Irish wolfhounds?
- Thread starter Romy
- Start date
I have a friend that has 3 of them. I was rather surprised to see the personality difference from a Irish and a Borzoi. The Irish are more like bruisers compared to the other sighthounds. However- I would not say table clearning tails. They are however more physical in the house. She also has had a problem with preventing chewing. Getting them to the age of two has been alot of work.. ( lol..). They also body slam more when running in the yard. And of course, the bone is alot denser, and bigger. Seeing them in a home environment was rather interesting to witness. Spend some time with them at the breeders and this will give you some idea. IMO they were more of a " working type breed" mentality than a sighthound.
R
In general the website of the National Club is a good place to start looking for breeders and information on a particular breed.
I found these educational links at http://www.iwclubofamerica.org/
IWCA Puppy Buyers Guide
So You Want to Own an Irish Wolfhound
There are more educational links at http://www.iwclubofamerica.org/breededu.htm
I found these educational links at http://www.iwclubofamerica.org/
IWCA Puppy Buyers Guide
So You Want to Own an Irish Wolfhound
There are more educational links at http://www.iwclubofamerica.org/breededu.htm
Thanks everyone! Whenever we meet them in person, we end up more preoccupied with the front end than the back so I couldn't remember noticing. Those are some good links Red, thanks for directing me that way. Robert has decided that once he's done with school, and we buy a house that he'd like to get an IW, so we're trying to do all our research now.
The "big bruiser" thing would fit him perfectly! lol. He wants a really big sighthound that he can wrestle with and that will be a his giant marshmallow schmoo cuddle love buddy. And pull him around on his skateboard. One of his complaints about Strider is that Strider is more interested in playing tag, chase, etc. Robert used to be a football player, so he's more into contact sports.
The "big bruiser" thing would fit him perfectly! lol. He wants a really big sighthound that he can wrestle with and that will be a his giant marshmallow schmoo cuddle love buddy. And pull him around on his skateboard. One of his complaints about Strider is that Strider is more interested in playing tag, chase, etc. Robert used to be a football player, so he's more into contact sports.
We've actually tried to stay away from them because of their lifespan. But then he had the misfortune of spending time with some and completely fell head over heels for them.
When you say working breed do you mean more active and into things than most sighthounds? Or more oriented towards their human handlers?
A couple of other things he loved about them is that the ones we have met seemed a lot less aloof than most sighthounds. Strider is a very outgoing borzoi, and he likes that.
I wish they lived longer.
Some of the IW people we talked to said that 8 is the average, but that they aren't old at 8 years old. Apparently most IWs die of catastrophic failure of some kind in the prime of their lives. Spleenic torsion, bloat, heart problems, HD (it's a big problem when a 140+ lb dog cannot stand up on it's own anymore), bone cancer, etc. Apparently it is possible for them to live very long, but very unlikely. I guess the key would be avoiding all those catastrophes somehow.
Interesting story, the aunt of Strider's obedience trainer had an irish wolfhound in Alaska. He refused to come in the house. He never once came in the house, lived outside all winter, all summer, every season every day. He lived to be 18 years old. Once he fought a grizzly bear to protect their 4 year old child playing in the yard, it nearly killed him but her uncle frightened the bear away by firing a gun into the air. I mentioned the story to one IW person and she said that was a particularly famous dog among the IW folks.
When you say working breed do you mean more active and into things than most sighthounds? Or more oriented towards their human handlers?
A couple of other things he loved about them is that the ones we have met seemed a lot less aloof than most sighthounds. Strider is a very outgoing borzoi, and he likes that.
I wish they lived longer.
Some of the IW people we talked to said that 8 is the average, but that they aren't old at 8 years old. Apparently most IWs die of catastrophic failure of some kind in the prime of their lives. Spleenic torsion, bloat, heart problems, HD (it's a big problem when a 140+ lb dog cannot stand up on it's own anymore), bone cancer, etc. Apparently it is possible for them to live very long, but very unlikely. I guess the key would be avoiding all those catastrophes somehow. Interesting story, the aunt of Strider's obedience trainer had an irish wolfhound in Alaska. He refused to come in the house. He never once came in the house, lived outside all winter, all summer, every season every day. He lived to be 18 years old. Once he fought a grizzly bear to protect their 4 year old child playing in the yard, it nearly killed him but her uncle frightened the bear away by firing a gun into the air. I mentioned the story to one IW person and she said that was a particularly famous dog among the IW folks.
