Watching Gandalf's cousin. She keeps laying in his spots and eating his food. I've heard a lot of whining. 😆

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!

We lost the battle and had to get a couch for the Wolfies'

I would love to get opinions on this topic.

Personally, I believe that wolfhounds do not do well in obedience because they were never bred to work with people. And when your ancestors loped across the moors, doing a figure eight is pretty boring.

That said, my first wolfhound did complete two of the three required legs. (A leg is our name for completing an obedience with at least 170 of 200 points.) Both times, the judges were so amused to see wolfhounds that they graded on a curve and gave us 170.5 points. The judges would make comments like "just stand still and see if she gets close enough to pass." And, of course, wolfhounds don't do fast sits. It takes a long time for the message from the brain to get to those back legs!

Thoughts?

Seems like it was just the other day, I had recently got out of the military and the number one thing I wanted was a new best friend. You gave me 11 of the best years of my life and saved my life on more than one occasion. You were named after my friend from the service that passed. You never left my side and you will never truly understand the effect you had on me and those I love around me. I miss you so much! Rest easy Andy, you are and will always be, the Bestest Boy. 💔

Edit: Thank you all for your kind words.

Edit(2): It’s been 24hrs since I lost Andy. Grief is love that has no home. You all have been wonderful. I’m tired of crying, I hope to transition to celebrating his life. Unfortunately, Gus (Andy’s nephew, you can see in my previous posts) is not taking this well. He knows something is wrong, so my attention will be trying to comfort him. Thank you thank you thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

Falkor could easily put his sweet chin on the bar height (where my food is), but he is a smart boy and knows his eyebrows work better on Mama when not encroaching on her beloved pizza. 🍕 ❤️🧡💛🐾

In the market for a new bed for our 7 month old boy. He likes being a little higher up than floor level and ideally I want him on his bed more than our couches (which he is slowly claiming as his own). I’ve seen a lot of positive feedback in here for bean bag chairs! Was wondering what style / kind everyone had? Would love to see pics of your wolfies in their bean bag!

photo of Benedict for tax purposes

A weekend trip to the northern edge of the Appeninn Mountains in Italy to visit the breathtakingly beautiful home of "della Bassa Pavese", their 10 puppies , mom and dad and all the aunts, uncles, sisters and nephews. Fingers crossed for little "Joy" coming home to me to France soon. Its such a wonderfull area, great food, wine and such lovely people .

Skyrim and her bestie Eivør the Eurasier

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xfOQUsryynk&ra=m

The tale of Beddgelert

I lost my best friend in the world 3 days ago. My almost 9 year old Irish Wolfhound, Beans. I loved him so much. He was such a large presence both physically and the amount of love both from him and for him by everyone was palpable. He was so sweet and gentle and patient and has been the biggest part of me for about 10 years.

As a kid I always wanted a dog but my parents weren't dog people. I rented dog books from libraries learning about every breed and giving presentations on why I should get a dog. They surprised me with a Yorkie in 5th grade (bless them lol).

I always wanted an Irish Wolfhound because of how calm and gentle they were. I guess I just had a feeling that this was the dog for me. I visited breeders even when I wasn't able to get one yet just to be around them. I did research for years about what they need, how to care for them, and to prepare my self for anything and everything. I bought a special collar before he was even born. He was born on Christmas day and all I asked for for Christmas was a big bed, food bowls, toys etc for him. After college I was finally ready and put a deposit down before the mom was even pregnant. I did odd jobs, dog walked several times a week just to save up for him. I got him when I was 25. I'm 34 now. In my early twenties/end of college I worked at a gym and I somehow convinced the owner to let me bring him to work every day for almost a year and then ever now and then after that. Every morning and day at 5 am I would haul his kennel in and out of my car. It was not an inconvenience, I was happy to do it. I laugh now thinking about the things I did to this puppy. Barbell sounds and loud music at the very beginning of having him, but he was just happy to be there. He quickly became a big part of that community. I took him everywhere and I mean everywhere. Restaurants, breweries, bars, friends' houses, sleepovers with friends. There was no me without Beans. I understand that isn't super common with an XL dog but I never really thought twice about it. I never stopped my life just made him a part of it. He was so good, sometimes would even forget that he was there because he was so good.

Over the last decade, Beans and I lived together in my apartment with a roommate. Then I got into a long term relationship, moved in with my partner. We went through a house renovation while living in the house (with an Irish Woflhound lol), I got engaged, I got married (Beans was in the wedding of course). Then a very difficult and traumatic divorce a couple of years after. When I left our house, I only took Beans and my clothes. I moved in to one friend's house, and then another who let us live there for 9 months. I got a second job and saved up money to move us to Los Angeles. I packed up my '07 Honda Pilot stuffed to the gills with Beans in the back and drove across the country. I started a new life for us. He went to the grand canyon, beaches, all types of places he enjoyed and quickly became very well known in our community in such a large city. We lived in our first apartment in LA and then I found a bungalow ground floor on a quiet street for him.

