The Irish Wolfhound - A Big Dog with a Bigger Heart

The Irish Wolfhound became so popular as a giftgray, red, brindle and black are all recognized by
a couple of centuries ago that exportation fromthe AKC standard.
Britain was banned for several decades. They areThe sheer size of these dogs makes them a
a very large dog, sometimes weighing in at 150good choice for a guard dog, but it's important to
pounds. The Irish Wolfhound has a shaggy coatnote that guarding doesn't come naturally to this
and a muscular body, but these dogs requirebreed. They do tend to be loyal to a fault and will
careful care and attention.usually prefer to spend time with their family
The popularity of the Irish Wolfhound wasabove and beyond all other activities. They do like
probably due to the fact that it was favoredto play, but their size makes them clumsy - not
among the nobility and wealthy families. There'stypically a good choice for an indoor pet, especially
no doubt that the large, shaggy appearance ofif there's limited space.
these giants is what attracted the attention of soThe Irish Wolfhound is usually very easy to train.
many people.Most who own, breed or train these dogs seem
The breed originated as a hunting dog, mainly forto think that these canines are very anxious to
big game. Elk, wolves and hogs were among theplease and will try to anticipate what is wanted.
animals the Irish Wolfhound were trained to trackTheir willingness to learn makes them a good
- hence the selective breeding to gain the largechoice for learning tricks, though what they can
size. This is the tallest breed of dog in existence.do will be somewhat limited by their size.
The popularity of the breed and the constantRemember that early training is a must, because
exportation combined with the fact that the foxa grown Irish Wolfhound will likely be too big to be
hunts in England killed out the entire fox populationcontrolled by a normal-sized person.
led to the near-demise of the Irish Wolfhound. InOne of the negative points of the Irish Wolfhound
fact, it's noted that there were probably nois this dog's tendency toward a short life. They
full-blood Irish Wolfhounds left in Ireland at sometypically live only about seven or eight years,
point during the 17th Century. When the breedmostly due to their large size. Their size also
was returned to its native country, new bloodlinesmakes them susceptible to hip problems. Young
were introduced - including that of the Great DaneIrish Wolfhounds, unlike most puppies, need limited
- in an effort to revitalize the breed.exercise. Long walks are not a good idea until the
As a rule, the Irish Wolfhound tends toward lightmuscle mass catches up to the rapidly growing
colors - gray or white. Some have darkerframe of the Irish Wolfhound pup.
markings, including black or red overcoats. White,