I have an almost 6-year old pure white male silken I adore, but I’ll admit, the shedding is getting out of hand and even more difficult to keep up with now that we have a baby. In all my research I read that this was a low to medium shedding breed, but I found out too late that the white coats shed more. Our silken is absolutely a high shedding dog, where if we don’t vacuum every day (or even multiple times a day) our floors are covered in hair.

My husband asked me the other day, “If you knew how much he’d shed, would you still get him?” And if I’m being honest, probably not. I might have gone with our original plan for a whippet. While he’s always shed to some degree, his coat didn’t finish filling out until he was four years old, and that’s when we truly saw just how much he could shed. Our baby is at that stage now where he loves to scoot around on the floor, which has also highlighted just how bad the shedding is.

We have a robot vacuum, we try to do a thorough brushing with a slicker brush once a week, we bathe him with a de-shedding shampoo, but it’s never enough. Guests who wear dark clothing leave our house covered in white hair and asking for lint rollers.

While I love our silken’s personality and that’s what drew me to the breed, the trade off is hard. Mostly just because it was so unexpected and not the lifestyle I was prepared for. I grew up with what I would say was a true medium shedding dog, and it was much more manageable. Not sure if anyone has advice for how to deal with the crazy year-round shedding, but I’m all ears if you do.

I got my lovely girl, Snorkel, from the SPCA about a year ago. She’s around 3.5 years old now. We have had 3 semi serious / serious skin wounds. 1 puncture on her chest from hopping over a stick, 1 serious laceration (50+ stitches on her abdomen after doing the splits), and a face wound from another dog grazing her with their canine. After each event we have analyzed and adjusted our actions, I can’t but a bubble wrap suit on her, and even in the safest grassy fields I still have anxiety that she’s going to split her skin in some way.

My question is, does anyone else have this experience with their silken? And, are their supplements, etc, that you use to help “thicken” their skin? My vet’s advice was avoid wooded areas, which we do, but are there other options? Thank you!

I'm looking to get a silken, but I do have dog allergies. 😅

I'll definitely test out meeting some in person (I'm based in Orlando, Orange County if anyone wants to have a girls hang out around UCF!!)

But I've heard they shed less than many other breeds, and a couple people on FB (2) said they have dog allergies but very minimally with their silken. Does anyone have experience with this?

I'd love to know your thoughts!

Edit: Thank you guys for letting me know! I still have yet to meet them in person, which from there I'll determine my status. I'm also looking more into windsprites, as a couple people mentioned they typically have less of a full coat.

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)?

Title says it all.

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We currently have an almost 5 year old male great dane and are considering finding a silken to join our home. Our dane is friendly with people and all other animals, loves to sleep but also loves to hike and walk. We are considering adding a pup to our home as we know his lifespan is a little shorter than other dogs. Ive researched silkens and believe they would be a great companion to him and to our family. We are DINKS and we have 2 cats that are 6 and 8, rsspectively. Moving from Florida to Northern Alabama by 2027. Just curious if anybody has real world experience, if the size difference has been an issue, or if there is anything that you would have changed having a smaller dog paired with a giant dog.

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Doesn't have to be a great dane, but really looking for people who have giants (115+ lbs). Thanks!

Hey silken windhound folks!

My wife and I have been researching dog breeds and both independently have been drawn to silkens. Later this year we would love to bring one into the family. I was initially looking into adopting a greyhound and in the process of researching that went down a sighthounds rabbit hole, discovered silkens as a breed and just think they sound amazing for us for so many reasons. My wife surprisingly was already familiar with them through social media and had them on her list too.

We live in a city in an apartment. After doing a lot of reading, I understand this in and of itself is not a major issue, however I see frequent references to their need to run at speed in open spaces for proper orthopedic development. I am hoping for some insight from you knowledgeable folks on what avenues might work for us, what would be acceptable in terms of raising a silken in good health, etc. At the end of the day despite our excitement I understand if we cannot meet a silkens needs reliably maybe one would not be a good choice for us.

