HomeBreeds › Irish Wolfhound

Hound · Giant (105-180 lbs; tallest AKC breed) · 6-8 years

Irish Wolfhound

Calm, dignified, sweet; gentle giant with a quiet presence.

105–180 lb

At a glance

Kid-friendly
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
First-time owners
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Energy
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Shedding
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Good with cats
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Alone time
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Apartment OK
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Trainability
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
What this is

What they’re great at

✓ Handles alone time better than most breeds
✓ Quiet by nature
✓ A gentle couch companion between sprints
Why it matters

Honest challenges

Prey drive is hardwired
Small fast animals flip an ancient switch - this is wiring, not disobedience.

What helps: Management IS the training: never unsupervised with small pets, period. Secure fencing plus leash or long line outdoors for life. Feed the drive legally: flirt pole and lure-chase games.
What you can do

Exercise & training

Exercise: Moderate - daily walks and occasional gallops
Training profile — Sighthound: The 40-mph couch potato pattern: brief intense exercise, then 20 hours of professional napping. Respect the sprint/rest rhythm.
Sports and outlets that suit them: Gentle lure coursing after full maturity
What you can do

Grooming & coat

Grooming: Moderate - weekly brushing, occasional hand-stripping.
Shedding: Moderate.
Good to know

Health to know about

Dilated cardiomyopathy, osteosarcoma, bloat, liver shunt, pneumonia; shortest-lived of all breeds
Breed-typical tendencies, not a diagnosis. Individual dogs vary enormously — your veterinarian screens for what matters for your dog.
How much should YOUR Irish Wolfhound eat?

This page can only give breed ranges. The app calculates calories and portions from your dog’s actual weight and life stage, splits them across the right number of meals, and adjusts as they grow.

Open the app
Why it matters

Emergency red flags

Poisoning (chocolate, xylitol, grapes, medications, rodenticide)
Vomiting, drooling, tremors, collapse, or known ingestion
Call ASPCA Poison Control 888-426-4435 or Pet Poison Helpline 855-764-7661 immediately; do NOT induce vomiting unless instructed
Know your ER
Save your nearest 24-hour emergency vet's address and phone in your phone TODAY, not during a crisis
BLOAT / GDV - the minutes-matter emergency for this breed
Unproductive retching (trying to vomit, nothing comes), rapidly swelling/hard belly, drooling, pacing, sudden distress after eating
Drive to the ER immediately. Do not wait to see if it passes. Untreated GDV is fatal within hours
Cardiac event (documented heart-disease breed)
Fainting/collapse during activity, night coughing, resting breathing rate over 30-35 breaths/min while asleep, blue-tinged gums
Sleeping respiratory rate over 30 warrants a call today; collapse or labored breathing means ER immediately
This page never carries product links in the emergency section. ASPCA Poison Control (888) 426-4435 · Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661.
These need to work when the signal does not

The app keeps every Irish Wolfhound red flag on your phone and opens them with no connection at all — which is the whole point at 2am in a car park. Add it to your home screen and it works like any other app.

Get it on your phone
📊 The numbers

Typical ranges for planning, not promises — costs vary by region, breeder and individual dog.

GroupHound
SizeGiant (105-180 lbs; tallest AKC breed)
Lifespan6-8 years
Healthy adult weight105–180 lb
Original purposeHunting wolves and Irish elk; war dog.
Monthly care$150-$250
Typical puppy price$1,800-$3,500
🐕 Similar breeds
Got a Irish Wolfhound?

Add them in the app for feeding by weight, training for their stage, and Irish Wolfhound emergency red flags saved to your phone. Free, no account needed.

Open the app
Bring your Irish Wolfhound in

Add them once and everything here becomes about your dog: feeding by their weight, training picked for their stage, a day built around your hours, and a vitals log that shows the trend. Free, works offline, no account needed.

Add your dog
Get this for your own dogFeeding by their weight, a daily plan, emergency cards that work offline. Free, no account needed.
Open the app