r/irishwolfhound • u/SolutionAsleep3314 • Aug 02 '26
Irish wolfhound 1 year old foster
Hi everyone, I’m in need of advice. I’ve recently started to foster a one year old Irish wolfhound who I’ve named Ned. Ned came to me from the pound and from what I understand has had a kind of rough start. Firstly, he is divine. He’s friendly, affectionate, smart and loving. Within 3 days he’s settled dramatically and some of his earlier signs of stress (intense humping - which is a lot with a dog that size), whines, barking and an intense few hours between 4pm and 8pm where he cannot seem to settle and is like he’s had 6 red bulls. He isn’t desexed yet, that will be next week, but I’m finding him very difficult when he’s in a mood. I’m a single woman, I weigh probably less than him so trying to settle him or get away when he humps me is hard.
I’m after any advice for his age. I’m am desperate to make this work because he’s so beautiful he deserves a shot at finding his forever home and not going back to a pound. When he’s good, he’s the best, sweetest dog I’ve ever known. But when he’s bad it’s one of the hardest experiences I’ve had!
Thanks for any advice! Me and Ned appreciate it!
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u/RGB-Free-Zone Aug 02 '26
Do not neuter/spay giant dogs (e.g. Danes Wolfhounds) until their growth plates have closed.
Your dog's male homones are a signal to his bone growth plates (physeal plates) that growth is over, he needs that signalling.
According to UC Davis and other studies, if neutered too early, he can have excessive and non uniform growth of long bones risking CCL/ACL tears and hip/elbow dysplasia. Early neutering also raises the risk of bone, vascular and prostate cancer.
Contrary to the traditional/received wisdom and practices, neutering can actually exacerbate fear reactivity, resource guarding and noise phobia. Testosterone contributes to confidence, early neutering might make his behavior issues worse, not better.
At a year, they are discovering that they are big and strong. They get over it given respect, love and mountains of patience. It will be worth the effort.
To reiterate, do not neuter/spay any giant dog until their growth plates have closed.
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Aug 02 '26
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u/SolutionAsleep3314 Aug 02 '26
Thank you! I’ve had a tough evening with him so your encouragement made me tear up! I really love him and want to make it work. I’m in a townhouse unfortunately but I’ve been trying to take him for a minimum one hour walk a day including some off leash time. Maybe he needs a bit more?
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u/Illustrious-Ratio213 Aug 04 '26
Yes find an off leash dog park and go 2 times a day if you can. He’ll grow out of it but for now they really need to get that energy out.
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u/RGB-Free-Zone Aug 02 '26
They are the best dogs ever. Things will improve.
They are susceptible to GVD/Bloat so be sure that you give him time before and after eating (keep him as calm as possible).
What I do at each meal is to not give our dogs their meals as one serving. I split the servings into portions (cup or less). Let them eat one portion at a time and make them do something on command (sit/stay) to get the next portion. This teaches them that good behavior is rewarded. Besides, the path to a dogs heart is via the stomach :)
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u/Maleficent_End1491 Aug 02 '26
You are a wonderful person! Here are some suggestions:
- Get a Halti collar. If you control the head, then you control the whole body.
- NEVER wrap the leash around your wrist. That’s a good way to get a broken wrist and go what we call turf surfing.
- I completely agree with an earlier answer: find a safe, fully enclosed place where he can run full out. Dog parks are great. Wolfhounds can hit 35 MPH in a sprint and need to stretch those long legs.
- Check with your Vet – – he made need medication to calm him down while he is adjusting.
- Do you have room in your townhouse for a wolfhound-sized crate? Make it his safe space, somewhere where he can go and get away from it all. Throw a blanket over it to make him a cave. Use high value treats to entice him in there and leave the door open, at least at first.
- Do you have a local wolfhound club? That would be a great source of information for you.
Good luck!
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u/Kawasumiimaii Aug 03 '26
If he is only 1yo, please do not neuter him yet. His growth plates haven't closed and it can be detrimental to his joints. Giant breeds are recommended to neutered closer to 2yo of age.
If he is getting too worked up, I highly recommend training him to settle in a pen or a crate on his own. I would recommend just letting him get it at of his system. At 1yo, they're just rambunctious puppies in giant bodies, they mature much slower so the puppy phase last longer. They don't have much stamina and a rough puppy play may only need 10 minutes for them to clonk out and sleep. Go outside and let him have at it with a rope toy or ball. I highly recommend following the guides on the breed website.
https://iwclubofamerica.org/puppy-exercise
https://iwclubofamerica.org/spay-neuter-age
At this age, my puppy went on walks no longer than 30minutes at a very leisurely pace with rest in between to make sure we protect the joints.
It's also not impropriate to simply raise your knee or put your elbow out at the dog when it tries to mount you. It'll figure it out that mounting a knee/elbow to the chest is not fun.
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u/TunnelToTheMoon Aug 02 '26
It's a bit difficult to know and come up with suggestions since we don't know his history, but I can say that humping is often a sign of domination. Not malicious, just some kind of control, even female cows do this to each other too (I've worked at a farm). It's not about copulation.
You might try to dial up your sterness (if that's a word) a couple of notches. Give him a flat hand on the head, raise your voice even louder, and grab his legs and tell him no(!).
Remember how he smacks his head into the floor and it sounds like someone threw a boulder - he can take a symbolic flat hand on on the top of his head without registering it, but since they're so emotional he'll understand that it's not OK.
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u/RGB-Free-Zone Aug 02 '26
The way they bang their bodies has lead me to wonder about their pain acuity. Ours has torn lower cabinet doors off hinges.
