Irish wolfhound

Hi
I'm looking for more info on this awesome breed. I'm trying to figure out if it's good for my family. We live in a large apartment that has a dog park, I am also an active hiker/walker, and there are plenty of parks nearby to provide exercise. I love HUGE breeds and have wanted a wolfhound for a very long time. Do you think it doable? Is there anything else I need to consider? I'm already aware of high vet and food bills.

Astounding cancer rates, high bloat risk, cardiac issues, and a short life would be my only words of warning. There are no cancer free lines, there are no cardiac issue free lines no matter what anyone promises you.

Average life for these guys is 6-8 years. That's pretty short for just about any dog.

I don't know a whole lot about this breed, I've met a few briefly but never worked or spent time with them.

How much experience do you have owning dogs? From what I understand, wolfhounds aren't necessarily an "easy" breed. It sounds like you can provide decent exercise, but keep in mind - many sighthounds can never be let off leash, so they'll need to stay on a leash when you go hiking and such. I have heard mixed opinions about whether wolfhounds fit this description, you'd need to ask some breeders or owners how their dogs do off leash. But there's a strong likelihood the dog will never be able to be trained to be offleash without a fence.

They also can have a high prey drive, so don't always make good dog park dogs. I'm actually not sure how dog friendly wolfhounds are with similarly sized dogs, but if there are smaller dogs at the dog park, it could be a problem, and you'd need to find another mean to get exercise. You could look for a rescue or an adult dog from a breeder who doesn't have high prey drive, but with a puppy, they may grow to not be good around smaller dogs/animals.

Again, they have very severe health problems. Most giant breeds do, but wolfhounds can be even worse than others.

Depending on your experience and your willingness to deal with things like protectiveness and prey drive, you might consider another sighthound. An adult retired racing greyhound may be a good choice, disregarding that they can't be let off leash either, you can find one that "washed out" due to poor prey drive so is a good dog-park dog, they can get quite large, and are excellent apartment dogs.

A borzoi might also be a consideration.

If you think you'll need a dog to be trained to be off leash, I'd suggest you consider breeds outside of the sighthound family, or possibly a rhodesian ridgeback, who are also "a lot of dog" for beginners, but do well in apartments and tend to be less prey-drivey than other sighthounds. If the dog park will be your main form of exercising your dog, you should be sure you're choosing a breed that tends to do well interacting with other dogs in groups.

It's very, very, very difficult to obtain one at all, even for people who have established relationships with breeders. The wolfhound community is very insular and extremely protective of their breed, because somehow a few years ago a puppymill got their hands on some and produced a lot of extraordinarily unhealthy dogs that ended up in very bad situations.

If you're serious about wanting a wolfhound, your best bet is to attend dog shows and meet some breeders in person. Don't bug them right before they go in the ring, but afterwards when everyone is relaxing is a great time to ask questions and talk to folks.

Meeting them in person will help in establishing a relationship where a breeder feels comfortable selling a dog to you. Be prepared to wait several years as they get to know you and also for the right planned litter to be born.

I breed borzois. A borzoi could be a good fit for you, and some males do get giant (34"-36"). If you decide to get a borzoi, please get an older puppy or adult (12 months +). Very young puppies need free choice access to a yard so they can play on demand, or their physical development will not be correct (their chests don't drop, front legs turn east/west, roachy backs from underdeveloped rear, etc.) Overall borzois are a very healthy breed and barring accidents or catastrophic health failures, they tend to live 12-14 years. I've met a couple of 15 year olds. My girl's sire and his brother are both 12 and going strong.

If you're looking for other giant breeds that would do well in an apartment, you might check into Leonbergers as well. They get very large, but are in general very laid back and friendly. The ones I've been around are like giant golden retrievers, but with more brains. As a breed they also have health challenges, but not as severe as irish wolfhounds.

If you like the large size and shaggy face in particular, you will have an easier time finding a Scottish deerhound. They also have a lot of health issues (bone cancer, bloat, heart disease, etc.) but weirdly enough the deerhound community is a lot more open to mentoring new people.

There are also dogs called American staghounds, which are an old breed but not recognized by the AKC. Some lines produce "shags" which look a lot like a deerhound or wolfhound. None will be quite as huge, as they are working dogs and the irish wolfhound size is not very functional in the field. Breeders can also be harder to find because they don't advertise, but they are fantastic dogs and well worth the effort. Sometimes you can find them in rescues, on petfinder they are often listed as "greyhound mix". They tend to be extremely healthy as they are bred to have the stamina and health to work out in the field, and their genepool isn't as narrow as the deerhounds and wolfhounds.

Irish wolfhounds aren't actually the original dog used for hunting, they are a modern recreation made from mixing deerhounds, great danes, and other stuff.

Edit: This is a staghound currently for adoption
https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/32262974/

I thought this, but I know someone who managed to get three (from three different breeders) in a really short amount of time. They'd had the breed in the past, so perhaps that helped...

It does help, a lot! Once you have one and are doing well with it, their breeder can recommend you to other folks in the community you're pretty much set.

It's mainly folks completely new to the breed that need to be prepared to wait a while for a puppy and work to establish a relationship with a breeder.