Home — About Whippets

We Whippet lovers are passionate about our breed, and many of us share that passion eloquently. Below are several unique, original articles by respected members of the North American Whippet community, and we are honored to have permission from each author to present these here for your education and enjoyment. Also included here is an excerpt from Dogs and All About Them by Robert Leighton, originally published in 1910.

The Books, Magazines, and Videos listed below provide more great information about Whippets, and be sure to check out our favorite Whippet and Sighthound Resources online too.

• Are Whippets Different? by Karen Lee

• Hail? No! We won't go! by Scot Northern

• My First Time in a Show Ring by Pat Spinazzola

• Temperament and Breeding by Sharyn Hutchens

• What is a Good Breeder? by Lisa M. Costello, DVM, MS

• What's the Truth About Sighthound Puppies? by Sharyn Hutchens

• When He Was Young by Judy Walton

• The Whippet by Robert Leighton

• Whippets Make Great Pets by Walt Hutchens

Another collection of Articles to Assist Whippet Owners is found on the WhippetView web site.

• THE WHIPPET NEWS / THE WHIPPET NEWS ANNUAL
  For only $30.00 US ($35.00 international) you get 12 months of "The Whippet News: The Official Newsletter of the American Whippet Club" PLUS that year's edition of "The Whippet News Annual." The monthly Whippet News keeps AKC show Whippet folk informed about the National and regional Specialties and supported entries. It's also a great venue for cost-conscious advertisers (even "just" pet owners!) to spread the word about their sighthounds' whelps, wins, and wares. And each and every Annual is a prized possession, a collector's item, and an unbeatable resource of contemporary breed history.

  Subscription information is found on the American Whippet Club's web site.

• THE WHIPPET (video)
  The Whippet Breed Council of Great Britain's Kennel Club produced this 35-minute video. The differences between the Whippets featured throughout this video and those we see in American show rings today are unmistakable. We think all American Whippet lovers should see this video at least once. It is distributed in the US by Sharon Sakson.

• THE VERSATILE WHIPPET and THE ILLUSTRATED WHIPPET STANDARD
  These two booklets can be obtained from the American Whippet Club for $5.00 US (that's for both, not each). The booklets are worth that small price many times over. The Illustrated Standard is especially helpful for newcomers trying to understand Whippet anatomy in relation to show competition.

Every Whippet lover should own or have library access to at least the first five of these eight books:

• SIGHTHOUNDS AFIELD: The Complete Guide to Sighthound Breeds & Amateur Performance Events (With a Comprehensive Chapter on Adopted Ex-Racing Greyhounds) by Denise Como (2004)

• THE WHIPPET by Bo Bengtson (First published 1985, second edition 1994), available from the American Whippet Club for $35 US plus $5 US for shipping in the United States and $10 US for shipping in Canada. Make your check payable to the AWC and send it (and your name and address for shipping) to:
         Carolyn Mountan
         1092 Schultz Road
         Latrobe, PA 15650

• THE WHIPPET by J. P. Moran-Healy (2000)

• THE ENGLISH WHIPPET by E. G. Walsh and Mary Lowe (First published 1984, reprinted 2004)

• WHIPPETS TODAY by Patsy Gilmour (1994)

• THE WHIPPET HANDBOOK by Lewis Renwick (First published in 1957, reprinted 1964)

• THE COMPLETE WHIPPET by Louis Pegram (1976)

• THE WHIPPET OR RACE-DOG by Freeman Lloyd (First published 1904, reprinted 2002)

The books by Renwick, Pegram and Lloyd are especially important for readers who want to deepen their understanding of this breed's history and early development.

These periodicals should also be part of your regular Whippet information intake:

• EWHIPPETZINE Online Magazine
  Check out the beautiful and exciting new "Everything Whippet" online journal, brought to you by the creative talents of editor Vickie Smith (Heartland Whippets). Classy design, super-low advertising rates, and you can't beat the subscription price (it's free)!

• THE PERFORMANCE SIGHTHOUND JOURNAL
  This quarterly is fabulous. The PSJ does everything its conformation cousins do, but focuses entirely on performance activities (racing, coursing, flyball, agility, etc.).

• SIGHTHOUND MAGAZINE
  The inaugural issue of this magazine was published in the summer of 2006. Shortly thereafter, it joined forces with the former Sighthound Review ("...the world's leading sighthound publication for over 20 years..."). Readers are calling the new Sighthound Magazine "...the most beautiful, informative publication I have seen both here in the US and abroad." Editor Erika Tonder is located in Dunblane, Perthshire, UK.

• WHIPPET WATCH magazine
  Mary Magee's (SaeSi Whippets) US-based all-Whippet magazine is mailed free to US Resident AKC Hound Group judges, and is read by subscribers around the world.

• ALL ABOUT GAZEHOUNDS by Joanna Russell (1976)

• WHO'S WHO IN AMERICAN WHIPPETS 1950-1980 (Limited first edition published in 1984 by AK Company)

• THE WHIPPET YEARBOOK (Published in 1971 by the Northern California Whippet Club)

• WHIPPETS by D. Caroline Coile, Ph.D. (1998)

• WHIPPET by Dean Keppler (1999)