How to Measure a Whippet for a Coat, and Why Most Dog Coats Do Not Fit
If you have ever bought a coat for a whippet and sent it straight back, you already know the problem. It gaped at the chest, rode up over the back end, or fitted the body and choked at the neck. Nothing was wrong with the coat. It was made for a different shape of dog.
This is a short guide to measuring properly, so the next one fits. If you want the wider picture on why sighthounds need coats at all, read Why Sighthound Coats Matter first.
Why weight is the wrong measurement
Most dog coats are sized by weight. A 14kg whippet and a 14kg spaniel weigh the same and are nothing alike. The whippet is longer in the back, deeper through the chest, far narrower at the waist and has a fraction of the coat.
Size a whippet by weight and you get something built for a barrel with legs.
The measurement that actually matters
Spine length. From the base of the neck, where a collar naturally sits, to the base of the tail. Have your dog standing square, not sitting and not stretching. Run a soft tape flat along the spine and note the number in centimetres.
This is the single measurement that decides whether a coat covers the loin or leaves it out in the rain.
The two supporting measurements
Chest girth. Around the deepest part of the chest, just behind the front legs. This is where a sighthound is widest and where badly cut coats gape.
Neck. Around the base of the neck where the collar sits, with room for two fingers.
Reading the size guide
If your dog falls between two sizes, go up on spine length and check the chest adjusts. A coat that is slightly long but adjustable at the chest will fit. One that is correct at the chest but short in the back will always ride up.
Three signs of a bad fit
It rides up. The coat creeps forward and bunches at the shoulders. Too short in the back.
It gapes at the chest. You can see straight down inside it. Cut for a shallower dog.
It rubs behind the front legs. Check the seams. On a whippet's thin skin, a rough seam in the armpit will take the hair off within a week.
A note on thin skin
Whippets, greyhounds and Italian Greyhounds have noticeably thinner skin than most breeds. Seams that a labrador would never feel will mark a whippet. Turn a coat inside out before it goes on for the first time and run a hand over the inside of the chest panel.
In short
Measure the spine first, the chest second, and ignore the weight guide. Every size guide on this shop is built around spine length for exactly that reason.
Ready to look? Start with Winter Coats for Whippets, or Luxury Whippet Clothing for wool and tweed. For indoor layers, see Whippet Fleece Jumpers and Pyjamas.
Any question about a specific coat and a specific dog, just ask. Send the measurements and we will tell you honestly whether it will fit.
