My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

The doghouse

I want to buy a whippet puppy- but can't find one!

85 replies

NotYourHolidayDick · 16/08/2019 10:53

Rhino skin is on.
Hard hat is on.
I'm going in!

So, I want to find a male whippet, preferably white with blue/brindle patches. Ideally 8-9 weeks.

I can't find one anywhere that I'm comfortable with.

Or that isn't trying to charge a gazillion pounds.

Can anybody point me in the right direction? Please?

OP posts:
Report
AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 16/08/2019 11:15

Where have you looked?

Decent breeders usually operate a waiting list - having a puppy ready to go at 8 weeks from a good breeder would be unusual.

Report
NotYourHolidayDick · 16/08/2019 11:33

I've spoken to breeders, nothing available until 2020.

Scumtree and Pet4Homes are just asking ridiculous prices for non kc reg ffs.

Since when were whippets £6-800 each? It's got ridiculous. And I'm losing patience Grin

OP posts:
Report
NotAgainKen · 16/08/2019 11:37

I think you've answered your own question there - nowhere you'd be happy buying from will have puppies ready to go like that. Have you contacted the breed club?

Report
NotYourHolidayDick · 16/08/2019 11:57

The prices have become silly though. I'm just not paying that much for a pup. There aren't even any health tests that really need to be done on a whip, they are some of the healthiest dogs around. No issues with brains/eyes/hips.

I used to be a foster carer for sighthounds so have had gazillions come through my doors. I have no issue with a rescue even, but I have been turned away as I have young kids. I mean, really? So I'm okay to foster but not to adopt 😂

Sorry I posted on a whim. I think I was just grumpy, fed up and having a moan. I'll get back in my box now Blush

OP posts:
Report
joystir59 · 16/08/2019 12:02

Go on a waiting list with a decent breeder

Report
missbattenburg · 16/08/2019 12:05

Waiting 4+ months and paying £600+ sounds about normal to me, OP.

I get that puppies - even well bred ones - used to be cheaper. But so did everything else Grin Coffee used to be 75p a cup. You now wouldn't get much change from £3-4.

Report
NotYourHolidayDick · 16/08/2019 12:13


Fine. I'll try and wait.

Sulk.
OP posts:
Report
missbattenburg · 16/08/2019 12:22

I won't depress you with all the other things I thought of that used to be much cheaper...

Mars Bars and houses were on the list, though Grin

Report
NotYourHolidayDick · 16/08/2019 12:56

I might just steal one. Seems like a reasonable course of action.

OP posts:
Report
AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 16/08/2019 13:52

@cmotdibbler is a home checker for EGLR which is a greyhound and lurcher rescue. They don't have any firm rules re who they home to in terms of having kids. Maybe try them if you're willing to have a different type of sighthound? They sometimes have pups.

Report
NotYourHolidayDick · 16/08/2019 14:33

^^ I was on their foster list too 😉

But they have nothing suitable. And very rarely do for our situation. I wanted their chi they had recently 😭😭

OP posts:
Report
Frouby · 16/08/2019 14:40

I bought a whippet pup 8 years ago and they were £600-£800 then, unless you wanted non kc registered. I did however find a nice 6 month old pup from a breeder who had originally bought her to show and use as a stud bitch, but he also had a new litter he wanted to keep 3 bitches from, so he was selling the 6 month old.

I suspect that maybe she wasn't absolutely top class for showing so he came up with an excuse. He is based in lincoln, he breeds whippets, deerhounds and shi tzus from memory. Want me to look and see if I can find his email address? He may have something or know of other breeders. Not all advertise online.

Report
NotYourHolidayDick · 16/08/2019 14:43

I'm not fussed at all about kc reg or any of that.

I just want a pup bred at home with a family and kids and hoovers etc, not in a cold shed somewhere.

OP posts:
Report
CMOTDibbler · 16/08/2019 14:47

Do you want a pure whippet pup only? They only come in really rarely, mostly we have whippety lurchers. But we do rehome to people with small children - some of my fosters have gone to families with under 5's, it just depends on the dog. The chi's def were not for children!

Report
VirginiaWolfHall · 16/08/2019 14:50

We looked into buying a whippet pup (we went for a lab in the end though), and the only sites I’d go near when buying a pure breed are Champdogs or the Kennel Club. Yes you will have to get on a waiting list before it’s born... but it’ll be worth it!

Report
VirginiaWolfHall · 16/08/2019 14:51

Ps I will say that we tried to rehome initially, but couldn’t find anywhere as we have cats at at the time the dcs were both under 10.

Report
NotYourHolidayDick · 16/08/2019 14:59

I can't really rehome. I have 3 kids of primary age, live on the side of a pig farm with wild deer everywhere, cats all around and I have free roaming chickens on my driveway. Though I managed all my fosters fine, they were permenantly on leads and I was on high alert- not really what I'd like as a lifetime commitment. The chances of getting a rescue who is bullet proof with all that is almost zero. The whippet I've got now is a failed foster, but she was a brand new baby when I had her, and is now 6.

She definitely needs a friend.

OP posts:
Report
adaline · 16/08/2019 15:07

That's what it costs to get a well-bred puppy, OP.

I know lots of people who've bought pups of varying breeds and none of them have had change from £500. Our beagle cost £650, for example. A friend paid £700 for her Labrador and that was five years ago.

Puppies - especially ones that are bred properly, health-tested and well-looked after, don't come cheap. Raising pups (and looking after the bitch) for eight weeks plus is pretty costly, especially now all puppies need to be microchipped, registered etc. before going to new homes.

You won't find a decent breeder without a waiting list - most people wait at least 6 months, if not longer.

Report
tabulahrasa · 16/08/2019 16:45

“I've spoken to breeders, nothing available until 2020.“

To be fair though, 2020 starts in less than 4 months...

Report
Lucafritz · 16/08/2019 16:50

You do realise the breeders have to pay for feeding the pup before you get it plus cleaning and caring for it getting its first jabs and microchip etc i know of some breeders who even neuter and spay before selling so Yabu thinking its a rip off puppies are hard work to raise even if the breeder has bred them specifically and its not just an accidental litter

Report
NotYourHolidayDick · 16/08/2019 16:54

But I want one noooooow.

OP posts:
Report
PixieLumos · 16/08/2019 16:56

£6-800 for any properly bred dog sounds right to me tbh.

Report

Newsletters you might like

Discover Exclusive Savings!

Sign up to our Money Saver newsletter now and receive exclusive deals and hot tips on where to find the biggest online bargains, tailored just for Mumsnetters.

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

Parent-Approved Gems Await!

Subscribe to our weekly Swears By newsletter and receive handpicked recommendations for parents, by parents, every Sunday.

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

Nettleweed · 16/08/2019 17:26

Have you been on the Champdogs website OP? They have nine litters on there, and at least one indicates they have a boy puppy ready to go. They come at a premium though....

Report
swissmilk · 16/08/2019 18:14

I think puppy prices have doubled in the last 10 years.

Have you thought about an Ibizan Hound or similar? There must be loads of pups available in Spanish rescues? (Search FB).

Isn't the wrong season for pups though? Better off putting your name down with a breeder & waiting for spring.

Report
missbattenburg · 16/08/2019 18:35

Is there a season for pups? Genuine question.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.