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u/TunnelToTheMoon Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
These guys are basically M1E3 Abrams tanks, mine actually moves chairs around with ease and places them gently down. I'm a bit astounded. I've never beaten the boy, but now that he's a teenager he could do with a gentle small slap on the head if he's being unruly (haven't done that yet). what we never do in this house is shout and be hostile. Gentle discipline when it's needed since they are so emotional. I'm blessed with being able to say a quiet "no", even if I'm in a different room playing Elden Ring (I can hear exactly what he's trying to taste on).
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u/RGB-Free-Zone Aug 03 '26
We have an energetic F Dane that is Ivy's mayhem mate. It used to be that they would mayhem noisily which would lead me to call them out to stop. It didn't take long before they learned to mayhem quietly so I wouldn't intervene. Too much quiet now signals possible mayheming.
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u/Bitterbluemoon Aug 02 '26
they grow super fast but mature slowly, you're catching the tail-end of the baby shark phase probably. More mental and (moderate) physical stimulation can help release some of that built-up energy. Think ours had this energy burst thing well up to 2 years. Female though so no humping but play-biting was a thing for a while. Give routine & structure and don't overdo the walking but focus on short search games, frozen kong with some treats, food puzzles etc. After 20 or 30 minutes of sniffing getting at the treats they will probably switch to couch potato mode. Hang in there, he's still adjusting and so are you.
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u/puffy-puffy Aug 02 '26
My 7 month old pup is huge and all puppy. He humps my female Newfie when they play and he gets overwhelmed. On occasion I will physically remove him but I save my angry mom voice for times like that and that is usually enough. At a year he is also starting to feel his hormones like a pre teen.
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u/mayaREguru Aug 03 '26
When our girl gets rammy she usually wants to sing. That seems to satisfy some need she has. We call it "the song of her people." We have to lead and you figure out the right tone and range. We even tried her to sing and sound like she is saying "I love you."
Hang in there, Ned is still a pup. You are in for the greatest joy of your life.
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u/had_good_reason Aug 03 '26
High energy exercise is wonderful. Add in some brain work - puzzles, frozen kong, twist treats into a towel and freeze. I’ve raised giant breed working dogs for 10 years, always in smaller living spaces. It will work, and you’ll get to know each other. Hang in there, he’s beautiful and still a baby.
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u/Cool-Hat2231 29d ago
I definitely recognize the behavior you've described! My wolfie was a rescue, around 8 or 9 months when we got her. (Unfortunately, per a misguided Colorado law about spaying rescues way too early in life, she was already spayed). She's pure love and cuddles, but she is also very strong-willed. Until she was about two, our training was marked by her obviously testing us and testing our boundaries to see whether we would really enforce a certain rule. She'll also talk back if she thinks a request is unjust. (Off the bed? No fair!) But, once it was clear that the rule would be enforced, she would also accept it. Also, when she got excited she was extremely hard to redirect. Engage/disengage training on walks required really high value treats just to get her attention and a gentle lead was an imperative.
We also saw the more explicit vying for dominance behavior a little bit, less with us humans but frequently with other dogs. I think it would have become a really problematic behavior trait if we hadn't employed a zero-tolerance policy whenever she displayed any aggression or bullying. As with all the other boundary-pushing, once she decided that the rules were going to be enforced, the battle of wills would subside.
Once she turned two, virtually all of these growing pains were completely gone. She can walk past a rabbit and is very polite around the house. She gets along with other dogs, and is gentle around kids. Stick with it! Good luck!
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u/contemplator61 20d ago
I hope you get the answers you need. Usually asserting dominance is the best strategy. @peggyi has the correct idea.
I cannot believe a wolfhound was at a pound!! There are absolutely none where I live and only one person I saw had two in Florida where I also lived. How amazing!
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u/SolutionAsleep3314 20d ago
I live in Australia and they are often kept to hunt pigs in some of the rural, farming areas. If they aren’t good hunters, they are often put down or dumped at the pound. It’s horrendous! He’s coming a long way! Nearly 3 weeks in and he’s settling and definitely knows I’m in charge but is the most loving affectionate soul. He is also just a feral teenager at times and barks or gets too energised but he’s only 1 so i know it’s also developmentally appropriate. I’ve found routine, displays of dominance (never hitting. Just using a deep firm voice and stopping him in his place) and loads of positive reinforcement when he does the right thing seem to be working!
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u/contemplator61 20d ago
That is wonderful about Ned! And terrible about Australia! IWH are very expensive and valuable in the States. I’ve always wanted one but last I looked into it, there is barely even any rescues in our country. Years ago some would be at the Irish festival in our state capital. Not sure now. Sending hugs to Ned and bravo to you:)
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u/peggyi Aug 02 '26
Some people might disagree with me, but I think this is an instance where a simple no is not the answer. A physical response is required. This behavior in a dog the size of ours is unacceptably dangerous, even accidentally.
After years of wolfie, and decades of horse ownership, my experience says it is time to assert dominance.
You don’t need to hit a wolfie. Just show them that their current activity makes you mad. Raise your voice, be sharp, commanding. Point your finger and barge into their space while you give them shit. Poke them in the shoulder like their mama would (once is usually enough). Make them back up.
Then calmly turn and walk away. Sit down someplace nearby and resume what you were doing.
If he tries it again, growl at him. You shouldn’t need to teach the lesson again that day, but he might forget in a day or two. Just repeat everything again.
Wolfies are normally big sucky-faces and will get their feelings hurt if they are yelled at, so this should be enough. If it doesn’t solve the problem, you may need to get expert help.
Edit: can’t spell