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Whippet

The breeds · sighthound · sighthound

AKC Hound · UKC Sighthound & Pariah · FCI standard 162

Whippet.

FCI 162: Group 10 Section 3 short-haired sighthound, without working trial; the FCI utilization line is the group's generic one (breeds originally used for hunting by scent or sight). AKC: a true sporting hound that covers a maximum of distance with a minimum of lost motion; capable of great intensity in sporting pursuits. UKC: a medium sighthound built for speed and work, adaptable at home or in the field. Wikipedia: the 19th-century 'poor man's racehorse', now mostly companion, show and amateur racing, with lure coursing..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

13.4YRMedian lifespan13.2 to 13.7, measured on real dogs.
0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
24–40LBWeight, all linesbreed 24 to 40 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayRKC: up to 1 hour per day.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 18.5 to 22 in · bitches 17.3 to 21 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2007

AKC and UKC disqualify at 17.5 and 21.5 in.

Weight

24 to 40 lb

Breed clubAKC

AKC page header is a summary, not the standard; Wikipedia's range is essentially the same.

Coat

AKC: short, close, smooth and firm; any other coat disqualifies. UKC: same, disqualification for any other coat. FCI: fine, short, close. Color: AKC and UKC immaterial; FCI any color, merle unacceptable.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2007

Three registries agree on coat.

Shedding

Shedding 2 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

5 of 5 · AKC and UKC: short, close, smooth and firm coat; any other coat disqualifies. FCI: fine, short, close. Wikipedia: short coat and low body fat make the breed sensitive to cold and it may need a jacket.

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2007

Derived from the standard's coat description (short single coat = 5). Cold sensitivity is editorial (Wikipedia) and is not scored here.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

13.4 years (13.2 to 13.7)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

McMillan et al. 2024 / Dogs Trust. UK population. Teng 2022 (VetCompass) does not include the breed.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: up to 1 hour per day.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule.

Energy

4 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

2 of 5 · RKC: grooming once a week; short coat; sheds. AKC page coat grooming frequency band 1 (not mapped).

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped by library rule.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 162: Group 10 Section 3 short-haired sighthound, without working trial; the FCI utilization line is the group's generic one (breeds originally used for hunting by scent or sight). AKC: a true sporting hound that covers a maximum of distance with a minimum of lost motion; capable of great intensity in sporting pursuits. UKC: a medium sighthound built for speed and work, adaptable at home or in the field. Wikipedia: the 19th-century 'poor man's racehorse', now mostly companion, show and amateur racing, with lure coursing.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 162

FCI, AKC, UKC and Wikipedia.

Primary game

Rabbit. Wikipedia: developed for catching rabbits, coursing competitions and straight racing; 19th-century working Whippets were divided into four groups (rabbit hunters, hare coursers, trained to the rag, and lure racers). UKC: used by the working class for sprint racing; includes early working terriers and the Greyhound in its ancestry.

EditorialWikipedia

Editorial plus UKC history.

Also used on

Hare (coursing, historic). Today: lure coursing (AKC and ASFA), straight and oval racing, agility and flyball (Wikipedia).

EditorialWikipedia

Wikipedia.

Search pattern

Hunts by sight (AKC lure coursing page, which says this of sighthounds). Wikipedia: very high prey drive (the 'snap-dog'), short explosive sprints followed by long rests; fastest dog for its weight class at about 35 mph. Voice, single or brace work: not stated.

Breed clubAKC

Sight behaviour; editorial for the sprint pattern.

Field trial standard

AKC lure coursing: Whippet is an eligible breed; dogs one year or older; a 600+ yard course with a mechanized white plastic lure; judged on how well they perform the functions for which they were bred. ASFA lure coursing trials run most weekends in the US. Racing: Wikipedia names the British Whippet Racing Association (1967) and the Whippet Club Racing Association (purebreds only); NOTRA and LGRA run US oval and straight racing for sighthounds.

Breed clubAKC

AKC and ASFA pages read; rulebooks and the US Whippet racing bodies were not read.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

2.3% · 304 OFA hip evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026; 2.3% dysplastic (mild 1.3, moderate 1.0, severe 0.0), 97.7% normal (excellent 38.5, good 56.9, fair 2.3)

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own breed statistics (rank 208). OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, with normal results over-represented. Wikipedia cites an older OFA figure (1.2% of 161).

Most common disorders

Wikipedia: cardiac issues are the second leading cause of death in a Kennel Club health survey; mitral valve disease is the most common heart condition in older dogs; intolerant of barbiturate anesthetics; genetic eye defects rare. AKC national breed club recommended tests: cardiac exam, ophthalmologist evaluation, BAER testing.

EditorialWikipedia

Wikipedia summary of a UK Kennel Club survey that was not read directly.

What the studies found

Population-level findings, shown as a spread. Breed sets the odds; the parents set the dog.

Aggression, as studied

Duffy, Hsu and Serpell 2008 (C-BARQ, online sample n 59 Whippets): Whippets were among the least aggressive breeds toward both humans and dogs and scored below the median for stranger-directed aggression. The Whippet is not in the paper's Table 5 of breed means, so no mean score is recorded.

StudiedDuffy D.L., 2008

Text findings only. Questionnaire study of self-selected owners; population-level. No bite statistics recorded.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 1; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 5; Shedding Level 2; Coat Grooming Frequency 1; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 4; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

No KENAI kennel lists the Whippet yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 10 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your whippet, on the record.

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