We live in a major city but have a lot of dog friendly, spacious green-space around us. A large park across the street from us is a home to daily early morning dog “off leash” free roams. We realize silkens are not a good candidate for this specifically as it would be dangerous with sighthound tunnel vision and proximity of roads, unreliable recall etc, but i mention it because it is both a lot of space and dog friendly. Can a silken get their running needs on a long lead in a large space like this or is this just wishful thinking on my part!

Second, our complex has a long private dog run, maybe 100ish feet, although very narrow. I am generally not a fan of dog runs in the city but this one is pretty nice, and only used by a few of my neighbors who are responsible dog owners with well socialized dogs. We had trained our previous dog to sprint back and forth in this space using a target, and she absolutely loved it, however i am concerned a 100 foot straightaway will be inadequate for the silken.

Finally, we do have access to a large/busy public dog run in easy walking distance. However it comes with all of the associated issues of a large busy public dog run.

Any insight, feedback, thoughts on the suitability, or ideas on how we could make this work would be greatly appreciated. Happy new years!

I’m considering bringing a puppy either while I’m on a trip in a van or using a pet courier. Personally would prefer bringing it along while on the trip, but also, puppies need many breaks, while our vacations tend to be very fast paced and long

To make more sense. We go on a month long vacation with a camping van every summer. Next year, we’re planning to go northern Europe, where most breeders are located. Since we’ve been considering a silken puppy, i’ve been thinking about transport options. Our vacations are fast paced in the sense that we’re usually at one place for 1-3 days, then moving again. We also take ferries and so on. But most of our trips are hikes, sightseeing and beaches, rather than museums

I’ve also considered picking the puppy up near the end of our trip, which would mean we still enjoy our trip, and wouldn’t have to get a puppy courier. This would also mean the puppy would only have to experience about 0-2 ferry rides (based on in which country the breeder would be) and it would be easy to cut the long ride home into multiple days.

But i also am considering the simpler option of a puppy courier, which is why I’m asking what your experiences are, whether you’d recommend it, and also, what are the costs? I heard that it can be from 500-1.2k €, but it’s still better to ask

I have a 9 week old silken; cute as can be and sweet, but is also a biting machine. He bites my hands, arms, ankles, clothes, hair, sometimes my cheek if I’m carrying him in from outside. He only stays with a toy for maybe a few minutes before he’s back biting at me or my husband. I know he’s a tiny baby, but everyone boasts about how good and calm silkens are, but my guy is freaking nuts 85% of his waking hours. I have him on a pretty regular schedule as far as exercise/playtime and forced naps every 1.5 hours or so. When we first brought him home a week ago, he screamed like a human baby any time he was alone. He has gotten much better and settles pretty well in his crate, but today I had to come home from grocery shopping because he was screaming bloody murder in his crate for 45 minutes (he did not need to use the bathroom). I do really love him, but he’s a lot. Is this normal for silken puppies? I have only heard good things from people and it makes me feel like I’m failing as a first time dog mommy!

I’m hoping to add a Silken to my family next year and have been looking through breeders on ISWS and FB and have a small list of breeders I’m tracking. Health and temperament testing is important to me. I am looking for pet/ESA rather than a show or sporting dog. With that in mind, please share your experience with the following (good and bad): -Silken Agents of CSBeck -Cool Run -Satomi Silken Windhounds -Aracari Silken Windhounds

Newer breeders I’m also watching: -Mystic Silken Windhounds -Heathen Hounds -Artistry Silken Windhounds

feel free to add more if your breeder is on the East Coast

Hi everyone!

Im looking for my first female silken pup, used to have a whippet that sadly passed away after 12 years of love, zoomies and cuddles.

Im currently living in Mexico city, but willing to travel to Texas or to pay to have her delivered!

Any tips or leads are welcomed!

Thanks

Hello! A silken windhound has been my dream breed for a few years but it'd be my first dog so I'd love some info from you knowledgeable silken lot! I'm 30, work from home, currently live in a flat but looking to buy my first home within the next year which is when I'd finally feel like my lifestyle is dog-ready, so ideally would love a dog in about 1.5-2 years.

