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Whenever bringing a new dog into your home the last thing you want is for them to be aggressive. Whippets appear to be a well tempered breed but can they be aggressive?
Are Whippets Aggressive:
Whippets are not known to be naturally aggressive dogs. However, even the most well tempered dogs can become aggressive in certain situations. Reasons why a whippet may become aggressive is if they were too isolated at a young age, if they are afraid, in pain, or were previously abused.
This post reveals:
- 9 real reasons why whippets become aggressive
- How your whippet’s past largely contributes to their aggressive behavior
- Tips to help prevent a whippet from continuing to behave aggressively
- And much, much more
Let’s jump right in.
Table of Contents
9 Reasons Why Whippets Will Be Aggressive & Tips To Help With Aggression
1) Isolation From a Young Age
It’s important for all dogs to get some form of socialization when they’re between the ages of 2-12 months.
The more the better.
If during these months your whippet spent most of their time only being around you and your family, they’ll have trouble behaving around unfamiliar dogs and people.
They never learned that new dogs and people can become great friends and instead see them as potential threats.
Which is why they behave aggressively.
If your whippet was isolated as a young pup you’ll have to work on socializing them now to get rid of their aggressive behavior.
Keeping them isolated will only make their aggression worse.
It’s important they learn how to properly behave around new dogs and people.
Until they learn not to be aggressive around unfamiliar dogs and people it’s important to choose wisely who they interact with.
It’s also a good idea to consult with a professional to learn how to handle certain situations where they’re behaving aggressively.
2) They’re In Pain
If your whippet has an injury and is in pain it’s not unusual to see them lash out aggressively if you touch or get too close to where their pain is.
Aggression in this situation is more them defending themselves and not wanting their injury to get any worse.
Also, when a dog is injured they know this makes them more vulnerable than usual.
So their quick reactions of aggression are a way for them to show that they can’t be easily taken advantage of even though they’re hurting.
The most likely reason for aggression here is that you or someone else may have accidentally touched somewhere on their body that is hurting.
Which made them react aggressively to get you to stop.
Even the most well tempered dogs will do what they can to stop you from continuing to accidentally hurt them.
It’s simply a defense mechanism.
The best thing to do here is find out where their injury is and do your best not to touch that part of their body.
Or, if you need to check it, approach the area slowly to assure them you’re going to be gentle.
3) Too Much Pent Up Energy
If your whippet doesn’t get enough daily exercise they may have a lot of pent up energy which makes them sometimes behave aggressively.
In this situation it’s less that they’re being protective and more that they don’t know what to do with all their energy.
Whippets need roughly 60 minutes of exercise every day or else they’ll have lots of stored energy that needs to be expressed somehow.
If they go a long time without any exercise, or simply not enough, it can cause them to act out.
It’s best to give you whippet 2, 20-30 minute walks each day with some play time in between to ensure they don’t have too much pent up energy.
4) Previous Physical Abuse
When adopting a whippet from a shelter you don’t know exactly what their history is with people.
And unfortunately, they may have had a bad owner that physically abused them.
Which means they’ll have a hard time trusting anyone and their guard will go up much quicker.
What might be a situation where someone is playfully approaching them could make them feel threatened and react aggressively.
If you suspect your whippet may have unfortunately been abused and is making them behave aggressively it’s important to be patient with them.
Deeply rooted emotional trauma takes time to heal but it absolutely can be done.
Wikihow suggests avoiding a few things that commonly trigger a dog that’s been abused:
- Yelling
- Sudden movements
- Using a deep voice or a loud voice
- Loud noises
- Touching areas where they’ve been hurt before
- Intimidating body language or gestures
If your whippet was previously abused it’s best to consult with a professional to help them overcome their aggressive behavior.
This reason for aggression is one of the more difficult to train out of a dog.
5) Rough Play
If you’ve always played a little more on the aggressive side with your whippet, it can teach them some bad habits.
Not where you’re hurting them while playing, but just rough housing.
Like young siblings sometimes do.
And while this can be fun and cute when your whippet is a puppy, it can become a problem as they get older and still want to play rough.
