ИРЛАНДСКИЙ ВОЛКОДАВ

Irish wolfhound - ancient hunting dog breed, the first mention of which dates back to 391 AD. The main purpose of this breed of dogs was to hunt wolves, hares, wild boars and deer. They also served man as shepherd dogguarding herds of farmland. Irish wolfhounds are among the most large breeds in the world, the tallest and largest among greyhounds (they belong to wire-haired greyhounds). These dogs are not too muchm are popular in our country, but in Ireland and Great Britain, as well as in a number of other European countries, they are not only popular, but even accompany events with the participation of monarchs.

Ирландский волкодав фото

Photo of Irish Wolfhound | Dreamstime.com

Brief description of the Irish wolfhound breed

Irish Wolfhounds combine two main parameters - they are huge, but not evil, such good-natured giants. However, these dogs are very intelligent and perfectly recognize a person who is unfriendly towards them or their owner. Therefore, do not think that the Irish wolfhounds are not capable of repelling the enemy. The growth of Irish wolfhounds is about 81-86 cm, but often exceeds these parameters, therefore, the height at the withers for males is indicated in the Breed Standard - from 79 cm, for bitches - 71 cm and no end limits specified. Weight of males not less than 55 kg, weight of bitches - not less than 40 kg.

Head: long, with poorly defined frontal bones, wide skull. Muzzle: Elongated, narrowed towards the nose. Eyes: oval, dark or light brown in color. Ears: Small, pinkish. Neck: Long, muscular, without dewlap. Body: long, widened at the croup, with well-developed ribs. The chest is wide. The belly is tucked up. Tail: long, medium thick. Extremities: Long, muscular (especially the hindquarters), strong. The forearms and thighs are long and well muscled. Coat: thick, coarse. In the area of the eyes and the lower jaw, the hair is noticeably longer and coarser than on the whole body. Color: white, gray, red, black, light brown, brindle. In appearance, the Irish wolfhound looks like a Scottish deerhound. - the ancient representative of the deer greyhounds.

basic information

Breed name:	Irish Wolfhound
Country of origin:	Ireland
The time of the birth of the breed:	2000 years ago
Type of:	greyhounds
The weight:	40 - 55 kg
Height (height at the withers):	71 - 86 cm
Life Expectancy:	6 - 10 years old
ICF classification:	Group 10, Section 2, Number 160
Puppies price:	100 – 1100 $
Most popular nicknames:	Irish Wolfhound Nickname List

Assessment of the characteristics of the Irish wolfhound breed

Adaptability (a definition meaning how easily a dog can adapt to changes in life)	🐶🐶🐶🐶
Shedding level (Level and frequency of hair loss in the animal)	🐶🐶
Tenderness level (The level and amount of tenderness and affection that the dog gives in return for attention to itself)	🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶
Exercise needs (Dog's daytime activity level)	🐶🐶🐶
Social need (The required number of contacts of the dog with other animals, as well as people)	🐶🐶🐶
Apartment content (A factor that determines the level of noise and other inconveniences that a dog can deliver to owners in relation to the size of the apartment to the size of the dog)	🐶🐶
Grooming (The number of bathing, brushing, and the number of professional grooming sessions required for the dog)	🐶🐶🐶
Friendliness in an unfamiliar environment (Features of the behavior of a dog in a society with strangers or in an unfamiliar environment)	🐶🐶🐶
Tendency to bark (Tendency to bark and its frequency and volume)	🐶🐶
Health issues (Potential health status of the dog)	🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶
Territoriality (The dog's tendency to protect his home, yard, or even his owner's car)	🐶
Friendliness to cats (The tendency towards tolerance for cats and decreased manifestation of hunting instincts)	🐶🐶🐶
Intelligence (The ability of the dog to think and solve emerging difficulties (not to be confused with learning!)	🐶🐶🐶
Education and training (The level of difficulty in training the dog to perform certain actions)	🐶🐶🐶
Friendliness to children (A factor that determines how friendly a dog is to children, whether he likes to play with them and tolerate some childish pranks)	🐶🐶🐶🐶
Game activity (The concept is determined by its very name, and, as a rule, is found in almost all dogs)	🐶🐶🐶
Observation (The ability of a dog to detect the presence of a stranger on its territory)	🐶
Friendliness to other dogs (The tendency of the dog to find common language with his other relatives)	🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

Photo of the Irish wolfhound:

ирландский волкодав

Origin story

It is generally accepted that breed for over 2000 years, despite the fact that the documented evidence of the existence of the breed dates back to the 3rd century AD. The Celts who inhabited Erin (the ancient name of Ireland) used large greyhounds as assistants in hunting, which, presumably, were descendants of the ancient greyhounds from Egypt. Wolfhounds of that time were used to hunt large wild animals. But the warlike Celts also used them during clashes with other peoples, since large dogs were able to knock down a galloping horse, which means, practically neutralize the enemy. The popularity of the Irish wolfhounds was appreciated by the Romans, who took out dogs to demonstrate their qualities in the circus arena. Huge dogs were valued for their speed, unpretentious care and the benefits that were brought to humans. It is believed that the Irish wolfhounds, who lived more than a thousand years ago, had a softer coat, but the climate of the island made its own adjustments, after which the dogs began to wear a rough "fur coat". Until the 15-16th century, Irish wolfhounds mostly lived in their homeland and in Ancient Rome, and only from the mid-1400s they began to be exported to other countries as gifts to monarchs. As new breeds appeared in the world, as well as due to uncontrolled crossing, Irish wolfhounds began to lose their popularity. And only by the middle of the 19th century, when the breed was on the verge of extinction, scientists decided to preserve the Irish wolfhounds. The few wolfhounds that remained in Ireland began to interbreed systematically under the supervision of breeders. And already in 1885 the first Breed Standard was approved. Since then, interest in Irish wolfhounds has not faded in Ireland, where these dogs are now considered a national treasure and pride of the state.

