Greyhounds and Whippets? (Split topic) - Paw Talk

stickybuns · #1 11-29-2005, 01:03 AM

JoJess,
what is the Dif. between Greyhounds and Wippets. Not to start a debate or anything cause I don't know enough about this subject, but I'm not sure how I realy feel about racing dogs? I never debate or talk about somthing I am ignerant about so please educate me on how it works and please convince me that they are treated very humanly while being used as racers. My desire some day is to adopt a greyhound.
Thanks, stickbuns

JoJess · #2 11-29-2005, 04:50 AM

Hi there, I am sorry but I have no idea about how greyhounds are kept while racing, I am not a lover of greyhound people as I find some greyhounds according to the stories I hear are abused and abandoned, sorry if I have spoken out of turn asw I do know some people who have adopted retired greyhounds and they have the best of homes.
A whippet is similar to a greyhound but in most cases smaller, the whippet fraternity which I belong to are the non pedigree whippets, I have eight whippets all of whome live in the house with my hubby and I, they are first and foremost pets and secondly racing dogs, most of my whippets are retired from racing due to old age.
I have a retired Supreme Racing Champion which is the highest title a whippet can attain, she is 15 years old bless her and I am dreading the day when she leaves me
I have another whippet who is 12 years old who is a retired Racing Champion and 6 more all of whome are very lightly raced due to my working commitments.
All my whippets are lady dogs as I would find it difficult to have dogs in the house with the lady dogs.
We race non ped whippets on the straights and on the bends, I personally race mine on the straights which is a field with a good flat running surface with a sand pit finish which helps to protect their toes when poulling up.
Years ago whippets had to be upto a certain weight to race, that wqas 28lb in weight, now there is scratch dog racing because of the high ammount of people breeding their whippets to greyhounds.
I am not saying that all whippet owners are the best as you get good and bad in all ways of life, what I am saying is that everyone I know who has a whippet looks after them like they are children.

ratty_ratkins · #3 11-29-2005, 10:19 AM

i love sighthound breeds. from what i see and read the greyhound is quite a bit bigger than a whippet. however i dont think thats a great comparision to make, becuase how you you describe and italian greyhound?
i have here horror stories about both whippets and greyhounds as racing dogs. i would never race....
but i also would love to have a greyhound.

JoJess · #4 11-29-2005, 04:29 PM

Horror stories **Gasps** yes some people should never be allowed to own any kind of animal, they should be tarred and feathered

**Sasami** · #5 11-29-2005, 05:13 PM

As mentioned above, Whippets are indeed smaller then greyhounds.

I don't personally agree with how racing dogs are generally taken care of and I'm against dog racing, but I won't get into that.

Padfoot · #6 11-29-2005, 07:35 PM

I don't know about racing dogs... but as already said... whippets are smaller than greyhounds. They are basically the same breed in 3 sizes; Greyhounds, Whippets and Italian Greyhounds. According to my book, Greyhounds should be 27-30 in. tall and weight 59-70 lbs. Whippets should be 17-20 in. tall and weight 29-31 lbs. Italian Greyhounds should be 12-15 in. tall and weight 6-10 lbs. According also to my book, the Whippet was developed by crossing the smaller greyhounds with italian greyhounds and various terriers. The greyhound and the whippet are part of the hound group, while the italian greyhounds is part of the toy group.

stickybuns · #7 11-29-2005, 09:26 PM

Very good explanation, thank you for that. I would love to adopt any of the greyhound line. They are very energetic so I will have to do that at a time in my life were I can spend the time on long walks and play dates.
stickybuns

JoJess · #8 11-30-2005, 02:02 AM

Greryhounds need little exercise, whereas Racing whippets need at least 3 miles per day, racing whippets is a hobby not a sport in my eyes, we do not let the whippets chase a rabbit but they chase a lure which consists of an onion bag or thick strips of plastic, believe it or not but I will travel 100 miles to see an osteopath for the whippets after and before a race, they are fed better than any other dog I know of as they have the best, if you want a whippet to race then you have to give them TLC, best of food and good exercise...... people who are unaware of the hobby/sport if you like to call it that should go along to a meeting and see just how these little dogs race......

stickybuns · #9 11-30-2005, 12:41 PM

I just wanted to say I appreciate this being an educational chat and not a debate over racing vs non racing. about 3 years ago I did a lot of research on greyhounds (AKA couch patato) I know that they are so happy to be retired and that they make such good pets. They do need at least some excercise each day as do other dogs but need some room to run. I will continue my research and welcome any input that anyone may have.

Sticky

JoJess · #10 11-30-2005, 12:56 PM

We all are entitiled to have views on what ever subject, I would like to ask what is the reason that people do not like racing dogs, I suppose people think that the whippet ios raced like the greyhound, but it is far from the truth, you see a greyhound will have one race whereas our little whippets have to win a heat first then a cross heat then a semi and then a class final, this all depends on how many whippets are in that paticular class, as we race them at yard a pound, 2 foot a pound etc.......not all dog owners are as caring as we are ...I respect your oppinion

EnchantedGypsy · #11 07-18-2006, 01:39 AM

In addition to size, Whippets have a completely different head than Greyhounds. Whippets have much larger ears, semi-prick instead of rose-style. Whippets heads have a more pronounced stop than Greyhounds (stop=distance/angle from muzzle to forehead). Whippets also have large round eyes, instead of smaller almond-shaped eyes. Whippets have terriers in their background so that they would catch vermin while owners worked, then on time off owners would have races with their Whippets. Whippets were known as "the poor man's Greyhound" and "the poor man's racehorse". Due to the infusion of terriers, in the early days of the breed wire-haired Whippets existed. Since the rough coat was not desired, it was eliminated through the years of developing the breed.

Vanilla_Rat · #12 07-20-2006, 12:16 AM

I have been a volunteer for GPAC (Greyhound Pets of Atlantic Canada) for almost 5 yrs now.They make greyt pets,very docile and gentle and are huge couch potatoes!

Some race tracks (especially in european countries) do have a bad reputation,as they do not treat the dogs as they should be and there are so many stories,which I rather NOT get into.However with public awareness and more rescue organizations,the tracks are either becoming bankrupt or are imporving their standards/care of the race dogs!