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WHIPPET WORLD CONGRESS 2004 We
are back from the Whippet World Congress in Melbourne, Australia!
By Arnold
Tan (Dr)
The Whippet breed in Singapore has always been numerically small. They are mostly kept as show dogs but clearly deserve to enjoy more popularity as an affectionate, beautiful and smooth-coated house pet, especially suitable for our country's year-round warm weather. What the breed lacks in number, it most certainly makes up for in quality, with many well-bred and top-winning Whippets imported into Singapore for our show ring. 1970's - 1980's The first few Whippets in Singapore were show dogs belonging to an expatriate wife, Mrs Dennis Murphy. One of her dogs was Chatwig Mr Chips imported in 1975 from the United Kingdom. For the next decade, there was no significant interest in the Whippet breed until the early 1990s when many overseas champions - including a couple of international champions - were imported, again for the show ring. 1990's It was at this time that Whippets started making their presence felt in the Singapore show ring, t hrough their occasional Best in Show wins under international judges. As highlighted, the Whippet remains popular mostly with show homes and is not in very high demand as a pet dog in Singapore. Perhaps an understanding of Singapore as a country may explain this trend.
Location & Socio-Economic Facts To set the scene, Singapore is not far from Melbourne. It is seven hours away by air. Singapore is located in Southeast Asia and is blessed with a highly developed and successful free-market economy. Sshe is today positioned as the region's financial, educational and medical hub. The country has a population of 4.6 million people living on 692 sq km. In other words, approximately 6,700 people live on one square km, which explains why 86% of the population live in high-rise flats and 3% in private condominiums. The remaining 11% live on landed properties. The four main ethnic groups in Singapore are Chinese (77%), Malays (14%), Indians (8%) and Eurasians (people of mixed parentage) (1%). Dog Ownership Regulations The government allows only one dog of an approved breed per household living in apartments. There are 62 approved breeds, almost all of which belong to the Toy Group; and a few from the Terrier Group. Culturally and socially, it would appear from the immense popularity of breeds like Shih Tzus, Maltese, Pomeranians, and Miniature Schnauzers, that Singaporeans (and for that matter, Asians in general), prefer small and furry dogs. A Whippet is anything but that. All dogs 3 months
or older must be licensed. The national authority for these regulations
is the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority Singapore.
The Singapore Kennel Club was founded on 16 September 1972, but its history goes back to 17 August 1925 when it was a part of the Malayan Kennel Association.
Number of Shows The SKC organizes between 5 to 8 All Breeds Championship Dog Shows each year. Limit and Open Shows are no longer organized. International judges are invited for these shows where they judge the majority of the 7 Groups and all General Specials; sometimes, a local judge does one or two groups. The majority of our judges are invited from Australia, New Zealand and Japan, which are geographically closer. In recent years, we have had judges from Norway, Sweden, Ireland, UK, Thailand, India, Uruguay, Canada, and the USA. Dog shows are held in very spacious air-conditioned exhibition halls and are very well attended by the public in Singapore. At some shows during the school vacation in June and December, there can be as many as 12,000 to 15,000 visitors. Number of Entries The number of entries for a show range from 250 to 320 dogs - very small in comparison to dog shows in Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK and Europe. Numerically, the Toy, Utility, and Working Groups are the strongest. To illustrate, there are typically 35 Miniature Schnauzers and 25 Shih Tzus at a show. The Hound Group In comparison, the Hound Group is not strong in numbers but high on quality. The group is represented by the following breeds: Afghan Hound, Beagle, Dachshund (MSH), Dachshund (SLH), Saluki, Rhodesian Ridgeback, and Whippet. Many visiting judges have commented that while it is a small group, it offers a lot of depth and quality. In fact, quite a few judges have written critiques to express their view that the strongest breed in our entire show is the Whippet with approximately 12 - 15 exhibits. Singapore
Champion Title Grand
