Whippet Lab Mix: All You Need To Know

Whippets and Labradors are both passionate hunters and popular family dogs too. Breeding these two dog breeds results in friendly, incredibly athletic, outgoing, and loving crossbreeds that enjoy chasing after small animals, playing, as well as cuddling with their owners.

The whippet and Labrador retriever mix (Whipador) is a perfect pooch for anyone looking for a gentle and charming dog who is still active and full of life.

Living with Whipadors is super fun and exciting when you understand how to care for and maintain them, plus their temperament and traits.

This way, you can quickly understand how to predict their behaviour, groom them, exercise, and address health problems they might face later in their lifetime.

This article comprehensively explains every essential detail about the whippet lab mix, their temperament, how they look, feeding and exercise requirements, and all the important information you’ll need to comfortably and happily live with a Whipador.

Table of Contents

What Is A Whippet Lab Mix?

Whippet Labrador mixes are produced by crossbreeding pure-breed whippets and Labrador Retrievers together, these are also known as Whipador.

As odd as this mixture might seem, the result is quite astonishing. The Whipador is a fantastic pet that has excellent traits and a fun personality.

Whipadors are extremely streamlined canines that look a little bit like a heavy or overweight whippet or sometimes a lean Labrador.

The Whipador History

To understand the whipadors history, you’ll have to trace back to their parent roots; the whippet and Lab. Whippets and Labs are both hunting dogs that originated hundreds of years ago.

The whippet’s origins date back to the Victorian period in England, where the citizens used them for hunting rabbits for food and raced their whippets for money.

This purpose earned the whippets their famous nicknames; ‘snap dogs’ and ‘the poor man’s racehorse.’ Their swiftness made them extremely popular as they gradually spread throughout the world. The American Kennel Club registered its first whippet dog in 1888.

Labradors are also great hunters, but they’re not as fast as whippets. Whippets can at speeds of about 35mph, while Labs’ average speed is 20mph. Labradors originated from Newfoundland, Canada, during the early 1800s.

They’re a result of breeding small hunting canines to help retrieve waterfowls. After some time, these small dogs were crossbred with Newfoundlands to produce the Labs.

The AHC registered its first Lab in 1917 to be among its sporting group.

Nowadays, Labradors remain the best award-winning hunters in the dog’s world. Even as excellent hunters, Labs are still well-reserved and charming service and house dogs. Most people love them.

The AKC has ranked Labrador retrievers as the first most popular canines in the US.

The Whippet Lab Mix Appearance And Size

The physical appearance of whippets and Labradors is entirely different. Therefore, the actual appearance of Whipadors primarily relies on chance and genetics.

They usually have a mixture of their parents’ features and traits that make them unique and easily distinguishable.

A Whipador can have the whippets fairly upright ears and a bulbous head, or long ears like those of Labrador Retrievers, or a mixture of these traits.

Since the Labradors are much heavier than whippets, the Whipadors tend to bit bigger than the whippets.

An average Whipador can weigh between 25-80 pounds with a height of 19-24 inches, although it’s very rare for a whippet Lab mix to be the same size as the purebred Labrador. Generally, the female breeds tend to be lighter and shorter than the male breeds.

Their coat color usually varies with the parents’ colors. The standard coat colors for Labrador retrievers are black, chocolate, and yellow. Common whippets coat colors are white, fawn, blue, tan, black, and brindle.

If a Whipador resembles the Lab parent more, then his coat color can be either back yellow or chocolate, in case it’s a whippet, he might be black, solid blue, blue fawn or brindle, cream, fawn, red, fawn brindle, solid white, or white mixed with another color.

Whippet Lab Mix Traits And Temperament

Reproduced from a hunting crossbreed and excellent retrievers, your Whipador is expected to be very energetic and active.

Meaning, you should always be ready for those frequent plays and exercises for your pup to thrive and be happy and satisfy their chase drive.

Whippet lab mixes are affectionate, loving, and friendly dogs like their parents, but they’re also shy and anxious occasionally, just like whippets, particularly when around strangers and new environments.

This crossbreed can be very predacious too. Therefore, you should ensure your home is well-fenced and always have a leash for those outside walks and hikes until your pooch learns to walk off-leash.

It’s often hard to tell the specific traits a mutt might have because it’s often hard to tell which characteristics he will acquire from his parent, sometimes it’s fifty-fifty or not.

