Whippet Rat Terrier Mix: Ultimate Guide

Mixing the intelligent, curious, and perceptive rat terrier (rattie) with the agile, affectionate, and playful whippet produces an amazing whippet rat terrier mix.

If you’re planning to get this crossbreed canine, then you should be prepared to give it the exercise, training, and the stimulation it needs.

A whippet rat terrier mix is a dynamic, loving, speedy, and friendly hybrid dog. As a mixed dog, it has mixed traits and features inherited from its parents.

If you’re wondering how does this hybrid dog look/behaves or simply looking for a comprehensive guide about the whippet rat terrier mix, you’re in the right place.

By the end of this post, you’ll have learned everything you need to know about this unique crossbreed dog, including its personality, temperaments, health, lifespan, and care requirements.

Table of Contents

What Is A Whippet Rat Terrier Mix?

A whippet rat terrier mix results from crossbreeding a purebred whippet and a rat terrier. These two dogs are both friendly and charming canines, but their personalities are somewhat different.

Your whippet terrier mix’s personality and appearance will depend on its parents’ unique look and behaviour.

Depending on the parent with the most dominant genes, it may look/behave more like a whippet or rat terrier.

Generally, your whippet rat terrier mix will be a playful, friendly, and warm-natured dog if you train and socialise it well.

Below is some brief details about the origin and history of whippets and rat terriers to help you understand more about their mixes.

The Whippets Background

Whippets have a fascinating and rich history. Their dawn was in England during the late 1800s, and the primary purpose of producing them was to hunt and race.

This dog breed is famous for its unrivaled speed, high versatility, and adaptability.

Whippets are considered all-purpose dogs since they excel as show and working dogs. They also make excellent family pets, but they need sufficient exercise to them stimulated.

However, don’t mistake their agility and playfulness for aggressive, loud dogs.

They enjoy relaxing and cuddling with owners and can be extremely calm and gentle if they’re well-trained and exercised.

Whippets have medium-sized lean bodies and strongly resemble miniature greyhounds. As hunting dogs, their prey drive is usually heightened.

They will quickly chase after small game and pets such as rabbits and cats if they’re not trained to control their prey drive.

With proper training, care, and early socialisation, whippets are sociable, gentle, quiet, amiable, and affectionate canines that will fill your life with nothing but joy and fun moments.

Rat Terrier Background

The rat terrier, also called the rattie or American rat terrier is a genuine terrier: energetic, playful, feisty, vermin-chasing, and fun.

This intelligent dog is an invaluable and fancy family companion if you manage to get it out of its stubbornness.

This dog breed was developed to help with rat eradication. During the ancient times, rat terriers were a vital possession, where they helped farmers get rid of rodents to get more yield from their farms to last them through the winter season.

Besides killing rats, ratties also acted as watchdogs, solid childhood playmates, and henhouse guardians. Hence, they were considered all-purpose and highly adaptable pooches.

They’re often mistaken with the Jack Russells and the smoothed-coated Fox Terriers, but their unique and wonderful traits always separate them from other dog breeds.

Rat terriers are inherently diggers. They can spend hours digging on the ground/garden, but don’t despair.

It’s best to allow them to dig until they’re content, and they won’t disturb you. However, you have to show them their space. They also need sufficient daily exercise to burn off excess energy and stay mentally stimulated.

As a farm and hunting dog, the purpose of the rat terrier is to eradicate pests and catch prey made breeders add other strains to this breed.

The Midwest rat terriers were bred to Italian greyhounds and whippets to create more agile and versatile dogs to control the jackrabbit issue.

On the other hand, the central and southern rat terriers were bred to Beagles to produce pack-oriented canines. Their speed came from whippets, while the high sense of smell came from the Beagles.

Whippet Rat Terrier Mix Appearance

The size and appearance of a whippet rat terrier mix are usually hard to tell since it’s a mixed breed. Some rat terrier strains tend to be smaller than others.

For example, the Decker rat terrier is usually more prominent compared to the rat terrier.

Generally, most rat terriers weigh between 10-30 pounds, standing at the height of about 10-18 inches. Like whippets, they also come in several coat colours and patterns their mixes can inherit.

Whippets can have black, fawn, red, cream, white, or brindle with various spots/ patches/ blazes.

