The origin of the Irish wolfhound, the standard of the exterior, the character of the dog, a description of its health, advice on care, interesting facts. Price when buying a puppy. The Irish Wolfhound is the legendary dog of Ireland, whose unparalleled deeds are repeatedly described in ancient Irish legends, sagas and knightly ballads. It is unlikely that in the entire modern canine world there will be even a dozen dogs capable not only of surpassing the heroic history of the existence of this wolfhound, but even of at least surpassing it in size.
And although the exterior of the Irish wolfhound is not as graceful, beautiful and aristocratic as in other breeds, but this heroic dog with a fearless and noble character was depicted on the coats of arms and shields by the Irish knights, framing the image with an unusually suitable motto for the breed: “Lenis – respondentem amplexus dira– provocat respondentem ", which in Latin means:" Gentle - in response to affection, terrible - in response to a challenge."
History of the origin of the Irish wolfhound
The origin of the breed, as is often the case with ancient varieties, is lost in the mists of time, in the flowering heather valleys and cold rocky islands of Ireland. Its past is sung in ancient sagas and songs, covered with epic legends and poetic tales.
One of the legends that have survived to this day says that in ancient times, when the ancient Celtic peoples inhabiting Ireland were under the rule of druid priests, and Ireland itself was divided into five kingdoms, one powerful druid, hopelessly in love with an Irish princess, in revenge for her refusal, he decided to turn her into a dog. And everything would have turned out for him as best as possible (he was not too powerful) if the witch-nurse of the princess had not intervened in the matter. Not having enough witchcraft power to completely resist the spell of the great magician, she still managed to add one condition to the spell: the princess will be able to regain her human form only after giving birth to puppies. In the end, this is what happened. The princess dog gave birth to two puppies: a boy named Bran and a girl named Skolann. Thus, the princess really regained her human appearance, but her puppies remained forever dogs, laying the foundation for the noble Irish wolfhounds family. Wolfhounds, not only of royal origin, but combining the mind and kind heart of a person with the selfless courage and loyalty of a fighting dog.
But let's leave aside the legends and try to understand the history of the breed, based on the research of modern researchers. The Irish Wolfhound, along with the same old breed as the Scottish Deerhound, is a representative of the rare group of northern busty (ie "bearded") greyhounds. Scientists suggest that these two breeds of dogs, outwardly very similar to each other and for a long time in no way separated one from one, appeared in the British Isles along with the Celtic tribes who settled these lands several hundred years before our era. Archaeologists have long known the passion of the Celts for gigantic-sized dogs (a lot of evidence was found for this during excavations), used for hunting a large game and for protecting villages.
One of the first written descriptions of the hunting dogs of the Celts was given by the ancient Greek historian, geographer and propraetor Flavius Arrianus in his treatise On Hunting. It is likely that Arrian himself (Greek by origin, but a citizen of Rome) who had never been to the British Isles, was able to meet them in Rome, where the animals were brought, as exotic trophies captured by the Roman legions.
The seizure of the territories inhabited by the Celtic tribes by the Romans significantly pushed them to the north. The Celts were forced to retreat to the northern lands, taking their huge dogs with them. Only towards the end of the 4th century AD did the Romans establish their final rule in the northern regions. Outlandish Celtic dogs begin to be shipped regularly to the Roman Empire. We find confirmation of this in a preserved letter from the Roman consul Quintus Aurelius Symmachus. Here is what he writes to his brother Flavian in 391: “… your personal gift - seven Irish dogs - was a particular success. All Rome looked at them in amazement, conveying with bated breath from mouth to mouth that they had been brought in iron cages. " It must be said that the wolfhounds brought to Rome were intended for persecution, arranged in the Colosseum for the amusement of the crowd. They were very rare for the Romans. Moreover, not every Roman aristocrat was even allowed to own an "Irishman", not to mention commoners (they were completely forbidden to own big dogs).
In the X century, new conquerors appeared in Ireland - the Vikings, and in the XII century - the British. In battles with them, the proud Irish not only successfully used their huge wolfhounds, but also depicted them on shields and battle banners. And if the Vikings deservedly and respectfully appreciated the fighting dogs of the Irish. The British described them exclusively as "arrogant, immeasurably vicious, powerful, furious, shameless and sharp-clawed monsters."
