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So me and my partner are thinking about getting another dog, whilst I personally would prefer something in the big and black variety, Doberman, Rottweiler etc....she's a wolfhound person.....we've already got the Borzoi, and she would like an Irish Wolfhound. So I was taking a look at the New Zealand Kennel Club website, and it has this...

Irish Wolfhound
Hound
Group: Hound
Size: extra large
Lifespan: 5-7 years
Exercise: medium
Grooming: very low
Trainability: low
Watchdog ability: medium
Protection ability: low
Area of Origin: Ireland
Date of Origin: ancient times
Other Names: none
Original Function: coursing wolves and elk

Ancient times ? WTF does that even mean.....they may as well just write, "Some time in the past, we aren't sure when, but boy howdy, it was a long time ago"


After seeing this pic though I really wonder if we should rethink getting this breed, apparently the guy in the pic is around 6' 1"

Big and "Trainability: low" might not be a good combination.

If you have the time and place to exercise them well these are great dogs.

Husky. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_Husky or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Husky

Samoyed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoyed_(dog)

I used to take my Samoyed to the local park and sell rides on him to smaller kids. Charged them $.005 a ride and then bought the furball an ice cream with his profits.

Well I'm hoping to get a female, that way the Russian Wolfhound we have already could get some action. We also reckon if they had pups between the two would be a nice mix.

Luka, the dog we have now is about 6 and hasn't even humped a leg, he's just like the 40 year old virign. Though, if he does get some dog lovin', do you think that would make him more inclined to try and mount the couch etc... or as it's in his nature to not hump anything that will always be the case ?

All I know is that I wouldn't want one of those Irish Wolfhounds humping me leg ... especially since the humping would be occurring above me leg ... if ya knows what I mean.

Lifespan: 5 - 7 years????

I have had dogs all my life. They become an integral part of my family. I get very attached to them, and grieve when they go. My current dog, Hank, (King Henry of Bright in the AKC registry ) a springer is 7 years old. He has arthritis and hip dysplaysia but he is still a springer. He recently took on a raccoon at 3am that decided to see what was on the inside of the doggie door, cornering it behind the couch until Animal Control arrived (fun night! )

7 years is too short.

Digerati wrote:Lifespan: 5 - 7 years????

I have had dogs all my life. They become an integral part of my family. I get very attached to them, and grieve when they go. My current dog, Hank, (King Henry of Bright in the AKC registry ) a springer is 7 years old. He has arthritis and hip dysplaysia but he is still a springer. He recently took on a raccoon at 3am that decided to see what was on the inside of the doggie door, cornering it behind the couch until Animal Control arrived (fun night! )

7 years is too short.

My partner has seen a great deal of Irish Wolfhounds older than 7, and she certainly seems to think that lacks accuracy. I agree though, that is too short, something that would really want to research thoroughly with the breeders. Reading around various comments, someone indicated theirs lived to 13 with no health issues, so to suggest a max lifespan of 7 seems haphazard. Then again, what should I expect from a website that says they originate from "Ancient Times"

Re Dpbermans (Dobermen?) and Rottweilers; "Never trust a dog with orange eyebrows" (Terry Pratchett, one ofthe Discworld books but can't remember which one).
Just kidding; every Doberman and Rotty I've met has been lovely; even the ones with sociopathic owners!

Beth1957 wrote:Re Dpbermans (Dobermen?) and Rottweilers; "Never trust a dog with orange eyebrows" (Terry Pratchett, one ofthe Discworld books but can't remember which one).
Just kidding; every Doberman and Rotty I've met has been lovely; even the ones with sociopathic owners!

I never trust anything ginger, person or animal

Met plenty of Rottys, the only one I didn't really like was a show dog, had a bit of aggression....

I'm really warming to the hounds though, our one now is just a big couch potato He's become a bit of a foody dog now too since I've been living with him, does need to lose a couple of kg.....heading into summer now, so he'll be tearing up the back yard pretty soon.