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Whippets were bred for speed and agility but how are they when it comes to swimming? Whippets may be fast on land but how do they handle being in water? Can whippets swim or is it too dangerous?
Can Whippets Swim:
Whippets can swim but have physical disadvantages when swimming. Unlike water breeds that have extremely webbed feet, whippets have hare feet with less webbing. They also have a low body fat percentage which makes them less buoyant. These unique features make swimming more difficult for whippets.
In this post you’ll discover:
- 7 truths about whippets and water
- The 5 dangers with whippets and swimming
- 4 tips to help your whippet enjoy swimming (Tips #3 is most important for safety!)
- And much more
Let’s dive in…
Table of Contents
7 Truths About Whippets And Water
1) Do Whippets Like Water?
Whippets can hate and love water. Their enjoyment of water is determined by how they were raised and a few other factors.
For example, whippets generally hate baths and rain but may love lakes, pools, and oceans.
The general consensus amongst whippet owners is it really depends. Overall rain and baths seem to be the most hated with whippets.
If a whippet likes big bodies of water on the other hand is about a 50/50 split and looks to be dependent on training at a young age.
2) Are Whippets Strong Swimmers?
Whippets are not strong swimmers when compared to natural swimming breeds like labradors.
Whippets are not very buoyant so while swimming they fight against gravity more than natural swimming breeds. This is due to their low body fat concentration.
Another point to make is about a whippet’s feet. Unlike the water breeds that have extremely webbed feet, whippets have hare feet with less webbing.
Hare feet contain two elongated central toes, that like the name suggests, takes after the feet of hares or rabbits.
These feet are formed for speed and quick bursts of movement out of a resting position.
This allowed whippets to quickly accelerate and have quick agility. These feet were not meant for swimming like webbed feet.
Fun fact: Whippets were bred as racing dogs and for hunting rabbits. So their hare feet helped them hunt rabbits and hares.
3) Do Whippets Like Swimming?
Some whippets love swimming and others hate it. This is generally dependent on how early they were introduced to water and their overall experience with it.
Whippets that hate swimming tend to avoid water at all costs. They can get very cold and have a hard time swimming with their low body fat.
3) Does Swimming Improve Whippet Health?
Swimming provides excellent exercise for whippets. All activities that increase the activity level of a dog improves their overall wellbeing.
In fact, studies show that working dogs (dogs with high levels of activity) live longer than dogs who are more sedentary.
Swimming is not only a great way to exercise your whippet but swimming puts less strain and stress on their joints.
This is why many physiotherapists use water training to help with injury recovery.
It’s the same reason an older dog with hip and joint pain can benefit from swimming. While in water the effects of gravity compressing joints is reduced.
This allows older whippets to exercise without the associated pain that might come from walking or running.
4) Does Water Temperature Matter For Whippets?
Just like you are less likely to jump into a freezing cold lake or pool is the same reason a whippet wouldn’t.
Especially since whippets are a breed that feels the cold more so than other dogs.
Temperature definitely matters for whether or not they will want to swim.
If your whippet has been running around in the heat, they may love jumping into cold water.
6) The Earlier Whippets Start Swimming The Better
It’s true that if you allow your whippet to slowly become accustomed to water and keep their experiences positive, it’s likely they will grow to enjoy it.
In contrast, if they have bad experiences it may lead them to dislike it.
The big trick with getting dogs accustomed to water is not forcing them into the water. When you force a dog into water this leads to negative experiences.
There are cases where some whippets will just hate water no matter how you train them. Regardless of how early they were introduced to water they just hate getting wet.
7) Do Whippets Like Baths?
Whippets generally do not like baths. The confined space and lathering of soap on their body seems to be what bothers most.
Fortunately, most whippets don’t need to be bathed as frequently as other breeds.
There are exceptions where whippets love bath time but this usually depends on how they were raised and tends to be a unique trait.
Related Reading: Are Whippets High Maintenance? (What To Expect + Tips)
5 Dangers When Letting Your Whippet Swim
1) Skin Irritation From Pool Chemicals
We use chemicals like chlorine to keep pools clean.
