Whippet Health

Overall whippets are a very healthy breed. We are lucky that they suffer from relatively few genetic conditions, especially compared to some other breeds. Whippets are dogs who can easily make it to their teen years and often don’t show many signs of aging until they are over ten.

Most Common Whippet Illnesses
Although not technically an illness, primary reason for younger whippets to wind up with a trip to the vet are probably skin tears. Young whippets especially have too much speed and not enough brains. When chasing something, whether its a bird, squirrel or Frisbee some whippets will not see anything else (including objects in their path or other dogs), just the object of the chase. Combine this with a short coat, thin skin and low body fat and you have a recipe for some nasty lacerations. Thankfully most of them are superficial and can be fixed up with a few sutures. The second most common reason for vet visits is probably gastric upset – vomiting or diarrhea. This isn’t a “whippet” condition but more of a dog condition in general. They eat things they shouldn’t. Dogs under one year especially are prone to bouts of loose stool as their immune systems are under developed and they sometimes have parasites that are difficult to detect (i.e. giardia, coccidia)