The IWs I have shown have been calm and sedate. Compaied to the Zois who I find are big goofs. Romy Greg and Lexy said to get some stacked pics (you stack and hubby takes the pic), send them to me, I will forward them and the will give you a fair and honest evaluation. But honestly taking him to nationals here would be better. Youd get to meet Ivor and Im showing an Ivor kid.
irish wolfhound owner
Hi. I am the owner of an Irish Wolfhound female. She is almost 6 years old. She has been with me since she was 2 months old. I would love to answer your questions.
Regarding your first question...I am not sure if you are asking about the shape of the tail, or the movement of the tail. Her tail does not hang downwards...it has a slight curve thatmakes it point upwards. If you like,I can take some photos. However, she DOES NOT hit things with her tail, and she DOES NOT make things fall with her tail. Her movements are all SOOOOO slow, she doesn´t really move anything with her tail. When she is really really happy, you can hear her tail thump on the ground, the bed or a wooden door, but she hasn´t enough speed in her tail to make something fall. At least that is my experience. I can also try to take a video of her moving her tail, so you can see what I am talking about. (she doesn´t wag her tail that often either)
As for the other comments:
- I never had problems with her chewing things
- I don´t know what you mean by bruiser, but I think it has to do with her activity level. She is very passive and calm. She DOES NOT like to struggle. She is very delicate...you really have to be very sweet to her.
- She does not body slam. Ocassionally (like once a month) she will have a burst in energy. She will start running and slamming on to the rest of my dogs. However, this goes on for maybe 2-3 minutes and she is then exhausted and won´t play for the rest of the week. Shegenerally does not like to play.
-She DOES NOT like to be petted by strangers. She isn´t as aloof as other sighthounds, but she does not like strangers. She stays in place when they pat her, but moves to a calmer places some minutes after.
- She IS NOT a working dog. She doesn´t have a lot of energy, she gets tired easily, and she is hard to motivate. She doesn´t concentrate a lot either. All her movements are slow, so even for a SIT, you can see how every muscle moves calmly into place. She does seem to be a bit more focused on me than other sighthounds to their owners, but that doesn´t mean she is going to work...she will simply admire me from her bed, with a really sweet smile.
- The parents of my dog lived to be 12 and 10 years old. Her breeder told me it´s not THAT unusual for them to live that long. I really hope he was right. So far, she has been healthy. We have been treating her with homeopathy and acupunture in the hope of extending her life span.
- She does not protect me or the house from anything. She is easily spooked and really quiet.
I hope this helps a bit. I imagine mexican lines are a bit different than the lines in your country, but from what I have read, she has a fairly standard personality.
I will be really happy to answer other questions you might have
Mariana
Hi. I am the owner of an Irish Wolfhound female. She is almost 6 years old. She has been with me since she was 2 months old. I would love to answer your questions.
Regarding your first question...I am not sure if you are asking about the shape of the tail, or the movement of the tail. Her tail does not hang downwards...it has a slight curve thatmakes it point upwards. If you like,I can take some photos. However, she DOES NOT hit things with her tail, and she DOES NOT make things fall with her tail. Her movements are all SOOOOO slow, she doesn´t really move anything with her tail. When she is really really happy, you can hear her tail thump on the ground, the bed or a wooden door, but she hasn´t enough speed in her tail to make something fall. At least that is my experience. I can also try to take a video of her moving her tail, so you can see what I am talking about. (she doesn´t wag her tail that often either)
As for the other comments:
- I never had problems with her chewing things
- I don´t know what you mean by bruiser, but I think it has to do with her activity level. She is very passive and calm. She DOES NOT like to struggle. She is very delicate...you really have to be very sweet to her.
- She does not body slam. Ocassionally (like once a month) she will have a burst in energy. She will start running and slamming on to the rest of my dogs. However, this goes on for maybe 2-3 minutes and she is then exhausted and won´t play for the rest of the week. Shegenerally does not like to play.
-She DOES NOT like to be petted by strangers. She isn´t as aloof as other sighthounds, but she does not like strangers. She stays in place when they pat her, but moves to a calmer places some minutes after.
- She IS NOT a working dog. She doesn´t have a lot of energy, she gets tired easily, and she is hard to motivate. She doesn´t concentrate a lot either. All her movements are slow, so even for a SIT, you can see how every muscle moves calmly into place. She does seem to be a bit more focused on me than other sighthounds to their owners, but that doesn´t mean she is going to work...she will simply admire me from her bed, with a really sweet smile.
- The parents of my dog lived to be 12 and 10 years old. Her breeder told me it´s not THAT unusual for them to live that long. I really hope he was right. So far, she has been healthy. We have been treating her with homeopathy and acupunture in the hope of extending her life span.
