subject: Irish Wolfhound - Facts You Must Know Before Adopting Irish Wolfhound [print this page] Breed Description Breed Description
Among the tallest and largest breeds in the world, the Irish Wolfhound has a commanding appearance with muscular exterior. This gentle dog weighs an average between 90-150 pounds, stands 28-35 inches and may even reach up to 7 feet.
Coat
The Irish Wolfhound has a medium length coat that is coarse and stiff on the legs, body, and on top of the head. The fur around their muzzle and eyes are slightly longer and is wiry in texture. Coat colors include brindle, black, pure white, wheaten, gray, steel gray, red, and fawn.
Activity
Despite the size of the Irish Wolfhound, they do not require much exercise as one might think. They would still need daily walking, though. As with the entire large breed of dogs, they would need a lot of space where they can run around freely. They mature slowly, so vigorous exercise early on is not advisable for a developing dog's development.
Temperament
This gigantic breed of dog is gentle, thoughtful, generous, and highly intelligent. They generally get along well with children and are undeniably loyal with their owners and family. A dog of great size, the Irish Wolfhound is friendly to everyone, so owners might not want to have them watch their households. Although, this breed is known to protect its owner at all costs.
The Irish Wolfhound is known to mature slowly. Full maturation may take around 2-3 years for this dog, and may be a little clumsy at times. Despite this fact, they do grow very fast, so a balanced diet is certainly necessary. This gentle giant is generally suitable for all families, big or small.
Overview
The Irish Wolfhound is even-tempered, intelligent, and patient. This loyal breed is great with almost everybody. A dog of gigantic size, they should never be left unsupervised around infants or other small children as they could easily knock them over.
Care
Their medium length coat requires regular grooming as it tends to become matted. Brushing and combing is essential for the Irish Wolfhound to keep coats in tiptop condition.
Training
The Irish Wolfhound does well when trained as puppies, as they tend to be too large to handle. They should first be leash trained. It is important that they will never be allowed to pull. Their great size would make it difficult for owners to handle them if they make it a habit to pull the leash.
Affectionate and gentle, the Irish Wolfhound should always be trained with loving and positive methods, with firmness and consistency. Firm never included a physical and harsh ways, rather, communicating to them what the owners expect of them.
Character
The size of the Irish Wolfhound seems intimidating. But despite their appearance, this breed is very gentle and affectionate. They even consider everyone as a friend.