world strongest dog

Some of you may recall the post I made late last year about the World’s Strongest Dog. In that post I talked about the Whippet named Wendy that suffers from a rare myostatin gene defect which causes her to have a double muscle layer. This is the same defect that causes the Belgian Blue to grow to the proportions it does.

If you’re wondering what a Belgian Blue looks like, you can get a pretty good impression for their size in this video. You will also be able to learn why the myostatin gene defect makes Wendy so muscular.

Returning to Wendy, I decided to do a little more research on her and see if I could learn more about this fascinating dog, even if she wasn’t the World’s Strongest Dog. And through a little digging I found that she has her own website. Who doesn’t have their own website these days?

You can visit her website, rightly titled: Wendy the Incredible Whippet. There you can learn more about this amazing dog and read along with her story. To peak your interest, here is a small excerpt:

“Wendy came into my life in August 2003. The breeders gave her to me as a companion to another puppy that my employer was getting. They had kept Wendy because her double muscles made her abnormal, and not wanted by most people. They also wanted to make sure that if they let her go she would end up at the right home.”

Read Wendy the Whippet’s complete story.

So you’re still not convinced that Wendy is in fact a Whippet. Don’t feel bad, the very first thing it says on her website is that she is often mistaken as a Pit Bull. But she is not, she is a loving, doubled muscled Whippet that loves to sit on her owner’s lap and get petted.

Here she is with a normal sized Whippet.

Wendy and Normal Whippet

And I thought that this photo really showed off how muscular she really is.

Wendy the Whippet

The last update on the website mentioned that Wendy was going to start taking advanced obedience training. She had finished up her novice class, even running through a mock trial with few mistakes. This might be due to her love for hotdogs as a reward.

World's Strongest Dog

Well, are you able to guess what type of dog Wendy is? If you’re thinking she comes from an extremely massive, and muscular breed of dog, for example the Pit Bull (see picture below), you might be pretty close.

Pit Bull

The similarities between Wendy and the Pit Bull above are pretty close. Although I would have to say that Wendy has packed on a lot more muscle than the Pit Bull. In fact she shouldn’t actually be that muscular, Wendy is in all rights a Whippet. If you know what they look like, you will probably be pretty amazed, if not look at a normal Whippet and compare the two.

Whippet

This playful and lanky example of a Whippet shows that they are anything but hulking powerhouses so now comes the question why is she so big. Or, as some of you may be thinking, what did they do to her. The answer is nothing, Wendy suffers from a myostatin gene defect.

The defect has actually been breed into certain species of animals, look at the Belgian Blue for example.

The Belgian Blue has a natural mutation of the gene that codes for myostatin, a protein that counteracts muscle growth. The truncated myostatin is unable to function in this capacity, resulting in accelerated lean muscle growth, due primarily to hyperplasia rather than hypertrophy. The defect in the breed’s myostatin gene is maintained through linebreeding.

Belgian Blue

And if you’re thinking it would be cool to turn your myostatin gene off, well you might just get your chance. Scientists have already started to study this gene, and the possibility that this will become a form of gene doping in the future isn’t unlikely. But be warned, at the current stage, turning off the myostatin gene in mice produces buff mice with brittle ligaments that easily break. The muscles produced from the experiments are also quickly damaged, making the actual usefulness questionable.

Staffordshire Bull Terrier Dog Art by mmbenya

This Staffordshire dog painting has recently been made available in our pet art gift shop. In the Staffordshire section you will find giclée art prints, apparel and gifts perfect for fans of this breed.

Staffordshire Dark Hoodie

Staffordshire Dark Hoodie

Embroidered Staffy Dog Military Cap

Embroidered Staffy Dog Military Cap

Pit Bull Puppy Dog Art

This Pit Bull painting has been added to our pet art shop, you’ll find it under the American Pit Bull Terrier section.

Kid's Pit Bull Puppy Shirt

Kid’s Pit Bull Puppy Shirt

Dark Pit Bull Hooded Sheatshirt

Dark Pit Bull Hooded Sheatshirt

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