Whippets, an English Breed descendant of the Greyhound, are a regal, steady and ultra-fast running dog. At top speed, an adult Whipp can reach 35 miles per hour. Needless to say, as a Whippet owner, you will need plenty of running room and high fences.
This article will examine the Whippet, their health concerns and proper diet ingredients (both must haves and must avoids).
Further, we will provide you with some of the best brands and details on why they are perfect for your dog.
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Why Quality Food Matters for Your Whippet
In addition to high quality proteins Whippets need to maintain their weight. Whippets can easily overeat and become fat. Treat training, and high crude fat foods can lead to this overeating. A Whippet that isn’t at peak physical condition won’t be very active while running and chasing.
One thing to make sure you look for in your dog food is high crude protein content. This will ensure that your Whipp gets the vital elements he needs to maintain energy levels and build muscle. Vegetables and fruits will give proper and adequate vitamins and minerals to help aid in bone development and digestion.
You won’t find all these elements in lower quality foods. Without a lot of supplements and extra care, buying lower quality food isn’t worth it, no matter how much you appear to save in the beginning. High-Quality food will give you everything you need and save you money in the long run.
As most Whippets tend to be picky eaters, it is important to find a food that not only tastes good but one that leaves little waste. This can be a trial and error process, but we have some of the best and most nutritional brands listed for you here to get you started.
Nom Nom creates cooked food as a balance between feeding canned food and a raw food diet. If you’ve got extra in your budget, you can get a quality meal made from human grade ingredients delivered right to your door.
Human grade foods for dogs is a new, premium service that few provide. Nom Nom does it with several recipes to appease most all tastes and prepares their meals fresh every week.
You can find the right recipe for you and have it delivered to your door, prepackaged per serving and ready to go.
Pros:
Auto-shipping prevents you from running out of dog food
Human grade foods that the dogs crave
Easily portioned in the kitchen for your specific breed, age, and size
Cons:
Some recipes contain potatoes that the dogs may eat around
Buying in bulk (storage) is an issue to keep all servings fresh
2. Taste Of The Wild Taste Of The Wild Pacific Stream
First 5 Ingredients: Salmon, Ocean Fish Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Peas
Formulated with novel proteins including real smoked salmon, this grain-free recipe includes peas and sweet potatoes that deliver the highly-digestible energy your active pup needs, along with natural antioxidant support.
Sometimes it can be difficult to choose a dog food because there are so many options out there. When you just can’t make a choice, consider a trusted brand like Taste of the Wild.
Formulated with novel proteins including real smoked salmon, this grain-free recipe includes peas and sweet potatoes that deliver the highly-digestible energy your active pup needs, along with natural antioxidant support from real fruits and vegetables and dried chicory root for prebiotic support and healthy digestion.
Great nutrient profile for its price-point, and also uses a range of high quality, well-sourced ingredients to provide a meal that your dog will love. An affordable dry dog food that contains an above-average amount of protein.
American Journey is a highly nutritious and vitamin-packed dog food. Their meat sources are naturally selected and contain a minimum of 34 percent crude proteins. The flavors are all natural. You can mix with wet food for higher fat contents or with water for a nice tasty gravy.
Pros:
Easily mixes with wet food or water for easier eating
Most flavors are loved by Whipp
Easy to portion to avoid overeating
Cons:
Has a higher moisture content than most other brands (10%)
Made with responsibly sourced whole meats and non-GMO vegetables, and never any meat meals – this recipe is free from animal by-products and added hormones.
Halo Holistic Turkey, Turkey Liver & Duck Recipe is a grain-free dry dog food specially formulated for adult dogs. Made with responsibly sourced whole meats and non-GMO vegetables, and never any meat meals – this recipe is free from animal by-products and added hormones.
It’s made with sustainably-raised, cage-free turkey as the very first ingredient, along with a wholesome variety of garden vegetables and nourishing oils. This special recipe is formulated with lower protein and the correct caloric content to help your pup maintain her ideal weight.
Pros:
Made with real, whole turkey
Highly palatable and highly digestible formula
Crafted in USA
Has the exclusive DreamCoat blend for healthy skin and coat
Cons:
Odor is too strong for some dog owners
5. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Salmon Grain
First 5 ingredients: Deboned salmon, Chicken meal, Peas, Pea protein, Menhaden fish meal
This recipe uses their famous LifeSource bits for essential nutrients and vitamins. Deboned salmon provides an excellent source of essential fatty acids and high-quality proteins essential for your Whippet's high energy.
Blue Buffalo is well known for high quality, high protein foods, and their Wilderness line is all about incorporating ancestral diet. Their approach brings your Whipp only the best ingredients, vitamins and minerals.
You won’t find grains in this recipe either. All the protein is from meat sources, with added vegetables for essential vitamins and minerals.
