At a glance

Key facts

The essentials to compare before deciding whether this breed fits your home and routine.

Size
Medium
Lifespan
12 to 15 years
Energy
Medium to high
Temperament
Affectionate and quiet indoors, explosive outdoors
Good with children
Usually very good with children who let a sleeping dog lie
Exercise
About an hour a day including short bursts of free running
Trainability
Moderate
Grooming
Weekly rub over with a mitt, with light shedding all year
Estimated monthly cost, GBP
£60 to £115 per month

The Whippet was made in the mill and mining towns of northern England rather than in a country house. Working families wanted a dog small enough to feed on scraps, quick enough to take rabbits for the pot and fast enough to win money on a Sunday, and they produced one by breeding down from small greyhounds with terrier blood in the background. Rag racing, in which dogs sprinted down a field towards a handler waving a cloth, was the weekly entertainment, and the nickname of the poor man’s racehorse stuck for a century.

That ancestry explains why a Whippet is not simply a scaled-down version of its larger relative. The terrier influence shows in a busier, springier animal that bounces, climbs, digs occasionally and takes a close interest in whatever is happening. Adults typically weigh twelve to fifteen kilograms, stand around 45 to 50cm and live twelve to fifteen years, and by weight they are among the most athletic dogs anyone can keep in a small house.

Suitability

Indoors the breed is famously undemanding, spending most of the day asleep under a blanket and leaving very little hair or smell behind, which is why so many live happily in flats. Most are gentle with people and tolerant of children, provided the children know that a sighthound startled awake may snap in confusion rather than malice. Cats are a genuine question, since some Whippets raised alongside one accept it entirely and still chase every other cat in the street. Company is important, as the breed is closely attached and not built for long days alone. Fencing deserves specific thought, because a Whippet can clear a metre and a half from standing and will scramble over anything offering a foothold. Costs near £60 to £115 a month are indicative, since food for a lean dog is modest while insurance, dental work and veterinary fees vary by region and by age.

Recommended products

Pictures show the kind of product, not the exact item listed.

Exercise

An hour a day suits most adults, split into two outings, and a fit Whippet manages far longer walks than its reputation for sleeping suggests. The essential ingredient is a chance to run flat out. Sprinting is what the body is designed for, so a secure enclosed field once or twice a week is worth the hire fee, and ten minutes of genuine speed does more than an hour of trotting. Surfaces matter, because thin skin, fine bone and enormous acceleration combine badly on frozen ground and rutted stubble. Open parks are risky rather than relaxing, since a Whippet locked onto a squirrel is out of earshot within seconds and may cross a road doing it. A dog with almost no fat and no undercoat feels the cold, so a fitted coat is standard from autumn to spring.

Grooming

Coat care barely registers. Ten minutes a week with a rubber mitt takes off the loose hair, shedding stays light all year, and baths are rarely needed. Attention belongs elsewhere. The skin is thin and tears easily on wire and brambles, and a wound that would be a scratch on another dog may need veterinary glue or stitches. Nails need watching, because overlong ones alter the way a running dog lands. Teeth deserve daily brushing, since dental disease is common in the breed and arrives earlier than owners expect. Thick bedding is a welfare matter rather than a luxury, since there is very little padding between bone and floor.

Health

Whippets are among the sounder pedigree breeds and frequently reach thirteen or fourteen in good order. Sighthound physiology differs from other dogs in ways a practice needs to know about, particularly anaesthetic protocols and routine blood results, so check that the surgery is familiar with the type. Heart murmurs are picked up fairly often in Whippets and many turn out to be insignificant, though any murmur should be assessed properly rather than assumed normal. The breed carries a mutation affecting muscle development, which in a double dose produces the heavily muscled dogs occasionally advertised, and a breeder should be able to discuss it. Inherited eye conditions and, in some lines, thyroid problems are worth asking about. Lameness after a run or a reluctance to extend a leg needs a vet rather than a fortnight of rest and hope.

Choosing and training

Breeders come from show, racing and coursing backgrounds and produce noticeably different dogs, so ask what the parents do. Rescue is a good route, since an adult’s temperament, recall and reaction to cats are already known. Training should be gentle and reward-based, because pressure and repetition make a sighthound withdraw from the whole business. Recall around wildlife is the hardest thing to teach and for many owners never becomes fully reliable, so a long line and honest judgement about the area serve better than optimism. Worthwhile priorities are lead manners, tolerating handling by a vet or groomer, and greeting small fluffy dogs calmly rather than treating them as quarry.

Verdict

A Whippet suits someone who wants a quiet, clean, affectionate house dog and can supply short bursts of real speed in a safe place. People in small houses, families with settled children and careful first-time owners usually manage one more easily than a busier small breed.

Homes with free-roaming small pets are a poor fit, as are owners who let dogs off the lead in open country by default, or anyone wanting a companion for long road runs. Judge the breed on what happens in the first thirty seconds after a rabbit breaks cover, not on the dog asleep on the sofa.