The Irish Wolfhound, as its name readily implies, was primarily bred and developed to hunt wolves. Known variously throughout history by the following names:

• Rough Greyhound
• Irish Greyhound
• Irish Elkhound
• Irish Wolfdog
• Great Irish Wolfdog

The Irsih Wolfhound proved rather too successful for its own good at its primary task of wolfslayer that by the 18th century the breed had dispatched the last wolf, an act that saw its own numbers decline precariously to the point of extinction!  But more of that later.

As to the origins of the Irish Wolfhound, as so commonly occurs in dog history, there is a healthy blend of conjecture, innuendo and speculation sprinkled here and there with a pinch of hard fact!

However whatever the real truth, story has it that as far back as 3000 years ago, Phoenician traders introduced Middle Eastern  Sighthounds to the British Isles. There those dogs were crossed with local Mastiffs in essence producing oversized greyhounds that looked for all the world as if they’d just been on a diet of steroids.

There are those who believe that the Irish Sheepdog was also involved in the development of those early Irish Wolfhound specimens which does make for understandable logic seeing as the dog breed was bred and developed in Ireland. The Scottish Deerhound has also been named as a contender in the genetic makeup of the Irish Wolfhound but that probably happened later on when the breed was being revived from the brink of extinction.

Murky genetic heritage notwithstanding the Irish Wolfhound proved to be remarkably skilled at its primary task of dispatching marauding wolves, so much so that by the 18^th century the wolves were forever lost to that region of the world. Common lore has it that the last Irish wolf was killed in 1770 in the Wicklow Mountains.

On account of it s reputation as wolfslayer extraordinaire, tales of the feats accomplished by this dog breed mushroomed to mythical proportions. In fact one of the more grandiose legends involving an Irish wolfhound recount how one king Connacht offered 6000 cows to buy a legendary and formidable Irish Wolfhound called Ailbe.

However when king Connacht’s very impressive offer was bested by that of another local king from Ulster war broke out. Ironically as fate would have it, the reason for the battle—Ailbe, the Irish Wolfhound—was killed when he fearlessly but somewhat unwisely clamped his jaws around the wheels of king Connacht’s chariot resulting in his head being lopped off by the spinning wheels as the chariot sped across the battle field!

With the disappearance of the wolf the Irish Wolfhound became rapidly unemployed because its large size pretty much rendered it unsuitable for other types of hunting.  And thus by the middle of the 19^th century this great dog breed was all but extinct.

Only the timely intervention a Scotsman, Capt. George Augustus Graham, to revive the disappearing dog breed saved the Irish wolfhound. Captain Augustus Graham established a new breeding program to rejuvenate the rapidly disappearing numbers of the Iris Wolfhound.

There are those who believe that the Captain’s breeding programming did not resurrect the original Irish Wolfhound dog breed but rather due to the fact he introduced a lot of new blood to the genetic mix, resulted in what to all intents and purpose was a new breed.

Be that as it may the Captains breeding program is responsible for the magnificent Irish wolfhound dog breed that prevails to this day. It is believed that the following dog breeds were among those he crossed with surviving wolfhound specimens to create the modern dog that we know:

• Scottish Deerhound
• Great Dane
• Borzoi
• Pyrenean Mountain Dog
• Tibetan Mastiff

Whatever the truth may be what is indisputable is the fact that the Captain managed to develop the tallest dog breed in the world. (Yes, yes, I know a Great Dane holds the record (as have several) for the tallest individual dog but the fact remains that the Irish Wolfhound is the tallest dog breed in the world.)

Article on Irish Wolfhound by Kayye Nynne

Irish Wolfhound