Are you considering a Whippet as your first dog? Or maybe as an aditional dog. Either way, this video will be worth a watch. Here are some things to consider before purchasing a Whippet!
After 4 years ownership of a Whippet there have been many things i have leaned about Whippet dogs. In this video we discuss 5 things that came to my mind that i think are important to know before buying a whippet puppy.
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44 Comments
Definitely chewing and eating…poops:(. Mine is only 10 months and just destroyed my new glasses today. It's hard to keep an eye 24/7 and it only takes seconds for her to snap sth from the counter. I do find having many chew toys helps, especially the wood ones. Although a lot of damage has been done earlier in the house🤷♀Eating is also a big problem. I can't trust her unsupervised in my yard. Tried a couple of times but it always ended up with her getting diarrhea from digging and eating who knows what all day, including 💩… It's almost funny because at first I wondered for a while why I couldn't find poops in my yard until I saw her go back to hers right after…🤦♀Otherwise, she's perfect, loving people, sociable, and sometimes she even chases big dogs lol.
My two whippets, 8yo and 7.5yo have never once refused a walk, even if they had a huge zoom earlier in the day, but otherwise, bang on for 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Great video, thank you! I would just add that the specific pedigree of the whippet will have a bearing on their personality and behaviour. Our (nearly) 3 year old has a working hunter as a father and show dog mother. He takes after his father in stature (20kg!) and prey-drive. Best advice I was given when he started suddenly dashing off after squirrels, deer etc was "Carry on with the training but focus on the relationship": You want the dog to want to come back to you after the initial adrenaline of the chase has worn off. Heart in mouth the first few times but we have a good understanding now and he comes back after a few minutes to a whistle. If you don't want your whippet to run after "prey" that they are bred to chase, you'll have to keep it on a lead.
Thanks for the honest advice! my family always has had whippets and these things you mentioned were always the struggles we had. Thank you for pointing out these important points!
Thank you for video, true true true, they will eat anything, my dear little girl vomited up a lump that looked like poo, took her to vet, it was a piece of rag I accidently dropped on the floor, you have to be so vigilant . Unfortunately my little girl had just developed Addison's disease, not uncommon in whippets , even though I have had whippets for years and years, it's the 1st time one of them got this disease, she will be on medication all he3r life. Cheers from downunder.
6. The more whippets you get, the less space and worse sleep you will have as they will own your bed now.
100% true. My Whippet is very good…but she will not be interested in even chicken breast or liver jerky if she's on the hunt for a squirrel. Her eyes fixate and is ''Deaf to all entreaties''.
Thank you for talking about the whippet tendancy for injury. We tragically lost our whippet to a chest puncture exactly as you described but deeper, piercing her pericardium on a short snapped tree branch. Saddest day of our lives. Be careful having zoomies in wooded areas with downed trees.
Whippets are the thieves of the dog world no doubt. They're tall enough to get up to any bench and agile enough to jump it if they feel like it. We 100% can't leave anything out on the bench or table because once our attention is somewhere else…whoosh – in she swoops.
I would love to see Freddie's face while hes listening to you trash talk him this way
A++ on the video. You told us what you were going to cover. You covered it. It was tight and trim with no filler to make it longer.
I had a whippet- ??? mix. He was smaller than Freddy and had square hindquarters. He was the love of my life. Such a sweet, cuddly dog.
We used to have an awesome bigboy whippie.. who got attacked by a boxer on a walk before he was even a year old. He didn't ignore a single dog after that (aggressive)! BUT.. how could you forget the MOST important "to know"? Whippets JUMP! High! 8-9ft. Far! dock diving.. up to 30 ft! Unless you have a 7ft plus fence, forget leaving them in the yard without a lead. As a Whippet owner friend once said: "some of these can clear that fence.. if they discovered/decided to do so! Nice video.
I always brought my whippet to park to meet other dogs since he was a puppy, this helped quite a lot to avoid attacks, socialization is very important. He still causes some trouble from time to time but at least we've managed to make a few dog friends on some walks.
Interesting information. Fortunately we don't have squirrels, foxes or other small game in Queensland. I guess reptiles could take their interest and of course other dogs. Thanks for posting.
Thank you for the advice
My previous whippet Tia, the one in the picture ran off on a chase and came back with the skin on her leg hanging around her paw like a fallen sock… blood everywhere. Our fabulous vets practice gave her first aid and the following day after a night in vets hospital the team decided on a treatment plan. She made a full recovery but there was a possibility she would have had a referral for a skin graft. Thankfully that did not happen. But please have your whippet insured.
Good video. Its very important to research these dogs before getting one as there are far too many in rescues as it is. Thank you for spreading good info
Thank you for your video. We had a retired racing greyhound for 10+ years who passed from cancer. She was a perfect dog for us. We got her at 2.5, It's been 3 years since she passed and we are now too old to lift a greyhound. I've found have a possible female whippet that was owned by a responsible breeder who will be 9 in the fall. What do you think her activity level would be, how long do whippet live healthily? Will it be imposible for her to bond to us? We are looking for a lower energy dog we can spoil and take on walks etc. She sounds just lovely, but we've not met her yet. Does this sound like disaster? Are we better just going to the pound and getting a middle aged dog? Any wisdom would be most appreciated.
Im really sorry. I disagree, firstly, you never tell your dog off for not coming back, especially a whippet. You celebrate and make a huge fuss telling them they're amazing. Leave your angry voice at home. Your dog just needs you to take treats for him, his recall will improve no end with these two tips. My whippet is 14 btw. Good luck.
