Why the breed exists
The Whippet is a working man's sighthound. It came out of the north of England in the nineteenth century, bred down from Greyhound stock by people who wanted a coursing and racing dog they could afford to feed — fast over a short distance, small enough to live in a small house, and cheap to keep. It is the same engineering as the Greyhound at a smaller scale: deep chest, flexible spine, light bone, thin coat. For its size it is one of the fastest animals on earth, and watching one run is the entire argument for the breed.
At home the Whippet is quiet, affectionate and much lazier than its outline suggests. The real welfare issue is the one that follows from the job: a dog bred to chase something moving, at speed, will not recall mid-chase, and a chase that ends on a road or across open country is the classic way a Whippet comes to harm. That is not a training failure; it is what the dog was built to do. A securely fenced space and a lead near roads are not optional. Good breeders say so plainly, health-test to the American Whippet Club's published recommendations, and place puppies on contract with lifetime take-back.
The official written standard belongs to the breed's parent club.Read the official Whippet standard →
Choosing a Whippet on purpose
Every breed has its own list of required health screenings, kept by its parent club and published through OFA. A preservation breeder working in this breed tests to that list and shows you the results — including the ones that didn't go their way.
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