[sokel]

Is anyone else owned by a wolfhound ?
We have a 2 1/2 year old who is as soft as muck and in the process of possibly getting a second one who is 10 months old.

[clydesdaleclopper]

I have been owned by 2 but our last was put down just before christmas  They are fabulous - no other dogs can compare.

[doganjo]

I think they are lovely gentle giants.  They have a shorter life span due to their size haven't they?  A bit like Danes?

[Fleecewife]

We had one, then later looked after another for one of our sons.  They are wonderful dogs, with their own take on obedience and a terrible problem with wind     They love to sit on your lap, but can only fit the back end on, love to share your bed but there's no room for you, and in the car they need windows open on both sides so they can stick their head out one side and their tail out of the other     They are the perfect size for a hug  .

[smudger]

I have always hankered after one since reading Finn the wolfhound as a child..... are there any breed/ rescue societies for them?

[robert waddell]

there used to be a breeder along the road from me      they were £1800 a pup 

[robert waddell]

smudger just google Irish wolfhound   and everything will come up      money must be tight they are selling for £950 now    and rescues for £100  but with no paperwork   they retain it

[Fleecewife]

I have always hankered after one since reading Finn the wolfhound as a child..... are there any breed/ rescue societies for them?

That was a good book      Yes there is a wolfhound rescue - well worth doing 

[sokel]

Sadly she wasnt the right dog for my lifestyle as she chased livestock something that I couldnt cope with with the amount of animals we have here
so we are now on the search for a puppy 

[jaykay]

Don't know much about them, just that I admire them very much.
But might most wolfhounds chase livestock, as they're hunting dogs?

[sokel]

Our wolfie aswell as our friends wolfies are 100% with livestock, ours goes out and mixes with goats, lambs, poultry and does not even look at them

[jaykay]

That's good to hear. I wondered if you maybe had the only one who didn't like to chase livestock. My Dad's lurchers were pretty lethal if they ever got into the chicken paddock 

[SallyintNorth]

That's good to hear. I wondered if you maybe had the only one who didn't like to chase livestock. My Dad's lurchers were pretty lethal if they ever got into the chicken paddock 

Lurchers are crossed with sight hounds (eg greyhound) and as such designed to chase and kill anything that moves, especially rabbits and hare.

Wolfhounds are dogs which originally hunted wolves, in part to protect flocks of sheep, so in the same way as foxhounds are mostly interested in foxes and not usually at all in sheep, I presume wolfhounds are more minded to protect sheep and chase predators?

[Fleecewife]

They will chase sheep but it's something you have to be aware of and train out of them from an early age.  In spite of their individualistic approach to rules , chasing livestock can be prevented, but you do need to acknowledge it as a potential problem. 

[jaykay]

An Irish Wolfhound is identified as a sighthound within the various groups of dogs. A Sighthound is one that was used to hunt a particular prey based on the movement of that animal. A Scottish Deerhound coursed deer and Greyhounds chased hare. Although the wolf is no longer available for an Irish Wolfhound to hunt (probably not anything most of us would like to see anyway), many wolfhounds still have some of that coursing instinct remaining.

I had read this, which is why I wondered. But I gather that the coursing instinct isn't as strong anymore as maybe it still is in greyhounds bred for racing.