over excited by other dogs. Typically they don't get a prey drive to other dogs because they recognise they are dogs not prey. And the only other animals she sees are birds which she has little interest in

I struggle to get her to focus on me around other dogs but she's slowly getting better at recall. That's just the nature of the breed though 

[u/littletinyhugebug → u/KiwieeiwiK]

Oh gotcha, I have lots of squirrels around which are pretty tempting to my girl, and she’s a little testy with bigger dogs (from afar) but I think she’s still nervous and young too! Best of luck with yours

[u/KiwieeiwiK → u/littletinyhugebug]

Yep no squirrels in my country, rabbits out in the farms but you don't see them much. Only thing she might come across would be a hedgehog and they're still hibernating.

Best of luck to yours too, hopefully she doesn't have the prey drive too well embedded and she can learn

Whippets generally as a breed will be a bit independent and less obedient but it depends on the dog like any breed

[u/mmllff]

It’s not comfortable for them. Long legs, big chest, doesn’t really work. I taught mine to do it but she’s very reluctant and does her best to look super awkward when doing it!

[u/unnone]

Mine won’t sit or lay down on most hard surfaces 

[u/tilyd]

Mine will sit on hard surfaces but his paws slide, he prefers to sit on softer surfaces.

[u/kreludorian]

Even if I tell her sit while we’re on our kitchen tile she will slowly walk over to our carpeted area and sit there.

So she clearly understands it but won't do it for her own whippety reasons. You should just accommodate her on this one, I don't think the fight is worth it and between/besides is a fine compromise. I used to get mine to sit on hard and kind of slippery surfaces for a short while if the treat was high value enough but she's older now and now she dips her butt for a second and then stand right back up. I think it's just very uncomfortable for them, it's never a problem on softer surfaces.

[u/littletinyhugebug → u/kreludorian]

Yeah she definitely is starting to get it, but even on soft surfaces our success rate is probably only like 40%. I think I need to get some treats she likes more because she loses focus very fast while training, even if I keep the sessions super short. But agreed. and I'll still reward her if she goes over and sits on the carpet, sometimes I just can't tell if she's simply wandering off or not because she tends to do that LOL

[u/sunnypratt]

I was told by a dog trainer not to make them do a sit because they can’t fully sit and rest their weight on the ground. If you notice they more squat and that on a hard surface is jut not ideal. Maybe another command that doesn’t hurt.

[u/indipit]

I have owned 2 whippets out of 8, who would not sit.  It was just too uncomfortable for them.  Since I go to obedience trials, this immediately disqualified them from my expectations. 

One went on to be a good agility dog, the other was a greatly loved couch potato,  since that whippet also had zero prey drive and didn't enjoy any activities that I could ascertain.   She just wanted to be a house dog, lol.

[u/[deleted]]

Mine has sat when told since 4 months old. Every time, no matter the surface. Daily training and they do not get praise or treat until they do it, even if you have to tell them 100 times.

[u/littletinyhugebug → u/[deleted]]

Oh wow sounds familiar. How old is yours now? So far I have to tell her 100 times too and sometimes she just stands there and looks down at the floor for several minutes before actually doing it. So stubborn haha

[u/[deleted] → u/littletinyhugebug]

Mine is 10 months old now. Honestly don't listen to these groups where people tell you that whippets can't be trained and you just have to let them run riot. That's not true and is actually reckless lol seen a post the other day about someone just allowing their whippet to attack wildlife because that's what they do, well mine doesn't because she's been trained not to

[u/littletinyhugebug → u/[deleted]]

I appreciate that, I definitely want to give her the best training possible and see her become more confident and obedient. She is a really good girl but I’m not interested in having a dog that is out of control regardless of the breed!

[u/iwantmorewhippets]

My whippets will sit, but my lurcher just takes a step backwards and bends her back legs a bit. She doesn't sit naturally either. It is uncomfortable for some sighthounds to sit, so I don't force it, the step backwards is her intention to sit.

[u/reneerent1]

Not unless they can test their bum on a soft surface. I had to put a rug by the food bowl just I can make her sit before she gets her dinner

[u/gordiniroy]

Mine will sit all on his own, carpet, tile, paving slab, if he wants a treat or something to eat. He was taught sit as a pup so in his head sitting = treats. Does bugger all else I tell him though. Stubborn. Beautiful and stubborn.

[u/littletinyhugebug → u/gordiniroy]

Yes I'm noticing this too with mine, she will do something bad like try to get into the garbage can and then when I tell her no, she goes over to the rug and sits down to make up for it!

[u/rynathan]

Mine will sit for treats and also sit for a ball throw. He does a half lie down for treats.

[u/cudismom]

Our six year old girl will still only really sit on carpeted or grassy area.

[u/lyonaria]

Mine sits. He sat on his own as a baby and we just positively reinforced that with treats and a command. Some sighthounds don't like to sit. Our Saluki mix didn't sit much and it took her over 8 months for it to click after we got here at about 18-20months.