Are they good with children?
Yes, they are very friendly and patient and seem to love children. But the only problem about whippets is they sometimes get over-playful or over-excited. This is the only time young children should be watched with the whippet nearby.
Do whippets need lots of constant attention?
In my experience, yes. Whenever people are busy and are not playing with him, my whippet seems to whine or do things he knows he shouldn't do to get your attention. Although if you know you are going to be out for 3-4 hours then they can be left on their own without being too noisy. If you feel put off because of the constant attention, then there are ways of dealing with it. What I do is give him a chew bone or some other dog boredom toy and this should keep them occupied for an hour or so.
Are they easily trained?
Yes, I've taught my whippet lots of tricks and commands. Although i've found that some things they learn very quickly and some take a very long time of constant recapping for them to actually understand what you mean. On a lead my whippet is generally good but when he sees something he wants he pulls over to it and seems to completely ingore your commands. If this is just my dog's lack of training or just how they are, I don't know.
These are the things I have taught my whippet.
- Sit
- Lie down
- Stay
- Leave it
- Come
- Crawl
- High five
- Shake hands
- Jump
- Heel
- Find it
Yes, we have a cat that is with our dog most of the time, and chickens and guinea pigs in the garden which he is not really fussed about. Although sometimes our dog gets over playful with the cat and barks at him hoping he will play. As usual the cat doesn't respond and just go's outside where the dog can't annoy him. Although generally whippets are very good with cats and other animals, but its wise to keep a close eye on the whippet in case he gets too excited.
Hopefully this has been helpful for those of you looking for a new dog. And I also hope this has persuaded you to get a whippet because they are very loving and they have such a unique personality which I think makes them very special dogs.
