The Whipoodle: A Guide To The Whippet Poodle Mix

Today, whipoodles are among the most popular hybrid dogs due to the admirable traits they acquire from their parents.

Poodles are incredibly intelligent, loyal, energetic, agile, highly trainable, and obedient.

Whippets aren’t quite as intelligent as poodles, but they’re lightning-fast, charming, gentle, clean, muscular, and loyal too.

Both whippets and poodles are friendly, fun, and are manageable sizes. The traits and personality of these dog breeds make their mixture a fascinating and adorable crossbreed to own.

The mix of whippets and poodles is known as a whippet poodle mix.

If you’re considering owning a whippet poodle mix, it would be best to know more about this dog breed to raise and live with them comfortably and happily. This article will provide you with extensive and relevant information about the whippet poodle mix.

Please read on to learn more about whipoodle’s appearance, care and maintenance, temperament, and other essential tips of living with this dog breed.

Table of Contents

What Is A Whipoodle?

Whipoodles are also called Whippadoodle (I know, crazy!), a whippet poodle mix, or Whipoo, and they’re a result of breeding a whippet and a poodle together. There are three kinds of poodles; miniature, standard, and toy poodle.

Most Whipoodles are bred from the standard poodles, and they’re a bit bigger than toys and miniature poodles. Whipoodles can inherit an array of multi-colours or be just black.

Many people love the whippet poodle mix because they are hypoallergenic, meaning there are friendly to dog-allergic individuals due to their minimal shedding.

If you’re considering this breed, you should be sure you’re okay with both the whippet’s and poodle’s temperament.

Whipoodles usually inherit their traits and features from both parents. Therefore, you can expect a highly energetic, playful, fun, and medium-sized dog.

Temperament And Characteristics Of A Whipoodle

Whippet poodle mixes have a mixture of whippets and poodles temperament and personality. Whippets can be gentle and relaxed while in the house and are commonly known as lazy dogs.

In the field, whippets are usually active, playful, energetic, and full of life.

Whippets enjoy sprinting and playing with their owners while outside. They have a high prey drive, so they may chase after small animals whenever they get the chance.

This breed is also needy and doesn’t enjoy being left alone. They tend to develop separation anxiety and be destructive when bored and alone.

Hence, it would be best if you always left it under someone else’s care when you’re not home, or don’t leave your pooch for too long.

On the other hand, poodles are extremely intelligent, alert, loyal, full of energy, and also predacious like whippets. Stanley Coren, a psychologist professor, listed poodles as the second most intelligent canines in his book, the ‘Intelligence of Dogs‘ after the Collies.

Therefore, Whipoodles are very intelligent, sweet-natured, agile, and playful. They love playing and cuddling with their owners whenever they’re not napping or relaxing.

Since they’re smart dogs, they’ll require adequate mental stimulation and exercise to prevent them from boredom and becoming destructive, and starting to chew things.

Lack of exercise can make your Whipoodle rebellious or disobedient. Therefore, anyone planning to own this dog breed should be prepared to take their dog for regular walks, short runs, and be there whenever they need them.

As a whole, the whippet poodle crosses temperament is even, they are loving, affectionate, and great family pets.

Appearance And Size Of A Whipoodle

Whipoodles are among the most loved medium-sized dogs today. Normally, the sizes of crossbreed dogs usually vary with the parents’ dominant genes. As mentioned, Poodles can be standard, toy, or miniature.

Whippets bred with standard poodles can have slightly bigger bodies than those mixed with toy poodles because standard poodles are bigger than toy poodles.

Standard poodles usually weigh about 35kgs and a 38cm height, while toy poodles are usually 6kgs and stand about 24-28cm tall.

Usually, whipoodles are a bit bigger than purebred whippets. An average whipoodle weighs about 15-40 pounds with an 18-20 inches height. They can also have a long snout because both whippets and poodles have that feature too.

Most whipoodles don’t have short hair like whippets. Their coats are a bit wavy or curly like their poodle parents. Their coat colours are usually more than two, and they are mixed up depending on their parents’ colours or the recessive genes.

Sometimes, Whipoodles can have other colours shade on their paws, faces, and chests. Most whipoodles are black with brown and white spots.

The secondary colour usually appears on the chests, paws, and chest area.

Their coats can have 2-3 colours, so it is hard to predict puppies’ colour without thorough genetic testing. Most breeders and dog owners usually determine a puppies colour by examining the parents’ coat colours.

However, sometimes Whipoodles can have a different colour from those of their parents due to recessive genes.