Champion Title The interest in Whippets in Singapore, like it is in many countries, can be divided into two categories: the pet dog market and show dog market. However, it is quite evident that there is not much interest in the breed as a pet dog, for some of the possible reasons explained earlier. As Pet Dogs There are almost no Whippet puppies advertised by pet shops in the newspapers. I have personally seen one or two imported Whippet puppies without papers for sale in our pet shops but this is a sight that one does not see very often. Nevertheless, as a result of the many quality Whippets being shown in Singapore, more people are now aware of the breed. There is a small group who are now keeping Whippets as pets and they appear to be enjoying the breed because many own not one but two or three of them. There will be growth of the breed in the future, but this will be slow, which need not necessarily be a bad thing! As Show Dogs Undoubtedly, the high interest in the Whippet as a show dog deserves special mention. There are show Whippets imported from the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, France and Spain. The number of imports by country (with the exception of Australia) is small though. Many of these imports are titled dogs - with 8 Australian Champions, 1 American Champion, 1 Canadian Champion, and 2 International Champions bred in France. As one visiting Australian whippet breeder friend once said to me while at a Singapore show , "There are more Whippets in the Singapore show ring than there are at some Aussie shows!" 6. IMPORTS & EXPORTS A total of 38
Whippets have been imported into Singapore since 1972. The majority
of these imports came from Australia (26 dogs) and the rest as follows:
New Zealand (1), USA (2), Canada (2), UK (3), France (2), Italy (1)
and Spain (1). A majority of these "post-1990" dogs were imported by one kennel alone. Their 20 imports came from kennels like Dumbriton and Nevedith in the UK; Countrywinds in the USA; Lorricbrook and Ludah in Canada; and various Whippet kennels in Australia, for example Allswell, Rothbury, Taejaan, Moonwind, Skyeway, and Arjai. It will surprise many that a small country like Singapore, with an even smaller following of show dog enthusiasts, has exported "Made in Singapore" Whippets to various countries. 23 Whippets have been exported in recent years. Most of these dogs were exported to the Philippines (8) followed by Australia (5), Indonesia (3), Malaysia (1), South Africa (1) and Germany (1). It is a pride to Singapore that a few of these exports have gone on to become Champions in their respective countries, and three of these exports have even gone on to win Best in Show in Australia.
By far, the most active Whippet breeder in Singapore has bred 15 litters since 1993. A total of 60 puppies have been produced, with 1 of them becoming a Singapore Champion, a dog later exported by its breeders to Indonesia. The other breeders, like myself, have produced one or two litters; and do not breed anymore.
With so many well-bred Whippets, many of them Champions in their country of origin, being imported into Singapore, it is imperative that we highlight the few that have made an impact in the show scene. These whippets have won the SKC's coveted title of Singapore's Dog of the Year (All Breeds) during their show career. I hope you will forgive me for mentioning the biggest winning Whippet and Hound in Singapore as she happens to belong to me. Singapore's Dog of the Year 2000, 2002, & 2003 - A Whippet Bitch A Whippet bitch imported from Australia in Year 2000 has gone on to win 12 Best In Show (includes 2 BIS in Aust) and 3 Reserve Best In Show, making her Singapore's #1 Dog of the Year for three years in 2000, 2002 and 2003. She was the #2 Dog in 2001. In addition, she has been the titleholder of Singapore's #1 Hound and #1 Whippet for four consecutive years 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. She has broken the record to be the holder of the most number of Best in Show awards won by any dog since 1972. Singapore's Dog of the Year 1995- A Whippet Dog A Whippet dog,
imported from the same kennel in Australia as the abovementioned bitch
and shown in the 1990's won 3 Best in Show awards and was Singapore's
#1 Dog of the Year in 1995. He was also the #1 Hound and #1 Whippet
that year. The Whippet
breed has been highly profiled in the show scene in Singapore in the
past 14 years due to a few reasons: there have been a few outstanding
specimens of the breed taking the highest award of Best in Show, even
repeatedly. The quality of Whippets being imported into the country
is high, with many bearing world-famous and very established prefixes.
However, it appears from our show results that Singapore-bred Whippets find it very difficult to take the ribbon away from imported ones with any consistency; these locally bred dogs do win when exported overseas though. Finally, the demand for Whippets as pets will probably grow as Singaporeans become more aware and educated about the breed. The saying, "less is more" is certainly applicable to this no-fuss and highly affectionate breed. But it will be unrealistic to ever expect it to be as popular as the smaller and furrier breeds of dogs in our unique social context and cultural setting. Perhaps, some day in the distant future, Singaporeans will be able to join us Whippet Enthusiasts in saying, "Yes, the Whippet is indeed the dog world's best kept secret!". Written
& Presented by: Vetted
& Approved by:
Arnold Tan got his first dog, a Standard Smooth-Haired Dachshund in 1977. He has been actively involved with showing dogs since. He holds a doctoral degree in Consumer Behaviour (Marketing) and lectures full time in a tertiary institution in Singapore. Arnold owns
and shows 3 Australia-imported Whippets. Research Source Listing: 1. Singapore
Kennel Club Breed Record Supplements
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