Whippet

Plan walks, meals and medication

Use the breed’s care notes above as context. Adapt the schedule to age, current weight and body condition, size, fitness, health, mobility, temperament, weather and your household. Sex alone does not determine a routine; neutering, heat, pregnancy and nursing also matter. Review changes with your vet.

Choose times for toilet breaks, sniffing, suitable activity and rest. Puppies need short, gentle outings adapted to growth and vaccination advice; older dogs or dogs with reduced mobility may need shorter, easier walks. Adjust the route and pace for heat and the dog’s response. Record duration and comfort rather than applying a fixed breed quota.

This is a broad breed reference, not an individual target. Exercise includes suitable walks and play, not continuous running. The session lengths below are an editorial example for a healthy adult already comfortable with this activity. Adjust for fitness, weather and veterinary advice; never push the dog to finish the clock.

Move these hours to fit your household. Allow quiet recovery before meals; ask your vet about meal–exercise spacing for this dog. Add toilet outings whenever needed. Medication follows its own prescription, not this timetable.

Schedule dog food and meals

Choose a complete diet for the life stage and record meal times, measured portions, treats, allergies and any prescribed diet. Puppies, pregnant or nursing dogs need an individual feeding plan. After neutering or changes in activity or weight, review portions with your vet. The adult-weight range on this page is not a calorie or portion calculator; keep fresh water available.

For many healthy adults, two meals work as a starting pattern: 08:00 and 20:00, 12 hours apart. Weigh the agreed daily allowance first, reserve any food used for rewards, then divide the meal portion. No single gram amount is correct for every dog of this breed.

General feeding guide for weaned puppies: under 4 months, 4 meals (07:00, 11:00, 15:00, 19:00); 4–6 months, 3 (07:00, 13:00, 19:00); from 6 months, discuss moving to 2. These are example times, not a fasting rule. Confirm the pattern for very small puppies, illness or a prescribed diet.

Schedule dog medicine

Only schedule medication prescribed for this dog. Record the name, prescribed dose, route, interval, start and end dates, food instructions and who gave it at what time. Include vet-directed preventive treatments. For a missed dose or a reaction, contact the clinic; do not double a dose or change treatment yourself. Nuzzleway organizes reminders, not prescriptions.

Only if the prescription specifies this interval: every 24 hours → 08:00; every 12 hours → 08:00 and 20:00; every 8 hours → 06:00, 14:00 and 22:00. These illustrate spacing, not a choice of treatment. Confirm the starting time, food requirements and what to do after a late, missed or vomited dose with the clinic before setting reminders.

Share the care schedule

Agree who handles each walk, meal and prescribed dose, then share the times and care notes with family or a sitter. Mark what was actually done, with the time and person, so the next caregiver can check before repeating it. Keep the agreed routine and observations together in Nuzzleway and review the plan when the dog’s needs change.

Example handover: “18:40 — walk completed by Alex, 25 min, settled comfortably. Dinner not given yet. Check the medication log before any dose.” Record actual times and completion, not just reminders.

Sleep and rest schedule

PDSA gives a reference of 14–16 hours or more of sleep in 24 hours, with individual variation. Count daytime naps as well as night sleep; quiet rest is not always sleep.

These windows offer 14 h 45 min of quiet time, not guaranteed sleep or a confinement plan. Let the dog sleep outside them too and provide toilet breaks whenever needed. Use a comfortable, accessible bed, a calm location, daylight by day and dim light at night; keep water available.

For weaned puppies, AKC describes around 18–20 hours of sleep per day, with naps often lasting 30–120 minutes. Offer quiet time after short activity and a toilet opportunity when they wake. Night toilet breaks may still be needed; do not use the adult timetable or keep a puppy awake to meet it.

For a very old or frail dog, protect comfortable rest without setting a universal hourly target. Provide an easy-to-reach bed and assistance with toileting. New night pacing, confusion, panting or repeated waking merit a veterinary review of pain, health and sleep-wake changes; do not give sleep medicines yourself.

Share when the dog settled, estimated sleep, awakenings, toilet needs and who helped. Compare with this dog’s usual pattern rather than treating time spent in bed as time asleep.

Consult for a persistent or sudden change in sleep, difficulty settling or daytime lethargy. Difficulty waking, collapse or breathing trouble need urgent veterinary attention.

Newborn: the first 2 weeks

No walks or adult meal schedule. If the mother is present, check that each puppy nurses effectively; do not replace successful nursing with a bottle timetable.

If orphaned or not nursing, contact the vet promptly for a canine milk-replacer plan and a demonstration. In the first week, orphaned puppies commonly need feeding every 2–4 hours, including overnight. Only if 3-hour feeds are agreed: 00:00, 03:00, 06:00, 09:00, 12:00, 15:00, 18:00, 21:00. The volume depends on weight and the product.

Keep the nest warm, dry and free from draughts, with space away from the heat source. Ask for an age-appropriate temperature; avoid direct heat and burns. A cold or weak puppy needs urgent veterinary guidance before feeding; do not force milk or use a syringe or tube without training.

Weigh each puppy in grams daily during these first 2 weeks, at the same time and at a similar point relative to feeding, for example 08:00. Keep individual records, not just a litter average; ask promptly about weight loss or failure to gain.

The mother normally helps with toileting. For an orphan, ask the vet to show gentle stimulation with warm, damp cotton after feeding and record urine and stools.

Share the overnight rota: who gave each feed, when, how much of the prescribed formula was taken, weight and any change. Arrange the next check before handing over.

Seek urgent veterinary advice for failure to suckle, coldness, marked weakness, persistent crying, diarrhoea or breathing trouble. Do not wait for the next scheduled feed.

Puppy

Do not use the adult exercise minutes. Plan gentle outings around waking, meals and play, with rest between activities. Ask about growth and safe exposure before public walks; a fixed “5 minutes per month” rule is not supported by scientific evidence.

Senior or reduced mobility

Split the dog’s tolerated activity into easier outings. Note stiffness, limping or slower recovery and ask the vet to set durations if these appear. Age alone does not require switching food or dropping all exercise.

Sex and reproductive status

During heat, choose quiet routes and prevent unwanted mating. After neutering, review weight and portions rather than automatically changing walk minutes. Pregnancy and nursing need an individual nutrition and activity plan; male and female dogs do not need different clocks solely because of sex.