They are seasonal shedders meaning they will lose some of their furs during spring and the fall in readiness for the winter and summer.
In addition, the whippets have a single coat featuring short hairs, making controlling their shedding easy through grooming.
Most dogs shed their fur at some point; the difference lies in how much they shed.
In this article, we evaluate how much the whippets shed and how to control the shedding.
How Much Do Whippets Shed?
Having come from the Greyhound family, you would expect the whippets to shed as much, but they shed way less than them.
Whippets have a single coat with short hair, so they don’t even have much hair to lose.
Overall, the whippets are low shedders, whether purebred or otherwise.
They tend to lose more hair during the seasonal transitions, like during the spring or the fall.
The hair lost during these seasons, however, is still minimal compared to other dogs, especially those featuring double coats.
Although the whippets shed more during the fall and spring, around the year, you could spot some hairs coming off, especially if you slack on proper grooming.
How to Control Whippets Shedding
The golden rule in combating excessive shedding in dogs is to practice proper grooming.
Since the whippets feature a single coat with short hair, grooming them is easy and takes minimal time.
For best results, do it frequently and use the right tools for the exercise.
Tools to Use When Grooming the Whippet
Any of these will work magic on your whippet:
Bristle brush- Get one with soft bristles since the whippet’s coat is thin. You don’t want a tough one that will penetrate and harm the dog. Be gentle as you use it to give the dog a calming effect as you brush off the dead hairs.
Rubber curry brush- The soft rubber tips give the whippets a massage kind of a feeling as you groom them to remove dirt and the dead hairs. It’s a great alternative as the tips are short, so you don’t hurt the dog’s skin.
Rubber gloves- Get a befitting pair of the rubber mitt and work your whippet. As you move your hands around the dog’s entire body, be keen to remove any dead hairs. The calming effect will have the whippet thinking the grooming session is bonding time.
Avoid using brushes with lengthy hard bristles on the whippet since their coat is thin, and long bristles will hurt it.
That includes the de-shedding brushes; their design will hurt the dog, and being low shedders, you really don’t need to de-Shedd.
How to Bath a Whippet
Once you have all the right tools ready, and that includes the mitt, brushes, shampoo, and towel, you can begin the cleaning exercise as below:
Have water ready at room temperature
Lather the shampoo on your whippet following the direction of the fur. Then, work the entire body gently, including the underbelly, neck, paws, chest and legs.
Rinse the whippet with clean water at room temperature. Ensure you rinse every part you lathered with the shampoo. Have your gloves on to avoid scratching and hurting the dog with your fingernails.
Dry the whippet using their towel. Ensure you touch all the wet points of your pooch. You’ll notice once you are done that the dog will shake off, be keen to observe the points where water splashes as they shake and dry them.
A bathing routine is important for the whippet as it removes any dead hair and helps saturate the body oils that benefit the skin and boost the growth of new hair in place of dead ones.
As the whippet owner, bathing allows you to observe any cuts and grazes on your whippet, which is a common phenomenon given their single thin coat.
How to Reduce Excessive Shedding on Whippets
Excessive shedding on whippets is an indicator of an underlying problem.
To ensure you don’t get to this point, see to it that you:
Feed the dog a balanced diet. Get quality dog meals that will boost their skin health. Sick and unhealthy dogs tend to shed more due to the stress caused by the ailment.
Routine grooming by brushing the whippet often will allow room for new hair growth in place of dead fur.
Supplement the dog’s meal with fatty acids such as omega-three to boost the saturation of healthy skin oils and prevent excessive shedding
Use the correct bathing shampoo and oils to avoid triggering more shedding from an allergic reaction.
Take the whippet to the regular animal clinic for a check-up to avert any conditions that could lead to excessive shedding.
Consult the vet before introducing new meals that could trigger a reaction leading to excessive shedding
With proper care and best practices, whippet shedding shouldn’t be a headache.
How Do I Groom a Whippet to Control Shedding?
Avoid regular baths for the whippet given the thin coat; regularly exposing it to shampoos and chemicals could do more harm than good. It could leave the skin dry, flaky and itchy. The whippets will do well with constant brushing. Once or twice a week will keep the skin well saturated with healthy oils and hair. The aim is to eliminate dead hairs in good time to prevent the whippet from shedding around your furniture and fixtures. When the coat is well oiled and groomed, you won’t have hairs coming off all the time. An occasional bath also works magic in combating excessive shedding.
Take advantage of this trait to brush them regularly.
Have your rubber mitt in place and reduce distractions from others because the whippets treasure a good chase and will hit the road the moment they spot one.
As the pet owner, the responsibility is on you to keep the whippet shedding at a minimum as it should naturally be.
Exercise, grooming and a healthy diet are all it takes to have a healthy, happy whippet that hardly sheds.
Hi, my name is Megan Turner and I have worked in a dog’s shelter for four years now. It is truly my dream job, and I see hundreds of dogs every month being united with new owners to give them a loving forever home.
Unfortunately, handicapped dogs are much more likely to be ignored when a family is picking out their new pet. Handicapped pets need more care than non-handicapped pets, so it is understandable why they are often harder to rehome.
