Whippet Trivia
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57 free Whippet trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Sep 2026.
This Whippet trivia quiz covers the sleek British sighthound from every angle: where the name comes from, the medieval 'tumbler' and Victorian 'snap-dog' that came before it, the Bedlington cross of the north-east, the mill workers who carried the breed to Massachusetts, and the Kennel Club recognition of 1891. There are questions on the breed standard (height, colour, the merle ban), on temperament, on the double suspension gallop that makes it the fastest dog of its weight, and on health quirks such as barbiturate sensitivity and the myostatin 'Bully Whippet' mutation. The quiz also runs through Whippet racing culture, from 'ragging' with waved towels to the rival racing associations of the 1960s, plus the breed's Best in Show wins at Westminster and Crufts, the World War I Whippet tank and its rogue tank 'Musical Box', and Ashley Whippet, the Frisbee-catching dog who stopped a Dodgers game and played a Super Bowl. Questions run from easy to expert with the difficulty shown on each one, and every answer was checked against a reference page and carries its citation. If you enjoy it, try our Dogs and Greyhound quizzes next.
30 of 57 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In the 19th century the Whippet earned which nickname?
The poor man's racehorse
The poor man's racehorse: working families in England's industrial north could never keep a thoroughbred, but they could keep a fast dog and bet on its sprints.
Q 02The Whippet is believed to have the fastest what of any dog?
Idle-to-running acceleration
Idle-to-running acceleration: being lighter than a Greyhound, a Whippet hits its stride sooner and can lead one over the first few yards. The bigger dog still wins on top speed.
Q 03Which best describes the typical Whippet temperament?
Gentle and calm
Gentle and calm, a Whippet spends most of the day resting and saves its energy for short, explosive sprints.
Q 04Whippets are notorious for bolting after cats and squirrels because of which strong instinct?
Prey drive
Prey drive is the urge to chase whatever runs. The Whippet was developed to run down small game, so owners are told to keep a firm grip on the lead anywhere that isn't securely fenced.
Q 05The Whippet's short, smooth coat is easy to manage partly because it lacks what?
An undercoat
An undercoat is the woolly second layer many breeds carry, and the Whippet has none. With so little insulation it feels the cold quickly, which is why so many are seen in sweaters.
Q 06Whippets often wear jackets outdoors in winter because their thin coat is paired with very low what?
Body fat
Body fat is what holds a dog's heat in, and a Whippet carries very little. The breed copes badly with cold, wet weather, so sweaters and even pyjamas are common kit.
Q 07Breed standards in Britain and America call for a Whippet's small, fine ears to be which shape?
Rose
Rose ears are thrown back and folded along the neck when the dog is at rest. An ear that stands fully erect is a serious fault in the American show ring.
Q 08For which sci-fi sequel did film-makers try out a Whippet in a creature costume before settling on a puppet?
Alien 3
Alien 3 has a monster that runs on all fours, so the crew dressed a Whippet in an alien suit. The result looked comical instead of frightening, and the idea was dropped.
Q 09The name 'Whippet' is thought to come from an obsolete verb meaning what?
To move briskly
To move briskly is the sense dictionaries favour, from 'whip', though none is certain. Before it named a dog, 'whippet' was a 16th-century word for a lively young woman.
Q 10The Victorian Whippet's swift jaws earned it which nickname?
Snap-dog
Snap-dog is said to describe how smartly the dogs snapped up what they chased. Before racing took over, owners gambled on catching contests staged in enclosed arenas.
Q 11Which everyday dog habit are Whippets known for rarely indulging in?
Barking
Barking is rare in Whippets, which were bred as silent hunters. At home they tend to pipe up only when they are bored or unhappy, and some owners say theirs never barks at all.
Q 12Oudry's 1725 painting of Misse and Turlu shows two whippet-like dogs owned by which king?
Louis XV
Louis XV had Oudry paint several more of his dogs, among them Mignonne and Sylvie. The portraits still hang together in the Château de Fontainebleau.
Q 13The rougher-coated 19th-century northern Whippet type came from crossbreeding with which breed?
Bedlington Terrier
Bedlington Terrier crosses ran both ways: the lamb-like terrier's own arched, racy outline is widely taken as a sign of Whippet blood in its pedigree.