These chemicals we use to keep our pools clean can cause skin irritation to whippets.
This is why you want to avoid dogs spending hours on end in a pool. It’s the same reason we may have skin irritation from being in pools for extended periods of time.
And if they were to ever swallow a large amount of any of these chemicals it would not be good.
Make sure to monitor how much time they spend in the water and try to discourage them from drinking it.
2) Whippets Do Not Float
Supervision is even more important for whippets since they lack buoyancy.
They may be athletic dogs by nature but swimming does not come easy to all whippets.
If your whippet accidentally jumps out of a boat in the middle of the lake they may not make it to shore.
Also whippets can sink, so keeping an eye on them to make sure they are safe is extremely important.
3) Beware Of Water Temperature
Whippets can become cold very easily.
Their low body fat and thin coat does not keep them as warm as other breeds.
When body temperature drops movement becomes much harder. This can make swimming harder for whippets.
Your whippet may be a decent swimmer but that one day you toss the ball a little too far in freezing cold water, your whippet may not make it back.
4) Choppy Water Increases Risk
This choppier the water, the bigger the waves, the higher the risk for your whippet.
They are not great swimmers to begin with so increasing the difficulty by adding waves to the mix is not a good idea.
Waves can easily pull a dog under and drown them.
Even small choppy water can cause major problems for whippets.
5) Getting Out Of Water
Whippets may have a hard time finding their way out of water.
When it comes to lakes and oceans with beaches this is not so much of a problem.
However, when it comes to pools they can easily forget how to get out.
This is why supervising your dog while swimming is so important. If they ever forget how to get out, they could drown.
4 Tips To Help Your Whippet Enjoy Swimming
1) Teach Them With A Vest
There has been mention of a whippet’s low body fat throughout this entire post.
This makes a whippet less buoyant, which in turn makes swimming hard for them.
In order to teach your whippet to swim and enjoy it, try starting them out with a vest.
This will help support their weight and make swimming much easier.
If swimming feels like they are going to drown every time, why would they want to do it?
They wouldn’t! And that’s probably why some hate swimming.
So, giving your whippet a vest can make swimming more fun than life threatening.
Here’s a great swimming vest: Outward Hound Dog Life Jacket (make sure to get the right size!)
2) Play With Them Around & In Water
Whippets enjoy spending time and playing with their humans.
The more fun you can make swimming and playing in water, the more they will enjoy it.
You can try playing fetch to start. You can throw the ball or toy down the shore line so they don’t have to fully go into the water.
This can slowly introduce them to the fun associated with water and swimming.
Once they are comfortable with their feet, then you can start throwing the ball into the water a bit.
You might even want to go swim in the water and encourage them to come swim with you.
3) Make Sure They Can Get Out Of The Water
It’s important to make your whippet feel safe when they are swimming.
This means giving them an easy get away!
When they don’t want to be in the water they should have an escape route that is easy to use.
Pools are sometimes not the best idea unless they have a staircase or something to walk out off.
Beaches can be some of the best spots for encouraging water play.
The ease of getting in and out of the water is comforting for dogs and makes them feel in control.
4) On Hot Days Bring Them To Water
Hot days are some of the best ways to get whippets to enjoy water.
This is because their fear of water might be surpassed by their desire to cool off.
If your whippet gets hot enough they will seek ways to cool off and what better way then to jump in water!
Other posts you may find interesting:
Why Are Whippets So Skinny? The Truth + 8 Reasons & Tips
7 Real Reasons Why Whippets Burrow (Under Blankets) + Tips
11 Reasons Why Whippets Bark So Much + 7 Tips To Stop It
Citations
The Different Types of Feet That Dogs Have
Everything You Need to Know About Dog Paws
How Hydrotherapy and Swimming Can Benefit Dogs
Effect of Swimming on Clinical Functional Parameters and Serum Biomarkers in Healthy and Osteoarthritic Dogs
