As the da Vinci pups are nearing the end of their time with us, and going to be heading out to their new homes and real lives soon, I thought it might be fun for everyone to see some of the special dogs behind them:
Great Grandma Penelope:
(03/22/2007 - 11/17/2022)
https://www.horsetoothwhippets.com/penelope
For those who know us well, you know this girl is the dog who truly is the core of our foundation. Penelope was truly a one-of-a-kind whippet.
She came to us a bundle of energy, sassy smarts, and independence that challenged even my seasoned-dog-trainer mentality and skills. She was the smartest dog either of us has ever known (and that is saying a lot, given that between the two of us, we've owned German shepherds, collies, Dobermanns - breeds renowned for their high IQ's).
Penelope was a dog who never, ever gave up. She had the desire to be THE BEST at everything - from showing, to racing and coursing, to obedience, to motherhood, to #1 Demo dog while teaching with me, and being the supreme alpha-bitch of the household, she would not take "No" for an answer, and didn't know the meaning of the word 'quit.'
Great Grandpa Timmy
(Dec. 16, 2006 - Dec. 4, 2019)
(Dec. 16, 2006 - Dec. 4, 2019)
Ah, Timmy. What can I say? Our first whippet boy - Timmy was THE quintessential whippet. Goofy, sweet, smart, full of drive, and easy on the eyes. The ultimate couch potato, I used to joke that I needed a giant spatula to get him off the couch - where he would spend hours and hours and hours...
...UNLESS it was a running day.
Timmy was one of the rare hounds that both instinctively took to the lure (he was full of drive for the bunny), but also had manners on the race track or coursing field. Timmy always 'ran the lure', not the other dogs (never once committing a foul in his distinguished running career).
Timmy's sense of humor was unrivaled among our hounds, and luckily he passed that down to many of his progeny. He remains greatly missed to this day.
Grandma Lychee
We have a phrase to perfectly sum up Brie's mom, Lychee (a daughter of Penelope & Timmy): "She is a little chickadee, sitting on a sunflower, under a rainbow." She can brighten even the darkest of days with her sweet personality.
Lychee spreads joy wherever she goes...something about her sweet, enthusiastic - but sensitive - energy is just infectious. She spreads fairy sprinkles all over the place, wherever she goes.
But Lychee is anything but a delicate flower when it comes to running the lure. In fact, she's our fastest hound ever clocked, coming in at over 33 mph in her heyday.
We are really happy that Brie inherited so much of her mom's sunny personality!
Grandpa Johnson
Johnson is a dog who knows what he wants - and aims to get it. He possesses (and passes on to his kids and grandkids) what we call the 'affection gene.'
We noticed very early on that Johnson loves attention. And not in the "Oh, sure, my whippet loves to be snuggled" type of way that every whippet owner knows and talks about. With J, it's almost an obsession. He will lean into you persuasively, or just sit and stare at you until you start petting.
And if you stop, he'll paw at the air (but only at the air - not being obnoxious or touching/clawing/pawing you!) beseechingly until you cave in and go back to more petting.
We thought this was a Johnson-only trait until we had and kept the first of his daughters, Trinity, who does the exact same thing (only on an even more intense level, if that's even possible).
In talking with Johnson's breeder, it seems that his dad, Nolan, also had this trait...and it's something that made him nearly irresistible to people.
So far, the da Vinci pups seem to have already inherited the beginnings of the 'snuggle gene' - going utterly limp and collapsing into you when you pick them up.
There you have it - the Horsetooth whippets behind the da Vinci litter on mama Brie's side. Daddy Baxter has some interesting lines as well (his dad is from Russia), but they don't live with us, so we don't know them as well. :)
So far, the da Vinci pups seem to have already inherited the beginnings of the 'snuggle gene' - going utterly limp and collapsing into you when you pick them up.
There you have it - the Horsetooth whippets behind the da Vinci litter on mama Brie's side. Daddy Baxter has some interesting lines as well (his dad is from Russia), but they don't live with us, so we don't know them as well. :)
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