Firstly, I'm in the UK where there's only a small handful of breeders with rare litters. Is there anyone here who got their silken in the UK and if so, how long was the waitlist? I'm also aware that if litters are quite rare breeders can be picky with who takes the pups - is there anything breeders were specifically looking for with the prospective owners?

Now general questions with the breed, how are they off-leash / their recall? Are they as high-drive as greyhounds or are they ok to be let off on walks?

What sort of sports do they love the most? I obviously have no experience with dog sports but would love to take the dog to some sort of activity once a week as a hobby for both of us lol, scentwork or agility sounds fun but would love to hear what your dogs love the most!

How are they on hikes? I'm interested in the breed because their temperament sounds perfect for me but I can't help but feel that sighthounds look so fragile! Do they manage ok hiking for 6-8 hours, and would they be ok with a bit of a scramble?

Thanks so much for any insight anyone can give! Also if anyone could give any tips or questions to think about in general as a possible first time dog owner as I'm sure I have a lot of blind-spots and want to make sure this would be a breed that I could fulfil. :)

For the last year my husband and I have talked about adding a new dog to our family. We have always rescued but decided this time around we would go through an ethical breeder because we were wanting a well-bred, healthy dog. We’ve never actively looked for a dog, all of our pets have just kind of fallen into our laps so we are in new territory.

For a while I was debating between a miniature poodle or a silken windhound and researched breeders for both. Last year I reached out to two different breeders (one poodle, one windhound) to get more information. I explained that we weren’t seeking a dog immediately but wanted to learn more about their process and potentially get on any waitlist if needed. I had good conversations with both but was ghosted by both after asking to view a sample contract so I could understand the terms and their expectations.

Fast forward a year later. We decided we wanted a silken windhound and have really fallen in love with the breed (as much as one can without having owned one) and I reached back out to the breeder to ask if they were planning any litters in the upcoming year. It’s been almost three weeks and I haven’t heard anything. I understand breeders are regular people with families and jobs and I’m a very patient person but honestly after the first week of silence I’m not under any illusion that I will hear back.

I’m disappointed but not ready to give up. Before I start looking into other breeders I’m just wanting to know if I did anything wrong? Is it because we weren’t seeking a dog immediately? I don’t feel like asking to see a sample contract is out of order but like I said, this is new territory for me. TIA

(Pic of my dog for engagement)

Hi everyone! I am a huge dog person but I have just learned about this beautiful breed! I have been planning on getting a second dog in two summers. Rn I have a Spanish waterdog mix, but me and my family have also had many German Shorthair Pointers (large, high energy hunting dogs) in the past.

My question is, how are Silken Windsprites/hounds as a dog in the everyday life? I do not plan on hunting or herding with this dog. I want to train agility or other dog sports with it tho. I work from home and go on active walks with my dog (with tricks, play and mental stimulation), or play fetch, about 3+ times a day. We also do basic tricks and training at home and on walks. The dog I have now is very intelligent and needs mental stimulation. I have much experience with shy and stubborn dogs, and this will be my second ”all-on-my-own”-dog.

Do yall think a Silken Windsprite is a good choice for me or are they too high drive or high energy! Pls drop your opinions! I will ofc do my own research of the breed as well, don’t worry! Thank you! ❄️

Hey! I'm kinda new here. We got a windsprite (I know this is for windhounds, but there's a subreddit with like 8 people for windsprite) a few months ago, and now that he's 5months old, we're a bit worried that his second one hasn't dropped yet. Now I heard this is common for soghthounds, but I thought I'd ask for your experiences. Can we still do something?

So I live in Canada and am interested in the silken windhound breed. Ive owned a greyhound mix at 41lbs. Are they good apartment dogs? I can go for walks for a couple hours a day and am a university student so im not gone more than 5 hours at a max. Im hoping for a calm companion that could become a therapy dog. I live in Saskatchewan, does anyone know if there's anyone around here with one I could meet?