Shannon Down : FAQ's Q  I've been told that you won't sell a dog to me because I am new to the breed, is this true? A  Absolutely not, we don't believe a qualified home is a home that has already had a Whippet - we believe a qualified home is a home that is compatible to the breed and the dog itself.  Many of our best homes have been to 'newbie's' and we enjoy, very much, teaching and mentoring new people and answering questions and we enjoy seeing our puppies in the perfect home for them, which isn't always a home that has already had or has Whippets. Q Do you sell pets? A  Yes, not every puppy will turn out to be the perfect show or performance prospect.  This does not mean they are any less important to us then a show or performance prospect and we will hold on to them as long as it takes to find their perfect home.  Also, a somewhat common problem in the Whippet breed are monorchids.  These puppies can not be shown and therefore will be available to companion homes, but they can be neutered and coursed or raced.  All of our companion puppies are sold on a spay/neuter contract and ALL our puppies are sold with a contract that states that we must get them back if for some reason the new owner can not keep them.  Q  I heard that Shannon Down Whippets is a big kennel with many dogs and that the dogs are always kept in crates. A  This is a funny one, anyone that has been to our house can say different.  We do have a lot of dogs but they are all house dogs - they sleep on the couches and in our beds, they are our pets first and foremost.  Our dogs spend little time in crates, they are crate trained from puppies but as adults they only go in crates for traveling, eating, sleeping at night (the ones that don't sleep loose with us - not all can fit in bed) or when girls are in season.  Krystyl works from home so she or someone else is always home with our dogs - so they never have to be crated because everyone is working during the day.  We have a room just for the dogs in our house where all their stuff is kept - crates, pads and blankets, food, bowls/buckets, medications, show/coursing/racing supplies and so on.  This is the room they stay when they are crated at night or being fed.  Another thing I would like to point out, is that our dogs compete in coursing and racing and compete in the show ring - our dogs would not be in the proper condition for these activities if they were kenneled all day, our dogs are known for their muscle tone which they could not develop laying in a crate. Q  What happens to your dogs when they are no longer competing in the show ring or performance events and no longer being bred. A  Most will stay with us and live out the rest of their lives laying on the couch and sleeping in the bed and making an occasional trip out to a show or performance event to play around.  When we place one of our retired dogs, it's normally because they have gotten to an age where they no longer want to be bothered by the young dogs and there's to much commotion in the house for them to be comfortable.  And when all our dogs live in the house - it's hard to keep it a quiet, calm place for them.  So we find them the right home for them, usually close by to us so we can still visit and they can live out their older years in comfort and quiet.  Another reason would be, a particular dog just doesn't fit in with the 'pack' and won't be truly happy staying with us and all the other dogs. Q  Why are there so many dogs on your website and do they all live with you? A  Something people frequently do is NOT read.  If you look at the dogs pages, you will find that most are not owned by us.  We think many of our dogs we've bred deserve pages on our website, even if we do not own them.  The dogs the Our Whippets page all live here at Shannon Down - on the Other Whippets page, they are owned or co-owned by someone else and living with them.  We feel many of them deserve to be highlighted on our website, but most do not actually live with us or are owned by us.  So make sure you READ when you are on a dogs page, their owner(s) are listed right up near the top. Q  Why do you have so many litters listed on your website? A  This kind of goes along with the question and answer above.  If you look at the litter pages, you will find that some litters were co-bred by us and some of the litters are litters we did not breed but were sired by our dogs.  We like everyone to see what our dogs are producing, even if we did not breed the litter, therefore each litter gets a spot on our website.  Also, the litters under Planned Litters are just that, plans.  These litters have not yet arrived and may be a year or two away, so when you see a couple of litters under Planned Litters - they may be our plans for the next 2-3 years and some of the litters may not even be bred by us.  We also announce litters that are out of Shannon Down bred bitches and sired by Shannon Down bred dogs and these litters will have their breeders name and information to contact them on the pages. Q  I was interested in breeding to one of your males, but was told that you will not breed to outside bitches. A  We do allow our boys to breed outside bitches, but in order for this to happen - the bitch must have all the proper and current health testing (all our stud dogs do).  We suggest that any bitch that will possibly be bred to one of our boys at least be CERF'd and have a cardiac exam as well as having a brucellosis test done before breeding.  We generally like to have the bitches come to us for breeding but will collect and ship semen if this is preferred.  We also have to see pictures or see the bitch in person, as well as a pedigree.  We want to make sure that our boys would improve the next generation and with certain bitches, this isn't always possible.  So we do have to approve the bitches before they are bred to our boys.  We also like to make sure that we are going to be kept informed on where the puppies are placed and have contact information for each puppy owner so that we too can keep in touch with them and know how our boys' puppies are doing. Q  If I breed to one of your dogs, will you help find homes for the puppies? A  We stand behind any puppies sired by our dogs, and therefore will help find the perfect home for any of them.  We would help transport any puppies if needed and give them a home if something goes wrong with their new owners.