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Whippet

Whippet genetic profile from the CanVAS Atlas. 23 dogs in the Atlas, heterozygosity 0.35. Nearest relatives, trait loci frequencies, cohort distribution.

What the atlas says about Whippet

In the atlas, the Whippet clusters consistently as Whippet (100% of the 23 dogs here). Genetic diversity is high (mean heterozygosity 0.3472), reflecting either a mixed-breed cluster or breeds with broad genetic backgrounds. At the trait loci, SMOC2 runs lower than average (28% here vs 75%); FGF4_retrogene_CFA12 runs lower than average (41% here vs 80%).

Ranks 86 of 107 on the bottleneck severity scale, in the upper quartile of genetic diversity. Mean heterozygosity is 0.347, notably high, indicates broad genetic background. Only 23 dogs of this breed in the atlas, modestly sampled.

Closest genetic neighbors in the atlas: Italian Greyhound, Great Dane, Old English Sheepdog, Briard, and Borzoi.

Median lifespan is 13.4 years, slightly longer than expected for the breed size (14.7 kg).

Genetic dimensions · CanVAS atlas

What the genome says about Whippet

Computed from the 14,478 research dogs in the Atlas. Methods: technical methodology.

Dogs in the Atlas
23Founders
16 from Spatola, 6 from Hayward2016, 1 from JenkinsWGS
Genetic diversity
0.35Moderate
Mean heterozygosity across the breed. Ranks 86th most genetically tight of 107 ranked breeds.
Cluster structure
Single tight cluster
Intra-breed RMS distance: 28.61
Nearest genetic relatives
  1. Italian Greyhound6.17
  2. Great Dane8.54
  3. Old English Sheepdog10.53
  4. Briard10.77
  5. Borzoi11.47
Top-10 PC corrected Euclidean. Lower = closer.
Trait genetics
Allele frequencies at named morphology loci

Frequency of the alternate allele in this breed at each locus's representative SNP. Methods + caveats in technical methodology.

Body size
IGF132%
HMGA222%
SMAD252%
LCORL83%
STC285%
ADAMTS1788%
Leg length
FGF4·CFA1867%
FGF4·CFA1241%
Coat
RSPO270%
FGF567%
KRT71100%
MC1R89%
Ear set
MSRB3100%
Skull shape
BMP361%
SMOC228%
Add your Whippet to the Atlas

You can add your Whippet right now at /add/ as a Charted star. Or, if you'd rather wait for DNA uploads, leave your email and we'll let you know the moment those open.

Last updated
Sources: CanVAS (Brundage 2026) · CanVAS dimensions data