General Appearance
Of great size and commanding appearance, the Irish Wolfhound is remarkable in combining power and swiftness with keen sight. The largest and tallest of the galloping hounds, in general type he is a rough-coated, Greyhound-like breed; very muscular, strong though gracefully built; movements easy and active; head and neck carried high, the tail carried with an upward sweep with a slight curve towards the extremity. The minimum height and weight of dogs should be 32 inches and 120 pounds; of bitches, 30 inches and 105 pounds; these to apply only to hounds over 18 months of age. Anything below this should be debarred from competition. Great size, including height at shoulder and proportionate length of body, is the desideratum to be aimed at, and it is desired to firmly establish a race that shall average from 32 to 34 inches in dogs, showing the requisite power, activity, courage and symmetry.
Owning
The Irish Wolfhound is a remarkable combination of power, swiftness, and keen sight. The Irish Wolfhound is a large sensitive dog who requires lots of space to accommodate his great size, and an owner who can give him companionship. Irish Wolfhounds should never be allowed to run loose.
Did You Know
The Irish Wolfhound is the tallest of all dogs. Irish Wolfhounds are called, interchangeably, ''Irish dogs,'' ''Big Dogs of Ireland,'' ''Greyhounds (or Grehounds) of Ireland,'' ''Wolfdogs of Ireland,'' ''Great Hounds of Ireland.'' Irish Wolfhound is the more modern name. By the year 391 A.D., the breed was known in Rome, when the first authentic mention of it was written by the Roman Consul Quintus Aurelius, who had received seven of them as a gift which ''all Rome viewed with wonder.''