Pros:
Easily digested and absorbed for high crude protein and vitamin digestion
Most Whipps enjoy the flavor and leave zero waste
Mixes well with wet food for added protein sources
Grain free formula
Cons:
Some owners don’t want to feed peas to their Whipp
Hard to mix with water for gravy
6. I And Love And You Naked Essentials Lamb & Bison Recipe
First 5 ingredients: Lamb, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Chickpeas, Peas
A recipe that has the nutrition and taste that your Whippets will surely love. This delicious meal doesn’t contain fillers, and it’s outfitted instead with wholesome ingredients to give your doggie the fuel he needs to stay active and healthy.
Offer your Whipp buddy the nutrition and taste they love and deserve with I and Love and You Naked Essentials Lamb & Bison Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food!
This delicious and nutritious dry dog food doesn’t contain fillers, and it’s outfitted instead with wholesome ingredients to give your Whippet the fuel he needs to stay active and healthy.
Free of grains, corn, by-product meals and anything artificial, Naked Essentials Lamb & Bison Recipe has real lamb as the number one ingredient along with sweet potatoes and a special blend of prebiotics and probiotics. This premium food is excellent for Whippets at any life stage.
Pros:
Premium, grain-free kibble
Real lamb as the number one ingredient
Packed with all the nutrition your dog needs
Made with no corn, wheat, soy, rice, artificial preservatives, flavors or colors
This puppy food is formulated with all of your furry friend’s needs in mind. Deboned lamb and amino acids support the healthy growth of lean muscle mass, while sweet potatoes and chickpeas provide energy for your active puppy.
American Journey Puppy Formula gives you more than enough proteins and crude fats for growing pups. High energy levels are maintained through proper diet and proteins. American Journey gives you all of that. You will also find natural and added vitamins and minerals through vegetables and berries.
Pros:
Easily mixes with wet food or water for gravy.
Higher crude protein than most other puppy formulas.
High protein sources from meat, not wheat.
Cons:
May not have enough crude fat for some young Whipp puppies.
Picky eaters may not approve of all the flavors.
8. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe Red Meat Dinner Puppy
First 5 ingredients: Beef, Beef broth, Turkey, Beef liver, Potatoes
This meal is everything your Whipp puppy craves and needs. It has high in crude proteins, fats and flavor that you need to keep an eye for on the portions. All natural sources of proteins and vitamins.
Now Fresh uses a weight control formula specifically for seniors to help support their aging process. Essential fatty acids and vitamins support aging immune systems and eyes while good fiber sources keep digestion regular.
Because your Whippet will get used to eating the adult food more frequently, the Now Fresh senior formula helps you keep an eye on their weight, especially during the transition.
With a 2.4:1 crude protein to fat ratio, your senior pup will get all the nutrition they need to stay active and healthy.
Many dogs with acid reflux do better on a high-moisture diet made with simple, natural ingredients. This Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Senior Chicken Dinner Canned Food is a great choice because it is a wet food recipe, containing 78% moisture.
Blue Buffalo has a wet food option perfect for active seniors. The senior formula is designed to add vitamins and minerals that may be lacking in your Whipp diet and to keep them active and healthy through their later days.
Pros:
Great addition to dry food for added proteins.
Has flavors and textures older dogs love.
All ingredients are naturally sourced and selected for proper nutrition.
Cons:
Doesn’t contain as much chondroitin as other senior brands.
Isn’t viable enough for a stand-alone for most Whippets.
Whippet Common Health Issues a Good Food Can Help With
There are a few health concerns with Whippets you should be aware of. Any reputable breeder will have all puppies screened for these (and other conditions), but it is up to you to do the research and have your particular pup tested for potential issues.
Bloat – Bloat is a very common and life-threatening condition for Whippets. Bloat, also known as a twisted stomach, is a condition where the stomach is enlarged and flips over. If it is not treated, the dog could die within just a few hours.
The symptoms are pain when touching the belly, an enlarged midsection, constant salivation, and consistent retching. If you notice these conditions, you need to get your Whipp to the vet as soon as possible.
One suspected cause is a large meal or a lot of water consumption just after or just before rigorous exercise. For this reason, it is warned that you shouldn’t feed your pup, or allow them to drink a lot of water at once, within 30 minutes either side of the exercise time.
Hip Dysplasia – Hip dysplasia is a common genetic condition in medium breed dogs. The basic premise is that the hip joint socket forms irregularly or doesn’t develop properly. When this happens, the dog will have trouble walking, running, getting up off the floor, climbing stairs, or jumping down to the floor from furniture.
It is detectable but not often treatable You should have your puppy tested and throughout their first few years during the development periods. Proper nutrition for dogs is important as they contain ingredients that help prevent bone overgrowth, or the puppy growing too rapidly, leading to the condition.
While the issue is mainly hereditary, diet, type and amount of exercise and injury can all lead to the condition as well. There are several treatments, including a lifestyle change, diet adjustment or even surgery. Your vet will be able to cover your options and discuss the best course of action for you.
