# Whippets vs. Greyhounds ?



## stevenham (Oct 7, 2010)

I am considering adopting either of the two breeds in the near future and would like to know what their major personality/temperament differences are. 

I've done some googling, but all I can really find is information about the obvious size difference and that Whippets are slightly more active. 

I've got a Jack Russell Terrier, so I'm looking to get a very laid back second dog that better suits my personality. Temperament wise, I'm thinking that the Greyhound would be perfect for me. I'm not that active myself, but I do go on a rigorous daily 20-30 min bike ride with my current dog. Other than that, I'm pretty much a couch potato myself. In all aspects, everything about the Greyhound is perfect except for their size. 

Can Whippets generally be thought of as smaller greyhounds? The size of a Whippet is perfect for me, but I'm curious to how "lazy" they are compared to Greyhounds.


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## Fuzzy Pants (Jul 31, 2010)

You could get an Italian Greyhound. They are smaller even than Whippets though so they might be too small.


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## katielou (Apr 29, 2010)

Fuzzy Pants said:


> You could get an Italian Greyhound. They are smaller even than Whippets though so they might be too small.


The whippets and iggies i have known have been very much more active than the greyhounds.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

I tend to agree. Greyhounds are couch potatoes, I think the opposite of a JRT. While, I think a whippet would always be ready to be instigated into mischief with the JRT


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## Polywoggy (Mar 7, 2011)

hanksimon said:


> While, I think a whippet would always be ready to be instigated into mischief with the JRT


 Partners in crime! 
My ex SIL had a whippet x terrier. She was a very sweet dog, but it was hard to catch up to her to figure that out! lol


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## stevenham (Oct 7, 2010)

Iggies are a bit too small for my taste. I'm always wishing that my JRT is twice his size.
I'm guessing the Whippet is a better match for my JRT, while the Greyhound is a better match for me. 
Perhaps the Whippet is the best of both worlds. 
I've been looking through local shelters and petfinder, but there doesn't seem to be many Whippets. The few remotely around me seem to be mixes.


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

Yup, I think the Whippet would be a compromise of what you want and what's good for your current dog. I've actually heard of people getting Whippets just to exercise their other dogs. Whippets run REALLY fast and I think a game of chase could exercise your JRT a lot.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

You say everything is perfect about the greyhound except the size, but I wonder what it is about the size that is a problem? Greyhounds are known as good apartment dogs for a reason- their quiet nature inside the house. Large dogs really don't take up much more room than small dogs. A lot of it depends on personality. Like, my dog is 75 lbs but he will happily either go to his dog bed on the floor or curl up to fit on 1 couch cushion if I ask him to. Whereas, I have friends with 20 lbs dogs that HAVE to be on your lap, in your seat, in your face and generally not sitting still ever. So it kinda feels like they take up more room.

I've met a couple greyhounds, all off the track racers. Aside from a tail that could leave bruises when it wagged and a tendency to run paths into the yard at full speed, all of them were friendly and good with kids and people in general.


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## Sighthounds4me (Nov 7, 2010)

Whippets are definitely NOT small Greyhounds. They are far more active, generally speaking, though nothing like a JRT. The Whippets I have known have been very active in amateur racing, and trained hard. They were often running and playing outside, and lived for the frisbee.

Greyhounds, OTOH, are generally very laid back. My own is an exception, as she loves to run and play, even as she grows older (she's now 11). I had a foster once, who was barely 2 years old. He usually had to be woken up to go outside, and then didn't even want to! He was the epitome of laziness!

Overall, I love both breeds, but if you want more laid back, a Greyhound is probably better for you. Whippets would make great jogging partners, but Greyhounds would rather snuggle with you!

As for Whippet rescue, Google "Whippet Rescue and Placement" (also known as WRAP). It is a national breed rescue group. Many breed clubs have rescue also, and there are many local groups throughout the nation. I also know of a couple breeders in the Midwest that could help you out, if interested.

I would have to look around to find greyhound adoption groups in your area. A Google search is not producing much, but I have other resources.


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## Juniper's mom (Jun 13, 2009)

Whippets are my absolute dream breed -- but FYI they are relatively rare, esp if you want to rescue. Greyhounds, on the other hand, you can get a great retired racer from a number of rescue orgs. They are awesome-looking dogs and there are even gatherings of grey fans-- I ran into one a year ago in Kanab, UT. I vote greyhound.


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## katielou (Apr 29, 2010)

My whippets have also been far to delicate to wrestle with a JRT!


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## frostywolf (Jul 5, 2010)

My reactive JRT, that hates 99.99% of all dogs he meets, had a whippet friend in his first obedience class. They were buds!


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## jenz (Aug 20, 2010)

I'm a Greyhound Person, but have been around Whippets a bit. A lot of people say they are more active but to me it seems more "busy body-ish" than active, to me? The ones I met always seemed to be sticking their noses in where they didn't belong-kind of like cats, lol. Not trouble-making at all, just ... well, being busy-bodies.

Greyhounds make great jogging partners IF you get a more active individual! They're sprinters, so build their endurance up slowly.

Just an FYI if your JRT like rough-housing and wrestling- many greyhounds don't "do" that.  Something to keep in mind.

Jen


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## dmickle1 (Jun 19, 2011)

jenz said:


> Just an FYI if your JRT like rough-housing and wrestling- many greyhounds don't "do" that.  Something to keep in mind.


Something else to keep in mind, if your JRT does rough-house, like Katielou mentioned, a Whippet is delicate and may not be able to handle that kind of play from a much sturdier dog 

I would go with a Greyhound, but I have a penchant for larger dogs, myself.


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## katielou (Apr 29, 2010)

Have you seen how small a greyhound can curl up? They are like contortionists


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## Sighthounds4me (Nov 7, 2010)

I got this info back from Greyhounds Only, an adoption group in Illinois:

"Our radius is 100 miles of Carol stream and Burlington WI... 

I'd encourage him to apply and we can figure out if we can serve him, or if 
he is better off with REGAP of IL out of Mendota..."

http://www.greyhoundsonly.com/


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