OMAGOSH… my 8 month old whippet absolutely eats everything!! She lives to eat and not all good things… that and the cats have been a challenge 😂🤣
My whippet waits for me to get ready for a walk for like 30 minutes super excited just to walk not even down the block before turning around.
Whippets are the most energetic lazy dogs ever
I have a Whippet for 3 years,
I became a proud owner of this beauty and i called her Gaja (white with dalmatian dots) ,
I trained her since she was 4 months old,
She does not walk on lead at all, walks next to me ,
Knows over 20 commands,
She is the best rabbit and squirl hunter (many , many hunted down) always listens, gives a chase on command, comes back on single whistle, never disobeys order, also is crazy aboute my 3 year old son-follows him and protects him all the time (like mother),
I m so happy I choose this breed , but spendt over a year on training, had up s and downs-but every second of that time pays off now. She is very faithfull and of course -our bed and sofas are her s as well :-),
Compared to her mother and sisters (as we go for walks sometimes with them -she only walks without a lead , as other dogs are just nut cases not trained and take off on owners,
…now we r thinking aboute one more as our friend is going to have young ones very soon ;-),
I have two whippets, we have Vance for 7 years and your opinion is spot on.
I’ve had 4 whippets and I’m about to get my 5th. Awesome breed. I’ve been very lucky that mine have all been very confident outgoing dogs. I will absolutely agree that they will eat anything and I’ve had several trips to the vet because of this. Injuries are a big problem though, mainly due to their speed when chasing things like squirrels and in my experience they’re not great at stopping which has resulted in some serious injuries with mine. They do heal well though and up to mischief again in no time
What about dizziness? I have a whippet for 5 years and he gets really dizzy and falling over even if he runs too much. I feel they are a very fragile breed.
I’ve had a Whippet at home for over three years now. However, it’s a female.
Regarding what you said about the hunting instinct, I would only partially agree based on my experience. My female is not spayed. And yes, she has a strong hunting instinct. Yes, she reacts to all sorts of animals. However, I can still calm her down or call her back, even if she’s chasing a hare. She starts running, but when I give my emergency recall, she comes back immediately.
What I must agree with is that small injuries happen regularly, as I also like to let her run in fields or through the woods, so small wounds occur from time to time. However, thankfully, nothing serious has happened so far, unlike in your case.
I must agree, a Whippet is a great dog, at least mine, for walking off-leash through the woods. She listens so well, and even if she sees something to hunt, she continues to follow my commands. Even though she occasionally starts chasing something, she can still be called back.
Thankfully, nothing like what you described has ever happened to me, where the dog ran off into the woods and didn’t return. She has never run farther than out of my sight. I would even say that I have a very good dog. She has never run farther than out of my sight.
I would say that many things you mentioned also apply to a male Whippet. Since my mother also has a male Whippet, unneutered, there are many behavioral differences.”
Do whippets like to be chased?
informative
I love my 1 year old whippet
Have you always taken them to the vet when they’ve been cut?
Don't forget to mention that Whippet can get injuries that are specific for sighthounds, like corns in their pads or blown toes. It's important to find a vetrenarian who has experience with the breed.
We have a local vet for the yearly jabs and check (I think we are her only whippet client), but for injuries, we drive for hours to get to a whippet (orthopedic) vet.
If you get a whippet, build a "sighthound" community. So you know which vetrenarians and physiotherapists are good with the breed.
She cut her ear it was 10 weeks 3 times a week before it stopped bleeding
My silly boy Solo ran into a culvert and it only cost $4000CAD to repair the damage to his chest and leg
Thinking about getting a whippet; is it ever safe to let them off the lead on walks? Have a large garden and we do get squirrels, rabbits and foxes…can recall ever be as good as it needs to be? Else would be a constant worry 🤔
The most important thing to know about giving a home to a whippet is that there are TONS of them in rescues and shelters, you're much better off rescuing one than buying one. We've had our lad a year and he's incredible despite starting life dumped with a litter of pups from an illegal breeding operation
My whippy had what I call whippy brain for her first 14 months = thick as mince. All the training and dedication felt as though it was for nothing, I thought it'd never end then literally over a weekend at 14 months it was all there. So don't give up eventually the penny drops and they are amazing pets but you get back what you put in 😊
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Thieving!
I would never let my whippet running free unless he was in our garden or a park with fence. You never know what can happen – he can get hit by a car, attack by some other dog who runs free, a gamekeeper could accidentally shoot him.
My whippet is bonkers. She starts fights and takes on the world 🌎 noise doesn't bother her. She steels everything and doesn't listen at all. She will stand next to an angle grinder and sleep.😅 amazing dogs.
Looking for a breed that would fit into my life. Someone suggested a whippet, even though I have rabbits. I thought this was a weird suggestion since whippets/greyhounds are known rabbit chasers. I was thinking maybe a pup could be trained out of it, but thanks to your emphasis on how his brain switches off until he's either caught or lost it, I think I'll pass on the risk lol
A whippet x greyhound is a nice dog❤
My friend has a whippet/pit mix and the dog is effin crazy. She is the most energetic dog, she can’t sit still for even two seconds. She is over a year old now and still is has the worst case of ADHD. I don’t know how people deal with dogs that are that crazy
I have a Jack Russel/ whippet mix & she chases cats like crazy. I have 2 but I can usually recall before she gets to them. But when on walks she will literally disappear! Then come back 30 seconds later in guilt 😂