Whippet Great Dane Mix: A Complete Guide

Both whippets and Great Danes are energetic, gentle, and loving canines, but their sizes differ drastically. Whippets are medium-sized pooches with lean, muscular bodies, while Great Danes are giant dogs with striking personalities and traits.

If you’re looking for a slightly smaller Great Dane version that’s still sociable, calm, active, and muscular, the whippet Great Dane mix could be what you’re looking for.

These hybrid dogs have a considerate size, are speedy, have high energy, and other attractive characteristics from their parents.

But are they the right dog for you? Do they look like the whippet or Great Dane? And what’s the best way to care for them?

These questions may cross your mind when planning to bring a whippet Great Dane mix into your home.

In this article, you’ll discover all you need to know about this rare crossbreed, including its history, personality, appearance, and care requirements to see if it’s a good fit for your home.

Table of Contents

What Is A Whippet Great Dane Mix?

Also called the Grippet, a Whippet Great Dane mix is a canine produced by breeding a purebred Great Dane and a whippet.

It has its parents’ feistiness, tranquillity, affectionate nature, and warm character.

This dog will be bigger than the whippet and slightly smaller than the Great Dane, with mixed traits and appearance.

It’s a suitable dog for active individuals and households who can provide it with the required exercise and training.

Being a people-oriented pup, this crossbreed dog requires constant attention and affection from those around it and will not enjoy being alone for longer durations.

Just like its Great Dane parent, this designer dog is a guardian at heart. It will courageously defend its family/owner from intruders or dangers and keep burglars away.

Whippet great dane mixes are almost always great with kids. Their playful energy and gentleness make them perfect hiking, running, or walking companions, and also cute snuggly buddies in the evenings.

Despite its large body, your Grippet will love to sit in your lap and legs most of the time you’re together.

Whippet Great Dane Mix History

Like most designer dogs, the Grippet has a shallow history.

However, you can understand more about this whippet mix by looking into its parents’ backgrounds, which are profound and exciting.

The Great Dane Background

Also called the ‘Apollo of canine’ or the gentle giant, Great Danes are genuinely noble dogs. Their large size can make them look scary and imposing, but that’s not entirely true.

They’re sweet, affectionate, good-natured, and fun pooches to have around. They relate well with kids and other pets and love playing.

They’re among the ancient dog breeds, with origin evidence that dates back to 1121 BC, 2000 BC, and 3000 BC. Before they were officially baptized the Great Dane name, these dogs had other identities that changed for various reasons.

It’s believed that the Assyrians led to the spread of Great Danes by trading them to Romans and Greeks. They found their way into the German nobles around the 1600s and acquired their Great Dane name in the 1700s in Denmark.

This name stuck, but some nations refused to accept it; for example, Italians call this breed Allano.

Current Danes were refined to be well-balanced and more elegant than the older ones initially used for hunting wild boars.

The purpose of re-engineering these dogs was to remove the aggressive and fierce personality the original breed had, which was a success.

The Whippet Background

Whippets are energetic, muscular, and affectionate dogs that are popular for their unmatched speed. Their origin can be traced back to England around the late 1800s, but some theories indicate they existed even before then.

The primary purpose of producing them was to race and hunt. They helped their owners hunt small games for food.

People also raced in various competitions for entertainment, social status, and a living. Today, some whippets still compete in dog competitions, but they’re mostly family dogs.

They look like miniature greyhounds and require plenty of exercise to keep down their body energy, stay fit, and be stimulated.

Whippet Great Dane Mix Temperament

Affectionate, friendly, calm, and amicable while at home, the whippet great dane mix is incredibly energetic, playful, and speedy in the field. It has the whippet’s extreme swiftness and Dane’s courage and protective nature.

With both of its parents being hunting dogs, this hybrid canine tends to be predacious and may need some training to control its prey drive, especially if living with small prey animals.

Therefore, it needs adequate exercise and mental stimulation to burn off excess energy, stay healthy and happy. Failure to exercise your dog can make it destructive or unsettled, and you won’t enjoy its company fully.

