Wrenwood's Kramer and Tippy Whippet

Whippets

Whippets are medium sized sighthounds who are intelligent, easy going, elegant looking, clean, quiet and affectionate. They are easily trained to obey and there are endless dog activities that they can participate in such as lure coursing, frisbee, agility and flyball to name a few.

Since they are sighthounds, they have a strong instinct to chase things. They must be on a leash at all times and are not reliable off lead. Anything that moves will get my dogs attention and once they tune into their "prey" (whether it is a squirrel, cat, butterfly or paper blowing in the wind), it is difficult(and just about impossible) to refocus their attention.

These dogs do require some type of exercise daily to be happy and content. After having their daily "romp", they love to just curl up in their beds or on the sofa with you and relax. To learn more about whippets, you may want to check the following links:

Melody's P.C. Whippets Whippet Resource Center Whippets Born to Run

Meet "Kramer" (Surrey Hill Jazzin Kramer - 10-25-93)

Kramer is a beautiful fawn brindle and white male whippet. He has a very sweet disposition and is friendly with everyone he meets.

Why we named him Kramer.We named him Kramer after the funny character on the Seinfeld television show.We just love that show and thought it would be a good name. Our dog has lived up to his namesake and makes the best entrances into a room, especially if he hears the doorbell ring. He can run in and slide across the parquet floor in the foyer with finesse. Most of our friends are not familiar with whippets and are often put back by the out of control (running around, spinning around, jumping, howling, etc) greetings they receive when they enter our home. After just a few minutes, these dogs settle down and are so calm, people can't believe they are the same dogs.

He loves pillows.Before lying down he will make a little nest with pillows and/or blankets. He walks around and arranges them over and over until they are just perfect and then plops down on the pile. He usually tries to put his nose under something. His favorite pillow is a neckroll and he uses it well. He knows he is not allowed on the furniture unless a blanket is spread down first. Just recently he has learned how to let us know he wants to sit on the furniture. We use polar fleece throws (small soft blankets) and just toss them on the back or side of the sofa when they are not in use. Kramer now goes over to the blanket and whines to get our attention, then nudges it to show us what he wants. What a good boy.

He is very obedient. He will follow any direction you give him and is so eager to please. When getting his nails trimmed, he will stand still and lift up his paw. After those nails have been trimmed, he will lift up the next paw - what a dog!

He's always glad to see you (even if you just stepped out to get the mail from the mailbox). When Kramer sees you, he runs up to you, stops just short of jumping on you and spins around in a circle. Sometimes he will spin around two or three times in a row if you get excited to see him too. Don't get me wrong, if you give any sign that it's o.k. to jump up, he will.

Introducing "Tippy" (Surrey Hill's Strip Tease - 9-24-96)

Tippy is a beautiful fawn and white parti-color female whippet. She has a very light fawn coloring and several of the pups in her litter were described as a "lavender fawn." Since she was a puppy, she has had a very furry/plush coat. Even after she sheds, her coat feels so soft. She also has the most adorable facial expressions.

Why we named her "Tippy"...Although Tippy is a common name for a dog, we had specific reasons why we chose it. Because we are Seinfeld fans, we wanted to name her something related to the show. Our friends named their dog "Lainey" after Elaine so we had to be creative. Her name actually came from the Seinfeld episode number nine called The Phone Message (aired February, 1991) in which George was a "look out" while Jerry stole a girl's answering machine tape. George would alert Jerry that the girl was coming back by calling out "Tippy Toe, Tippy Toe." We often call her Tippy Toe and Tippecanoe depending on her mood. Sometimes when we call her Tippecanoe in a very cheerful way, she will come running to us as fast as she can and then run around the room almost out of control.

She's got a great personality.She is very affectionate and usually wants to be around you all the time. Sometimes she will follow you from room to room to and want to be with you all the time; however, in her independent moods or when you are busy, she is content to play by herself or will show great curiosity and sneak into areas of the house that are off limits (living room/formal dining room). She is very active (or should I say "athletic") and would rather jump over a puddle, ditch or curb than walk by it. She is a real "whiner" when she wants a treat, food or rawhide twisted stick.

Tippy can catch a frisbee with all paws off the ground. She loves to play chase (with her whippet housemate, Kramer), chase tennis balls, jump over things, run at high speeds (in fenced in areas of course), participate in lure coursing and steal anything out of your hand when you are not paying attention. She also loves to sit in front of the heat/air conditioning vent or curl up to anyone sitting on the sofa.

She loves to play! Her favorite toys are a cotton rope bone, latex frog, stuffed animals that squeak and rubber kong toy (especially when a treat is hidden inside). Nylon squeaky toys do not last long around Tippy. She will chew them up in no time.

She is enthusiastic about training. She can sit, down, stay, come, beg, shake, roll over, heel (it is consistent when cheese is used as a treat) and leave it. She does the best with "stand/stay." Like many whippets, Tippy does not like to sit for very long. Her "automatic" sit when heeling is very inconsistent. She can "sit/stay" for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. We are still working on this. She also does well for the "stand for examination." She cannot tolerate when her "handler" (Terri) is out of sight for more than 2 minutes even when she is handed off to her other owner - Rob. We are still practicing the requirements for the Canine Good Citizen test.

Ready for a Nap! (this is my favorite photo)

^{General
Information about Kramer and Tippy}

Food:

We recently (about three months ago) changed their diet to Solid Gold dog food (Hund-N-Flocken). This food contains mostly natural ingredients. Their information about holistic animal nutrition made sense to us.

We used to feed Natural Life Condition (for active dogs) mixed half and half with Natural Life Adult dog food and got great results with it. Their breeder had recommended Natural Life as well as some others.

Flea Prevention:

They get bathed using a flea shampoo on a monthly basis. In between baths, I use a shampoo brush(my dogs do not like to be sprayed, but it may be an option for yours) filled with flea/tick liquid. They are brushed with the liquid after each walk. Their breeder recommended this approach. She has never had a flea problem and has many whippets. This strategy has also been successful for me. The shampoo brush is a unique applicator brush with distributes the solution evenly by having holes in the bristles. They are featured in the Foster & Smith catalog.

I previously used a flea/tick carpet powder on a monthly basis and it worked fine. I don't use it now because of my bird.

Be sure to check out my helpful hints for new whippet owners too.

E-MAIL

Home / Whippets / Whippet Tips / Lovebirds / Lovebird Tips / Parrotlets / More Pet Photos / Links

This Whippet Webring site is owned by Rob & Terri Woods.

Want to join the
Whippet Webring?

[ Skip Previous] [ Previous] [ Next] [ Skip Next] [ Random Site]
[ Next 5 Sites] [ List Sites]

This Whippet Webring site is owned by Rob & Terri Woods. Want to join the Whippet Webring?
[ Skip Previous] [ Previous] [ Next] [ Skip Next] [ Random Site] [ Next 5 Sites] [ List Sites]

This web template was created by the Web Diner, Inc.