Whippet Height

[Tesa]

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My Bess (5 years)

Lida,

I know from Colin's website that Bess has Delacreme Dragonslayer twice in her line. Thought you might be interested to know that Beau also has him twice in his line. GGG Grandparent. Is this where he gets his height from?

 

[Seraphina]

My Bess (5 years)

Lida,

I know from Colin's website that Bess has Delacreme Dragonslayer twice in her line. Thought you might be interested to know that Beau also has him twice in his line. GGG Grandparent. Is this where he gets his height from?

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Yes, Dragonslayer was a big boy in his time. I do not know where did your Beau come from. There may be other large dogs in his pedigree.

Lida

 

[Tesa]

My Bess (5 years)

Lida,

I know from Colin's website that Bess has Delacreme Dragonslayer twice in her line. Thought you might be interested to know that Beau also has him twice in his line. GGG Grandparent. Is this where he gets his height from?

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Yes, Dragonslayer was a big boy in his time. I do not know where did your Beau come from. There may be other large dogs in his pedigree.

Lida

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He came is a Parnew dog. (tasmania)

Grandparents are

Arjai Beyond Obsession

Jenizall Hot in the City (double grandmother)

Hydale The Gambler

He also has

Bonnymead Red Pepper

Arjai Recurring Dreams & Fields O fire

Rothbury Run for Cover (Double G Grandfather), War Paint & Run Amok

Dachswyn Tocha Sun (Double G Grandmother)

 

[aslan]

Hi Allen and welcome to k9 - how long have you been lurking and not posting?

It is easy to blame the increase in height in our Aussie whippets on the imported American lines - I have done it myself and still believe that it is mostly due to that reason. However having been to a show in England and having seen 240 whippets at a show there, and looking at pics on k9 and knowing roughly how big some dogs are (because I've seen them in the flesh) and then seeing others in line ups with those dogs and towering over them, I know there are some BIG whippets in England too, and they are winning as well.

How many times have English imports been used in this country and the bitch owner has not known (for certain) the height of every dog in the immediate background? It is very difficult for us to know that for sure unless we had been to England and seen those relatives in the flesh. It is very easy to be told a dog was 20". Who could tell us for certain how tall any dog is/was (except for the owner who has measured the dog him/herself)? And even then do you get the truth? It's a risk you take.

Therefore saying stick to UK whippets and you'll avoid the height problem isn't necessily true I don't believe.

I have tried very hard to stick to standard height in my breeding and most of the time it has worked - but I don't know for how much longer I (or anyone else for that matter) will be able to avoid increasing height. Somewhere along the line you have to branch out and it will become increasingly difficult to find dogs of excellent height that also have everything else one wants, and one may have to forsake height for some other quality. Sad but true I think.

 

[Seraphina]

I have also talked to people who were at Crufts this year and they told me there was a lot of very large Whippets. Are there also some US imports in backgrounds of these dogs?

I used to breed Great Danes, we were all trying to breed big dogs. Bigger the better, yet I did not manage to change the size of my dogs in the 5 generations i bred. All my adult bitches were about 33" and males 35" - 36". Yet Whippets have shot up couple of inches in the past decade.

Some of the Whippets I have seen lately here would not be allowed in the ring in US.

Lida

 

[ibiza]

Hi Karen (Tesa),

I thought I would clarify that Delacreme Dragonslayer was 19 inches and so it would be incorrect to attribute any excessive size to this US import.

There is no clear-cut answer to this but the compounded use of generous sized dogs does nothing to help the issue.

More recent US imports seem larger than what we have had from past UK dogs so Allen's (Hydale) point is relevant, but as Lana (Aslan) said, they seem to be creeping up in the UK too.

Recent National show winners in Scandinavia seem taller still.. most concerning.

Regards,

Colin

 

[Tesa]

Hi Karen (Tesa),
I thought I would clarify that Delacreme Dragonslayer was 19 inches and so it would be incorrect to attribute any excessive size to this US import.

There is no clear-cut answer to this but the compounded use of generous sized dogs does nothing to help the issue.

More recent US imports seem larger than what we have had from past UK dogs so Allen's (Hydale) point is relevant, but as Lana (Aslan) said, they seem to be creeping up in the UK too.

