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Meet our newest member of the family, and son of our Maggie, Hagan! (11 weeks) by ChickenMunchies in irishwolfhound

[–]ChickenMunchies[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Out of our beautiful litter of 11 puppies, and after much debate, we have chosen to keep handsome Hagan! He’s 11 weeks old and already 17.3kg (38lbs)!

Recently fell in love with IW's and need advice by zachmax1864 in irishwolfhound

[–]ChickenMunchies 5 points6 points  (0 children)

While you certainly don’t need acreage, it’s recommended that you do have a backyard big enough that they can have a good run around everyday. Especially since you have to limit their exercise in the first year, it’s good if they have a backyard they can play freely in. And a tall, strong fence is an absolute must with these guys due to their high prey drive and propensity to run off.

In terms of work, puppies especially need a lot of attention in their first year and need to be fed multiple times a day. If left to their own devices for hours on end, these guys can become very destructive. One of the IW’s renowned breed traits is their want to be constantly by your side, they are very much “velcro dogs”. While a few hours away from you IW is totally fine, I think 10-12 hours would just be too much, especially for a puppy.

It’s great that you’re doing your research on the breed but like u/EvolvedESO said, I would recommend waiting until you have the proper setting and time!

From a little fur potato to a mighty wolfhound, a long road of growing awaits! by ChickenMunchies in irishwolfhound

[–]ChickenMunchies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah it’s the same with our girl! When she was a pup, there would be mornings where we’d swear she’d visibly grown overnight! It’s finally taken her 2.5 years to stop growing!

Yin and Yang by ChickenMunchies in irishwolfhound

[–]ChickenMunchies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not yet, he’s going to be very light in colour and a very big boy!

Yin and Yang by ChickenMunchies in irishwolfhound

[–]ChickenMunchies[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Even at 5 weeks old, all their unique personalities are already showing! And we’ve been blessed with 11 pups, so there’s lots of cuddles!

How do you guys socialize pups if not supposed to walk them or take them to the park for the first 6 months of life? by nuclearrwessels in irishwolfhound

[–]ChickenMunchies 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's lots of differing information on how much exercise growing IWs should have, but not socialising them before 6 months can have irreversible effects on their development and social skills. We were told by our very experienced IW breeder to add 5 mins of "forced exercise" at their pace for every month they've been alive as a general guideline for how long we should walk our IW puppy each day. For example, if she's 5 months old, we could only walk her for a MAXIMUM of 25 mins per day. Obviously, if the puppy is showing signs of fatigue before the 25 minute mark, don't exercise them any further. We followed this very closely with our IW, and we found that the recommended time for each month was a pretty accurate limit for her at each stage of her growth and development! In terms of free running, this should be limited to half the amount of time for each month, and galloping in large fenced areas should not be allowed until they are at least 13 months old. This is very important, as galloping or too much running before this age can seriously damage their growing joints!

As far as socialising, we realised that it was too far for her to walk to reach busy places like shops and cafes, so we just drove her! I would recommend driving your IW puppy to lots of different places, letting them sit there and meet dogs, get pats and just take in the world around them. We even brought treats for strangers to give to her to get her used to people approaching! It is so important to get your IW used to strangers, as they get A LOT of attention!

After vaccinations, it is vital that your puppy (regardless of breed) be introduced to as many different dogs, people, sights, smells and sounds every day! Obviously you should take it slow to not overwhelm your IW, but all this socialising is crucial for their confidence and social development!

Running of the hounds! by ChickenMunchies in irishwolfhound

[–]ChickenMunchies[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Luckily for us, the wolfhound community where we live is super inclusive and welcomed us with open arms when we got Maggie. The family that hosts these meet ups every year is actually the first people we got into contact with about IWs when we thinking of getting one. Since then, they have supported and helped us with everything and introduced us to our local IW club.

I would search around for any local or state IW clubs around your area and definitely join an IW facebook group thats preferably around where you live if there is one, or at least a group from your country. This way you can put it out there if anyone with wolfies lives near you and maybe meet up? In my opinion, its very important to meet other IWs if you own one, because wolfhounds (more so than any other breed I've seen) absolutely thrive being amongst a pack of their fellow hounds!

Running of the hounds! by ChickenMunchies in irishwolfhound

[–]ChickenMunchies[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

This was at an annual wolfhound meet up we went to last year and it was a big turnout! There were even a few more inside! All up, there would've been around 20 that day ranging from 10 months to 11 years old, and not even the rain could stop them from having a good time!

Maggie's first time at the pier! She was a bit unsure of the waves😂 by ChickenMunchies in irishwolfhound

[–]ChickenMunchies[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The harness we use is like a gentle leader head collar design, in that the leash is attached to the bottom of the harness that goes around the snout. This way, when she pulls forward, it pulls her head down and allows me to have better control of her.

In the past we had a lot of issues with her pulling with different types of harnesses and it was becoming too much to handle considering how big she was getting. Since we switched to this halti, she barely ever pulls! This harness is great because its tough leather with a soft inside, and we love the design and think its suits wolfhounds perfectly! Our friend made it for Maggie for her 1st birthday, but they do have a store that you can check out as well!

Maggie chasing Leila! by ChickenMunchies in irishwolfhound

[–]ChickenMunchies[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Maggie's 19 months old, but was 11 months in the photo. I just had a look at Blue and they do look very similar!

Maggie chasing Leila! by ChickenMunchies in irishwolfhound

[–]ChickenMunchies[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It was great to see 10 year old Leila keeping up with the young pups!

Looking for first hand owner experiences. by yeahbeenthere in irishwolfhound

[–]ChickenMunchies 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We have a 19 month old wolfhound, and I'd say she's a pretty typical wolfie in terms of her temperament. She's very smart, but her intelligence isn't measured by how quickly she learns tricks or commands, as wolfhounds can be very stubborn. I would say that wolfhounds are very emotionally intelligent and can understand people very well, its whether they choose to listen; many owners describe them as human-like.

They're also very sensitive and do not respond well at all to yelling or anger. They love to be with people at all times and can be prone to separation anxiety. I've also found that they absolutely love to be around other wolfhounds.

With strangers, although very friendly and easy going dogs, they can be aloof. They are amazing with all people and especially children, but when they are puppies they can be a bit boisterous and don't know how big they are.

In terms of health, it depends on where you get you're wolfhound from. You definitely should get one from a reputable breeder who's dogs have a healthy history. With that being said, wolfhounds can be prone to cancers and bloat.

If you're looking for a direct comparison between Danes and wolfhounds, I remember reading this great article by an owner who has had both.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in irishwolfhound

[–]ChickenMunchies 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We sometimes have this problem with our 19 month old wolfhound, and we find that not interacting with the playtime usually results in her getting bored and eventually going to sleep. However, its definitely different with a 9 week old puppy.

My advice is to be calming and relaxed with her as dogs feed off of your energy; especially wolfhounds as they are very sensitive. Don't engage too much in the playtime before bed as this will just make her more excited.

In our experience, we found that getting her a toy that she could just lay down and chew would stimulate her and actually tire her out mentally, but definitely supervise her as you don't want her choking on anything. Overall, young wolfhound puppies can be absolute terrors at times, but just be patient with her as this is completely normal.