Lapis Lazuli Ultramarine BCAT CGGA CGCU VHMA RATI ATD
"Lapis"
Lapis is our first Whippet. She is AKC registered and came from North Carolina, from a very small scale "hobby" breeder. Lapis is DNA tested through Embark and has OFA Good hips, Normal elbows, heart (auscultation and echo), eyes, thyroid, patella and spine.
Lapis is 25lbs and about 19" tall.
Her breeder didn't do any sort of puppy raising protocols and she definitely had some related issues to work through at first, like difficulty being in the crate and some mild separation anxiety. She was a challenging puppy basically her whole first year, full of energy and opinions. She couldn't play with Calypso without constant supervision because she would chase her down, pin her, and bite her until she cried out! She has always been very tough and resilient. We embarked on van life for a year when she was only about 6 months of age so she is a very well traveled and socialized dog. Despite all the misconceptions about Whippets, she is fully off leash reliable and is very trainable. She doesn't do it just for the sake of doing it like the Border Collies and does require some incentive at times but she is definitely intelligent and learns well. She has a lot of prey drive and hunts jack rabbits here in northern Nevada with all her heart. When hiking, she goes at the Borders pace until she sees prey and then she passes them so fast that it is as if they are at a standstill.
Lapis is a great demo dog for our training business and knows a lot of advanced heelwork and tricks. She is currently in training for agility, has competed in a little barn hunt, rally, and conformation, and has done some training for flyball as well. We hope to compete in coursing and dock diving with her, whenever we are fortunate enough for events to come anywhere accessible to us. She is an excellent house dog, a very mellow and sweet companion, and top tier easy going girl. Oftentimes when people reach out to me for Border Collies and I read their applications, I think to myself "This person really sounds like a better fit for a Whippet..." because they are seriously such a nice and easy keep. They are not maniacally intelligent like Borders and they very rarely have any health issues or serious behavioral issues. They are great with dogs, kids, and even other house pets like cats with proper rearing. Lapis understands easily the concept of no hunting in the house and has never shown anything but mild interest and tolerance to our cat. She does sometimes get "snappy teeth" when our parrots are flying around so we make sure to have her put away when they are out, just to be safe. She is very much a model citizen and everyone who meets her falls in love! She draws a ton of attention when we bring her into public, even more than Calypso, who is usually the star because she is merle, little and very cute. But the Whippet takes the cake for conversation starter.
Lapis has a wonderful temperament and has never suffered any behavioral issues. I thought all Whippets were as lovely as her, and while they are as a breed easier than Border Collies and many other more challenging breeds, our second Whippet has really shown us that not all of them are as naturally perfect as Lapis is. Lapis has never shown an ounce of reactivity to anything but rabbits, never been nervy or shy of any person, place, or thing. She is an extremely resilient dog with a superbly stable mind. She takes everything in stride, is completely friendly with all dogs she's met, including puppies and all humans she's met, including crazy children. She is the epitome of a neutral comfortable dog during public access, has no sound or environmental sensitivities. She travels very well. She is exceptionally easy to live with. Something I would change in her is to add a little more drive for things that aren't prey and a little more work ethic. I would classify her a medium drive dog (outside hunting, which is a very high drive area for her) with low arousal.
Lapis is the mother of the Gemstones litter.
Health testing results can be found here:
DNA (Embark)
OFA
Lapis is 25lbs and about 19" tall.
Her breeder didn't do any sort of puppy raising protocols and she definitely had some related issues to work through at first, like difficulty being in the crate and some mild separation anxiety. She was a challenging puppy basically her whole first year, full of energy and opinions. She couldn't play with Calypso without constant supervision because she would chase her down, pin her, and bite her until she cried out! She has always been very tough and resilient. We embarked on van life for a year when she was only about 6 months of age so she is a very well traveled and socialized dog. Despite all the misconceptions about Whippets, she is fully off leash reliable and is very trainable. She doesn't do it just for the sake of doing it like the Border Collies and does require some incentive at times but she is definitely intelligent and learns well. She has a lot of prey drive and hunts jack rabbits here in northern Nevada with all her heart. When hiking, she goes at the Borders pace until she sees prey and then she passes them so fast that it is as if they are at a standstill.
Lapis is a great demo dog for our training business and knows a lot of advanced heelwork and tricks. She is currently in training for agility, has competed in a little barn hunt, rally, and conformation, and has done some training for flyball as well. We hope to compete in coursing and dock diving with her, whenever we are fortunate enough for events to come anywhere accessible to us. She is an excellent house dog, a very mellow and sweet companion, and top tier easy going girl. Oftentimes when people reach out to me for Border Collies and I read their applications, I think to myself "This person really sounds like a better fit for a Whippet..." because they are seriously such a nice and easy keep. They are not maniacally intelligent like Borders and they very rarely have any health issues or serious behavioral issues. They are great with dogs, kids, and even other house pets like cats with proper rearing. Lapis understands easily the concept of no hunting in the house and has never shown anything but mild interest and tolerance to our cat. She does sometimes get "snappy teeth" when our parrots are flying around so we make sure to have her put away when they are out, just to be safe. She is very much a model citizen and everyone who meets her falls in love! She draws a ton of attention when we bring her into public, even more than Calypso, who is usually the star because she is merle, little and very cute. But the Whippet takes the cake for conversation starter.
Lapis has a wonderful temperament and has never suffered any behavioral issues. I thought all Whippets were as lovely as her, and while they are as a breed easier than Border Collies and many other more challenging breeds, our second Whippet has really shown us that not all of them are as naturally perfect as Lapis is. Lapis has never shown an ounce of reactivity to anything but rabbits, never been nervy or shy of any person, place, or thing. She is an extremely resilient dog with a superbly stable mind. She takes everything in stride, is completely friendly with all dogs she's met, including puppies and all humans she's met, including crazy children. She is the epitome of a neutral comfortable dog during public access, has no sound or environmental sensitivities. She travels very well. She is exceptionally easy to live with. Something I would change in her is to add a little more drive for things that aren't prey and a little more work ethic. I would classify her a medium drive dog (outside hunting, which is a very high drive area for her) with low arousal.
Lapis is the mother of the Gemstones litter.
Health testing results can be found here:
DNA (Embark)
OFA
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