Whippet

The Whippet is a short-haired sighthound from Great Britain, standing 47 to 51 cm at the shoulder for a dog. It sits between its two look-alikes: the much bigger Greyhound and the small Italian Greyhound.

Photo: Canarian, CC BY-SA 4.0

Six sighthounds: Whippet, Greyhound, Italian Greyhound, or another?

Dog 1.
Photo: christina, CC BY 2.0
Dog 2.
Photo: Tux-Man, CC0
Dog 3.
Photo: Neurodoc, CC BY-SA 3.0
Dog 4.
Photo: Canarian, CC BY-SA 4.0
Dog 5.
Photo: Canarian, CC BY-SA 4.0
Dog 6.
Photo: Sabine.schlenkrich, CC BY-SA 3.0

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Whippet, Greyhound or Italian Greyhound?

All three are slim, short-haired sighthounds, so size is the surest clue. Their standards give these heights at the shoulder:

	Italian Greyhound	Whippet	Greyhound
Home	Italy	Great Britain	Great Britain
Height, males	32 to 38 cm	47 to 51 cm	71 to 76 cm
Height, females	32 to 38 cm	44 to 47 cm	68 to 71 cm
Weight	No more than 5 kg	Not given	Not given
Colours	Black, grey or isabella, white only on chest and feet	Any colour or mix, except merle	Black, white, red, blue, fallow or brindle, alone or with white

The Greyhound’s standard says it may have begun in the Middle East, though experts disagree, and that it was in Britain that it was developed to a standard. The Italian Greyhound’s standard, which calls it the Italian Sighthound, traces its small ancestors to ancient Egypt and Greece, and says it reached Italy in the 5th century BC.

How do you recognise a Whippet?

Its standard describes a “balanced combination of muscular power and strength with elegance and grace of outline”, “built for speed and work”, and asks that all exaggeration be avoided.

Outline: a long, elegantly arched neck and a graceful arch over the loin, without being humped.
Ears: small, fine and rose-shaped.
Coat: fine, short and close, in any colour or mixture of colours except merle.
Tail: long and tapering with no feathering; in action, carried in a delicate curve no higher than the back.
Size: dogs 47 to 51 cm at the shoulder, bitches 44 to 47 cm.

Every sighthound in the game

Sighthounds hunt by sight and speed. Here are the other thirteen, from Britain and Ireland to Mali, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan; each card leads to its own page or its place in the atlas.

Facts from the Whippet standard (No. 162, 8 September 2026), the Greyhound standard (No. 158) and the Italian Greyhound standard (No. 200).

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