Q 21In the British stereotype of the Northern working man, a whippet goes with which kind of headgear?
Flat cap
Flat cap and whippet became shorthand for Yorkshire and the industrial North. The cliché has outlived the habit: whippet racing is now far more common in the stereotype than in life.
Q 22A Whippet or Greyhound crossed with a collie or terrier gives which type of dog, long linked with poachers?
Lurcher
Lurcher breeders wanted a running dog's speed with a working dog's brains. A rough coat also disguised the greyhound blood while the law kept hunting dogs for the landed.
Q 23Compared with the British breed standard, the American one allows a male Whippet to be noticeably what?
Taller
Q 14The Whippet was developed in Victorian England to chase which animal for sport inside an enclosed arena?
Rabbits
Rabbits were turned loose in the enclosure and owners bet on whose dog would catch one first. The contests later gave way to straight racing, which asked for nothing but speed.
Q 15Which eye colour gets a Whippet disqualified from the American show ring?
Blue
Blue eyes, or even a fleck of blue in one eye, put a Whippet out of the ring under both American breed standards, which ask for large, dark eyes.
Q 16Who brought the first Whippets from England to the United States?
Mill operators
Mill operators from England took their racing dogs with them to New England. America's kennel club then recognised the breed in 1888, before Britain's own had got round to it.
Q 17Vets warn that the Whippet is prone to which behaviour problem?
Separation anxiety
Separation anxiety is common enough that one vets' charity suggests taking on a Whippet only if someone will be home with it all day. A lonely one may start to wreck the house.
Q 18American show judges are told to overlook which signs of a Whippet's working life?
Old scars
Old scars 'the result of work or accident' are excused in both American standards. A Whippet's thin coat gives so little protection that a hard run through rough ground often leaves its mark.
Q 19In 1964 a Whippet first won Best in Show at which dog show?
Westminster
Westminster crowned the dog his owner called Ricky. He came back the next year, won the Hound Group again, and lost the top prize to a Scottish Terrier.
Q 20Whippet show judges penalise a high-stepping front action named after which breed of carriage horse?
Hackney
Hackney action is a showy, high lift of the front legs. A Whippet is built for speed, so the standards want its forelegs thrown forward low over the ground in a long, easy stride.
Taller by up to two inches: the American ideal for males runs to 22 inches, the Kennel Club's stops at 20. A dog more than half an inch over the American limit is disqualified.
Q 24In 2019 The Kennel Club stopped accepting registrations for Whippets of which colour?
Merle
Merle, a mottled pattern, does not occur naturally in Whippets, the club ruled, and the gene behind it can impair hearing and sight. Imported dogs were barred as well.
Q 25How does the American Kennel Club's breed standard treat coat colour when Whippets are judged?
It is considered immaterial
It is considered immaterial: the standard's whole ruling on colour is two words. Early breeders cared only how fast a dog could run, so the breed never settled on a livery.
Q 26What top speed can a Whippet reach?
About 35 mph
About 35 mph is a Whippet's flat-out sprint. In the rag races of 1900, that was enough for the best dogs to cover the standard 200-yard course in under thirteen seconds.
Q 27Which gait lets the Whippet reach its top speed?
Double suspension gallop
Double suspension gallop lifts all four feet off the ground twice in every stride, once stretched out and once tucked under. It buys speed at the cost of stamina, so the dog is a sprinter.
Q 28Whippets and their racing relatives are intolerant of which class of anaesthetic drug?
Barbiturates
Barbiturates such as thiopental linger because a Whippet's liver is slow to break them down, so recovery can drag on dangerously. Vets reach for other anaesthetics instead.
Q 29Blood tests show that Whippets, like other racing hounds, naturally carry an unusually high level of which cells?
Red blood cells
Red blood cells carry oxygen to the muscles, a useful surplus for a sprinter. Vets need to know it, because on a standard chart a healthy Whippet's blood count can look abnormal.
Q 30A Kennel Club survey found that which cause of death claims more Whippets than cancer, second only to old age?
Cardiac issues
Cardiac issues accounted for about one death in seven, against one in ten for cancer. The usual culprit is mitral valve disease, a leaky heart valve that tends to develop with age.