Another base colour for whippets is cream. Most Whipoodles with this base colour usually have other brown streaks or black secondary colour on their chests, paws, and face.

In most cases, the poodle parent usually determines a whippet poodle mix colour because they come in multiple shades.

Whipoodles Health

All dogs are likely to suffer from various genetic diseases common to their breed. For example, whippets are more likely to suffer from allergies, sinus problems, ear and eye problems, MVD, and hemangiosarcoma.

Poodles are susceptible to bloat, epilepsy, hip dysplasia, thyroid problems, and hypoadrenocorticism.

A whippet poodle mix will generally be healthier than a purebred whippet or poodle, but that doesn’t mean they are immune to the above illnesses.

Healthy and well-taken care of whipoodles should live for approximately 10-18 years.

Whipoodles Care And Exercise

Since both Whipoodle’s parents are hunting dogs, you should expect your whippet poodle mix to be very energetic and predacious.

Therefore, your Whipoodle will require proper training and adequate exercise to burn off the excess energy and stay fit.

A healthy Whipoodle requires at least 60 minutes of exercise every day. Once in a while, you can release your Whipoodle on an open field to run and play with other canines. It can significantly boost his mood and ensure he’s happy and healthy.

Whipoodles are extremely intelligent because of their poodle parents. Hence, they require adequate mental stimulation every day.

You can achieve this through lots of fun games and bonding. Some of the engaging and exciting dog games you can play are tug-of-war and hide and seek.

Failure to exercise and stimulate your whipoodle can cause him to be mischievous and unadjusted. Whippets are low shedders, and poodles shed even less than whippets.

Therefore, Whipoodles shed very little. This is why they’re an excellent option for those with dog allergies.

That being said, whipoodles do require grooming than whippets because of their shaggy coats. They usually require grooming 1-2 times a week to keep their coat maintained, so get your grooming kit ready!

Training A Whippet Poodle Mix

Training Whippodles is relatively easy because of their high intelligent level, loyalty, and willingness to please their owners. However, it may be stubborn and demanding during the training process.

It would be best to be consistent, strong, firm, and ensure your Whipoodle recognises you as the pack leader.

The most effective training method is the reward approach, where you use toys and treats to reinforce the desired behaviour in your dog.

Whipoodles are very relaxed, well-adjusted, easy to train, and mentally stable when they get enough exercise. All canines require proper socialisation to live comfortably and freely with people and other pets.

Therefore, it’s crucial that you socialise your Whipoodle while still young to ease both his and your life together. One way to socialise your pooch is by taking him to parks and doggy daycares where they can interact with other people and dogs.

How Is A Whipoodle Different From A Purebred Whippet?

Differentiating a Whippadoodle from whippets isn’t hard. They have unique characteristics and features that can easily distinguish them from poodles and whippets even just in a glance.

Some of the common differences between a whippet poodle mix and a purebred whippet include;

The Size Difference

Whipoodles are a bit bigger than purebred whippets. An average whippet poodle mix weighs about 15-40 pounds with an 18-20 inches height. It’s possible to reproduce much smaller Whipoodles by breeding smaller female whippets with toy poodles.

Breeding a standard poodle with a normal-sized purebred whippet usually produces larger Whipoodles.

Whipoodles Have A Shaggy Coat

A purebred whippet’s coat is short and straight, but a Whippadoodle coat is usually short and curly or wavy. Most whippets come in white, fawn, blue, tan, and black colours. Whippadoodles can have more than these colours by inheriting other beautiful colours from their poodle parent.

Most Whipoodles have black coats with a white or brown mixture on their paws, face, and chest area. They can have about 2-3 colours in combination.

Some of the beautiful shades Whipoodles can inherit from their poodle parent are cream, apricot, white, and more.

Is A Whippet Poddle Mix Right For You?

Whipoodles are an excellent choice for anyone looking for a fun, loving, and medium-sized dog. They’re family-oriented and affectionate pets that aren’t aggressive; which is why they’re incredibly adorable and fun to live with them.

They are also a great choice for anyone with allergies as they barely shed their coat. However, they need frequent grooming, especially those with bright-coloured coats.

Since they don’t shed, their fur tends to grow long and tangle with time, this can form mattes; regular grooming will prevent this from happening.

Whipoodles require plenty of exercise to keep them well-adjusted and healthy. Due to their high intelligence, training Whipoos is usually easy and fun.

Hopefully, this post has given you a better insight into life living with a whippet poodle mix, they’re amazing dogs that are fun for all of the family, don’t hesitate to bring one of these dogs into your family.