Whippet
Many people believe that the Whippet's origins began in nineteenth century England when miners bred the Whippet to race in farmer's fields when they had a day off. The races were known as "rag races" and the dogs were commonly referred to as "the poor man's racehorse" and "the poor man's greyhound." However, this origin story is not true. While the miners of that area did indeed breed the dogs, that is not where the breed originated. The name "Whippet" was actually given to the breed in 1610 and Louis XV was presented with two of the dogs as a gift. In fact, a famous portrait of Louis XV shows him with Misse, one of the two Whippets he was given. It's not hard to see why the breed was used for racing. The Whippet is definitely a fast runner, being able to reach speeds of up to thirty-five miles per hour, and they are also known to be great hunting dogs.
Genetic Diseases and Traits that we can test for:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Long Hair Gene - responsible for hair (coat) length
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
E Locus - responsible for black mask, yellow to red coats. There are four alleles at the E locus which determine whether an animal expresses a melanistic mask or a grizzle overlay, as well as determining whether an animal expresses black/brown or red/yellow in its coat.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EM Locus - Melanistic Mask Allele
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Long Hair Gene - responsible for hair (coat) length
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
E Locus - responsible for black mask, yellow to red coats. There are four alleles at the E locus which determine whether an animal expresses a melanistic mask or a grizzle overlay, as well as determining whether an animal expresses black/brown or red/yellow in its coat.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EM Locus - Melanistic Mask Allele
Please be aware that other genetic diseases or developmental abnormalities may still be present. A genetic test does not replace the need for ongoing clinical assessment by a veterinarian. Disease penetrance and clinical assessment of affected animals can only be performed by a qualified veterinarian.
Disease Statistics provided by breed club health committies and member bodies
Disease Statistics provided by breed club health committies and member bodies