A few questions about dog training...

My family is about to get a Whippet from a breeder in Atlanta and it will arrive on Tuesday. It's a runt, but that is better for my family because we have two cats and we do not want a massive dog around our house. Because it's a runt, would it train differently than any other dog? I have read up on house breaking on different websites but I would like some more information if someone would take the time to respond.

Thanks

P.S.- I think it was crate trained and it is a two year old male.

Hi,
No not usualy. Usualy runts are just as good as regular dogs.
We have a runt and we have only had him for 3 months and he knows not to run away to stay with me hes house broken he sits lays wont take treats out of your hand does great with kids.He is not even a year old yet. Just keep work with it a lot say ahh ahh when it does something wrong like pee in the house if it does catch it in the act and say ahh ahh firmly and take immidantly out side even if it doesnt have to go potty anymore and give it a treat immediantly after it pees out side put treats in your pocket befor you take it out to go potty and give it to right when its done going potty. Because if you wait till you get inside and then give it the treat it will forget what your giving it a treat for because they will forget 30 seconds after they do something. I can give you tips for other stuff later after you get the potty training down then start working with it on other stuff.
Hope this helps!

Don't worry about the dog being the runt. It's just the smallest in the litter, and unless there is something very unusual, that's all it means. I had a Terrier when I was a kid. Mickey was the runt of the litter. She lived a long, active, healthy life terrorizing anyone who came to the door, bossing the German Shepherd I got later, and just generally being a Terrier until she died in her sleep at sixteen years old.

Enjoy your Whippet! And post some photos of him, too!

smaller dogs shuddent trane differnt

It depends on the breed http://animal.discovery.com/guides/dogs/selector/profile.jsp is a web site you can find out if the dog will trane diffent.

I should've thought of this sooner! You'll probably get some useful info if you'll go back and read some of SalukiBabe's threads and posts. She's got a Saluki, which, like the whippet, is a sighthound.

Our whippet is incredibly smart, but dumb too. Kind of frustrating really. He's smart when he wants to be devious, but....

We live on a farm and almost always have to keep him on his run if he's outside. if he gets his eyes on something he will run till he catches it or dies. Years ago he chased down a full grown pony and bit it the back of the leg. this put him in the hospital with a broken rib (this was before he lived with me). about 6 months ago i caught him just before he tried to do it again!!! he's actually broken metal brackets on his dog run yanking against it so hard with his neck! we have ended up putting strong springs in both sides to give him a little play if he pulls to hard-

all in all, my wife and i will get another whippet when he passes (he's about 12 or 13, but still very healthy). They are great house pets and love to sleep