Whippets can vary quite a bit in size – even same-sex littermates can vary hugely. That means there’s no set weight a Whippet should be. What matters most is knowing what’s the right weight for your Whippet, and adjusting their food accordingly.
The feeding guidelines on food packets are often unhelpful. Two Whippets can be exactly the same height and length but need completely different amounts of food to maintain a healthy weight due to different rates of metabolism. This applies particularly to animals that have been neutered.
Feeding Puppies
It’s rare to overfeed a Whippet puppy. Some puppies need four meals a day for quite a long time, and a diet rich in protein is a good way to support proper growth. When they start leaving food at one of those meals, that’s usually a sign they’re ready to go down to three meals a day. Even as fully grown adults, they should still be fed two meals a day.
Puppies can need surprisingly large amounts of food. But just because they’ve reached their full height, it doesn’t mean they’re finished growing – they’ll continue to fill out with muscle and body condition for quite some time. If you’re feeding a complete diet, it’s often better to stay on the puppy version for longer rather than switching to adult food too soon.
It’s not unusual for a puppy to look lean or even skinny during growth phases and conversely, they seem to suddenly finish growing and put on weight very easily! Keep an eye on them – they may go from needing extra food to needing less in what feels like a matter of days.
Feeding Adults
Even although you may have established a good feeding pattern for an adult dog, there are still some variables which will affect the amount he should eat. If, for example, he is exercised more than usual, he’ll need more food. If he has a quiet week, he might need less.
Bitches often put on weight after their first season and may gain again after future seasons. Again, adjust their food accordingly.
What Should Be The Body Condition Of A Whippet?
Ideally, puppies should be “well covered” – decidedly on the plump side. You’ll see them change shape as they mature and any fat will turn to muscle.
For adults, a good rule of thumb for body condition is:
- You should be able to see the shadow of the last rib but NOT all of them.
- You should be able to see three vertebrae showing clearly on the topline, but not every bone in the spine.
- You should be able to see your Whippet’s waist and his pin bones, although these should not be too prominent.
Some dogs will naturally carry more or less weight than others, so get to know what’s ideal for your own dog.
How to Monitor Weight and Feeding
Get into the habit of doing a quick visual assessment each day. If they look a little lighter or you can see too much spine or rib, feed a little more. If they’re looking a bit heavier, feed less.
Weighing out food can help as a starting point, especially when feeding new foods, but it’s not essential if you know your dog well. Trust your eye over the back of the packet.
These photographs are of the same dog. In the first, she is clinically obese, in the second she is still a little overweight but looking much healthier. In the third photo she is at the correct weight for a fit and active Whippet.
Pregnancy and feeding
Once the bitch reaches 40 days gestation, this marks the beginning of a period of rapid growth for her puppies. Accordingly you will need to increase the number of her meals per day to allow her to fully digest what she eats, and gradually increase her food intake to support healthy foetal growth.
When the puppies are born, the additional food intake will give the bitch the extra calories she needs to produce enough milk. Once the pups are being weaned, food intake can be gradually reduced again with the aim of bringing the bitch back to peak condition within 4 to 6 weeks.