- She does not protect me or the house from anything. She is easily spooked and really quiet.
I hope this helps a bit. I imagine mexican lines are a bit different than the lines in your country, but from what I have read, she has a fairly standard personality.
I will be really happy to answer other questions you might have
Mariana
The IW's I have met and have gotten to watch grow up from a 2 month old puppy to a (just) over 1 year old now. She doesnt seem like she would be a table clearer, she doesnt really "wag" her tail if thats what you mean by table clearing. She isnt aloof at all, but doesnt beg for attention either, she will walk up, aknowledge you and leave you be, Unless she knows you well, me she will basiclly crawl in to my lap lol. She will play play play until she drops dead if she was allowed to. She is a brusier so to say since she crashs in to so much stuff (park benchs, trees, dogs ect) playing. The lady that owns her has owned the breed since she was a little girl (I dont want to age her but she is in her 50's) in ireland. She has had some live in to their teens. But alot havnt made it to 10 years old. Her last one died (well actually her 2nd last one. The last one that died was a 3 month old puppy, the brother to the dog I was talking about above) at just a few weeks shy of 8 years old, she battled a terrible sickness for the last 3 months until Verna (her owner) had to put her down.
I have always been intrested in them, but they are the heart break breed, ad I dont think I could deal with it. Which has what got me in to looking in to borzois and other wolfish hounds. I love their looks and size, but the age kills me.
I have always been intrested in them, but they are the heart break breed, ad I dont think I could deal with it. Which has what got me in to looking in to borzois and other wolfish hounds. I love their looks and size, but the age kills me.
photos
Here are some photos of her. I just took them. In the first one you can see the fall of her tail. In the second and third one, you can see the maximum movement of her tail.
http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j19/tralali1/spy/?action=view¤t=DSC05310.jpg
http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j19/tralali1/spy/?action=view¤t=DSC05321.jpg
http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j19/tralali1/spy/?action=view¤t=DSC05323.jpg
Here are some photos of her. I just took them. In the first one you can see the fall of her tail. In the second and third one, you can see the maximum movement of her tail.
http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j19/tralali1/spy/?action=view¤t=DSC05310.jpg
http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j19/tralali1/spy/?action=view¤t=DSC05321.jpg
http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j19/tralali1/spy/?action=view¤t=DSC05323.jpg
Compared to other sighthounds they are bruisers. More physical than other of the sighthounds. The other sighthounds are more aware of their body positions etc. My friends they start doing " rough and tumble" and furniture starts flying.. Another person I know that has them has the same situation.
I prefer the subtile type nature of the other sighthounds.. Not to mention- the long lived life span as well..
Another person I know that has them has the same situation. I prefer the subtile type nature of the other sighthounds.. Not to mention- the long lived life span as well..
I have done companion obedience training on 2 IW, same owner. Both are lovely dogs, very quiet and friendly. The neutered male is certainly more layed back than the female (then again she is only a year old), but neither dog clears out the house. The biggest concern that the owner had was pulling on leash especially when meeting people, the IW went, she got dragged lol.
But that was an easy fix (flat collars and a clicker) and we are now getting ready to have them together on a splitter, so they can be walked at the same time by her.
But that was an easy fix (flat collars and a clicker) and we are now getting ready to have them together on a splitter, so they can be walked at the same time by her.
Thanks everybody for all of your experiences! Aww, the pictures! Sooo cute! *melts*
What we decided about the lifespan thing, is that nothing is really ever guaranteed with any dog of any breed. Our shepherd Anko was young, and we looked forward to having her with us for another 10+ years when she was stolen. Uncontrollable events can end our time with our animals prematurely and break our hearts, but that's not a reason to not let them occupy a place in our hearts for the time they are here. It's not set in stone by any means that we will get an irish wolfhound. If we do, Strider will probably be middle aged or old by that point since Robert has a few years left of school. That should give us time to figure out if they are right for us. Thank you again for all your input, all of it, every little bit is appreciated.
What we decided about the lifespan thing, is that nothing is really ever guaranteed with any dog of any breed. Our shepherd Anko was young, and we looked forward to having her with us for another 10+ years when she was stolen. Uncontrollable events can end our time with our animals prematurely and break our hearts, but that's not a reason to not let them occupy a place in our hearts for the time they are here. It's not set in stone by any means that we will get an irish wolfhound. If we do, Strider will probably be middle aged or old by that point since Robert has a few years left of school. That should give us time to figure out if they are right for us. Thank you again for all your input, all of it, every little bit is appreciated.
