Whippet Spaniel Mix: A Full Guide

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With the many kinds of spaniel dogs available today, anyone can find a suitable whippet spaniel mix for his/her home. Generally, spaniels are sporty, enthusiastic, intelligent, and small-sized pooches with hunting, retrieving, and chasing spirit.

The above traits, mixed with the whippet’s agility, feistiness, and sweet nature, results in highly playful, intelligent, energetic pups with loving and affectionate personalities.

But what are the basic features of a whippet spaniel mix? How do they usually behave? Are they good apartment companions? Let’s find out.

This article provides complete information about the whippet spaniel mix, including their characteristics, appearance, health, possible health issues they’re susceptible to, and care requirements.

Read to understand more about this crossbreed to know if it’s the choice for you and how to raise it correctly.

What Is A Whippet Spaniel Mix?

Whippet spaniel mixes are pooches produced by crossing purebred whippet with various kinds of spaniels.

Whippets are slender, short-coated, and medium-sized dogs with an unrivaled speed in the canine family. They’re naturally friendly, stylish, loyal, wilful, and adorable pups.

Their playful energy and sweet personality are the primary reasons many people love whippets.

Spaniels come in many kinds, all with unique features and traits. But they’re all determined, vibrant, and high-energy dogs.

These dog breeds are great companions for active households as they need much exercise and mental stimulation to live happily.

Your whippet spaniel mix’s traits and looks depend primarily on its parent’s characters and general appearance. Due to the many spaniel dog breeds, you should be very careful to select the correct whippet spaniel mix you desire.

Here’s a brief detail about spaniels and whippets to help you get the correct whippet spaniel cross, know how to identify and care for it.

The Whippet

During the ancient days, whippets were hunters’ best buddies, quickly chasing after prey to provide meals for their families.

Also known as a ‘snap dog’ and a ‘poor man’s racehorse,’ whippets were also used to compete in coursing games by their owners for various reasons.

One, to earn a living, and two, to gain social status. Whippets loyalty, willingness to please, and loving character qualified them to be great house dogs too. Today, whippets still compete in several dog competitions, including agility, rally, flyball, and lure coursing.

Nowadays, most people obtain whippets to be couch potatoes and rarely use them as working dogs.

Whether you get a whippet as a pet or a working dog, you need to adequately exercise it to burn off the excess energy its body has and mentally stimulate it to be psychologically stable and happy.

The Spaniel

Spaniels are gundogs purposefully bred as hunting companions. People used them to find, flush out, and retrieve prey from various terrain settings, including water.

Today some people still utilize spaniels for hunting, but most dog owners keep them for companionship.

The original spaniels came from Spain, explaining their name. However, the most recent breeds originated from Britain.

Spaniels are usually differentiated based on their size, with the smaller species referred to as cockers, and the larger breeds are called springers.

Like the whippets, spaniels are high-energetic canines, and they need enough exercise and enrichment. They’re excellent dogs for people looking for sporty dogs that can go hiking and compete in various dog sports.

Spaniels are famous for their intelligence, loyalty, obedience, and loving personality. There are over 20 spaniel breeds. Some of them are; American Cocker Spaniel, American water spaniel, Boykin spaniel, cavalier King Charles spaniel, clumber spaniel, English cocker spaniel, Japanese spaniel, Sussex spaniel, springer spaniel, and more.

The Appearance Of A Whippet Spaniel Mix

Due to the many types of spaniels found today, predicting the precise look of a whippet spaniel cross can be quite challenging. Typically, crossbreed dogs inherit their parents’ features and characters.

All the 20+ spaniel varieties have varying height and weight, with unique coat sizes, texture, and length.

Your pup’s overall appearance will mainly depend on the type of spaniel bred with the whippet. Since most spaniels have long and medium-length coats, your whippet spaniel cross will probably lack the whippet’s short skin.

If a whippet is bred with a spaniel with a long coat and petite body, the produced puppies are likely to have longer coats with smaller sizes too, and vice versa.

Usually, most spaniels are medium-sized with drooping ears, broad noses, hanging ears, and silky/curly coats on their tails, legs, and ears.

However, there are larger breeds too. They can assume red and white, plain white, liver and white, and black coats, which can be lengthy or medium-sized.

