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!

Thank you very much. We are in no rush and need to find a breeder who does all the health tests, raises pups around children etc. We don't want to rush into it as it is such a lonh commitment. I will update when we find our puppy!

Good luck with getting a dog.

I’ll echo what previous posters said about whippets. Mine is the biggest people dog out there and is fantastic with kids but yes, I have issues with him chasing other creatures and I have to be very choosy about which dogs he plays with.

Goldens are great, but young ones a big and bouncy and will likely knock little ones over. We have a young office Golden whose less than a year old, nearly bowled a few adults over with her youthful exuberance and habit of getting stealthly underfoot if snacks are around. Goldens are food ninjas.

Whippets aren't as delicate as people think. Mine loves rough and tumble with his doggy friends!

Difference between GR and Whippet is the size - if a GR jumps into a child it will hurt a lot more than a whippet.

We have roughly 4 year old whippet and an 18 month old toddler, also a cat.
She is very sweet natured and patient with him, but I constantly have to supervise as toddler can get very overexcited when whippet brings him a toy or ball and can forget gentleness. I wouldn’t want to give her a reason to become nervous of wee ones or snap.
We have always had sight hounds, some rescues and some from pups, they really do vary in temperament so do make sure they are already used to young children.
Also be wary of your little ones are eating anywhere other than the table as whippets can be extremely cheeky when it comes to snatching food!

Agree with the delicate comment. I'd reckon the chances are probably higher that one of your kids could do some expensive damage to a young whippet.
I wouldn't choose one as a pet for young kids because they can both be quite clumsy

Just realised youre going for lab.
Recall can be poor with whippets too.
Can't imagine trying to coax one back with kids in tow.
Had more than a few half hour walks turn into two hour nightmares trying to convince mine to get back on lead for the first year or two.
Lab sounds a wise alternative

Whippet owner here. He adores every member of our family (cat included).

He has never ever even hinted at snapping at the children, even when they were toddling. He is a dear dear boy. His only crime is that he likes to sleep in the children's beds.