Policy for sending/selling dogs abroad

I don't mind selling my puppies abroad but there are requirements as well as reservations in my mind.

Silken Windhound  litters are pretty small, typically 4-7 puppies.
Since 2001 only 7 litters have been born in this country.

We can't afford to sell most of our puppies abroad, we need to keep puppies here for many reasons

• we need dogs to breed to in the future
• every Silken Windhound is an embassador of the breed. Every Silken make more people aware of this breed and more people will be interested. Growth in numbers is essential to the long term survival of the breed in Sweden, a very small country after all.
• Sometimes I have several people interested in one litter, from the same country
  There is no point in sending more than one puppy to each country, not from the same litter.
  There are no countries in Europe who as of yet has a population with so much genetic diversity of it's own, to really sustain 2 imports from the same litter.  Not if you plan to breed them, and that is often the case when you import dogs :-)

There is also the question of who am I willing to sell to?

• My first choice would be a person who has been on the Silken Windhound mail lists for some time, showing a pronounced interest in the breed for a long time
• or a person who is already a well known sighthound breeder and willing to join the Silken Windhound community, mail lists and all
• any person who just found Silken Windhounds and is interested in getting one, would have to join at least one of the many Silken Windhound email lists in different languages out there. This is the best, and many times the only way to learn about the breed.

Transportation and delivery of dogs

• I don't mind flying dogs
• But I am not sending a dog as cargo, on it's own, to a person I've never met face to face

Unless I know you personally, you have to come here to me in Sweden and pick your puppy up. I want to meet you in person before I really decide to let you have a puppy.

First of all you need to hit it off with my dogs. If my dogs don't like you - sorry but you are not getting a dog. I trust my dogs instincts explicitly in this case.

Secondly, to get a dog from me, is to embark on a long, hopefully friendly relationship that at least lasts for the lifetime of your dog. There has to be a certain person chemistry and a mutual sharing of some basic concepts and ideals as far as the Silken Windhound breed goes.

If it turns out you and I have very different ideas regarding keeping and breeding Silken Windhounds, I regretfully have to advise you to get your Silken Windhound elsewhere.

After you've got your Starcastle Hounds Silken Windhound

After you've got your puppy, I promise I will try to be your mentor in the breed, help you get in touch with other Silken Windhound fanciers, maybe suggest males for your female etc.
You make the decisions regarding your dog of course, all I can do is give you advice as best as I know how

No co-ownerships for dogs going abroad

All dogs from me going abroad will be sold, not on co-ownership.
It is too much hassle and too expensive to "share" a dog for breeding purposes if the dog lives in another country.

Selection of puppy

You have to understand that I mean to keep the best puppy in every litter for myself.
That is my reason for breeding at all, to get a good puppy for the future.

If the sire is not owned by me, the owner may require a stud fee puppy, in this case you may be able to have the third choice of the litter. Maybe.

Waiting list

There is almost always a waiting list. Some of the people on the list have been waiting for years for the right pup to come their way.

As the breeder, I reserve my right to be able to choose what puppy goes where.
Breeders waiting for a puppy of a certain combination, getting a puppy for breeding purposes, will have a better chance of getting one of the best puppies than anybody else.

I will also try to find you the puppy with a personality that fits your personality, life conditions, family, other animals, housing etc

Some litters may be born at the "wrong time of the year", the wrong genders, colors etc, so there may be a puppy or two left when the waiting list has been offered puppies first.

Don't expect to always be able to get a puppy from a current litter at Starcastle Hounds right away, Silken Windhounds are much too rare to just be available at every given time.

If I don't have any available puppies for you, I will send you to other breeders in Europe that may, but even if you count all of Europe in, you will find Silken Windhounds to be a very rare breed indeed.

Page updated November 16, 2008