Trying this again... Me and Irish Wolfhounds

[-bogart-]

hmmm 18 is a better number and maybe i could stock up on good deeds done for hubs points.

the kids will also be better then , with the girls being alomst six and the boys teens, and the older ones kicked out.

what ya think 1 wolfhound = 2 , 20 yr olds right , so when the older ones leave i have space for gigantico pup , right ....Right . lol

[jenv101]

Hi welcome to the forum! I've always had a love of these dogs ever since I was a kid... no idea why! I've never had the chance to meet one though. Look forward to more pictures and stories about the new puppies!

[Pops2]

Originally Posted by Freehold

I do not hunt with them. Actually I breed specifically with the plan for them to be pets. Because of this I don't really want the prey drive that hunters would want. I want calm, friendly dispositions, confidence without too much dominance. There are some lines of Wolfhounds that had timidity issues - not something you want in such a big dog, especially if that is ever combined with aggression. Not that they are normally aggressive dogs, but it can happen.

Of my girls, Renee has what I consider the perfect disposition. Erin was a touch timid, so I was very happy to get Renee's confident personality. The only aggression Renee has ever shown was to a pair of Wolfhound bitches she's met at the shows. I have no idea what it is, but this particular pair of girls just turns Renee the wrong way. Any other dog she's completely fine with... Cleo, my younger girl, is a bit more dominant than I like, though not too bad. As long as it isn't coupled with aggression we'll be fine, but if it ever were she could become difficult. With such huge dogs there's not a lot of room available for aggression - you physically can't pull these guys off if you needed to.

I am considering trying the lure coursing, which is more like hunting. Renee tried once and was somewhat interested; I think with some training she might be better.

As for hunting, I think my guys might do ok if they were raised and trained for it. Certainly at a physical level they would have the build and speed to do very nicely. I just don't want that mindset. I'd rather have a dog who will be best buds with the cats and other pets than one who might "accidentally" eat one...

As for exercise, like most hounds, Wolfhounds like a good run here and there, but are otherwise quite happy to lounge around. Our mostly get free run time in the yard, but then hang out inside.

hunting and being a good pet around the house are not mutually exclusive. as for eating a cat that just varies from dog to dog, plenty of cats are snacks for dogs that have never seen the woods. lure coursing is good for seeing physical defects & fitness. real hunting (or any work for that matter) however instills a vigor & hardiness in both man (or woman) & dog that can't be gotten any other way. it also gives you a deeper understanding of what matters most in the standard & what may be nonsense.
i hope you do take up lure coursing & keep us informed of how that goes.

[Dekka]

Freehold has a fantastic farm, I hope to bring out the LC equip. I really want to see her dogs run And let mine run.

Not my thread but I got thinking with Pop's question. We all know how much I like working dogs (duh lol) But how to hunt a wolfhound when farms are all fenced and a coyote could leap them and a wolfie couldn't. We DO have a huge coyote problem, but I wonder about the feasibility of hunting them with wolfhounds in this area.

[Freehold]

What I mean by breeding for pet vs breeding for hunting is that I would be looking for different qualities. Not saying they are mutually exclusive, but the traits I expect would make better hunting dogs may very well be unsuited to many pet owners. On the other hand, I do think my guys could hunt well if taught. I'm just not that into hunting to begin with... Not my thing.

Dekka is right too about the land around here. It's not open spreads. I live very close to the city (under 5 minutes) with busy roads and a fair bit of fenced land. For the dogs to hunt on their own it would probably work ok as the fencing isn't great in many areas. The wetlands and the farmer behind me would work out well for hunting. You couldn't try following with horses though - no real way through without hurting the horses. And for other on foot methods it might be possible. Really not sure. I've never hunted wolf/coyote, and not sure I ever want to. Dekka is welcome to bring her dogs out to rat hunt any time though

I only really had my first exposure to lure coursing about 2 years ago, so I've got a ton to learn. Renee didn't care at all about the lure, but would have loved to run with the other dogs... Not what you want in a lure coursing dog. But she might be persuaded to try it. She's just not really got prey drive, which is perfectly fine for what she's bred for.

The cat comment isn't that a hunting dog is more likely than a non-hunting dog to take down a cat. It's the prey drive that makes dogs want to take down cats (and other critters). A low prey drive in my Wolfhounds is what I want.

