Whippet Information and Breed Standards

You’ll find here all the whippet information and basic dog breed characteristics you need to know to fall in love incurably with the whippet dog breed.

Size: Medium

Color: Any color and color combination

Coat: Short, fine and odor free

Protection: Barks to alert

Energy: Moderate

Speed: Incredible or none

Life Expectancy: 13-15 years

Children: Great with kids

Senior Owners: Perfect

Other Dogs: Easily accepted

Other Animals: Cats and small furry creatures may be seen as prey

Abilities: Coursing, racing, dog agility, hunting, flyball, frisbee, snoozing

Grooming and Shedding: Minimal. Weekly brushing, bath when needed, nail clipping

Feeding: Undemanding

Required Exercise: Average

Temperament: Gentle, affectionate and adaptable

Trainability: High. Best with positive reinforcement training methods 

Common Health Problems: None

Needs: Fences, coat in cold weather, soft and warm bed.

Suitability for City Living: Perfect city dog if given enough exercise

More Whippet Information? 

The whippet dog breed standard is the document that defines what a whippet should be and look like, it outlines the ideal whippet against which dogs are compared at a dog show.

A medium sized, elegant sighthound of short coat existed for many centuries before any official recognition but whippets were registered as a breed only at the end of the 1800.

Although the whippet was originally bred in England and then exported to America, the American Kennel Club was the first to register a whippet called Jack Dempsey.

With the registration of a breed goes the compilation of the official standard.

The American standard describes the whippet in greater detail than the British one and lists more faults and disqualification, mainly regarding the pigmentation of the eyes and nose.

European dogs are smaller than their American cousins.

The Federation Cynologique International (FCI) is based in Belgium and regulates the pedigree dogs activities in Europe, South America and Japan.

The FCI takes the standard from the breed country of origin, in the case of the whippet, Britain.

Click on the links below to read and compare the different whippet standards.

American Kennel Club - Whippet Standard

If you are of a visual learner, you might appreciate this wonderful illustrated whippet standard by the American Whippet Club

And here is a great video with whippet information. Enjoy!