Both are sprinters that sleep most of the day, so our ratings differ only in shedding: the Whippet's finer coat wins by a point. The Whippet is a scaled-down Greyhound, and size drives most of the differences.
- Size. A Greyhound stands 27-30 in and weighs 60-70 lbs, a Whippet 18-22 in and 25-40 lbs. That decides the car, the bed and whether you can lift the dog onto the vet's table.
- Character. Whippets are usually the more playful and clingy of the two, happy under your blanket. Greyhounds are gentle and more independent, a quiet housemate.
- Where the dog comes from. Many pet Greyhounds are retired racers, adopted as adults. In the US, live racing has shrunk to two tracks in West Virginia, so rescues also bring dogs from Ireland and the UK. An ex-racer has a known adult temperament but has often never lived in a house and should be cat-tested. Whippets are mostly bought as puppies from breeders.
- Lifespan and health. Whippets live a couple of years longer, 12-15 versus 10-13. Greyhounds, like other large breeds, carry a higher risk of bone cancer (osteosarcoma). Both have thin skin that tears easily and little body fat, so they need a coat in winter. Both also need a vet who knows sighthounds: they handle some anesthetics differently, and a healthy Greyhound's blood test shows a higher red blood cell count and creatinine level than other dogs have.
- Speed. Greyhounds reach about 45 mph, Whippets about 35. Both chase anything small that runs and rarely come back mid-chase, so off-leash running belongs in fenced areas.
The Whippet was developed in 19th-century northern England by miners who raced the dogs down straight tracks to a waved rag: the "poor man's racehorse."
Pick the Greyhound if you want a big, quiet, independent housemate and would like to adopt a retired racer whose adult temperament is known; pick the Whippet for a smaller, more cuddly dog that lives longer and costs less to keep.