However, the negative attitude did not prevent the British from bringing several copies of the "Irish" to England. And these huge dogs became the adornment of the royal court of England for a long time. In the future, puppies of huge wolfhounds were invariably presented as a gift to Spanish grandees, French cardinals, Persian sheikhs and Asian khans. There is a legend that several Wolfhound dogs were presented even to Emperor Akbar, the founder of the Mughal Empire. The export of wolfhounds was so great that Oliver Cromwell, who came to power in England, issued a decree prohibiting the export of these dogs from the state (it is interesting that this decree was canceled only recently).
In the 19th century, the breed again experienced its decline, which was greatly facilitated by the outbreak of the famine of 1845-1848. Giant wolfhounds have become a rarity even in Ireland itself. And everything could have ended deplorably for the breed, if not for the Irish dog breeder Richardson, who in 1840 managed to transfer not only the main breeding traditions, but also wolfhounds with old blood lines to his heir Sir John Power. It was John Power who was engaged in the preservation and then the revival of the "Irish" during the hungry years. Ultimately, he devoted his whole life to this business until 1870. Through the efforts of Sir Power, and then Captain of the British Army Sir George Graham, the breed was revived.
The modern exterior of the Wolfhound is largely the merit of Sir George Graham, who spent a lot of effort on reviving the former size and status of the Irish giant dogs. To this end, he used not only the best representatives of the species, collecting them all over the British Isles, but also infused the blood of Scottish deerhounds and Danish dogs, and even conducted crosses with Russian greyhounds and Pyrenean mountain dogs.
Thanks to Captain Graham, in 1979, wolfhounds first participated in an exhibition in Dublin, finally gaining official recognition.
In 1885, the first Irish Wolfhound Club was founded in Great Britain. In the same year, the first breed standard was created (the original Graham standard), which still exists today.
In 1886, Sir Graham instituted an annual prize and the so-called "Graham Transitional Shield", which are awarded to the best representative of the breed. The Irish consider their wolfhound to be the national pride of Ireland. His images can be found on postcards and stamps, china sets, a bottle of Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey, and a sixpence silver coin.
Nowadays the Irish Wolfhound breed is recognized by almost all canine organizations: FCI, AKC, UKC, ANKC, NKC, NZKC, APRI, ACR, CKC. The Irish Wolfhound is once again at the pinnacle of fame and popularity with dog lovers from all over the world.
Purpose and use of the Irish wolfhound
For a long time, large wolfhound dogs in Ireland were valued primarily as excellent hunting dogs intended for baiting bears, wolves, wild boars and deer. They were also actively used for military purposes: it cost nothing for a large dog to knock a rider off a horse or, attacking an infantryman, grab his throat.
Nowadays, the military exploits of the "Irish" are in the past, and they do not always succeed with pleasure. Therefore, now the giant dog can be more often found in the show ring as a show dog or at the stadium in agility competitions. Also, the wolfhound is often used as a reliable watchman or guard.
But the most curious thing is that the Irish wolfhounds are still in the service of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain. Dogs "Irish", according to the tradition existing since 1908, serve in the famous Regiment of the Irish Guards Infantry, participating in the accompaniment of the Queen of Great Britain during her solemn "outings".
Irish Wolfhound External Standard
The representative of the breed is a uniquely huge dog, of the most impressive appearance, with a powerful muscular body and a very strong bone. The size of the wolfhound is truly unique, you still need to look for another such dog. An adult dog "Irish" reaches 86 centimeters at the withers and is never less than 79 centimeters. The female is slightly lower in stature, but not less than 71 centimeters at the withers. The body weight of thoroughbred individuals is not less than 55 kg (for a dog) and 41 kg (for a female).
- Head elongated, even, with a not too wide skull, seemingly disproportionately small in comparison with the size of the body. The superciliary arches, the longitudinal frontal groove and the occipital protuberance are relatively weak. The muzzle is elongated, narrowed towards the nose. Stop (transition from forehead to muzzle) is expressed smoothly. The lips are dense, with small flecks. The bridge of the nose is straight, of medium width. The nose is large and black. The jaws are strong. The teeth are white, rather large, with large canines. Scissor bite (ideal) or straight (acceptable).
- Eyes round, small or small in size, with a straight and not wide set. The color of the eyes is dark (amber-brown, brown or dark brown). The eyes are quite expressive, attentive, and somewhat simple-minded.
