How we raise puppies
Born in the kitchen, raised in the house
Puppies are born in the whelping room off our kitchen, where the house’s noise reaches them — the dishwasher, the radio, the cats, the doorbell. From week four they have a pen in the kitchen itself, and from week five a fenced puppy yard outside the back door. They are never kennelled outside.
We use Early Neurological Stimulation from day 3 to 16 and early scent introduction (a few seconds a day each), and from week three we follow a program based on Puppy Culture. We describe it modestly: the evidence for ENS is thin, and what matters most is that the puppies meet a lot of the world, calmly, before they leave.
Whippet puppies stay until nearly ten weeks. Eight is the legal minimum; the extra two weeks give them their BAER and eye exams, a second round of car rides, and longer with Juno, who teaches them manners we can’t.
Week by week
- Weeks 0–2: whelping room. Weighed daily, ENS days 3–16, nails trimmed weekly, vet check at 48 hours
- Weeks 3–4: eyes and ears open, first toileting area, first solid food, first dewormer, kitchen pen, household sounds
- Weeks 5–6: puppy yard, surfaces, tunnel and wobble board, the cats through a gate, first visitors, short crate naps, grooming table
- Week 7: vet exam, first vaccine, temperament evaluation by a stranger, filmed
- Week 8: BAER hearing test, ACVO eye exam, microchip, first car rides, matching
- Weeks 9–10: car rides and crate nights, a visit to the feed store, a collar and a lead, go-home day
What every puppy leaves with — all included in the $2,800
Vaccination and vet exam
First DAPPv vaccination (Nobivac, September 21, 2026) and vet exam with a signed health certificate. The second DAPPv is due with your vet at 10–11 weeks, rabies at 16 weeks (New York law).
Worming
Dewormed at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks (pyrantel), fenbendazole course at 6 weeks. The dates and products are written in the folder.
Microchip
Microchip, enrolled with AKC Reunite and transferred into your name. Your details are on it before you leave the driveway.
Hearing and eyes
BAER hearing certificate and ACVO puppy eye exam form.
AKC papers and pedigree
AKC registration (limited for pet homes; full for approved show homes). Four-generation pedigree, and both parents’ OFA results with CHIC numbers.
Contract and guarantee
Written contract with our two-year health guarantee and lifetime return clause, sent to you to read before any deposit.
The puppy pack
Martingale collar, fleece coat sized for now, scent blanket, 5 lb of the food they’re on, and our care binder. Whippets feel the cold from the first night.
Afterwards
Video of your puppy’s seven-week evaluation. Our phone number for the life of the dog, and the owners’ group.
