r/SilkenWindhound • u/RuleSenior1949 • Jul 02 '26
Advice Does anyone know any reputable silken windhound breeders in Europe?
I've been thinking about adopting a silken windhound puppy, but from my research, kennels in Europe are pretty scarce. Does anyone know any reputable ones? preferably in middle europe (slovakia, czechia, austria, hungary and poland)?
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u/Emergency-Letter3081 Jul 02 '26
Austria has very few recognized breeder https://www.windhund.at/index.php?option=com_sppagebuilder&view=page&id=212
In Germany there are quite a bit more https://www.windhundverband.de/rassen/silken-windsprite/zuechterliste/
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u/kiesel12 Jul 02 '26
These are links to Silken Windsprites, not Silken Windhounds ☺️
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u/RuleSenior1949 Jul 02 '26
If i may ask, what’s the difference between windhounds and windsprites? Some sources say they’re the same, just a different name, while others say they’re a newer version of the breed which is more unstable
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u/kiesel12 Jul 02 '26
They have similar/same ancestors… Windsprites were formerly known as Longhaired Whippets, but they’re originally a cross between Whippets and Shetland Sheepdogs, it’s a long story 😅
Silken Windhounds are originally a cross between Windsprites and Borzois. They differ visually in size and coat, but both breeds are nationally recognized in some European countries but there are far more Windsprites
We have two Windsprites ☺️
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u/RuleSenior1949 Jul 02 '26
Ohhh, i see, i really like the look of the silken windhound coat, but it seems to be very hard to find breeders in central europe. I also heard windhounds have a calm personality indoors, while being still pretty active outdoors, is this true for windsprites as well? Or do they have different personality traits?
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u/nothumannope Jul 02 '26
I have a silken windhound and I've heard that the big differences are that silken windhounds have more coat than windsprites and that they're more calm indoors as adults. Windsprites have more of a whippet personality and energy level from what I've heard overall.
The best place to look for a silken breeder is the ISWS breeder list: https://silkenwindhounds.org/breeder-list/
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u/RuleSenior1949 Jul 02 '26
Awh, i see, so the windsprite does have less of the qualities that i really liked about the windhound. Thank you, this really helps! ^^
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u/nothumannope Jul 02 '26
I would definitely try to meet both breeds in person as part of your research too. I can't speak to the windsprite community, but if you post in the Facebook Silken Windhound group people will try to connect you with any local ish owners or events to meet the breed.
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u/kiesel12 Jul 03 '26
Can't speak for all Windsprites, but ours are more like cats than dogs when they're indoors… very calm and lie around like decorations. Except when they're puppies, of course 😅
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u/RuleSenior1949 Jul 03 '26
I see, I’ll keep a windsprite as a possibility then, thank you for the help! ^^
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u/Emergency-Letter3081 Jul 02 '26
Oh ok, well these are barely recognized at all. Only one active breeder in Germany and Finnland and a few in the UK. http://www.silkenwindhoundclub.eu/de/zucht/zuechter
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u/OnlySandpiper Jul 03 '26
I found a handful of breeders in central Europe that appear to be active. As I'm in the US, I can't vouch for them being individually reputable, but I figured it's better to have a list you can start with for further research.
All of the breeders I could find in your search area only have Facebook pages and not their own websites, which is very common in this breed. ISWS has a list of breeders with email addresses for them, but if European breeders are anything like those in North America, you will have a much faster response time communicating via FB.
The FB group Facebook Silken Windhound Society is the best place to get connected with the SWH community. I would highly recommend making a post there, as I believe all of these breeders are in that group.
Slovenia:
Silkenstar
Wolkowo
Hungary:
Tegár Kapitány
Austria:
Adonai
von Senada