Grey Hound Vs. Whippet

[Guest CCT81814]

How to tell the difference.

I am planning on getting a greyhound but I was told that as puppies it is very difficult to tell the difference so to be careful because for all I know I can be getting a Whippet.

I know as adults the greyhound is larger in size but are there any other characteristics that can help me tell the difference when they are 3-4month old??

Thanks!!!

[RedHead]

Are you planning to adopt? The only way you will get a puppy greyhound (other than a few on racetracks) is from a greyhound breeder (which are pretty rare).

 

If you do intend to get a puppy from a breeder.....please research them well and make sure they are reputable. Any reputable breeder will NOT be giving you a whippet or get confused between the two. The only way you would get a whippet instead of a greyhound would maybe be a backyard breeder or someone in the classified ads trying to get rid of puppies.

 

I know little about whippets, but I am assuming there is still quite a size difference at 3-4 months of age. They also have a much finer and smaller head.

[JJNg]

Where are you located, and where are you planning to get a puppy from that the parentage would be questionable? As RedHead stated, greyhound puppies are not very common, and you should know what you're getting because they would have a known background, and the parents may even be on site. Whippets are probably even less common than greyhounds, and most puppies come from reputable breeders. At least that's the situation here in the U.S. If you're in another country, I can't speak to the situation elsewhere. As to the physical difference between greyhound and whippet puppies, at 3-4 months, the most distinguishable difference would be size.

[Guest CCT81814]

Hey all thanks for the responses. Here is my concern, I am getting him from a pet store, they are well known pet store who have business with several breeders, but I want to be confident that I know what I am getting, hence the post. They may tell me here is a greyhound but it may be a whippet. I know greyhounds are larger but unless I have one of each next to each other for comparison I can't tell. And I am not saying the pet shop will stiff me but the WHAT IF secenario is in my mind, what if they don't even know the difference. So I thought like many other breeds there may be distinguishing markings or bone structure or something that can help me identify greyhound.

Again thanks for the replies!

Edited January 27, 2016 by CCT81814

[Trudy]

If you are in the US, a pet store is not working with reputable breeders as reputable breeders typically have homes lined up for their puppies in advance and wouldn't be using a pet store to sell them.

[Hubcitypam]

If you are in the US, a pet store is not working with reputable breeders as reputable breeders typically have homes lined up for their puppies in advance and wouldn't be using a pet store to sell them.

This.

 

In the U.S. pet shop puppies generally come from puppy mills where the parents are often kept in deplorable conditions. IMO the odds of getting a greyhound puppy from a U.S. pet shop are almost too low to be calculated as NGA breeders wouldn't work with them (though an NGA breeder did sell an accidental unregistered litter for $400 each in the Dallas Morning News about 10 years ago) and the AKC greyhound community is so close knit and the litters so few I can't imagine one ending up in a pet store.

 

 

[krissy]

Run, don't walk. Pet store puppies never come from good breeders. While not all of them come from horrific conditions in puppy mills (but lots do), they are still not from solid, reputable breeders. I have a greyhound from a breeder. She would never give puppies to a pet store and let someone else choose homes for her puppies. Greyhounds are not a dog for everyone, and a good breeder has a much better chance of picking the right homes than a pet store. Heck, pet stores don't even check if someone should have ANY dog. I have seen far too many problems with pet store animals... health, behavioural, and yes questionable breed.

 

The benefits of a good breeder are multiple and far reaching. Thought and foresight into choosing parents. Health testing of the parents to make sure they are clear of common hereditary diseases. Proper socialization and medical care as a puppy. Ongoing support throughout your dog's life - I still talk to my breeder regularly, and should anything happen to me I know my dog will be in good hands as she'll go back to her breeder.

 

Please get your puppy from a reputable breeder. If you need help finding one I'm sure I can help point you in the right direction. It is well worth it for you as an owner to have a healthy, well adjusted dog that lives a long life, and it's also helping to save thousands (millions?) of dogs in the puppy mill and backyard breeder systems - supply is controlled by demand.

[dmdsmoxie]

I agree with everything others have said.

 

I suggest asking for the name of the sire and dam and post them here. It will be pretty easy to tell if they are NGA, National Greyhound Association, greyhounds or not. That isn't to say these pups aren't purebred, but they would be from a backyard breeder and caution would be advised.

 

There is also an even slimmer chance that the pups are AKC greyhounds.

[a_daerr]

An AKC greyhound would NOT be in a pet store. The breeders in the US are a very tight, closed off community. They typically don't even have websites or advertise themselves publicly. When I purchased my AKC greyhound puppy, I had to give my information directly to a representative at AKC, and they followed up with me. If this puppy is actually a greyhound (I'm highly skeptical it is), it almost certainly is coming from a backyard breeder.

[Saharasmom]

I wonder if the pet shop is selling Italian Greyhound puppies?

[a_daerr]

I wonder if the pet shop is selling Italian Greyhound puppies?

 

I thought that too... a much more likely scenario!