Irish Wolfhound personality traits

Irish Wolfhounds - these are balanced and calm dogs, good-natured towards positive-minded people. They selflessly love both the owner and his family members. Calm about the owner's other pets - cats, dogs of other breeds. On occasion, the Irish are able to show character, their natural intelligence is high enough and they are able to recognize a threat from a person or other animal. But they almost never show aggression without reason, which makes the breed attractive for large families (including those with children), for lovers of friendly get-togethers. Irish wolfhounds need communication with the owner, they love affection and kindness. Ignoring, rude shouts and beatings deeply hurt these animals, do not temper their character, but offend. Therefore, the owner of the Irishman should give the dog enough time to play and communicate. We can say that dogs of this breed are full members of the owner's family. Irish wolfhounds are not fussy, moderately active. They love walking and playing in the fresh air, but they will not turn everything upside down if the owner does not have the opportunity to take the dog for a walk or play in the apartment.

Maintenance and care

It is because of their large size that Irish wolfhounds are most often kept in aviaries on the territory of suburban or private yards. However, if the living space allows, the Irish wolfhound will not bring much trouble to the household. Undoubtedly, these dogs can live in the yard, but there is one caveat. - they need daily communication with the owner and participation in the life of the family (playing with children, being near the owner, etc.). Therefore, even wolfhounds living in the aviary, it is not bad to bring them to the house for the night. Dogwho spent the whole day on the street and spent energy on walks and games in the courtyard will not bring trouble to the owner, will not disturb sleep. Alternative to spending the night in the house - time taken daily to participate in the dog's life.

For grooming, Irish wolfhounds require frequent brushing. Bathing is done no more than 3 times a year using special detergents for dogs. Cleaning your ears, trimming your nails, washing your paws after walking, paying attention to your eyes - all these actions for wolfhounds are carried out as for dogs of other breeds. The Irish are quite clean and unpretentious in their care. Irish people living in an apartment need walks (preferably at least 2 times for 40-60 minutes). The yard dog also needs to be taken outside the fence, perhaps not as often. Sometimes the Irish wolfhound is jokingly used as a carrier or "horse" for children (and sometimes adults). Riding a dog on horseback is not worth it, it is fraught with diseases of the joints and ligaments, since the musculoskeletal system is considered the weak point of massive wolfhounds.

Training and education

Irish wolfhound puppy training should begin from the first days of his stay in the new home. And from the very beginning, the owner of the dog must take care of its socialization. - adaptation to life in society. The owner must patiently train dog to new housing, try to calmly respond to the puppy's fear of new people, animals, things that frighten the baby. It is necessary to kindly reassure a wolfhound puppy when he is overly agitated, because even in the apartment itself he can be frightened by the mass of appliances (washing machine, hairdryer, drill and much more), other pets (especially if they are unfriendly), signals and sirens of cars. You should not hide the puppy from the outside world, communication with other dogs during a walk. The sooner the baby realizes that no one seeks to offend him, the sooner he will get used to a new home and a new life for himself.

Cynologists advise to take a general course of obedience with the Irish wolfhounds, during which the animal recognizes and learns to execute commands such as: “near”, “to me”, “sit”, “lie”, “stand”, “walk”, “place "," Fu "and others. During training, the dogs are often vaccinated with apprehension, training to shoot (if it is planned to participate in hunting for game), overcoming an obstacle course.

Whoever trained - by the owner or professional, the most friendly attitude towards the dog should always be maintained. Irish wolfhounds are not animals that can be spurred on to execute commands by rudeness and aggression. They are often distracted from the trainer's tasks, switching their attention from class to something else, so you have to be patient. By the way, do not try to instill in the Irish uncharacteristic fighting or service qualities. These animals are strong, but not prone to aggression, smart, but not suitable for performing service-search work.

Health and disease

Like most large breeds with considerable weight, a real "scourge" among the Irish wolfhounds - diseases of the musculoskeletal system: hip dysplasia, osteochondrosis of the shoulder, elbow hygroma, dislocation of the patella, Wobbler's syndrome. The Irish are also familiar with bacterial skin diseases (pyoderma), disorders of the endocrine system (hypothyroidism), cardiovascular system (dilated cardiomyopathy), circulatory system (von Willebrand disease). Often these dogs have eye diseases (cataracts, entropion). Digestive problems are common (torsion of the stomach and intestines). Unfortunately, Irish wolfhounds are not distinguished by excellent health, and their life expectancy, even by dog standards, is small. - from 6 to 10 years, rarely 12 years.

Some interesting facts

The growth of the Irish wolfhounds is legendary. Despite the fact that the tallest dog is considered the Great Dane (record 105.4 cm), the Irishman did not lose much of the palm. In the early 1920s, an Irish wolfhound dog named Broad Bridge Michael lived in South-East England, whose height at 2 years was 100.3 cm.But even those individuals whose height at the withers does not exceed such gigantic marks look real giants, especially when they stand on their hind legs.
Since 1908, Irish wolfhounds have served in the Cloverleaf Guard in their historic homeland. They participate in state celebrations and parades, where royals and other nobility are honored.
About Irish wolfhounds in their homeland they say: "Courageous as a lion and meek as a lamb." In the old days, Irish warriors wore the image of this dogs engraved: "Delicate - in response to affection, terrible - in response to a challenge ”on his armor. Indeed, you can't say better about the Irish wolfhound, whose frightening appearance so frightens the public, and the kind heart is so loved by the owners.