Whippets 101: Lesson 3 - "We'll Hit Up the Dog Park!”
The Good the Bad & the Ugly: Don’t Consider a Whippet Before You Read This.
People discover the whippet breed for a variety of reasons… sometimes they know one personally or met one on a walk. Sometimes a whippet was recommended on an internet quiz. Or maybe it was a photo on Instagram.
As much as we love whippets, they are definitely not a good fit for everyone! So before you jump into the search for your next family member, be sure that the breed is right for you - read on for inconvenient truths and answers to many of our most frequently asked questions.
We hope you enjoy the third lesson in our Whippets 101 blog post series!
3 | Exercise will be easy! We’ll hit up the dog park!
THE SKINNY: IT’S NOT ALL FUN AND GAMES
Despite the popularity of your local dog park, it is not a good place to take your whippet (or any dog) for exercise and socialization. Use extreme caution when taking your dogs to a dog park. Or better yet - don't visit public dog parks at all.
Here are the top reasons why we strongly discourage anyone from going to the dog park.
REASON #1 - WHIPPETS ARE FUN TO CHASE
Dogs like to play chase and some whippets like to BE chased. The problem is when one (or both) of two things happen:
The chaser gets frustrated with the whippet’s speed and agility
Pack mentality sets it and it becomes a group-chase
Eventually, because a whippet is not an endurance runner, contact will be made. A whippet’s lack of fur, fat or tough hide can easily turn a high-speed nip into a gruesome open skin tear requiring emergency vet care. Skin tears are not uncommon with whippets.
REASON #2 - WHIPPET PREY DRIVE
As we discussed in Lesson #2, whippets have a very strong prey drive. Unfortunately, they do not always realize the difference between a small fluffy dog and a small fluffy rabbit from a great distance. And unfortunately, many people do not have the common sense to keep small dogs away from parks where large or fast dogs pose a serious danger to them.
REASON #3 - THE NEED FOR SPEED
Any experienced whippet owner will tell you that a pent-up whippet will do what we call “zoomies” the moment they are let off lead (in a securely fenced area, of course - always!). It is quite entertaining to watch these agile sighthounds zoom around in circles at top speed! But, despite their general gentle nature, this can be very dangerous to others in a public place. One can imagine how serious the injuries can be to a smaller dog, child, or adult’s knee if it accidentally gets in the way of a 30-40lb dog running at 35-miles-per-hour. It’s not pretty, and it’s definitely something that parents of small children need to be very aware of!
REASON #4 - DOG PARKS ARE ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING
This very good reason to avoid the dog park is not specific to whippets! To be brief, dog parks are contaminated with multiple parasites and loaded with bacteria which ultimately your dog brings home to your house, your furniture, and into your bed. Yuck!
REASON #5 - UNPREDICTABLE PLAYMATES
When you walk through the gate into your local dog park, there is no knowing how trained and socialized the dogs are on the other side. Do they know how to play well with others? Will they become aggressive if aroused or encounter strangers? This very good reason to avoid the dog park is not specific to whippets!
