Longhaired Whippets have the sighthound curvy shape and the sighthound double extension gallop. Longhaired Whippets are incredibly decorative in repose or in action.
They have just enough coat to soften and enhance the look, but not so much as to require tedious grooming. The coat is generally soft and silky, but texture may vary slightly depending on color.
Characteristics
Longhaired Whippets are capable of running up to thirty-five miles per hour, so they enjoy outdoor exercise and can course or race in all kinds of weather due to their protective coat. But they are not nervous or highstrung like some dogs. They enjoy a zoom around the yard, and then come into the house and find a comfortable place to curl up and sleep.
Temperament
Longhaired Whippets have wonderful personalities. They are very sweet and do not seem to have the 'hard edge' to their temperaments. Longhairs are generally not dog-dominant, either. Therefore, they tend to get along with other dogs very well.
The Longhairs are not so independent and are much more biddable, as well. They are affectionate, lively, sensitive and loving, while being dignified, as sighthounds (bred to course game) tend to be. Yet they are very much people-loving dogs and want to be with their owners.
Some may make good alert dogs as they may bark a warning, but even these are not yappy as some breeds of dogs are. However, they are not guard dogs. Longhair Whippets are obedient and eager to please, making them capable of doing obedience and agility work.
History
Perhaps the very best, and certainly an irrefutable, historical reference to the existence of the Longhaired Whippet is found in The New Book of the Dog, 1906, by Robert Leighton, which contains a chapter on Whippets that is written by F. C. Hignett, a Whippet fancier for over fifty years. Hignett states:
'Formerly there were two varieties of the Whippet, long and short coated, but the former is rarely met with nowadays, either at the exhibitions or on the running track; in fact, a long-coated dog, however good it might be as regards anatomy, would have a poor chance of winning a prize at a show, for its shaggy appearance would most likely hide the graceful outline which is a much admired and characteristic feature.'
We like the "shaggy appearance" and think it enhances the outline, softens the overall look.
Origin
Whippets, small greyhound-like dogs, have existed for at least five hundred years and are depicted in numerous Renaissance works of art. A smooth show type Whippet is shown in 'The Adoration of the Magi' by Benvenuto di Giovanni (1436-1518) in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Two smooth Whippets, a black and a white, are in another 'The Adoration of the Magi' by an unnamed painter identified as a Hispano-Dutch Master, late 15th century, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
These are only two of countless examples. An excellent article by Walter Wheeler is 'The Historical Whippet' originally published in Popular Dogs, February, 1958, which gives other references. Other Whippet history is in Col. David Hancock's book The Heritage of Dogs, 1990, (Great Britain).
Prior to the late 1800's and the formation of closed registries in England and here in the USA, dog breeds were maintained or improved by crossing them with other breeds. This promoted hybrid vigor and repressed inbreeding depression (accumulation of negative recessives) that causes the health problems which we see alarmingly increasing in dogs registered in closed registries today.
Whippets were included in these crosses, of course, and the resulting offspring were no doubt the foundation stock for coated Whippets mentioned in many old dog books.
Utilization
Whippets are sighthounds, which were bred to hunt game that they would see, rather than smell. The smaller sighthounds, like Whippets, were generally used on smaller game, like rabbits.
Classification
Sighthounds
Size
Medium
Height
Males: 19'' - 22''; and females: 18'' - 21'', with a 1/2'' allowance shorter or taller.
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