Recent National show winners in Scandinavia seem taller still.. most concerning.

Regards,

Colin

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Thanks for that Colin. He is getting quite tall. BTW will you be going on Sunday, would be nice to see you.

Hows the babies?

cheers

Karen

 

[Zephyr]

Its amazing how many owners say their dog is 20", however Archie is nearly always the smallest in the ring  :- " - but I suppose measuring is not an exact science!

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I had Zephyr measured at a club show (he was 20" and 1/8 :thumbsup: ) so it is worth asking a committee member if they have a measuring stick. :thumbsup:

It does seem as though there are a lot of much taller dogs in the ring these days, and a number of Zephyr's critiques have remarked on his 'correct height'.

 

[ibiza]

Yes; will definitely be there on Sunday.

Committee members don't get a choice.. although I am looking forward to seeing everyones babies and to mum's special desert.

She's doing her Greek specialty 'Galaktobourico' (egg custard in filo pastry). Did you try it back then? It's one of our favourite revenue spinners (best $2 you have ever spent). It has been sadly missed the last few Fun Days, as she was recovering from her knee surgery and was unable to help out.

Oh, I've changed my avatar to my black girl 'Satia' (Ibiza Sweet Sensation).

Hope it doesn't confuse members too much. It's been a while since I've posted so most have probably forgotten my previous b&w pup pic of 'Effie'..

Take care,

Colin

 

[bardmand]

It is easy to blame the increase in height in our Aussie whippets on the imported American lines - I have done it myself and still believe that it is mostly due to that reason.  However having been to a show in England and having seen 240 whippets at a show there, and looking at pics on k9 and knowing roughly how big some dogs are (because I've seen them in the flesh) and then seeing others in line ups with those dogs and towering over them, I know there are some BIG whippets in England too, and they are winning as well.

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I think you are right. I think the American theory might have been right a few years ago, but some of the biggest whippets I have seen in Norway recently have been of mainly English breeding. At the same time, recent American imports seem to have been no bigger than they were a decade ago, and to some degree more moderate in type.

I thought I would clarify that Delacreme Dragonslayer was 19 inches and so it would be incorrect to attribute any excessive size to this US import.

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His son in Norway, Rothbury Bonecrusher, was certainly not a very big dog. I only ever saw him a couple of times, but he was very much a favourite of mine.

 

[Tesa]

I had Zephyr measured at a club show (he was 20" and 1/8 :thumbsup: ) so it is worth asking a committee member if they have a measuring stick. :thumbsup:

Will try to do the same at the club fun day on Sunday.

 

[Seraphina]

Hi Karen (Tesa),
I thought I would clarify that Delacreme Dragonslayer was 19 inches and so it would be incorrect to attribute any excessive size to this US import.

There is no clear-cut answer to this but the compounded use of generous sized dogs does nothing to help the issue.

More recent US imports seem larger than what we have had from past UK dogs so Allen's (Hydale) point is relevant, but as Lana (Aslan) said, they seem to be creeping up in the UK too.

Recent National show winners in Scandinavia seem taller still.. most concerning.

Regards,

Colin

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You are right Colin. I just checked and he was not a big dog, but apparently some of his progeny was. He was here little bit before i got involved with Whippets and I heard people blaming him for some of the larger Whippets.

Lida

 

[Seraphina]

Hi Allen and welcome to k9 - how long have you been lurking and not posting?
It is easy to blame the increase in height in our Aussie whippets on the imported American lines - I have done it myself and still believe that it is mostly due to that reason.  However having been to a show in England and having seen 240 whippets at a show there, and looking at pics on k9 and knowing roughly how big some dogs are (because I've seen them in the flesh) and then seeing others in line ups with those dogs and towering over them, I know there are some BIG whippets in England too, and they are winning as well.

How many times have English imports been used in this country and the bitch owner has not known (for certain) the height of every dog in the immediate background?  It is very difficult for us to know that for sure unless we had been to England and seen those relatives in the flesh.  It is very easy to be told a dog was 20".  Who could tell us for certain how tall any dog is/was (except for the owner who has measured the dog him/herself)? And even then do you get the truth?  It's a risk you take.