On the other hand, rat terriers can assume a white or black coat colour with rust or tan, black/tan and white, lemon, blue, chocolate, orange, or red. Usually, all most all rat terriers have white markings.

Your whippet rat terrier mix will be slightly smaller than the whippet but a bit larger than the rat terrier. It’ll have a robust body and muscular build with a deep chest and powerful legs.

Whippet Rat Terrier Mix Temperament

A whippet rattie mix has all the wonderful and exciting personalities of its parents. It’s a cheerful, fun, outgoing, energetic, intelligent, fearless, and active dog that enjoys interacting with people and other pets.

It can be stubborn and bossy like the rat terriers, but this is a trait you can easily manage through proper training and leadership.

It’s also intelligent and can prove challenging to train for first-time dog owners. However, its loyalty and eagerness to please will make the training more manageable and successful.

It’s an energetic and active dog that needs plenty of daily exercise and activities to keep down its heightened energy level. While it’s a fun and friendly dog, it can be a bit wary of strangers and new environments.

Therefore, it needs proper and early socialisation to be an all-around and well-behaved companion. If not socialised well, it can be friendly to its family members or owners, but aggressive to strangers and small pets.

However, it would be best if you don’t confuse your whippet rattie’s aggressiveness with fearlessness.

Since it’s bred from hunting parents, the whippet rat terrier mix is a highly predacious canine that requires a well-fenced home and leash.

It relates well with both kids and pets, and it hates staying alone for long hours. It’s also a highly perceptive dog that will quickly react to your moods.

Whippet Rat Terrier Mix Health

Both whippets and rat terriers are generally healthy breeds. But they can be exposed to specific health issues common in their breed or strain.

Usually, whippets and ratties can be vulnerable to Arrhythmia, Von Willebrand’s disease, deafness, eye problems, allergies, patellar luxation, and Incorrect Bites.

Your whippet rat terrier mix can also be susceptible to these health issues. However, most breeders usually minimise/eliminate the risks of these ailments occurring through careful selection and breeding of dogs.

Therefore, it’s best to procure your pup from a reputable breeder and avoid puppy mills. Timely healthcare and immunisation are also essential for our dog’s wellbeing.

Caring For A Whippet Rat Terrier Mix

All dogs need proper care, love, and leadership to be live a long, happy, and comfortable life.

A balanced diet, enough sleep, adequate grooming, timely healthcare, and adequate exercise are essential requirements for your whippet rat terrier mix.

Grooming this dog is usually easy since it has a short coat. However, it can shed heavily during various seasons. Hence, you may want to get a well-functioning vacuum cleaner to clean your floors quickly and easily.

Your dog will also need enough food and a proper diet to be healthy and satisfied. It’s advisable if you don’t overfeed or underfeed your dog, or it will become obese or malnourished.

It’s best to know the right amount of food your dog should take, depending on its age and activity level.

As an energetic and playful dog, adequate exercise and mental stimulation will be critical. Obedience training and early socialisation are also crucial if you need a well-behaved and friendly dog.

It would be best if you also remember to brush your dog’s teeth, trim its nails, check and clean its ears to avoid developing ear and dental issues.

Regular vet checks can also go a long way in ensuring your dog remains healthy and stays longer.

As you groom your dog, check for signs of infections, scratches, and sores on its short-coated skin. With proper care and maintenance, your whippet terrier mix can live for about 12-18 years.

Pros And Cons Of A Whippet Rat Terrier Mix

Pros

It’s a loving, charming, and calm little canine.
It’s intelligent. Therefore it can learn quickly.
It’s fast, resilient, and versatile.
It’s easy to care for, groom, and maintain.

Cons

It can be stubborn and bossy.
Its high intelligence makes it a challenging pup to train.
It has a high prey drive.
It has high exercise needs.

Final Thoughts

Whippet rat terrier mixes are loving, friendly, and adorable canines with a dynamic nature.

They make excellent companions for our and about and active homes with small kids. However, they can be stubborn and officious if not well-trained and socialised.

They require adequate exercise and mental stimulation to remain focused, fit, and healthy. The whippet rattie mix’s warm nature, muscular bodies, intelligence, and hardworking nature make them good family companions and working dogs.