[Rickiesmom]

Agree with others - the most likely scenario is that this is an Italian Greyhound from a puppy mill. All stores that sell puppies make claims about reputable breeders - they want to sell the dogs. An AKC registration is just that, a registration, and does not infer anything about the quality of the dog or the environment from which it came.

 

Purchasing a puppy mill dog perpetuates the misery and likely will result in a long string of vet bills for you, as these dogs often have congenital and other health / temperament issues.

 

Bringing a pup into your life is a significant commitment, please do some research, independent of the store's sales pitch, before proceeding.

[robinw]

Why I the world would you purchase a dog from a pet store? There are so many dogs that already need homes.

[RedHead]

I am also curious as to where you live, because a petstore selling a greyhound would be extremely rare. Maybe a whippet (rare too) and more likely an Italian Greyhound. Maybe it is more common in other countries, I don't know.

 

NO....and I repeat NO reputable breeder would ever give dogs to petshops. No exceptions. Fancy petstores like to boast that they use good breeders but it is never true. "Registered" dogs mean nothing. You are setting yourself up for a possibly poorly bred dog with questionable lineage, that you will pay an insane amount of money for. There are thousands of retired racers looking for homes, and a small number of reputable breeders.

 

I mean this in the nicest way, but you may want to research further into dogs and the breed itself if you think it is a good idea to buy from a petstore.

Edited January 27, 2016 by RedHead

[45MPHK9]

Why in the world would you purchase a dog from a pet store? There are so many dogs that already need homes.

Exactly. Please adopt.

[JJNg]

I'm really curious where the OP is located. I've never heard of a pet store in the U.S. selling greyhound puppies. And finding a whippet puppy in a pet store is about as rare. Italian greyhounds, on the other hand, have become quite common in puppy mills and pet stores.

[3greytjoys]

If it helps clarify anything, below are some average sighthound size differences at maturity:

Greyhounds: 30" tall, 70 pounds.

Whippets: 20" tall, 30 pounds

Italian Greyhounds: 15" tall, 12 pounds (toy breed)

 

An Italian Greyhound puppy would be much smaller and more fragile looking than a standard Greyhound puppy of same age.

 

Since puppies grow faster than weeds, what are you ultimately looking for in your dog?

[GreytXpctations]

If you are in the US, a pet store is not working with reputable breeders as reputable breeders typically have homes lined up for their puppies in advance and wouldn't be using a pet store to sell them.

In the U.S. pet shop puppies generally come from puppy mills where the parents are often kept in deplorable conditions.

Run, don't walk. Pet store puppies never come from good breeders.

An AKC registration is just that, a registration, and does not infer anything about the quality of the dog or the environment from which it came.

Why I the world would you purchase a dog from a pet store? There are so many dogs that already need homes.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[krissy]

If it helps clarify anything, below are some average sighthound size differences at maturity:

Greyhounds: 30" tall, 70 pounds.

Whippets: 20" tall, 30 pounds

Italian Greyhounds: 15" tall, 12 pounds (toy breed)

 

An Italian Greyhound puppy would be much smaller and more fragile looking than a standard Greyhound puppy of same age.

 

Since puppies grow faster than weeds, what are you ultimately looking for in your dog?

 

 

When Kili came home at 8 weeks old she was already larger than most Italian greyhounds. At that age she weight about 5 kg, and put on about a kilo in the first week I had her. I would guess that she reached full grown whippet size by 18-20ish weeks? She was large border collie size around 5 months old (well, height, not girth).

 

There should be no confusing a greyhound and Italian greyhound at any age I would think. I suppose whippet could get dicey if they also lied about the ages because of the size overlap. In general a whippet has slightly finer facial features than a greyhound, and many (but not all) tend to have more roach to the back. But the big thing at that age I think is the size, and so if you were lied to about the age of the pup that could make it possible to pass off a whippet as a greyhound.

 

8 week old whippet puppy (just a random image off google)

 

Kili at 8 weeks

 

Owner of Kili's sister breeds whippets. When she got her second greyhound puppy she had a couple of her own whippet puppies. She sent me these photos...

 

The greyhound is the blue brindle at the bottom of the image. He was 9 weeks old in this photo. The above two are her 11 week old whippet puppies.

 

The greyhound puppy is 11 weeks, the whippet puppy is 13 weeks

[GeorgeofNE]

Looks like the OP bailed--

 

But if you're still reading, know this: a reputable breeder would euthanize their puppies before they would sell them in a pet store.

 

Seriously.

 

I won't even buy supplies in stores that sell dogs or cats. There are no exceptions. Breeders will keep their pups, or even give them to people they trust if they have some sort of defect that makes them unsellable. ALL puppies in pet stores are from puppy mills. Same for pedigree cats.

[Koyotekyle]

We were at an adoption fair with our Greyhounds. A woman who breeds and raised whippets stopped by and told me that if any one wants a calm easy dog, get a greyhound.not a whippet. I have never had a whippet but after what she said, I will stick to Greyhouonds

[cendrine1]

There are 3 whippets in my neighbourhood. All are delightful, if you like exuberant, high energy dogs, but they seem to be a handful to train and manage.

 

I love my calm, regal, friendly greyhound!