Like its parents, this dog has a great craving to please. It’s also loyal, like being around people. Early socialisation will be vital for it to experience different sounds, experiences, environments, pets, and sights. Early exposure makes your dog more adaptable to various settings and scenarios.

Whippet Great Dane Mix Appearance

A Grippet will probably have the whippet’s double size and Dane’s half-size, weighing around 60 pounds. He’s a big dog that can be a great addition to spacious homes.

Usually, whippets weigh 25-45 pounds with an 18-22 inches height. Danes weigh around 120-200 pounds, standing at the height of about 28-34 inches.

Your whippet great dane mix can have a weight ranging between 50-170 pounds depending on several factors like sex, age, and level of care.

But the males tend to be smaller than the females.

These mixes can also have varying skin colours based on their parents’ appearance. Both whippets and Danes come in several coat colours and patterns. Whippets can assume white, fawn, blue, tan, black, cream, and brindle colours.

On the other hand, the common Great Danes’ coat colours are black, steel blue, harlequin (white coats with black patches), mantle, fawn, and brindle.

Grippets can have any of the above coat appearances and markings. They also have short-furred skin that’s easy and fast to groom, a feature present in both of their parents.

They may also inherit other mixed characteristics like the whippet’s lean bodies or Dane’s long narrow heads.

Whippet Great Dane Mix Health

Typically, dogs can be exposed to genetic health issues present in their parents’ gene pool. Fortunately, you can avoid getting such pups by obtaining your Grippet from a trustworthy breeder who guarantees the pup’s health.

A noble breeder should provide you with the health clearances of both the puppy and its parents. He/she will honestly discuss potential problems common in the dog breed and their occurrence incidences.

The common problems the grippet is more likely to get are hip and elbow dysplasia, bloat, hypothyroidism, wobbler syndrome, arthritis, dilated cardiomyopathy, heart problems, bone cancer, and development problems.

Caring For A Whippet Great Dane Mix

Your whippet Dane cross will need proper diet, training, grooming, healthcare, exercising, and socialisation to be happy, healthy, and comfortable. Great Dane whippet cross is one of the easiest dogs to groom due to their short coats.

However, they may shade intensely like the Danes. Therefore, it’d be wise to get a good vacuum cleaner if you want hair-free floors. With a few weekly brushings and occasional baths, you should be able to keep your Grippet’s skin shining and detangled.

As an energetic and large breed, a whippet great Dane mix requires enough daily exercise of about 30-60 minutes to lower the energy levels in its body. Mental stimulation and socialisation are also essential for it to be mentally stable and a well-rounded canine.

Proper training is critical for this dog. It requires firm leadership due to its stubborn and dominant nature. With patience, consistency, and a correct training technique, you’ll successfully teach this dog to be obedient and disciplined.

The best approach is to use praises and positive reinforcements. Give your Grippet treats when it acts appropriately, and don’t forget to praise too.

Doing this motivates your dog to behave well. It’s also best to train your dog in short periods that are highly engaging and fun.

Your Grippet will need a good diet and the right food amount to sustain its muscular, vibrant body.

If you’re unsure which foods your dog can take or the best quantity to give it, it’s advisable to reach out to a veterinarian for guidance.

As a short-haired breed, your dog will need a warm sleeping area and clothes to prevent cold and drought effects. You should get the correct bed size or crate for your Grippet.

Other care routines you should not forget are dental care, nail trimming, and control of pests like fleece and ticks. With good care, these designer dogs can live for around 8-15 years.

Final Thoughts

Whippet Great Dane mixes are loving, calm, and friendly dogs that can adapt well in most families. They’re perfect canines for people looking for slightly large pups with a warm character and playful energy.

However, they may be a wrong choice for inactive or tight-scheduled people who can’ provide them the exercise and stimulation they crave.

With proper care, Grippets are among the most exciting and charming dogs to own, and I believe you’ll love this whippet mix.

I know this mix seems like an odd one, as the Great Dane is large and the whippet is very small. But these mixes work very well together and produce excellent dogs for family life.