Whippet and young children, help!

[Donteatthekid]

Calling all whippet owners!! We have decided on a dog, everything is right, but stuck on breed. A whippet ticks all the boxes, we all love them but I just don't know if they are suitable for young children. Would they snap if a little one tripped for example? I'm not wording this too well, I suppose I just worry they lack the bombproof nature of the lab / retreiver and we should go for one of them. Help!

[Donteatthekid]

Oh dear, maybe no whippet owners on mumsnet....!

[DeadZed]

In my experience whippets tend to be timid and easily scared. So I am convinced that they wouldn't hurt a child purposely I think there may be a small tendency to self defence. So an accidental fall by a toddler and the whippet would likely run away but an over zealous stroking may result in a nip.

[ChimesOnSundayMorn]

Sorry no advice but wondering myself if a whippet is a possibility.

[stayathomegardener]

I have a Whippet, he loves children but tends to be scared of the unpredictable nature of very little ones.

[stayathomegardener]

How old are your dc?

[Frouby]

Whippet owner here. Also owner of dcs.

They are lovely family dogs BUT no dog is bombproof except a dead one. No more or less likely to snap than a lab imo, but would do less damage.

[Floralnomad]

I agree with frouby , although I’m not a whippet owner . I have a patterdale x who is about as bombproof as a dog could be yet his breeding would suggest otherwise . Likewise I know a few unpredictable golden retrievers .

[bertielab]

Depends on the dog, age of dog, breeder, puppy, rehoming etc.
No dog is ever safe with children -and vice versa. Especially really young ones.

Labs are great and properly brought up -as soft as butter.

But I have known the most laid back JRT for example.

Whippets tend to react quickly (as per the breed) and can be good with children but startle easily -they are bred and have been bred to catch prey -so think of the reason behind the breed.
These are both good forums

www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews/whippets.html
forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/whippets-how-are-they-with-children.187476/

[Donteatthekid]

Thanks everyone! Really helpful! I absolutely understand no dog is bombproof, sorry, I'm not very good at putting things into words. I just worry we should play it safe and go with a lab or something. But a whippet suits us so much better. Kids are 3 and 6 and possibly would like another but not for at least 3 years. All breeders have said they are great with children but I wonder whether they are truly good with children like say a Labrador is supposed to be. Thanks again

[friendlyflicka]

My daughter got very horribly injured in a situation where she was not being supervised by a whippet. So, not the dog's fault, but no breed is bombproof.

Also, as someone who has known a lot of sighthounds over the years, they do have very different temperaments - all individuals. Never had another type of dog, so can't compare.

[Ooogetyooo]

Are you kidding !!! A whippet over a lab any day ( sorry lab owners!!!)
Loving loyal playful sweet natured and sleeps nearly all the time

[Donteatthekid]

Friendly- really sorry to hear that, hope she is ok.

Thank for all the replies

[friendlyflicka]

Donteatthekid , she had to have general anaesthetic and stitches on her face. Horrible night when the other reason I have left dogs and children with sister was because my Mum had had a stroke and I was the driver to the hospital. came back from visiting Mum and had to race daughter to same hospital. All better now. But horrible horrible night.

[PersonaNonGarter]

The dog you are statistically most likely to be bitten by is a Labrador (there are more of them).

Don’t get a Labrador - they need a ton of walking and are really greedy and make your house smile of dog. I hate looking after them. Whispers are much lighter and cleaner. But they can be pretty needy and want to be on/with you all the time. Make sure you split the care with other people in the family so they don’t get hooked on one owner.

[wheelwarrior]

I have a labi and yes he is good with young niece and nephew but his sheer size can be issue as occasionlying knocked over by accident (always supervised)
.other need consider is the walking on average day we do 8-10 miles .ASl puppies they are crocodiles I could not managed if mine was younger

I am fortunate compared to lot of labs see when out mine is super chilled has been since got over the teenage months .Most labs not calm down to around 5

[Donteatthekid]

Friendly - that sounded awful, so glad she is ok now.

After lots of soul searching and endless research we have decided on a golden retriever as from everything we have read, speaking to breeders etc this breed is most likely to be the most compatible with young children. Thanks everyone

[Veganfortheanimals]

A whippet is a perfect family pet.

[Veganfortheanimals]

We had a whippet before we had the children...he was amazing .the most patient loyal dog ever ....we now have a pug/chihuahua cross..and she makes her presence known in a way he never did.our whippet was our first dog ,so I had nothing to compare him to...but in the unlikely even I ever get another dog ,I would always get a whippet.

[Veganfortheanimals]

My friends lab is huge and frequently knocks her children over...where as our children ,under supervision,were able to walk our whippet on the lead...we have an enclosed dog park near us for off the lead runs.

[Donteatthekid]

Thank you vegan. They sound like the perfect family pet, I think we just want something a bit more robust / not easily startled / ok with chaos! I've read a lot that sighthounds are touch sensitive and we do plan to have more children. Overall we have decided that a golden will be more tolerant and fit better. Hopefully we have made the right decision!

[wellhonestly]

I always thing whippets are a bit delicate and could be easily injured? Thinking of their paws and their windpipes.

[Donteatthekid]

Obviously we will be only looking at reputable breeders who know the temperaments of the dogs / health tests and realise that all dogs are individuals so you are never guaranteed anything. Just off the back of our research it seems golden retrievers are excellent family pets. Suprisingly whippets never feature in any lists / articles about breeds good with children or family pets. I think its because of being touch sensitive maybe?

[GreenIce]

We got my whippet when my youngest was 1, he has always been amazing with the kids, he is so gentle. We had a Jack Russell before and the Whippet is far far more bombproof around the kids.

A warning though, his recall is terrible and he will chase absolutely anything including other dogs and try and knock them over. This may just be mine though.

Just read back and see you are getting a retriever, lovely dogs but please read about resource guarding in some lines as my friend has had awful problems with hers. Good luck.

[Donteatthekid]

Thank you. Yes, we are aware of resource guarding so will be really careful re that. We do have a cat so the chasing worries us a bit about whippets too. On balance a golden just feels a better option for us. Excited to add a dog to the family in the future!

[friendlyflicka]

Very good luck with your dog. I hope you all have an extremely happy life together