Especially when it’s how they play with everyone now and not just their owners.
Which other people may not be okay or comfortable with.
If you notice your whippet plays aggressively with other dogs or people it could be because of how they learned to play in your home.
If you think this could be the reason for their aggressive behavior it’s important to speak with the person in the family who’s playing too rough.
It’s best they start being more gentle with their play and finding other ways to play together.
Then your pup should learn to dial it down a little when playing in general.
6) They Mistakenly Think They’re The Alpha
If it’s not crystal clear who the alpha is in your family, your whippet may behave aggressively because they think they’re the alpha.
Which means they need to protect you and scare off any dogs or people they feel could be potential threats.
This usually comes from a lack of training and structure.
When a whippet hasn’t been taught who the alpha is through training, and instead you do whatever they want, they mistakenly learn that they’re the alpha.
Which makes them behave more aggressively than necessary.
This aggression will only stop once they know their place in your pack/family.
And this doesn’t mean to get aggressive with them.
It simply means giving them training and commands to follow.
As well as not giving in to their demands (getting attention whenever they want, treats, more food, etc.).
Once it’s clear that you’re the leader of the family they’ll behave much more calmly in unfamiliar situations.
7) Over Excitement
Overexcitement can sometimes be the reason behind overly aggressive behavior.
Aggressiveness in this instance has more to do with them losing control a little bit.
The best way to explain this is if your pup has ever had the zoomies.
When our dog Enzo was young and got the zoomies he went absolutely crazy.
He’d randomly start running around like a maniac and unfortunately doesn’t understand how fast he was going and would jump at people while running.
Sometimes with his mouth open.
He wouldn’t do it out of anger or aggression, it was simply because he got too excited and didn’t understand his playing got a little too intense.
If your whippet gets too excited often and is being a little too aggressive during or after play, it’s best to take them outside where they can burn off this excitement.
Let them zoom around by themselves until they get tired.
8) Unintentionally Rewarded Aggressive Behavior
Oftentimes owners aren’t sure how to react to aggressive behavior and they end up accidentally rewarding it as opposed to discouraging it.
If in situations where your whippet has been aggressive you picked them up to stop them, gave them attention to try and calm them down, or gave them a treat to distract them, you’ve accidentally been rewarding their aggressive behavior.
The quick fix to their aggression has unfortunately made the problem only get worse.
Sort of like sweeping dirt underneath a rug, only to have a bigger mess to clean later.
The best thing to do is to learn how to properly respond to their aggressive behavior and start their new training process.
Here’s a great video to start you on this new journey:
9) They’re Afraid
If your whippet doesn’t feel safe it’s normal to see them act out aggressively.
Just like when any animal is afraid they will do whatever they feel is necessary to protect themselves.
The problem with a whippet being aggressive because they’re afraid is because there’s usually nothing to be afraid of.
And they’re remembering a familiar situation where they got hurt and have become overprotective.
The best thing to do is find what’s triggering their fear.
Once you’ve found the thing that’s making them feel afraid, you can slowly expose them to it more and more to help them get used to it.
Once your whippet has overcome their fear or created a new association with their trigger, you should see them stop behaving aggressively.
Related Reading: 9 Reasons Why Your Whippet Is Always Nervous + 3 Tips
Bonus: Sexual Frustration
When it comes to reproduction, all animals can become aggressive if they’re feeling over-stimulated.
Sexual related aggression can happen in both female and male whippets.
For male whippets, if they haven’t been neutered, it’s not uncommon to see them behave aggressive/dominant when sexually frustrated.
For female whippets, they may become aggressive for sexual reasons when in heat.
It may sound silly to think your innocent pup is thinking about these things but all animals have sexual hormones.
And if these feelings build up too high they may behave aggressively as a response.
Other posts you might find interesting:
Are Whippets Loyal? The Truth + 9 Interesting Facts
What Age Do Whippets Calm Down? Age By Age Breakdown
9 Reasons Whippets Are Always Hungry | Dangers + 5 Tips
Sources:
Understanding The Different Types Of Canine Aggression
When Your Dog is Overly Aggressive Towards Other Dogs