Whippet Border Collie Mix: A Full Guide

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With the athletic nature of both whippets and border collies, whippet border collie mixes are incredibly energetic yet sweet and charming dogs. This designer dog is among the most loved whippet mix today, and it’s easy to see why.

Both whippets and collies are generally affectionate, gentle, and sweet-natured dogs. The mix of these two purebred canines produces highly adaptable puppies with attractive looks and personalities inherited from their parents.

A common statement says, ‘a happy dog a happy owner’, and it’s always true. If you want to live with your little furry companion happily without regretting bringing him home in the fits place, you should understand his traits. Most crossbreed dogs usually have mixed traits and features they inherit from both parents.

Are you wondering if a whippet border collie mix is the right one for you? Or are you looking for more information about the whippet border collie mix? Then don’t look any further.

This article provides detailed information about whippet collies, including their origin, temperament, appearance, potential health issues, and other essential details about the whippet collie mix.

Kindly read on to discover more about this whippet mix to select a healthy collie whip, know if it’s a suitable companion for your home, and how you can raise one properly.

What Is A Whippet Border Collie Mix?

Also called collie whips, whippet border collie mixes are dogs produced by breeding purebred collies and whippets. These crosses are expected to be more intelligent than whippets due to their border collie parent.

Professor Coren Stanley described the collies as the most intelligent dogs in the canine family. The whippets came the 50th on his list. It would be interesting to know the ranking of whippet collies take if Coren ranked them too.

Both whippets and collies were bred for different reasons. The primary reason for producing border collies was to herd. On the other hand, the whippets were bred for racing and hunting.

The collies’ intense stare, skillful maneuvering during herding, and reflex response to command made them the perfect watchdogs during that time.

Also nicknamed the ‘poor man’s racehorse,’ whippets were initially used by their masters to compete in coursing games to earn a living and social status. Their unrivaled speed in the pooch family has made a famous dog breed even now.

Today, both collies and whippets are mostly family dogs, and people rarely use them for strenuous activities like the ancient dogs. They have a loving nature, gentle, small-sized, sensitive, intelligent, and highly energetic dogs, making their crosses even more exciting and adorable.

The Appearance Of A Whippet Border Collie Mix

Like other more dog mixes, the collie whip appearance isn’t usually guaranteed. Since it’s a result of two purebred dogs, the appearance of this mix relies mainly on the parents’ looks and genes.

Whippets and collies are all small-sized canines; therefore, their mixes are also smaller. Usually, an average whippet collie weighs 25-55 pounds, standing at about 18-22 inches in height.

Most collie whips have almost the same weight as whippets, but their coat appearance is the main feature that makes them more distinctive.

Collies come in two double coat types; smooth and rough. The outer coat is usually coarser, while the inner one is soft. On the other hand, whippets are generally short-furred and have sleek, smooth, and elegant coats. Hence, the collie whips have medium-sized coats due to the collie parent.

Predicting the exact coat colour of a whippet collie mix is also challenging because it primarily depends on the parents’ coat colours and dominant genes. Collies and whippets come in vast coat colours, including brindle colours and patterns.

While whippets are slender and somewhat taller, border collies are sturdier and shorter. Both collies and whippets are highly athletic, fast, and energetic dogs, which is why their crosses are incredibly speedy and spunky.

The Temperament Of A Whippet Border Collie Mix

Whippets are usually described to be ‘all purpose’ dogs because they’re great couch potatoes and, at the same time, highly energetic and agile for outdoor activities like hunting and racing.

Whippets’ prey drive is usually very high since they were initially bred for hunting, and they love chasing after small animals whenever they get the opportunity.

They’re relatively chilled with strangers, highly affectionate, gentle, energetic, charming, and love to please and being around people, especially their masters.

On the other hand, collies are loyal, highly intelligent, alert, and stocky dogs. They’re excellent working dogs, and their resilience and endurance are naturally high. As herding dogs, collies are equally predacious like the whippets.

