Should you look for a whippet puppy, or an adult whippet?
Which whippet is right for your family?
Deciding whether to bring home a whippet puppy or an adult may be the most important decision you make when adding a whippet to your family. At first the answer might seem obvious—but each option has its own rewards and challenges.
Raising Your New Best Friend
If you’re flexible, patient, have a good sense of humor, and plenty of time to devote to him, you’ll love having a whippet puppy. Nothing is sweeter, snugglier, or more entertaining. There’s also something deeply satisfying about raising your best friend from puppyhood.
But you’ll need all the flexibility and patience you can muster—and your sense of humor will get a real workout.
One Puppy, Two Dogs
When you bring home a whippet puppy, you usually get two dogs.
First you get a cute, funny, affectionate—but extremely mischievous—little hellion who lives with you for the first year to year and a half.
After that, you get a perfect dog.
It’s worth it.
There are exceptions, of course. A few whippet puppies seem to be “born good” and rarely get into trouble. In all our years, we’ve personally owned exactly two like that.
Most puppies, however, require patience and attention. At first they need to go outside every couple of hours. They may not immediately understand that going outside is supposed to include potty activities, and accidents will happen. They’ll need regular exercise to develop physically and burn off energy, along with plenty of attention, affection, and mental stimulation.
Because of their athleticism and curiosity, young whippets can get into trouble other puppies wouldn’t even think about.
The Reality of Whippet Puppies
No young whippet should be routinely confined to a crate for five or six hours at a time. Adult dogs can sometimes manage that schedule if necessary, but it’s not fair to a puppy.
To grow into the wonderful companion you’re hoping for, a young whippet should be either supervised or safely confined whenever he’s awake during most of his first year.
Left alone and loose for a few hours, a bored whippet puppy might:
- Forget everything he knows about house training
- Shred a sofa cushion
- Try climbing the curtains
- Open your mail
- Run joyfully through the house trailing toilet paper
- Empty the kitchen trash onto the dining room floor
- Test the durability of your TV remote with his teeth
With consistent supervision, structure, and patience, that juvenile delinquent will grow into the affectionate, beautifully behaved adult whippet everyone loves.
But if no one can be home with your new dog for much of the day during the first several months, we strongly recommend considering an adult instead of a puppy.
A Helpful Training Trick
Some Timbreblue families have had great success with tethering a young puppy during the day. By clipping a leash to the puppy’s collar and looping the leash around their own waist, the puppy stays nearby even when the owner is busy.
The phrase every puppy owner eventually says is:
“I only looked away for a second.”
Why an Adult Might Be Perfect
Wonderful adult whippets sometimes need new homes due to changes in family situations, conflicts with other pets, or job relocations.
These dogs may come from rescue organizations or occasionally from breeders. They’re rarely free of charge, but you’re often welcoming a leash-trained, healthy, housetrained, and well-socialized companion who has already left the puppy mischief behind.
Adult whippets bond remarkably easily with new families. In fact, it can be slightly insulting how quickly they settle in.
We’ve owned several whippets who joined us as adults, and they’ve been just as devoted as those we raised from birth.
A Secret about Whippets
Most whippets are absolutely convinced they would die without you.
Yet when they must move to a new home, it often takes them less than a week to settle in.
They are the original “Love the One You’re With” breed.
This resilience is part of what makes whippets such wonderful companions. They bond deeply with the people they love, but they also have an extraordinary ability to adapt to new situations with optimism and good humor.
When we see one of our whippets again after they’ve gone to a new family, they don’t rush toward us demanding to come home.
Instead, they greet us affectionately—like a college freshman at parents’ weekend:
“Hey! I love you and I missed you… but life is pretty great here too.”
Our whippet alumni never stop loving us, but they’re entirely happy with the families who have chosen them.
Adult Whippets from Timbreblue?
We rarely place one of our own whippets in a new home, but we’re always happy to help families who believe an adult dog might be the better fit.
Whippet breeders are a close-knit and supportive community. When one of our breeder friends has a whippet in need of a home, we often help spread the word and connect the right dog with the right family.
Inquire
If you have questions about whippets—or think one might belong on your couch—please visit our inquiry page.
We maintain a waiting list for puppies and are always happy to talk with prospective families. If we don’t have puppies available, we may also be able to connect you with another reputable breeder who does.