Bringing home your Irish Wolfhound puppy

 

Your breeder will advise you on exercise, lead training, feeding and anything else your puppy needs. The following is offered as general guidance alongside that advice.

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Training

There is no better time to train a Wolfhound than their first few months with you. The puppy will never again be as biddable. Use it!

 

The first two or three weeks -  no formal sessions are needed. Simply show the puppy, gently and consistently, what is acceptable and what is not, learning routines and learning new smells in the house and garden are so important. 

 

Prevent bad habits forming now and the puppy will largely train itself to please you.

 

After that, a few minutes of dedicated training each day is enough. Making it fun also ensures adherence too. Also if you are a multiple dog household, getting the adults to play along too can be fantastic training. 

 

Lead walking and coming when called matter most in a hunting hound.

 

How to go about it - be gentle but firm. Praise the puppy when they do well. Use simple words: sit, stay, come, no, good boy. Wolfhounds are sensitive and do not respond to shouting or rough handling. Be patient, be repetitive, and above all be consistent. Letting them on the sofa on Monday and not on Tuesday will only confuse them.

 

Reward good behaviour and distract them from bad. Never train a puppy or dog when you are in a bad mood or in a hurry - this doesn't work well for anyone. 

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Remember that as a dog, their view of the world is not yours. For them to connect an action with a consequence, that consequence has to be immediate.

 

Chewing

When the puppy's adult teeth come through they may mouth your hands and arms to soothe sore gums. They are not being aggressive, but those jaws hurt and chewing is what brings them relief. Giving them a frozen chew, or a stuffed Kong toy smothered in their favourite treat is a good idea to redirect them from. your soft chewy fingers! Soft toys and hollow playthings will be demolished, and the pieces are a swallowing hazard.

 

Avoid rope and tugger toys entirely. Ingested threads can require surgery and have sadly killed dogs.

 

Before long your puppy will be tall enough, sitting down, to chew the edge of your dining table. If this happens then redirecting his interest in a firm but fair way is the best way to deal with such a situation - and giving them them something they can chew on will in time ensure they learn that chewing on furniture is not safe. 

 

If he chews the kitchen cabinets while you are out, he has simply amused himself in your absence. He will not connect a telling-off with something he did three hours ago; he will only conclude that you are angry with him for greeting you. Ignore the damage, and next time leave him somewhere he can do less harm.
 

Leaving the puppy alone 

Leave the puppy somewhere safe, away from food, bins and antique furniture, with a strong toy or a stuffed Kong. He will most likely sleep for much of it. We like to suggest rooms with baby gates or areas with x-pens to keep the puppy and your home safe.

 

A hound left to their own devices and never taught how to behave has brought themself up. They will be wayward and a nuisance to you, your friends and your neighbours. A naughty Chihuahua is one thing. A naughty Wolfhound is quite another.
 

​Manners that matter later 

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• Do not let the puppy push through doorways ahead of you. Ask them to stay when you answer the door or keep them behind a door / baby gate. 

• Do not let them jump up. It stops being funny the day the dog flattens your grandmother.

• Do not let children play tug of war or roll about on the floor with them. It's charming in a puppy, but dangerous in a 60kg adult who still wants the same game. The puppy needs to learn to be gentle, not to be a ruffian.

 

If your hound grows up unruly, that is on you rather than them. The puppy cannot train themselves and he learns from you, so be patient and be consistent, be fair.

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Exercise

Growing Wolfhounds need rest more than they need games. Too much charging about with children teaches rough play, risks a child being knocked flat, and puts real strain on the huge bones and joints of a puppy who is still assembling himself.

 

Growth rate. From roughly 10 weeks to 6 months, most puppies gain 1 to 2.5cm (½ to 1 inch) in height and up to 2kg in weight every week. Take great care during this phase.

 

Stairs. Do not allow it. Stairs load the joints badly in both directions, and a frightened 6-month puppy at 40kg who refuses to come back down is a problem you will not enjoy solving. Fit a stair gate. A puppy who never learns to climb stairs generally never tries as an adult.

