The whippet is a valued member of the sighthound (or gazehound) family of dogs.

These dogs hunt by sight more than by scent. Other breeds in this category are the Saluki, the Afghan Hound, the English and Italian Greyhound, the Borzoi, the Scottish Deerhound, the Irish Wolfhound, the Sloughi, the Ibizan hound, the Galgo and other swift and elegant breed that have been used around the world to chase and take down prays of various size and strength.

The closest relatives to the whippet are the Italian and the English greyhound. Both these breeds share with the whippet the same svelte figure and the fine, silky coat.

The English greyhound is bigger than the whippet and the Italian greyhound is smaller, the size influences the relative proportions of the dogs in each breed but it doesn't change the general look and function of this kind of hound.

Regardless of the size, this general type of dog, an elegant and swift hound of short coat, has been around humans for thousands of years, helping them in the hunt, sharing their shelter and warming their beds and hearts. This is testified by the innumerable depiction of hounds on vases, paintings and statues, sometimes as old as the beginning of human civilization.

The whippet as a breed is a relatively modern dog, the Kennel Club officially recognized it in 1873.

The origins of the whippet, this middle sized and miraculously balanced dog, are not aristocratic. These dogs were bred and wisely selected by the coal miners of North England. The whippets earned their keep (and sometimes more then their owner's wages) running in short races.

I think that the modest circumstances of the whippet's birth is what makes it such an adaptable dog, well suited to modern living conditions.

They don't require enormous amounts of food or exercise. Whippets take very little space in the house, are not obsessive barkers or diggers and are very easy to keep clean and tidy.

Their biggest requirement is the company of their owners. It is easy to imagine that right from the beginning they were prized pets, allowed to live in the house to shelter them from the severe cold of the Northern counties and the possibility of theft.

I am often asked if my whippets are delicate: well, they are not! A selective breeding not based on color or looks but on function, preserved the breed from most genetic problems that plague many pure breed dogs.

Of course, like any other breed, the whippet is for most but not for everyone, there are pro and con to consider before deciding to welcome this special dog in your house and heart.

Nevertheless the whippet is such a beautiful, easy, fun and yet undiscovered dog that somebody said that the whippet is the best kept secret of the pure breed dogs world.