On the other hand I have no doubt she would defend me with her life if it came down to it. When we showed at Cornwall camping one of the owners let their dog loose to go do his business and he came a bit too close to where we were. I'd never seen a wolfhound lift her lips like that before. Decidedly scary to see.

I guess it's just different perspectives as to what we want in our dogs. I'd take a Wolfhound who could do obedience and rally, and maybe even agility (if only those tubes were a tad bigger ) over a Wolfhound who hunted. Just me I guess...

[Freehold]

Another thought - the line of Wolfhounds my dogs are from have not been bred (in Canada - might be different in other countries) for hunting in many many generations... Many of the traits for hunting and prey drive are not there - they've not been desirable traits. Wolfhounds are mostly bred for pet and pleasure. Unless you specifically look for dogs from lines where hunting has been a priority I suspect the drives wouldn't really be there in the same way. They are no longer truly a hunting breed.

[Romy]

Originally Posted by Pops2

hunting and being a good pet around the house are not mutually exclusive. as for eating a cat that just varies from dog to dog, plenty of cats are snacks for dogs that have never seen the woods. lure coursing is good for seeing physical defects & fitness. real hunting (or any work for that matter) however instills a vigor & hardiness in both man (or woman) & dog that can't be gotten any other way. it also gives you a deeper understanding of what matters most in the standard & what may be nonsense.
i hope you do take up lure coursing & keep us informed of how that goes.

This.^ My borzois will dismember raccoons and eat coyotes, yet are great friends with small and large dogs and are wonderful with our cats. They even like our chinchillas. They are very laid back and personable companions.

Your wolfhounds are beautiful. Heke looks like a good choice for Renee, his dam was really lovely too. I can't wait for puppy pictures!

[Pops2]

the current incarnation of wolfhound is to heavy built for running coyotes solo. in all of the USA I only know of two being regularly worked. one is a TX hogdog belonging to a friend of Josh (Nat Geo- hogs gone wild). the other is owned by a wolfer in the midwest that uses his for a kill dog on coyotes caught by his greys & stags. he also crosses it onto greys (mostly hotbloods) to make F1 stags. word is the best product comes from crossing the F1s back to a grey or purebred stag to get faster dogs w/ alot of staying power & the ability to slam dunk a coyote with a quickness. there are or were some active in NOFCA chasing jacks.
the modern incarnation of the wolfhound was never bred for hunting. Major Richardson's crossbred stuff never generated much interest. Graham's heavy built deerhounds were found useful in anchoring stags caught by faster dogs but not enough for the brit hunting community to stick with them. where they have shined in the field is hogs from red rivers & warthogs in africa to boar in india to ferals in Oz they have earned small but loyal followings. personally i'd like to try some paired w/ stags & coldboods on elk & moose. i also feel confident they could be handy for big northern coons on golf courses & cut cornfields.
non hunters often think hunters want hunt crazy dogs that just want to run 24/7. truth is we only want that at game time. the rest of the time we want them easy handling & highly obedient.
after all that, i would love to see your dogs run en just on a lure.

[Freehold]

Yes, lure would be fun And your comments are dead on for what I mean. The traits needed for a good hunting dog have not been emphasized in modern Wolfhounds in quite some time. While I am not into the super heavy type, I also want my dogs to be solid and heavy built. Yes, they would be good dogs to take down a larger prey animal after it has been harried a while, but I doubt they'd be up for a very long tracking run. On the other hand, when they want to run they can do it very nicely

Honestly, I think it would be very interesting to see a line of Wolfhound return to the hunting ideals. I'm just not looking at doing it with mine That's not what I like about the breed, or about dogs in general.

And I agree, a crazy hunt dog would be useless. They need to know their job and do it well. But otherwise should have brains.

Whenever I get my girls doing lureswith Dekka I will have to get some video to share. Cleo is old enough to try it now that she is about to turn 2. Renee is mature, so once she's puppy free and ready to get back into shape she could also play. Unfortunately with Wolfies you really can't start too much running exercise until after 18 months. They are slow to mature and with their weight they can injure themselves relatively easily.

[Teal]

Originally Posted by Pops2

there are or were some active in NOFCA chasing jacks.

This season, we had 3 I LOVE spending time with them in the field... they're so mellow and sweet! One bitch in particular was a giant clown.. She had us all laughing every chance she got!

Definitely a lovely breed! Though I do wish they were more functional!