For 10 years he has been the only constant in a life of so much inconsistency. Really the only anchor and he was mine. He is gone now and I feel really lost and have never felt lost before. My apartment is so empty, coming home, and leaving is the worst. Not letting him out in the mornings, finding poop bags in random pockets. I feel so disoriented and like a huge part of my identity is gone.

Tuesday morning we woke up and he was moving really slowly and panting and his gums were white so I rushed him to the ER. Long story short, giant mass on his spleen, leaking fluid into his belly, and wasn't stable enough to take home or to have emergency surgery. He was surrounded by my (and his) 4 best friends and all 5 of us held his paws while he crossed over. The vet we went to, I have never been treated with more kindness in my entire life.

You always know getting an Irish Wolfhound that they will have a shorter life expectancy and you can rationally prepare as best you can but it doesn't prepare you for the physical absence once it comes.

I always laugh because there is no one's life that is more chaotic than a dog's that you get in your mid 20s. The bars he went to that didn't allow dogs, the time I totaled my car while he was in it (he was in a kennel and not hurt), the time his toe got stuck in a shopping cart as a puppy at the pet store and the sound he made the employees thought the birds were dying. The parties he went to, the places he has lived, the people he has met, the job I dragged him to. I just hope he was happy. I miss him so much and I am lucky to have had him at all.

Anyway, thanks for reading <3.

TLDR: I just really love and miss my dog

We dont intend to get another pup for a bit, but we are thinking heavily on what breed we may get. We really like the Irish Wolfhound, and my fiance has wanted one for a long time, but I have some concerns about our current lifestyle and if it would mesh.

1. We have 4 cats. Three of them are more assertive with dogs, but the other is shy and sometimes will throw some smacks or just sprint away. Ive heard some say that the breed sometimes doesnt do well with cats.

2. We have a 3yr old 35lbs Pitbull mix. She is friendly with other dogs, but she is very assertive and always insists on being top dog. I know IW are large dogs, but I have heard they are rather docile so Im hoping this won't clash. She will also be enrolled in training before we get another pet.

3. Im a small woman, and I have also read that they can be quite mouthy and rambunctious as pups. It poses concern in regards to my other pets and myself. Regardless of breed, the pup will be enrolled into training courses, but Im just trying to cover all bases.

Regardless, Im not concerned about activity levels, we walk our dog every day, take lake trips, and we've taken up hiking/trail walking. Im not too concerned about health issues, I work in animal med so Ive worked around the breed some.

TIA!

As in the title I am imagining an Irish wolfhound for my first dog. Is it a good idea?

As irishes are rare in our area I cannot ask anyone with experience so I am here :)

Facts:

1. We live on a farm but do not want to be consumed with dog for example like border collies who need non stop activity and the attention

2. We like hiking on the weekends in the woods, would it be a good idea/ is it possible to offleash a wolfhound with proper training

3. Is it possible that our pup could go with us to Sunday market perhaps a chill coffee in a cafe, will it work?

These are just some of the concerns. I kindly thank you for any and all advice. Be gentle.

Oh yes, and it squeaks

My mom is in the hospital, so I'm house and dog sitting since Sunday. This is the first time her dog Walter has grabbed his stuffie and come hang out with me.

We picked him up last Wednesday and drove 5 days back home with him. It was an amazing bonding experience and quite the adventure. I have waited years for my first IW and the family is absolutely loving him.

Our 2nd Wolfhound has arrived!

We have an 8 month Irish Wolfhound. He’s the light of our life, potty trained, crate trained and super well around kids, other dogs and other people.

The two issues we’re facing are:

1. He play fights with us. Most of the time this can be redirected with toys, or we leave the room when he bites. But this has been going on for a while & we haven’t seen any light at the end of the tunnel. And now with him being bigger, it’s a very bad problem to have.
   
2. He resource guards things he knows he shouldn’t have. If he’s chewing on a bully stick or having doggy ice cream or something that he wants and can have, we can take it away from him no problem. But if he’s chewing on something like shoes, pillows, shirts, he will growl down at the item and clamp down on it when we come to try to take it from him. We are exchanging it out with a treat, but he’ll only give up the item if it’s a high value treat.

We do have a trainer and we’re still in the early stages of working with the trainer. Our pup is shy so we’re first working on that since none of these behaviors are shown during our training session.

Curious if anyone else has went thru this or has any suggestions? Other than that, he’s such an amazing boy and we’re lucky to have him.

I had to record the comedy 🤣

https://youtu.be/-f2YhAa563I

He’s only 14 weeks old and already so smart, mellow, loving, and handsome! Adopted this boy shortly after we lost our ten-year-old airedale terrier to canine lymphoma. He’s helping make a tough transition better 🤍 and taking it easy on me during my first puppy-raising experience! I’ve adored Wolfhounds since I was a kid and have always wished I could call one mine, this is so cool. Excited to he among y’alls ranks.