Minor Conditions – Most dogs have some concerns about their health that aren’t common. Whippets are no different. Having your dog regularly examined, tested and evaluated will go a long way to preventing most of the non-genetic conditions.
There are a few things you need to ensure make it onto your dog food. The FDA mandates that the ingredient list shows you everything that is in the food in order from most prominent to least available. If it is on the list, it is in the food.
Meat Protein – All dogs are designed to eat, digest and process meat proteins. These can be near any meat source including chicken, turkey, beef, pork, and fish. The main thing to notice here is that the meat itself is listed first and by name.
You should see the meat source listed, not just the blanket term “meat.” You will also need to pay careful attention to the next few ingredients, especially if chicken is listed first. All ingredients are listed by weight and volume before being processed.
Chicken has a high water content that adds to the weight. This means that after cooking and processing a lot of that weight is removed. This isn’t a bad thing. However, if the next few ingredients are wheat or wheat products you can almost promise yourself that most of the protein content comes from the wheat and not the chicken.
Meat Meal – Seeing meat meal listed on the label isn’t a bad thing. Meal is bone meat and the bone ground together to create a meal. This adds to the available vitamins and minerals and the overall meat proteins.
While humans shouldn’t eat a meat meal, it is perfectly acceptable to dogs. Their bodies are designed to process and digest this food and will do so happily.
Fruits and Vegetables – Seeing fruits and vegetables on your ingredient list is also a good thing. These add natural vitamins and minerals not found in other food sources. It is always better for your Whipps digestion if these vitamins and minerals are naturally sourced rather than added in later.
Ingredients to Avoid in Your Whippets Dog Food
Just as there are things to include, there are things to avoid as well.
Heavy Grains – You will most likely see wheat and corn on a lot of ingredient lists. These grains are heavy and provide a quick and economical solution to adding proteins to the food. However, like most humans, dogs are not well equipped to process the proteins from wheat and corn.
While it is filling, it doesn’t add to the vitamin absorption or processing of proteins once eaten. Some wheat is tolerated and acceptable. However, if the ingredient list has more than two sources of wheat or lists corn or corn meal, you should avoid the brand altogether.
Byproducts – Byproducts are a gross meat alternative, to put it mildly. Meat byproduct is essentially the runoff from slaughter. It is the skin, intestines, and all non-human edible ingredients from animals. It is also compromised of expired meats from butchers (packaging included) all milled together to create a meat-like substance.
The FDA has declared meat byproduct non-consumable by humans. However, it is still acceptable to have it included in your dog’s diet. Your dog can become ill or diseased from eating too many meat byproducts. If you ever see this on the label, you should put it down and choose another brand.
Bad Dog Food Brands for Whippets
There are several brands out there that you should avoid completely. These listed brands are known to use ingredients like meat byproduct, corn, and artificial flavors, colors and dyes. None of these things or the brands below should ever be in your dogs’ bowl.
Ol’ Roy by Walmart
Pedigree
Iams
Caesars
Kal Kan
Whippet Feeding Chart
The three different life stages should be fed slightly different amounts and in different frequencies. The actual amount will vary between individual pups. However, as a starting point, you can use this guide or look at the label of your dog food packaging.
Puppies should eat between 1/3 and ½ cups of food per meal, per day. They should also eat two times per day for the first nine to 12 months of life.
Once they reach adulthood, the amounts should increase to ¾ to 1 cup per meal, twice a day.
Seniors should continue to eat twice per day but should have slightly reduced servings of about ¾ cups per meal.
If you think your dog is eating too much or not enough, consult your veterinarian who can help you find the right amount for your pup.
What do whippets like eating?
Whippets are an active breed that tends to be quite healthy with a lifespan of 12 to 15 years. They should do just fine on any puppy formulated diet as long as it's balanced and nutritional. Whether you decide to feed your Whippet puppy dry food, wet food, homemade food, or raw really comes down to personal preference.
Do Whippets eat a lot?
Whippets can become fat, just like other breeds. Adult Whippets usually do well eating two meals per day. You can feed Whippet puppies 3-4 meals when they are very young, then move to three meals per day as they get older. By the time they are about a year old they should be eating two meals per day.
Are Whippets high energy dogs?
Whippets have low energy levels indoors, but will become overactive and destructive if their exercise needs are not met. Whippets aren't very good watchdogs as they rarely bark and are friendly toward everyone they meet. Whippets need daily exercise and will enjoy romping and running in a fenced yard or on leash.
Do whippets suffer from separation anxiety?
Separation anxiety is discussed as a breed problem in whippets, but as in many other breeds, it is over-diagnosed. This breed does seem to do better in a two- or multi-dog household. Hounds are pack animals, even more so than other types of dogs, and most whippets like doggy company as well as human company.
A huge animal lover, born and raised around dogs, cats, chickens...
Self-educated pet care nerd. Currently parent of three adopted cats and one small mutt. Animal adoption advocate. Loves a good book (about animals) and playing the piano.
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