Therefore saying stick to UK whippets and you'll avoid the height problem isn't necessily true I don't believe.

I have tried very hard to stick to standard height in my breeding and most of the time it has worked - but I don't know for how much longer I (or anyone else for that matter) will be able to avoid increasing height.  Somewhere along the line you have to branch out and it will become increasingly difficult to find dogs of excellent height that also have everything else one wants, and one may have to forsake height for some other quality.  Sad but true I think.

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Agree with all above. That is why i would like to get a dog from the continent. Although, I believe their dogs are also getting bigger, they still do in many countries official meassuring. So it is possible to find the certified height of a dog. When i showed my Whippet in Germany in 1992, I was told that dogs over the standard size would not be allowed in the ring. So there should be still lot of Whippets of lot more reasonable size around. One sure way to get the breeders to start running on the smaller pups is if judges start refusing challenge certificates to the grossly overgrown dogs.

Lida

 

[~JO~]

Its amazing how many owners say their dog is 20", however Archie is nearly always the smallest in the ring  :- " - but I suppose measuring is not an exact science!

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I had Zephyr measured at a club show (he was 20" and 1/8 :thumbsup: ) so it is worth asking a committee member if they have a measuring stick. :thumbsup:

It does seem as though there are a lot of much taller dogs in the ring these days, and a number of Zephyr's critiques have remarked on his 'correct height'.

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Thats a good idea, I will get it done at the next one :thumbsup:

Yes I often find that Archie has that comment in his critiques too!

 

[BeeJay]

When having your dogs measured don't forget that the measuring stick isn't that acurate. It can be floor dependent. Uneven surfaces like grass will give different heights.

Also of course it depends how the dog is stood head up will be taller than head down. That can make up to half an inch difference.

 

[dessie]

[SIZE=21pt]YAWN![/SIZE]

 

[aslan]

How do we know for sure that Dragonslayer was 19 inches? Who saw him themselves and measured him accurately (I mean not just guessed at his height from seeing him at a show)?

And if he was that size, there's still no guarantee that he would produce dogs of the same size. The height behind him could come out in his pups.

How tall were the dogs behind him? De La Renta is one of my favourites for the style of dog he produced but I would bet odds on that most of them (males) were over 20 inches.

(Bonecrusher was one of my favourites too Bardmand - although I never saw him in the flesh - only in pics)

Apologies for boring you Dessie.

 

[Seraphina]

How do we know for sure that Dragonslayer was 19 inches?  Who saw him themselves and measured him accurately (I mean not just guessed at his height from seeing him at a show)?  And if he was that size, there's still no guarantee that he would produce dogs of the same size.  The height behind him could come out in his pups.

How tall were the dogs behind him?  De La Renta is one of my favourites for the style of dog he produced but I would bet odds on that most of them (males) were over 20 inches.

(Bonecrusher was one of my favourites too Bardmand - although I never saw him in the flesh - only in pics)

Apologies for boring you Dessie.

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I believe he was actually more like 20", hard to say. Anyway it really is not so important where did the size come from, the fact is we have here some 22" whippets with very heavy bone, now . It depends on us where will the breed head; we should not disregard pups just because they look small next to its brothers and sisters.

Lida

 

[hadrian]

I'm not obsessive by any means about the height of my whips and I know that things are quite lax these days (don't mean to offend, just repeating what I've heard) so the 20" rule isn't completely reinforced, but can people let me know what they height of their whippets are.
Ollie is 18.5" at the moment (5 and a half months) and I've been told he'll probably reach the 20" mark, maybe 21"

Blue is 22.5" and at three years old should not grow any more. In fact (as explained on another thread) he should shrink to 21 with any luck as the flab falls off  :lol:

More interested since going to watch some racing at the weekend. I know that these dogs are bred a lot smaller, just expected to see some slighty bigger  :- "

From what I remember of the dogs at Banbury recently they all seemed a fair size, quite tall in fact, but I could be imagining things  :blink:

Thanks

Tracy

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[TC]

[SIZE=21pt]YAWN![/SIZE]

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lol