Whichever the case, Whipadors are more likely to be predacious and incredibly energetic.

Whippet Lab Mix Health And Life Expectancy

Crossbreeds usually are susceptible to health disorders that their parents carry or afflict. Luckily, Whipadors’ parents are relatively healthy canines, meaning the Whipadors aren’t vulnerable to most health disorders.

Whippet lab mixes are prone to eye issues, such as retinal dysplasia, glaucoma, and lens luxation.

They might suffer from heart issues, bloat, hereditary myopathy, joint dysplasia, and skin ailments like demodectic mange, elbow hygroma, and allergies.

Exercise Requirements For A Whippet Lab Mix

Both the whippet and Lab are energetic and active dogs, especially the Labradors. Hence Whipadors are full of energy and playful too.

To thrive, be happy, and be well-adjusted, they require adequate daily exercise to burn off their extra energy and satisfy their chase drive.

If you want this dog badly but you’re always busy, you’ll have to hire a dog walker or take your pup to a doggy daycare where he can play and socialise with other pets. Once in a while, you should allow your Whipador to play off-leash.

It’s safer to let your canine buddy off-leash in a well-secured or fenced area. In case your home isn’t well-secured, you can take your pup to a dog park to explore more and stretch.

You can also plan to take your puppy out for long walks or hikes and short runs.

Get enough toys to engage and him busy. You should set aside time to play with your dog, train, and indulge in various activities that match his energy level.

Whippet Lab Mix Care And Maintenance

Whippets are medium shedders, while the Labradors are voracious shedders. Hence, Whipadors can have their whippet parent’s short-haired coat or the Labrador’s double coat.

Mixes with the short fur coats occasionally shed while those with double coats shed more often. Therefore, Whipadors require frequent brushing and grooming to maintain a clean home and dog.

This is when you should invest in that robust and expensive vacuum cleaner to pick up all the hair your pooch will shed without hassling. You should also bathe occasionally but don’t overdo it, or you’ll dry out your pup’s skin.

Whipadors with short fur coats can’t thrive in harsh and colder weather regions. Individuals living in such areas should be prepared to invest in proper clothing and doggy boots to protect their furry friends from freezing.

Feeding A Whippet Lab Mix

In most cases, each dog requires a specific diet and food amount. It would be proper if you didn’t overfeed your puppy, or he’ll become obese.

Underfeeding him will make him thin and malnourished. Therefore, you should ensure to feed your pup a proper diet and the right amount of food.

Since the whippet lab mix are susceptible to elbow dysplasia and hip dysplasia, they require food rich in fish oil, chondroitin, and glucosamine supplements.

Obese dogs are prone to these health disorders; hence you should always give your food the right food amount.

Your veterinarian can help you decide on the best food amount, type, and quality for the whippet lab mix. Whipadors can also enjoy raw foods.

Hence you can consider adding raw food diet into your dog’s food to supplement the dry foods.

Training A Whippet Lab Mix

Whipadors are relatively easy to train because they’re intelligent dogs, obedient, and willing to please. However, you should ensure the training sessions are highly engaging, fun, and consistent.

To motivate your dog to learn fast and remember cues, you should use treats and praises to reinforce desired actions or behaviors.

As intelligent dogs, the Whipadors require adequate mental stimulation and exercise to them mentally focused and fit.

A well-exercised dog is easy to train too. Therefore, you might exercise your dog to ease the training sessions.

Another crucial learning your dog will need is socialisation to stay with other pets and people comfortably and without fear.

Therefore, those park walks and daycare visits can help introduce your Whipador to more pets and people as possible.

Final Thoughts

Whippet lab mixes are perfect family and service dogs. If you want a slightly smaller and more streamlined Labrador, a Whipador can be an excellent choice for you.

However, you should be ready to engage him in plenty of activities and games and ensure your home is well-fenced to keep them safe when they want to stretch.

Obedience training and house training are essential for your pup to be well-behaved and an exciting family pet.

Since it’s a mutt crossed from a sighthound and a retriever, Whipadors have a high prey drive. You should train him to control it and respond to your commands promptly.

Careful genetic testing is essential to identify the specific health issues the breeding parents have.

Maintain regular grooming, a high exercise level, feed him properly, and train your whippet lab mix, and you’ll have the best furry buddy ever.