[SallyintNorth]

I love TAS.  I learn something new every day. 

[jaykay]

I do  too. But now I want a wolfhound. Don't think Skye would approve 

[Fleecewife]

I do  too. But now I want a wolfhound. Don't think Skye would approve 

If you want to be put off, the wind problem is a biggy    Fills the house.....empties the house (of people) 
 
Then there's poop-scooping - definitely not the hand in a little plastic bag solution which works so well with terriers and other small dogs.  Wolfhound poo just doesn't respond to being picked up, being much more of a shovel and bucket affair.
 
Then there's the vet bills....
 
And the slobber    which is worst when they shake, so it flies in an arc around the room, including the ceiling.
 
The giant tail wagging which catches the tip on door frames etc so there's always blood to mop up 
 
They say that there are plenty of folk who 'used to have a wolfhound'....
 
And finally they find their way into your heart like no other dog, then die young 

[jaykay]

finally they find their way into your heart like no other dog, then die young

none of the rest would really bother me except this.
My collies are 9 and 11 and I can confidently expect at least another 5-7 years from them 

[SallyintNorth]

I do  too. But now I want a wolfhound. Don't think Skye would approve 

I've always wanted a wolfhound.  And I nearly had one once, too.  I rescued one that was lost in a public park and told the police I'd rehome him if his owners didn't turn up - but it turned out later he had an elderly owner, who'd seen me befriending the dog from across the green, tried to call and wave but hadn't managed to attract my attention, and had doddered slowly in my wake as I marched the poor hound off to the (thankfully for the owner, very nearby) Police station... 

However, subsequent to this, a cousin of mine did have a wolfhound pup, and was advised that he musn't allow it to jump or even negotiate stairs until it was 18 months old!  They used to carry it upstairs to bed and down again in the morning...  I don't want one that much! 

[jaykay]

We had a black wolfhound rescue puppy live with us for a while. I called him Lupe and would have kept him but D wasn't having any and nor was Skye to be honest. He has a nice home now on a horse farm 

[Fleecewife]

I do  too. But now I want a wolfhound. Don't think Skye would approve 

I've always wanted a wolfhound.  And I nearly had one once, too.  I rescued one that was lost in a public park and told the police I'd rehome him if his owners didn't turn up - but it turned out later he had an elderly owner, who'd seen me befriending the dog from across the green, tried to call and wave but hadn't managed to attract my attention, and had doddered slowly in my wake as I marched the poor hound off to the (thankfully for the owner, very nearby) Police station... 

However, subsequent to this, a cousin of mine did have a wolfhound pup, and was advised that he musn't allow it to jump or even negotiate stairs until it was 18 months old!  They used to carry it upstairs to bed and down again in the morning...  I don't want one that much! 

Hi Sally     That did make me laugh - about the elderly owner - but not in a nasty way     At least they got the dog back    and you had shown that you cared 
 
The thing about not allowing them to jump and run as pups is odd isn't it.  You would think they should be strengthening their bones with exercise.  I seem to remember we had to add extra calcium to Brora's diet when she was a pup, and she was very strong and fit until she got tumours from post Chernobyl dog food (yes, it's that long ago that we had her, but she is never forgotten)
Our son, when he got Megan, followed the no exercise regime and she ended up very weakly and sickly, but also very large.  I think it was more to do with the breeding than the weird lack of exercise.
 
So that was the next thing I was going to say - be very careful who you buy from.  Do a lot of in-depth research into breeders.  They will all say they are the best, but clearly some are not.  We were very lucky with Brora in that we picked a good breeder, but there seem to be a lot of pitfalls out there for the unwary.

[doganjo]

With large or giant breed puppies, it's important to take it easy with the exercise and rough-housing for at least the first 6 - 10 months. The rapid development that the puppy is experiencing means he is at risk of injuring himself and damaging growing bones if he is exercised too strenuously.  It's the same with children that suddenly sprout taller than average for their age.  They can get what used to be called 'growing pains' but which has since been identified as bone disorders.
In extra large breed dogs, joint/bone problems can occur more easily than you might think, so it is best to avoid these things........

• Jogging, or running on hard surfaces such as concrete

• Jumping from any significant height - ie back of your car, beds etc.

• Playing on slippery surfaces such as tiles, parquet flooring, wet ground etc.

• Roughousing or wrestling

The puppy still needs exercise in order to develop the strong muscles he needs to support his big heavy bones, but a short walk several times a day, moderate games outside and inside, and lots of socialisation are needed.

[sokel]

Paddy our wolfie came from a breeder who has livestock, she introduces her puppies to livestock as soon as they are old enough to go out , when we got him at 12 weeks old he never once chased ours.
we had lambs on the lawn this year untill they where big enough to go into the fields and he ignored them. we also have a part bred  american miniature horse thats 5 inches smaller than him and he ignores her

[Factotum]

We met a wonderful Wolfie once  - not pure bred but a Boxer/Wolfie cross.

He was the 'guard'dog at a local off-licence. Weird looking dog - he had the height and fur of a wolfie and a boxer face - lots of long jowls, slightly pushed in nose and loads of dribble.

Great dog - not an ounce of malice in him - more likely to slobber the burglars to death than actually do them any damage.

Sue

[jaykay]

Who was it said that the mark of a good guard dog was to lie where a burglar would trip over him, thereby waking the household 

Has the sound of Mark Twain?

[SallyintNorth]

Who was it said that the mark of a good guard dog was to lie where a burglar would trip over him, thereby waking the household 

I had two large dogs once, seemed to be good guard dogs.  Slept in the bedroom.  One day, I'd picked up my new car and then worked late, returning home after midnight.  Everyone else was a-bed, including the dogs. 

They didn't recognise the car, so they got up and stood at the top of the stairs, barking.  Good dogs.

I turned the key and opened the door.

I swear, those two hard nuts were arguing, poised for retreat, at the top of the stairs :

"It is a ****ing burglar, it really is!"
"You go"
"No, you go"
"No, you go"


"Wimps! " I called out.  Which is when I saw a big black labbish thing and a hairy GSD cross thing look like two big (one black one black-and-tan) sheep.     

[Bionic]

 

[clydesdaleclopper]

Who was it said that the mark of a good guard dog was to lie where a burglar would trip over him, thereby waking the household 

Wolfies are utterly rubbish guard dogs. I once met a delivery man coming down the road as I was walking back up. He told me he'd just put the parcel in the door as it was open. The dogs bed was right next to the door and apparently all the Wolfie did was raise one eyebrow and huff.

[Fleecewife]

We had put our house on the market and the agent came to do his assessment.  He started upstairs whilst the family, plus Wolfhound, was in the living room.  When he had finished upstairs he came tramping down and flung open the living room door - to find himself pinned to the wall with a huge hairy face and large sharp teeth just an inch from his nose, and two giant paws on his shoulders.  To his credit he didn't appear to soil himself, but it must have been a close-run thing.   So wolfies can be good guard dogs - if the mood takes them     In fact I always felt totally safe out walking at night with Brora as she was very protective.  On a different occasion though when my elder son was beaten up by a gang, she didn't appear to do anything about it (there were no reports of vicious wee lads suffering from giant dog bites), although she did bring him home.