Silken Windhounds @Spirit

We are committed to raising only exceptional puppies with as much health and genetic testing on the parents as vet science can offer. (Never be fooled into believing that a breeder doesn't health test because they "study the lines" or "we don't get health issues"- that's code for " I don't want to cut into profits"!!!) We cannot guarantee everything, but lessening the incidence is the least we can do as responsible breeders. I feel it is wrong to breed dogs in an overpopulated environment unless you are providing a far superior dog to one you could find in the pound or from a backyard breeder. I take breeding very seriously, and make my choices based on health, temperament, and structural soundness. My puppies are more expensive than some, less so than others. The difference between my pups and that ball of fluff in the pet store may be slight at 8 weeks; but at 2, 5, 8, and 12 years the difference will be patently clear. Beautiful, long lived dogs with stable, biddable temperaments, free of health problems, and properly socialized are the special pets families reminisce about long after they are gone. Those are the type of Silken Windhounds we are proud to breed.
We raise our puppies and dogs holistically, with quality food (raw and kibble), fluoride free water, and minimal vaccinations. Plenty of free running exercise in their fenced acreage, sun, and comnpanionship make for happy Silkens. Our dogs live as a group, only seperated or put in kennels for their own safety when we are not home. Our acreage gives them ample room for supervised nature walks and runs. 4,000 sq ft of our yard is artificial turf for their safety and  mud free play. We have a 250 yard straight track racing practice field and lure machine for their training and exercise. 

 Our home is not fancy, but we have designed it so the dogs can live inside our home with us. Our puppies grow up in a state of the art puppy room with a time tested design that provides them safety, cleanliness, room to play and explore, sensory stimulation, and access to outdoors at all times at appropriate ages. The puppy pens change weekly to fit their needs to as they grow and develop. Our mom dogs are kept comfortable with full time access to outside, food and water, their puppies, and space to get away from pups as they grow. We allow them to wean their puppies on their own schedule. Open houses allow visitors to see our facility and helps us socialize our puppies that much better. Our pups also walk and run on the acreage when old enough and have access to free play with the adults to learn pack skills.
                               
 I hope you will welcome a Silken Windhound @Spirit into your life, as I am excited to add you to our family!

Jennifer Anderson and Jon Stacey, Jr. are the breeders behind Silken Windhounds @Spirit. They decided to start a silken windhound breeding program as a couple. Jennifer had been succesfully breeding and showing Standard poodles for about 10 years when they met, and Jon showed German shepherd dogs previously. Looking for a calmer, lower maintenence breed than the poodles, they decided to try out silkens.

Silkens met multiple needs they reqiured to fit their lifestyle: 

• Relatively low energy in the home, not needing hours of physical and mental exercise daily
• Ability to be trained for performace sports and racing and enjoy those tasks
• Get along as a group with no dog aggression
• Between 20 and 35 lbs
• Low shedding
• No haircuts required
• Good health and reproductive health
• Quiet, minimal barking
• Sufficent genetic diversity 
• Registered with UKC and seeking AKC recognition
• Sweet, interactive temperament- never sharp or aggressive

Sounds like a challenge right? But silkens ARE really perfect in our eyes. Jennifer still maintains her Standard Poodle breeding program - Spirit Standard Poodles. So we also will use the Spirit name when registering our sighthounds. But we use is as a suffix, so all the hounds we own or bred will have "@Spirit "at the end of their name. And if you are wondering, the silkens get along fabulously with the poodles, although silkens do prefer thei own kind if they can choose. 
 

Jennifer has been breeding high quality dogs since 2001. She invests significant time, money and energy into making her dogs and puppies the best. Thousands of hours of research into breeding techniques, pedigrees, socialization, health, dna and genetic tests, showing, training etc are what she considers her passion in life. A vacation day is almost always spent at a dog show. Her dogs get whatever they need in food, vet care, and housing. Safe, well fed and cared for dogs with outgoing, loving temperaments are her pride and joy. She is always looking with anticipation at the next breeding and what it will produce for her own goals, and that of the buyers of puppies. Jennifer has been a pet groomer for her entire life, and owns two grooming businesses. She is a Certified Master Groomer,  a UKC conformation judge, and has finished around 25 AKC, UKC and Canadain Kennel club Champions. She and her dogs have earned 22 Best in show or Reserve Best in show awards. Her drive to constantly improve her breeds is always in the forefront of her breeding goals. Jennifer is the gal you will interact with when inquiring about one of our pups.

Jon is not the face of Spirit, but he is always involved. He takes great care to help in all aspects of their care. He builds kennels, fixes everything, helps clean and feed dogs and puppies, and most importantly carries 40 lb bags of dog food downstairs....  Jon is often found with a puppy or two on his lap watching tv. He enjoys taking the silkens to racing and lure coursing, and sometimes obedience classes or trials. He helps show the dogs, and has shown his own dog, Chaser, to his Grand Champion title and all his racing points. Jon is an HVAC tech and he loves to fix and build things, ride snowmobiles, and watch movies (usually with 3 or 4 silkens on the couch with him). Jon has become involved with breeding decisions with the silken windhounds and co-owns all the silkens with Jennifer.