- Ears Irish wolfhound set low, small in size, drooping, "rosette".
- Neck long, strong and muscular, slightly arched, without dewlap.
- Torso large, but elongated, muscular, with a moderately wide and very deep chest, absolutely not inclined to be overweight. The back is strong, long and straight. The line of the back is almost straight or raised towards the croup. The croup is strong, wide, somewhat raised. The belly is well tucked up, athletic.
- Tail set high, long (in the lowered state - well below the hock), slightly curved, well covered with hair.
- Limbs straight, long, strong and muscular, strong bones. Feet: Round and moderately large, tightly knit. The nails are dark in color, curved, strong.
- Wool in structure, it is quite coarse and tough, like wire. The “beard” and hair above the eyes have the most wiry stiffness.
- Color The Irish wolfhound can be pure white, evenly gray, red and black, and also more refined - deer or brindle.
The character of Ireland's best wolfhound
The Irish Wolfhound is an amazingly kind and kind-hearted dog with great friendliness and nobility. It is difficult to imagine, looking at this gigantic, but touchingly cute animal, that it is capable of behaving extremely aggressively and ruthlessly. And yet it is so. The Irish have many sayings associated with this duality of behavior of their beloved dog. For example: "Lamb in the house - hunting - lion" or "While stroking - sweet and good, you will not finish - you will not collect bones." Having lived with this giant dog side by side for more than one century, should they not know how difficult the character of this dog is.
The dog has a very sensitive and delicate nervous organization, as a person is prone to stress (especially at a puppy age), needs attention and affection, and it strives itself, also treats its owners tenderly. But in case of danger threatening its owners, it instantly turns into a wild beast, reminiscent of an unbridled berserker, showing wonders not only of courage, but also of out of nowhere bloodlust. Therefore, this dog needs the obligatory timely socialization and correct training of the dog handler, despite such a cute initial behavior.
Irish Wolfhound Health
In general, the old breed Irish Wolfhound was quite strong in terms of genetic predisposition to diseases. But, unfortunately, not everything is so perfect nowadays. And the reason here, apparently, is that in order to restore the old exterior of the animal, breeders had to cross the primordially aboriginal dogs with a number of dogs of other breeds: the Russian greyhound, the Danish mastiff and the deerhound. Which led to the emergence of breed diseases, transmitted from generation to generation.
Among the diseases of Irish wolfhounds, the most common are: osteosarcoma (cancer of the bones of the extremities), cancer of the lymph nodes, arrhythmia, osteochondrosis, problems with joints and bones, bloating and indigestion. The life expectancy of these giants is small and reaches an average of 7 years (rarely a dog lives up to 10 years).
Irish Wolfhound Care Tips
The Irish wolfhound is extremely unpretentious in content. It is enough only occasionally to comb out the hard coat (the condition of the dog's coat should give the impression of disheveled hair). Bathing a giant is problematic because of its considerable size, and therefore you can bathe it only as it gets dirty or once every 3-4 months.
Nutrition is very important. And not only a properly balanced diet, but also its quantity. It is also important not to overdo it. This not only leads to the appearance of excess weight and loss of conformation, but also to health problems (the stomach and intestines of the wolfhound are very vulnerable).
Interesting facts about the Irish Wolfhound
Today, the Irish wolfhound occupies the first line in the list of the tallest dogs in the world. This huge graceful animal is rightfully included in the Guinness Book of Records as "the tallest dog in the world, the tallest specimen reached a height of 99.5 centimeters at the withers."
It is curious that in the old days the strength and valor of these giants were judged by the color of their eyes. It was believed that the redder the wolfhound's eyes were, the more wolves or enemies he was able to kill in battle. And the higher was appreciated among experts, warriors and hunters.
Price when buying an Irish Wolfhound puppy
The first "Irish" were imported to Russia (then the USSR) rather late - in 1989. And they came from Poland and Germany. Almost all imported animals were of high quality and gave excellent offspring, which managed to win prizes at international exhibitions. Today there are a number of nurseries (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Lipetsk, Volgograd) breeding Irish wolfhounds that meet all international standards.
The center of Irish breeders, as before, remains Moscow. The average cost of purebred puppies from elite parents is 3500–4000 US dollars. You can find a puppy from hands for 200-400 US dollars (but who exactly you bought will be known later).
For more information about the Irish wolfhound breed, see this video:
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