Genuine Question

Darren,i've only seen Sonny (briefly) once so it would be unfair for me to comment.I would have to get my hands on him & watch him move.However,he certainly looks a nice type & is correct in size :thumbsup:

 

What a fab bit of old film have to say i have seen smaller greyhounds than some of the "whippets " :teehee: on that film lol

 

They would run with the BWRA and the NNWRF just like they do now. :thumbsup:

 

Why do these threads always end up like this?

Just for the record all my whippets present and past have been rescued or preloved.

They all have had hunting skills to some degree, it is in their blood.

They have all loved to run, that is in their blood too.

Show quality, some more than others but all beautiful.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT A WHIPPET'S FUNCTION IS IF YOU DO NOT WORK IT?, I think was the question.

Whippets were bred to hunt for the pot, run for sport and to keep their owners warm in bed at night and be a 'mans best friend'.

In other words utilitarian in purpose.

My Lilly is the perfect example of what an all rounder the whippet is, she gives life 100%:

Her pedigree is almost 100% show champions. Due to her small size however she did go into the show ring for long.

She is a born hunter. She is the one that catches the rabbits and squirrels more than any other.

She will not be left out lurecoursing either, she trails the lure perfectly.

Lilly is good natured, beautifully put together, fleet of foot and would takle most prey.

She is a true whippet, I know what her function and her abilities are without working her.

That goes for most whippet owners that own fit and healthy whippets.

 

I agree we need a breed standard as a guide but if the breed standard is taken as the gospel & as claimed a correct whippet should be a fast whippet how come very few modern day pedigree racing champion whippets are also show champions the same can also be asked about pre ban coursing whippets. ?

maybe speed to speed matings for racing stock overlooking conformation at least height & weight limits keep the size within the guide of the breed standard.

maybe conformation to conformation for show stock overlooking speed,

 

Isn't that what everyone is doing already? Surely it must be the case because a decent peddy racer is very different physically compared to a show whippet.

The fact Crufts held a class for racing / working whippets shows even they admit they're are completely different entities.

Not that I think there's anything wrong with this whatsoever. If peds were all bred to the exact same standard then you would loose diversity which keeps the breed relatively healthy.

 

This is a pic of my whippet bitch winning the courcing at heart of wales game fair 2 days running aginst lurchers of all sizes as well as whippets i also show her at these shows and at pedigree shows and she does quite well at both she is racing ped one side and show x working the other side and once i am fit and able to do so myself i will have her out on the live stuff with luck this season so i concider her an all rounder and she suits me down to the ground because shes mine and i really dont care wether anyone else thinks shes fit for the so called function lol :teehee: :thumbsup: (w00t)

 

You've disproved your own theory really sonny wasn't bought from someone who works their dogs week in week out but he seems to know what his function is. Although I know what you mean in another sense once a dog breed isn't breed for function at all show exagerations in the name of "improvement" usually render the breed unable to perform the function it was bred for show greyhounds, staffs little squat unathletic types bred by slavishly following an incorrect standard. The whippet standard as already stated is pretty function orientated but show dogs have got bigger and bulkier and we now don't have the great multifunction kennels once so prevailent laguna , nimrodel, martinsell, SB, chyton etc or more to the point no coursing to breed dogs to compete in. Now the function is working and racing there's not much cross over into show