Crossing these dog breeds result in dynamically agile, intelligent, bold, affectionate, and gentle pups that can be your sweet couch potato and an active furry companion for your walks, short morning runs, and hikes.

In general, your whippet collie will be more energetic than a purebred whippet and less scatty than a border collie. Your whippet mix will be even-tempered like the whippet parent and friendly to people and children, making it an ideal family dog.

The Health Of A Whippet Border Collie Mix

Knowing the specific potential health issues that can affect a crossbreed dog is usually tricky. Usually, crossbreed dogs can suffer from common ailments their parents carry. Whippets are more susceptible to allergies, deafness, sinus problems, dog hemangiosarcoma, and eye diseases.

Collies are more likely to suffer from epilepsy, glaucoma, hearing loss, Collie eye anomaly, Collie collapse, and elbow dysplasia. Whippet collies are more susceptible to any of the above diseases if they’re not carefully bred and taken care of.

It’s best to get your whippet collie mix from a reputable breeder or rescue center. Most puppy mills usually produce substandard and poorly bred canines, which is why you should highly avoid them.

To ensure your pup’s wellness and health, you should regularly take him for vet checkups and ensure he doesn’t miss any of his jabs. If you properly care for your whippet collie, he can live for about 10 -17 years.

Care And Maintenance Of A Whippet Border Collie Mix

To fully enjoy the feel of having a pup, you should properly maintain and care for him. Any dog requires proper feeding, training, exercising, socialisation, and grooming to live with people and other pets comfortably.

Collie whips are highly active and full of life since they’re bred from a working dog (collie) and a sighthound (whippet). They need something they can channel their excess energy to be mentally stable, healthy, and happy as a pet. Therefore, adequate daily exercising is crucial.

Usually, whippets require at least sixty minutes of daily exercise, while border collies need 90 minutes to 2 hours. Meaning, a whippet collie mix will require about 1-2 hours of daily practice depending on his age.

Younger pups need less strenuous exercise than the bigger ones to avoid hurting their fragile bones. Older dogs also need less exercising to help maintain their depleting energy levels. Failure to exercise your pooch can make him more destructive and unhappy.

Besides exercising, your whippet collie requires proper training to be obedient and housebroken. Training a whippet collie isn’t usually as hard as training a purebred whippet because of the border collie parent, which is naturally highly trainable and intelligent.

Whippets are usually independent thinkers and get bored fast, making training a bit tricky and time-consuming.

Therefore, you’d want to ensure your whippet collie mixes training sessions are highly engaging, fun, and brief. Using treats and praises can improve the training effectiveness as dogs rely primarily on motivation during training.

Socialisation training is also very critical for your whippet collie mix. Without this training, your pup will not be able to interact with people and other pets well. You can take him to parks or doggy daycares where he can play and interact with other dogs.

When it comes to feeding, your whippet collie mix will require an adequate food amount and appropriate food type to maintain his energetic and agile body.

The amount and type of food to give your dog may vary with age, but it’s best you don’t underfeed or overfeed him for a healthy and fit body. If you don’t know which foods to feed your pup, it’s best to ask your vet.

It’s best to feed your pup both commercial dog food and raw foods. Providing your whippet collie more raw food will help with his high prey drive.

When it comes to grooming whippet collies, you’ll need to make it more frequent compared to when grooming a purebred whippet.

While whippets don’t shed much, collies shed seasonally and all year round. This explains why your border collie is likely to shed more too.

Usually, collie whips require grooming after a week or two. Investing in a good vacuum cleaner will be essential to clean the floors quickly due to shedding.

If you’re concerned about dog allergies, it’s best to note that both whippets and collies are non-hypoallergenic. Therefore, a whippet collie mix is a suitable furry companion for even allergic individuals.

Final Thoughts

Whippet collies are excellent crossbreed dogs due to their sweet, loving, charming, and gentle nature.

They’re full of energy, active, and love spending time with their owners and family members. Due to their energy levels, collie whips require adequate exercising to burn out excess energy and stay fit.

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