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Building up - Age and exercise

For the first few weeks, exercise will consist of running around in the garden, and learning to wear and walk in a collar / harness that fits properly with its lead on. 

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We like to use the rule of 5 minutes per month of age (for the first 12 months) when we're learning to walk. So at 3 months old, their exercise should be around 15 minutes at a time to ensure that their joints aren't overworked.

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Every month you can add on 5 minutes so by the time. you get to 12 months you're at an hour and are safe to then extend exercise over that if you would like to. 

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Collars and leads

A soft collar for a young puppy, moving to leather at around six months. Half-check collars are sensible, as they tighten under tension and will not slip over their head if startled. If lead training is genuinely difficult, a Halti or Gentle Leader head collar can help, and you will probably not need it once he is trained. Never use a check or choke chain on a puppy, or on any dog in training.

Osteochronritis Dissecans (OCD)

A joint condition common in large and giant breeds. There may be a hereditary component, but over-exercise and trauma also contribute: twisting a foot down a hole, falling, banging into hard objects. Diet is thought to play a part too. Trying to force a puppy taller with supplements, or simply overfeeding him, will very likely buy you joint problems instead of a bigger dog.

Let them grow slowly, feed them properly, and let the puppy rest.

Feeding

Follow the breeder's diet sheet for at least the first few weeks. Reputable breeders have tried and tested methods, and a settling puppy does not need a change of food on top of everything else.

If you do change food later, speak to your breeder first and do it gradually. Add a little of the new food at each meal over about a week until the changeover is complete. Watch how his digestion copes, and do not buy a sack of anything until you are sure.

 

If they do not eat well in the first day or two, don't panic. New home, new everything.

• Offer their normal food at normal times. Lift the bowl after about 20 minutes and offer it again at the next meal.

• Do not tempt them with something tastier. That is how fussy eaters are made, and a picky Wolfhound is a long-term problem.

• No titbits between meals.

• Fresh water available at all times.

 

Call your vet if your puppy has not eaten properly within 48 hours, or straight away at any point if they are also lethargic, vomiting, has diarrhoea, or seems unwell in any way. Loss of appetite in a puppy is very often the first sign of something clinical rather than a bad habit, and it is not worth waiting out.

 

Bloat

Gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV) and known as bloat / torsion is a serious risk in the breed. Bloat normally happens when the dog's stomach has been stressed. This is why knowing the signs and symptoms of bloat is so important. Knowing when the dog eats and controlling the the frequency and amount of food (aka not free-feeding), and feeding around exercise is vital to saving your dog's life. 

 

House training

Wolfhounds are naturally clean and easy to house train.

Take them outside every half hour or so, after every meal, and whenever they get excited. Praise the puppy warmly when they perform where you want them to.

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Take them out before you have to leave and when you're back - remembering that a Wolfhound at any age can't be left for too long.

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If you come home to an accident, do not scold them. They will have no idea what you are cross about. Only ever correct them if you catch them in the act, and even then, don't shout. 

Socialising

At home first. Once they have settled and met the family, encourage friends to visit. They will need to be comfortable with people coming into their home and garden, the postman included.

 

Then outside. After their full course of vaccinations, start taking them out to meet the world. Trips in the car to supermarket car parks to get used to the hustle and bustle of people is a great way to acclimatise them. Trips to where you will be walking them is also important - if you live on a busy road for example, sitting in a safe place with them nearby for 5-10 minutes each day will help them learn that they are safe and secure with you by their side. 

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Other dogs matter, especially if they are your only one.

 

Many dogs will be wary of their size even when they are still a baby and they will not understand why. They do need to learn that not every dog (or human) wants to be their friend. Puppy socialisation classes, often run by vets, are an excellent way to introduce the puppy to dogs of all shapes and sizes, and most include training advice too.

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Car travel. Take the puppy on regular short trips so that a visit to the vet is not a battle royal. Never let them jump in or out; lifting them while they are small, and help while they larger. Growing joints can be injured easily.

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End the trips somewhere good, like a country walk, and they will come to associate the car with pleasure.

 

Follow this and you should have a happy life together. Enjoy them.