The Whippet Breed
The Canadian Kennel Club breed standard describes the Whippet as a dog of moderate size, very alert, a true sporting hound.
The American Kennel Club standard expands on that, stating that the whippet is a medium size sighthound giving the appearance of elegance and fitness, and should convey an impression of beautifully balanced muscular power and strength, combined with great elegance and grace of outline.
As the standard describes, the Whippet is both a natural athlete and a breed of beauty. Whippets are extremely fast, capable of reaching speeds up to 35 MPH. Most intensely enjoy dog sports that allow them to run, such as lure coursing or racing, and many also excel at agility, fly ball, dock diving and even obedience. Watching a whippet run full speed is breathtaking, however because of their intense chase instinct, whippets should only be let off leash in a secure fenced environment.
While whippets love to be active and do have bursts of energy, this breed, like the Greyhound, are generally relaxed in the house and like nothing more than to curl up with a blanket on the couch. They can be coaxed off the furniture with a cozy dog bed, but because of their very short coat and scant body fat they are usually not content to lie on the bare floor, and absolutely should not be kept as an outside dog. Whippets are also a very social breed and prefer to be with their people over being left alone. While they generally adapt well to routine and can be trained to be left during the day, they are not an ideal breed for someone who is hardly ever home. With a little time and lots of love and consistency however, you will not find a sweeter companion than a whippet.
Following are links to more breed info, as well as
coats and collars that work well for whippets:
http://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/whippet/detail/
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/CollarTown