Since whippets are also medium-sized, the whippet spaniel crosses are compact and uniquely adorable dogs. You just need to select a whippet spaniel cross produced with the right type of spaniel you love.

The Temperament Of A Whippet Spaniel Mix

Whippets and spaniels are both friendly, loyal, charming, energetic, and loving pups. They were all bred to help hunt various animals; hence, their prey drive is very high. The whippet spaniel mixes have these features and more.

They’re brilliant, wilful, outgoing, driven, curious, lively, friendly, and snuggly dogs. These whippet mixes are excellent family pets and working dogs.

Whippet spaniel crosses can be sensitive and require much attention and love. Like their parents, they don’t appreciate being alone for many hours.

It may make them experience separation anxiety or get destructive. If you’re planning to get this whippet mix, you should be ready to exercise it regularly and budget on daycare expenses for those busy days you’ll not be home.

Whippet spaniel crosses are highly predacious like their parents and may not be the best choice for homes with small pets. Your pup may also have other personalities depending on its spaniel parent.

You should be sure of the type of spaniel whippet mix you want to avoid obtaining a puppy with undesired traits.

The Health Of A Whippet Spaniel Mix

Dogs are usually vulnerable to potential health issues, which may vary from breed to breed. Whippets are more likely to suffer from anesthesia sensitivity, eye issues, cancer, von Willebrand’s disease, and deafness.

Different types of spaniels may be susceptible to different kinds of ailments. However, most spaniels tend to get ear infections due to their long, drooping ears. Other diseases that may affect a spaniel are eye infections, atopy, hip dysplasia, urinary stones, ectropion, and more.

You can ensure your pup is less vulnerable to potential health problems by purchasing it for a reputable breeder or rescue center guaranteeing the health of its puppies.

A good breeder will honestly tell you the breed’s health issues, why they can occur, and how to prevent them.

Timely immunisations and veterinary check-ups can significantly keep your canine healthy and less susceptible to diseases.

Caring For A Whippet Spaniel Mix

Dogs need high-end care to live happily, comfortably, and longer. The best way to care for your canine buddy is by providing it enough food, proper grooming, training, exercising, healthcare, and a comfortable sleeping area.

Most whippet spaniel crosses have slightly long coats they inherit from their spaniel parents. In order to prevent mats and a lot of hair from falling in your living room, regular brushing will be necessary.

Investing in an effective vacuum cleaner will be important if your want clean floors.

Bathes are also essential, but they should be less frequent to prevent your dog’s skin from drying. Besides grooming, you should give your puppy sufficient food and water.

The food shouldn’t be too little or excess to ensure it’s fit and healthy, not obese or malnourished.

As energetic and agile dogs, your whippet spaniel cross will need adequate exercise every day to burn out surplus energy in its body.

Your dog will enjoy taking you to runs, walks, or hikes in the morning and snuggle with you in the evening watching your favorite TV shows.

You should also ensure your home is well fenced and get a leash to get hold of your curious, predacious pup quickly.

For an obedient and disciplined puppy, obedience training and housetraining are essential. The best way to train your dog is by using positive reinforcements and praising it every time it does the right thing.

It’s best to keep the training sessions shorter, fun, and engaging to get the full attention of your pooch.

Also, finish training at a higher note for it to be more eager for the following sessions. Your dog can be pretty independent, which may make training a bit hard.

However, with consistency, proper technique, and patience, it’ll eventually be a success. Early socialisation is vital for your dog to live freely with people other pets. You can achieve this by taking your dog to parks or doggy daycares where your dog can meet other people and dogs.

Sleep is also crucial for canines, especially puppies. It helps grow both mentally and physically. Therefore, you should ensure your puppy has a comfy and fit sleeping area based on its size and sleeping position.

When properly cared for, your whippet spaniel mix can live for around 10-17 years, filling your days with pure joy, humor, and lots of fun.

Final Thoughts

Whippet spaniel mixes are exceptionally fantastic canines. They’re small-sized, playful, energetic, and incredibly affectionate and charming. They’re perfect dogs for active households and can be a great hunting companion too.

With adequate exercise, training, and care, your whippet spaniel cross will be great cuddling and running/hiking/walking partner for the time you’ll be together.

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