Dog Articles
Past and Present: Irish Wolfhound
While not
so heavy as the St. Bernard, the Irish Wolfhound is considerably
taller, and easily outclasses all the other big dogs for size and
bulk, reaching the extreme height at the shoulder of 36 inches. A
big Dane with his feet on a man's shoulder looks about level into
his master's eyes; a Wolfhound towers head and shoulders over even a
tall man in the same position.
The
picture gives a concrete idea of how this dog should look. His
immense size and shaggy, grizzled coat add greatly to his
impressiveness. And, combined with these, this fine dog possesses
that rare union of great courage and bravery with a gentle and
affectionate disposition. He was used as a guardian against wolves
by the Irish shepherds of old. One can hardly imagine a more
effective animal for this purpose.
There are
some who think the Irish Wolfhound an even better dog than the
Scottish Deerhound. If he is, it must be because there is more of
him; for, barring the fact that he is of rather more massive build,
he is practically a gigantic deerhound.
Though of
very ancient lineage and one of the great dramatic, figures of
canine history, he would probably have been lost to us if' it had
not been for the untiring efforts of Captain G. A. Graham, of
Dursley, England. With the disappearance of the last wolf in
Ireland, this great hound's chief occupation was gone, and the breed
as such was neglected until about sixty years ago, when there were
but a few degenerate specimens bearing the distinguished name of
Irish Wolfhound.
But
Captain Graham did not hold the rather general belief that this
breed had become extinct. He was of the opinion that after the
extermination of the Irish wolves the large dog used to hunt them
became reduced in size and strength to conform to the lighter work
required of it - that of hunting deer - and that it was now
represented by the Deerhound. So he bought a few specimens, still
bearing the original name, and by carefully cross-breeding with the
Deerhound and Great Dane, and later with the Russian Wolfhound and
some other large breeds, has produced a giant hound closely
corresponding to the best descriptions and the best drawings of the
favorite dog of the Irish kings.
Like the
Deerhound, this great wolf dog has a friendly, intelligent face,
which, with his physical ability to accomplish about anything which
he undertakes to do, wins respect and confidence at the first
glance.
The Irish
Wolfhound figures in many legends, the best known perhaps being that
of Gelert, who has given his name to the Welsh village Beth
Gelert (the grave of Gelert). The hound was presented to
Llewelyn the Great, King of Wales, by King John of England in 1205.
The story
goes that one day, the dog having left him in the field, Llewelyn
returned from the chase in an angry mood. When he reached his
castle, Gelert, covered with blood, rushed out from the chamber of
his little son to greet him. The king entered and found the bed
overturned and stained with gore. He called to the boy, but there
was no answer, and rashly concluding that the dog had killed him he
plunged his sword into Gelert's body.
A further
search revealed the child sleeping unharmed beneath the overturned
bed and beside it the dead body of a huge wolf, which had been
killed by the gallant hound. It is said that remorse led Llewelyn to
build a chapel in memory of Gelert and to erect a tombstone over his
grave. At any rate the chapel and the tombstone are there to this
day.
All colors
are permissible except part colored; all pure-bred dogs of this
breed, however, come naturally ‘whole’ or ‘self’ colored, and
blotches of irregular white showing foreign blood are almost
invariably accompanied by other conspicuous defects.
In build
the Irish Wolfhound should be slenderer than the Dane and more
sturdy than the Greyhound. He should be strong and straight of limb,
fairly heavy in bone, but not ‘leggy’; the hair should be straight,
rough to the touch, and in no sense woolly or silky. The best dogs
have conspicuous eyebrows and beard. There should be no dewlap nor
throatiness, as this is an active working breed, which should be
always in good fighting trim.
Source:
National Geographic 1919
Recommended Reading
Dog Training
Mastery - An Owners' Manual
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