Irish Wolfhound Puppies Blog

Is it normal, anyway?!

Yes, it is. Just imagine the situation from the point of view of your Irish Wolfhound. He is part of the family, often treated as “the kid”, and then, suddenly, a new creature arrives and takes all the attention of his beloved family. It is quite similar to what older children feel, when a little brother/sister arrives. One of the differences is just that the dog can’t speak English

Actually, if we are aware of this ‘problem’ in advance, the situation can be handled, but it needs consciousness and to be started in time, long before the baby’s arrival. Let’s see how we can prepare our Irish Wolfhound for the new family member.

If your dog’s daily routine has to be changed with the baby’s arrival (it probably will), you should start changing the rules much earlier, giving him plenty of time to get used to the new set up. This way it isn’t going to be so sudden and shocking. If your Irish Wolfhound hasn’t really been trained before, it’s high time to start. He should learn at least a few commands, like sit, stay, etc. This way, he’ll be easier to handle.

Many families worry about their dog endangering the health of the child, so the best thing to do is to take your pet to the vet, get him checked and get some advice. Get your Irish Wolfhound used to the new smells, sounds in advance (blankets, lotions, toys). It’s also a good idea, that just after your baby was born, send home a blanket that the baby had been in, so your dog can experience the child’s smell in advance. It is very important to know that your  Irish Wolfhound will get a lot less attention from the mother, so when taking the baby home for the first time, the mother should greet the dog, so it is better if someone else is carrying the baby.

It is also a good idea not to leave them alone together at the first times, until your Irish Wolfhound feels comfortable with the baby, because, for example, it is very possible that the dog won’t tolerate the child’s crying very well in the beginning. You have to teach him that this is a normal sound, and you should motivate him not to bark (with treats, for example).

And the most important rule for last, maybe it seems too obvious, but it’s still worth mentioning: try to give as much attention to your Irish Wolfhound as you can. The point is that he has to feel that you do care about him. If you keep this in mind, most probably there will be no problem. You could also try Preparing Fido, which is an amazing collection of Baby sounds designed especially to get your dog ready for the arrival of the new Baby!

The narrow line between training and abuse

Many dog owners think that their Wolfhound is the smartest in the world. There’s no problem with this, up to certain a point. This point is when the owner expects as much from the dog as if it really was the most intelligent creature the world has ever seen. They expect them to learn everything right away, whereas dogs need time to learn things, the same way as we, humans do. Just in a different way Well, the point is, that training requires time and patience. It can be different for all dogs, but we do have to keep this in mind and take the time and energy to train our Irish Wolfhound.

Another common mistake (also because of the lack of patience) is to give up. Many people think that they have already tried everything but the dog doesn’t want to learn. In this case, maybe the methods are not the best, or they need more time. There are no dogs who wouldn’t be able to learn at least a few commands. Giving up is never a solution.

So, if we have the time and the patience we can avoid the next, and maybe the biggest mistake: to turn training into abuse. Probably you expect me to tell you where this line is. I can’t. This is something the owner should know. Training is all about communication. If you know your Irish Wolfhound, if you pay attention to him, you see how he feels. Unfortunately many dog owners don’t have this ability, because they only keep pets for entertainment, while a dog is much more than that.

Going back to training, a very important rule is that your goal should be that your Irish Wolfhound obeys to commands because he is keen to do so. NOT BECAUSE HE IS AFRAID. Many-many owners forget about this, and feel the training successful, but actually they are making their dog unhappy. How can someone live happily in fear? No way. These owners are only keeping a dog to make themselves happy, and don’t feel the responsibility they should.

So the point is, that ‘positive training’ is possible. Actually, that’s the only way.

The first difficulties most Irish Wolfhound owners face is potty training their puppy. As with general training, the main principles remain the same: a positive, rewarding approach and a lot of patience is required. There are, however a few tips and tricks that will make the whole process faster and easier for both puppy and owner. Find out what Sharda Baker has to say on the topic, who has developed her best practices by years of trial and error.

Please comment if you have something to add.

Look at this young Irish Wolfhound playing in the snow! Who would think that this dog will grow up to be 71-90cm?! Even though this cute-looking breed is friendly with both people and animals, it is not recommended to have a Wolfhound in a family young with children! But if you are interested in buying one, learn more here.

If you own a Irish Wolfhound and would like to make it look as good as possible, then this Dog Grooming Instructional How To Video Set can save you thousands of dollars in the long run.

Grooming your own dog can be a fun activity for both of you, provided that you are confident in what you are doing is right. This video set is going to teach you just that: how to have a good time and save money at the same time. There are a lot of things you should be a aware of before you start grooming your Irish Wolfhound yourself. For instance, what equipment to use (clippers, blades, shears) and what areas you must take extreme care of. You should not start your home grooming experience, unless you know all these things, otherwise you can end up spending long hours grooming your dog or even hurting it. However, with the  Dog Grooming Instructional How To Video Set you can gather enough knowledge on grooming, to start your own grooming business!

Whether you want to become a pro groomer or just save money on grooming bills, this video set can get you where you want to be.

Written by highly experienced dog trainer, Daniel Stevens, Secrets to Dog Training is a comprehensive resource covering all the most important aspects of dog ownership. The 261 page manual is superbly detailed, still the step-by-step format of the book makes it very easy for Irish Wolfhound owners to understand and apply the instructions. The book also comes with a 30 minute downloadable video. By completing the course, you will learn how to:

• stop and prevent dog fights
• curb your dog’s aggressiveness
• make your dog understand what is right and wrong
• apply techniques professional trainers use
• house train your dog
• stop your dog racing in the house
• deal with a dominant dog
• overcome separation anxiety
• stop your dog jumping on people
• teach your dog when it is appropriate to bark
• understand how your dog thinks and sees the world
• apply the cutting edge Dog Whispering technique
• deal with more than one dog in the house
• stop the family cat being harassed.

Secrets to Dog Training is very comprehensive, easy to understand and effective. If you want to tackle any of your dog’s behavior problems, this book is for you. You can benefit from the book, even if your dog is perfectly trained as the author shares a lot of his insights on the possible best relationship between dog and owner.

Visit official website.

It is such a joy to see children playing with the family dog on a day when the family is all home together. However, little children are not to be left alone with the Irish Wolfhound. Due to the size of the dog, even as a puppy, they can be big enough to knock down little children during play and not in any aggressive manner. As children love to play “horsy”, unsupervised children may just jump on the backs and causing injury to the dog.

Take note that their backs were not made to carry heavy or even moderate weights.  Although strong as the breed is, they shouldn’t try pulling a cart with children on it. This will definitely cause more damage for their body structure is not made for drafting or carting work. So the bottom line is that older children are better playmates for they can discern what should or shouldn’t be done, and that all little children should have adult supervision.

If one is an outdoorsy type with a drive to engage in physical activity, then an Irish Wolfhound would be the best companion for these events! Originally breed as A fierce hunting dog, they nowadays enjoys staying nearby a fireplace with their owners while resting. If these are qualities that one likes, then here are more facts about them: they are very muscular and large with harsh and thick coats in white, black, gray. Necks are long and muscular as well as their backs. These dogs have an overall rustic appearance. For one to know more, the breed standard is available in various sources. By studying the standard, one can know what should be present in a quality dog. Armed with this knowledge, it can give one some confidence when sorting through bad and quality breeders. Read the rest of this entry »