Selling our puppies, prices & guarantees Our main consideration when we place our puppies is that we plan to stay in touch with the new owner(s) for the dogs lifetime, they need to be people that will keep in touch, send updates and pictures and people that will call us if anything happens, if they need advice about something or just want to talk about Whippets in general.  We ask for a completed application from a prospective owner, which you can find a link to on our Available page, because knowing something about the family helps us make sure that both the potential owner and puppy will be happy with the arrangement.  We do ask that our companion puppies are spayed/neutered around a year old, not as puppies, but they must be spayed/neutered when they go to a companion home.  We are flexible when it comes to placing our puppies, we believe that good homes come in all shapes and sizes.  Most Whippet breeders won't place a puppy or adult Whippet in a home with no fence or who lives in an apartment and so on, but we believe it all depends on the puppy or adults personality and how they will be cared for at home and how they will be exercised.  Our only non-negotiable rule is that we won't place young puppies in homes where there is no one home for most of the day, puppies require a lot of socialization, supervision, training and interaction with their owners.  Someone who is not home for 6 or more hours a day is better suited for an older puppy or an adult Whippet who has the right temperament for that kind of home.  We like to see owners involved with their dogs, whether it be a simple obedience class or puppy kindergarten or if it's more prolonged activity such as showing, coursing, racing, flyball, rally, agility and so on.  These activities are not a requirement for all the puppies we place, but they are things that the Whippets enjoy (especially anything to do with running) and what they are bred to do (other than being wonderful companions). Our puppies are raised in our home, socialized, started on house breaking, crated training, leash training, have had some care rides, met lots of people and other dogs and been cuddled with several times a day before they leave our home.  They are also up to date on vaccinations and wormings before they leave.  They also leave with a current health record and instructions for future vaccinations and parasite protection.  We guarantee health, but to we'll go into more description about that.  We pretty much guarantee any health problem up to the age of 7, after that most problems could be contributed to geriatrics.  We guarantee ears, eyes and hearts but in order for our guarantee's to stand, if there is a problem they much either be BAER tested (for ears), CERF tested (for eyes) or have an Echocardiogram (for hearts) depending on what the suspected problem is.  Our contract goes into more detail about what kind of health problems are guaranteed, the heart is probably the most complicated.  Ejections murmurs are fairly common in the breed, normal ejection murmurs don't require any medication nor do they slow the dog down - they can still run around and do performance events without worries.  We do guarantee against any heart problem that requires medication before the age of 7.  The eye guarantee is fairly similar, we guarantee any eye issue that requires surgery or effects the vision before the age of 7.  For the ears, we guarantee against deafness before the age of 7 as well.  Again, our contract goes into more detail.  As for the prices, we won't go into detail here as I believe that is something that is better discussed between the breeder and potential owner in private.  Do keep in mind, however, that when inquiring about a puppy or adult from a reputable breeder, you often will not find a puppy or adult for $300-$500.  Most people are surprised when I tell them the price of our puppies, though it does differ from companion puppies to show puppies.  You also have to imagine how much it costs for a breeder to maintain happy and healthy dogs and what they also pay to show their dogs, do performance events with them and how much it costs to health test their dogs to make sure you are getting a quality puppy.  Also keep in mind how much it costs to raise a litter, a stud fee if they bred to a dog that is not owned by them, vet bills (sometimes you have to take in consideration a cesarean section for the mother and then pain meds and antibiotics after the surgery), vaccinations, wormer and food for the puppies.  We have a litter coming up and I will keep track of all the expenses for producing this litter that I will eventually post on this page.  I do however know how much it costs to maintain our dogs every month, we normally spend $800-$1000 on the basics - food, medications, vet bills and so on.  We also hold on to our puppies until they are at least 10 weeks old generally, I hear people occasionally that want their puppy at 6, 7, or 8 weeks old.  We absolutely will not place them before 8 weeks and usually will not place them until 10 weeks except under certain circumstances.  Most reputable breeders will not separate the puppies from their mothers before 8 weeks old, they still have a lot to learn from their mother and the 'pack' at 8-10 weeks old.  If at any time for any reason, a Whippet of our breeding cannot stay in his/her original family, they are welcome to come home to us regardless or age or condition, no questions asked.  We do not want them placed in another home that we have not spoken to ourselves.  If a dog is returned to us, we do refund at least a portion of their purchase price.  We don't take deposits or require a commitment until the puppies are 5 weeks old, the first deposit of $200 is non-refundable, but if you have paid more on that puppy before getting him or her and you can not take them for some reason, we will refund any monies we have received after that first deposit of $200.   We normally have a waiting list for our puppies, but people's plans and lives change, so we sometimes have more room on the waiting list than before the litter was born.  If we don't have any puppies available, we're always happy to talk to you about our future litters or can refer you to other Whippets breeders if you prefer not to wait.  Meanwhile, educate yourself about the breed and find out if a Whippet is the right dog for you and your lifestyle.