Whippet

For other uses, see Whippet (disambiguation).

Whippet
A brindle whippet
Other namesSnap dog (archaic)[1]
OriginUnited Kingdom
Traits
Height Males
47–51 cm (18.5–20 in)[3]
Females
44–47 cm (17.5–18.5 in)
Weight typical
11–18 kg (24–40 lb)[2]
Coat fine, dense, short
Colour
  • FCI: immaterial (not important)
  • UK: any except merle[4]
Litter size 1–10, average 6.1[5]
Life span 12–14 years[6]
Kennel club standards
The Kennel Club standard
Fédération Cynologique Internationale standard
Dog (domestic dog)

The whippet is a British breed of medium-sized dog, of the sighthound type, related to the larger greyhound and the smaller Italian greyhound. Apart from the differences in height, the whippet closely resembles these two breeds; it has sometimes been described as "miniature greyhound", and casually referred to as "the poor man's racehorse".[7] It is kept as a companion dog, for competitive showing, as well as for amateur racing. Whippet also participate in dog sports such as lure coursing, agility, and flyball.[8] It has the highest running-speed of any breed in its weight and size range, and may have the fastest idle-to-running acceleration of any dog.[9] Whippet is known for its gentle, affectionate, and calm temperament, being relaxed and serene at home while showing high energy and excitement outdoors.[10]

The breed's name, ‘whippet’, is derived from an early seventeenth-century word (now obsolete) meaning "to move briskly".[11]

There has been some continuity in describing greyhound-types of different sizes — large, medium and small, recorded in hunting manuals and works on natural history from the Middle Ages. Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York, confirmed in his early 15th-century translation of (and additions-to) an original, late 14th-century French Livre de chasse the advantages of maintaining the ‘great’, the ‘middle’, and the ‘small size of greyhound’ for different sorts of game.[12] The English physician and academic John Caius refers in his 16th century De Canibus Britannicus to lesser as well as greater sorts of Leporarius, Grehounde (greyhound)[13] and notably to a type which has been connected to the whippet, the tumbler, a lesser sort of mungrell greyhounde and excellent warren dog for catching rabbits,[14] also recorded by the early 19th-century Scottish curator and editor Thomas Brown.[15] The Victorian English writers describe an emerging modern breed of whippet, or snap-dog, bred for catching rabbits, coursing competitions, straight rag-racing, and for the novel show fancy.[16][17][18]

  1. ^ "Whippet History: Behind the Small Racing Breed". American Kennel Club. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Whippet Dog Breed Information". American Kennel Club. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Whippet | Breed Standards | The Kennel Club". www.thekennelclub.org.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  4. ^ Beckett-Bradshaw, A., 2019 The merle color pattern in the whippet. Sighthound Review (10) 1 Spring p108
  5. ^ Borge, K. S.; Tønnessen, R.; Nødtvedt, A.; Indrebø, A. (2011). "Litter size at birth in purebred dogs—A retrospective study of 224 breeds". Theriogenology. 75 (5): 911–919. doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2010.10.034. PMID 21196028.
  6. ^ Cassidy, Kelly (2007). "Breed Longevity Data". Dog Longevity. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  7. ^ Coile, Caroline (1998). Whippets: A complete pet owner's manual. Hauppauge, N.Y: Barron's. p. 8. ISBN 0-7641-0312-1. OCLC 38016572. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  8. ^ "Whippet Activities". National Whippet Club of Canada. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  9. ^ D. Caroline Coile (1998)."Whippets: Everything about Purchase, Care, Nutrition, Behavior, Training, and Exercising". p. 51. Barron's Educational Series
  10. ^ Divina, Arlene (29 September 2023). "Whippet Temperament: What's a Whippet's Personality Like?". iHeartDogs.com. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  11. ^ "whippet facts, information". Encyclopedia.com.
  12. ^ Baillie-Grohman, W. A. (1909). The master of game: the oldest English book on hunting. London.
  13. ^ Caius, J., Of Englishe dogges, the diversities, the names, the natures and the properties. A short treatise written in Latine and newly drawne into Englishe by Abraham Fleming. Translation; Fleming A., 1880 London ed., pp. 9-10
  14. ^ Caius, J., Of Englishe dogges, the diversities, the names, the natures and the properties. A short treatise written in Latine and newly drawne into Englishe by Abraham Fleming. Translation; Fleming A., 1880 London ed., pp. 11-12
  15. ^ Brown, T., 1829 Biographical sketches and authentic anecdotes of dogs, 1829, pp. 416-17.
  16. ^ Dalziel, H., 1879 [ British dogs; their varieties, history, characteristics, breeding, management and exhibition, London, pp. 45-8.
  17. ^ Shaw, V., 1881, The illustrated book of the dog, London, pp. 255-58.
  18. ^ "The Snap Dog – The History of the Whippet". Canine Chronicle. Retrieved 29 August 2024.