Think twice before you bring home an Irish Wolfhound. He is the King among dogs and will rule your life for the time coming. Everything will change or will have to adjust, be it your car or your house. Holidays can be a problem, you’ll need to find a Kennel specialised for I.W’s or friends, preferably also Wolfhound owners,  to keep him during your holidays. But the easiest way is to adjust your holidays and take him along.

If your living quarters  are filled with breakable trinkets and not so stable, even antique valuables, an Irish Wolfhound can cause catastrophes. A fruit bowl or other delicacies cannot be left on a table, as for an Irish Wolfhound having set his mind on self service, nothing is sacred anymore.

He is a friendly and tolerant dog, gentle by nature, but don’t let him deceive you by his „Gentle Giant“ image. A young puppy can have it’s distinct personality and be very boisterous. His

friendly wagging tail can mean hurting blows and cause bruises for adults and children. Specially with small children one has to be careful, so quickly they can be overrun and hurt, even the puppy meant no harm. But fortunately puppies soon learn to be careful of smaller beings, whether they have 2 or 4 legs.

Irish Wolfhounds are very sociable dogs, they want to live with the family in the house, not locked away in a kennel. The sad howling of a lonely dog could make you unpopular with the surrounding neighbours. In the same way as he loves humans, he also loves contact with other dogs.

He is not a watchdog, but will alert you if something’s not the usual way. A Wolfhound is a born hunter, he was bred for the chase of wolves and big prey. His size could lead to think to use him as watchdog and have him patrol a farm or a company yard. This would be contraproductive and ridiculous, because a lonely and bored Hound would welcome any burglar as a friend to play.

If you still think this will be your dog, you’ll find the addresses of breeder in Dog’s Magazines or at the breed clubs/Kennel Clubs. A breeder will gladly show you his dogs or puppies by appointment. He will ask you a lot of questions, he will want to know if his “kids” come into a good home.

The Puppy

Adult dogs should be fed twice a day, never give just one huge meal! One hour before and after meals the dog should be kept quiet, no playing and running in this time.

This is one of the measures to avoid a bloat or gastric torsion, that can be lethal and is always a danger in large breeds. The full, heavy stomach, like a sack hanging by two ends, is turning around itself, blocks the two ends and bloats like a balloon through the gas. The result if not treated within minutes, is death by shock and heart failure.

Wolfhounds put on weight quickly, a bit of regulation is necessary, older dog better get several, but smaller meals per day, to avoid that overweight is to demanding on their articulations.

Wolfhounds are drinking a lot, therefore they should always have a bowl of fresh clean water at their disposition. The bowl, particularly when it stands outside, should be thoroughly cleaned each morning because by dirty ev. contaminated water an expected infection can occur. Water and food should be presented at a comfortable height for the dogs (min. 50 cm), so they can swallow food and water with the gravity, not against it. Also they can stand upright, which is easier on shoulder and elbow articulations.

Make it your intention to brush your dog daily, if your lucky you’ll do it 2-3 times a week. Regular care of his coat helps to see smaller injuries or ticks, which can be hidden in the thick coat. Also teeth, ears, claws and anal glands should be checked regularly.

Fleas, ticks and other unpleasant visitors can occur even in a clean household. Do something against it! Your veterinary can advise you, there are meds and sprays, which can give you and your dog peace for several months. Flea eggs can survive under worst conditions up to 2 yrs, that’s why the dogs bedding should be washable.

For a show Irish Wolfhounds are trimmed with thumb and index finger, but a special trimming instrument will also do good services. if you don’t show, your dog looks good this way and shows his elegant lines. If he is dirty or smells you can rub him with a wet terry towel  (with a few drops of bath oil or sim.). Nobody visiting you should “smell” the dog.

Training

An adult hound will take some hours of your day, he needs his walks and runs (don’t forget, he is a sighthound!) to stay fit. A puppy needs a lot of rest and sleep during its growing time. His activities and walks should grow longer very gradually and regularly. Each day around the block and a 10 Miles walk on Sunday are an absolute No.

Training is important, it should start the moment the pup comes home. You will have to show him, that you will always be bigger and stronger(Alphadog), even later on this of course is untrue, but he’ll still believe it.

Don’t show him to greet you standing up on his hind legs, he will later weigh about 50-75 kg, and you’ll need a very good accident or third party insurance to cover any results of this.

All training should be in a gentle but firm way.

An Irish Wolfhound must learn to walk on a lead without pulling, for his and your safety.

Think of visiting an obedience course with him. The word he must learn is NO. But don’t expect to much of him,

he is a born hunter, not a working dog. The following things you can and must ask him to do, to protect you and himself of danger, are:

•       walk on a lead quietly
•       come to you, when called
•       stop, when you ask it
•       sit and down on command.

Health

Healthwise the IW in general is not a problematic breed. He is rather stoic and does not make a big fuss when hurt in playing etc. Also whenever he has a cut or else that has to be stitched,

insist at the vet’s to do this with a local anaesthetic, if you stay with him he will be calm and let him do it. try to avoid a general anaesthesia as much as possible.

The very long tail can sometimes be a problem. It can be hurt, when a dog wags excessively to greet you and bangs it against door corners or other, and when it bleeds your walls will have to be redecorated. Even the smallest hurt on the tail has to be treated carefully, it can quickly get infected, and this can result that a partial amputation is necessary.

Some of the problems of this breed are related to the size and the rapid growth. But with reasonable and careful acting they can be avoided.

Don’t let your puppy chase after other dogs or jump walls or race up and down the stairs. Avoid everything that could hurt those fast growing bones and ligaments. Torn ligaments mean a long time healing process and sometimes even an operation cannot heal it completely.