| Whippets: the most honest dog breed review you'll ever find. Information about Whippet personality and behavior. |
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My book, Your Purebred Puppy: A Buyer's Guide (published by Henry Holt & Co.), includes a full-page profile of the Whippet, including these excerpts:
"The AKC Standard says the Whippet is "amiable, friendly, gentle, but capable of great intensity during sporting pursuits."
The Whippet is sweet-natured and docile, yet playful and athletic. The same dog who will curl up under the blankets -- a perfect couch potato, sleeping for hours -- will tear enthusiastically around the yard, darting and zigzagging and turning on a dime without slowing down.
Whippets love running games and require short bursts of vigorous exercise each day. The area must be fenced, for this racy breed is the fastest dog of his weight: he can run up to 35 mph.
Whippet puppies can be mischievous and destructive, but adults are calm, undemanding, and unobtrusive indoors, trotting around with a light-footed easy grace and seldom making a peep. They do insist on the luxury of being up on the furniture, so if this offends you, you shouldn't consider a sighthound.
Polite with strangers, the Whippet should be accustomed to people and noises at an early age. He is peaceful with other dogs but has a high prey drive and cannot be trusted with smaller pets.
Whippets are mildly stubborn, but also very sensitive. They respond favorably only to calm, upbeat training methods that emphasize praise and food.
Sighthounds are touch-sensitive, tending to startle when touched unexpectedly or grabbed for a hug, so a verbal correction is less upsetting and distracting than a physical one."
History
Developed in England, the Whippet was bred down from the Whippet crossed with terriers. He ran down jackrabbits during the week and raced on weekends.
Whippet racing is very different from Greyhound racing. No gambling is allowed, and no training on live prey. Racing Whippets double as pets, going home with their owner after the race and curling up under the blankets on the bed.
Size
18-22 inches and 25-40 lbs |
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Whippets
What's good about 'em
What's bad about 'em
- There are energetic Whippets, and placid Whippets.
- Hard-headed Whippets, and sweet-natured Whippets.
- Serious Whippets, and good-natured goofballs.
- Introverted Whippets, and Whippets who love everyone.
| If you acquire a Whippet puppy, you can't know for sure what he or she will grow up to be like. Because a good number of purebred puppies do NOT grow up to conform to the "norm." |
Now let's look at some common characteristics for this breed...
- Looks like a medium-sized Greyhound, with a slender, elegant, racy build and a graceful, lightfooted gait
- Has a sleek easy-care coat that comes in many colors
- Indoors, is quiet and dignified, undemanding and unobtrusive
- Outdoors, is playful and athletic and gallops with breathtaking speed
- Is polite with everyone, including other dogs
A Whippet may be right for you.
| If you don't want to deal with... |
- Providing a safe enclosed area where he can occasionally gallop
- Strong instincts to chase other living creatures that run
- Fearfulness and timidity when not socialized enough
- An independent "what's in it for me?" attitude toward training
- Emotional sensitivity to stress and abrupt changes in schedule
- Slowness to housebreak
A Whippet may not be right for you.
| If I were considering a Whippet... |
My major concerns would be:
- Providing enough running exercise. Whippets don't need miles of running every day, but they MUST have regular opportunities to vent their energy a few times a week. Otherwise they will become restless and bored -- which they usually express by destructive chewing.
| Whippets need access to a large fenced area -- fenced because these independent dogs are likely to take off and not come back. If there is a dog club in your area, get your Whippet involved in lure coursing (chasing a mechanized lure around a track or across an open field). This is an appropriate outlet for the full-speed galloping behaviors that are "hardwired" into his genes. |
- Timidity. Standoffish by nature, Whippets need extensive exposure to people and to unusual sights and sounds. Otherwise their natural caution can become shyness or fearfulness, which is very difficult to live with.
- Chasing other animals. Most people do not realize just how fast and agile sighthounds are -- or how strong their instincts are to chase and seize fleeing creatures. They could seriously injure or kill your neighbor's cat or toy dog. In today's society, the legal liabilities should be considered.
- The independent temperament. Whippets are not Golden Retrievers. They are independent thinkers who don't particularly care about pleasing you. Many Whippets are stubborn. They can be manipulative. You must show them, through absolute consistency, that you mean what you say.
| To teach your Whippet to listen to you, "Respect Training" is mandatory. My Whippet Training Page discusses the program you need. |
- Emotional sensitivity. Be honest...is there tension in your home? Are people loud or angry or emotional? Are there arguments or fights? Whippets are extremely sensitive to stress and can end up literally sick to their stomachs, with severe digestive upsets and neurotic behaviors, if the people in their home are having family problems. Sighthounds are peaceful, sensitive dogs who need a peaceful, harmonious home.
- Housebreaking. Sighthounds can be slow to catch onto this. Expect several months of consistent crate training.
| If you're considering an adult Whippet... |
There are plenty of adult Whippets who have already proven themselves NOT to have negative characteristics. If you find such an adult, don't let "typical breed negatives" worry you.
When you acquire a puppy, you're acquiring potential -- what he one day will be. So "typical breed characteristics" are very important. But when you acquire an adult, you're acquiring what he already IS.
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Copyright © 2000-2006 by Michele Welton. All rights reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced without the permission of the author. |
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