FEEDING AND GROWTH
Your puppy will change its eating habits as they continue to grow. You'll find at around 6 months old, they'll want to continue eating around 3-4 meals a day, protein being important.
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A word of caution though; do not over-feed your puppy, they will be fast growing so eating until they're full is not great - for one it causes them to grow taller quicker but can also bring on bloat, which we've talked about previously.
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Talking to your breeder as to what is best and what they advise will really help you during these months.
HANDLE WITH CARE
Avoid letting your puppy jump on and off furniture; in and out of vehicles or navigate stairs until their joints are more developed. Growth plates are very delicate. Speak to your breeder about age appropriate activity levels.
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Get your puppy used to being handled into the car. Some like to encourage them to put their front two legs up onto the car boot to be assisted into the rear or side of the vehicle. Other owners prefer the use of a ramp which will take careful introduction and slow positive training. For those with access to a low sided vehicle such as a van or people carrier these modes of transport prove to be the easiest when encouraging a hound to walk into a vehicle unaided.
TRAINING
Irish Wolfhounds are intelligent but gentle animals. Harsh training and negative reinforcement are unnecessary and damaging to a dog's confidence, and should never be used.
Gentle training can start from the day your puppy arrives home. This doesn't mean formal sessions — it might just mean teaching the puppy to follow you for short periods, using hand-feeding as a lure. You can also start teaching short periods of settling, either sitting outside with you or in their x-pen while you get on with a mundane household task. Early on, it's worth showing your puppy that they won't always be involved in everything you do. But learning the family routine is also important - the time children go to school, so it's quiet time for example.
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Use positive reinforcement - treats, praise, and play - where it applies, but don't be afraid to set clear boundaries around behaviours you want to discourage. The key is to stay consistent and calm; these are sensitive souls who need to be treated fairly.
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Teach basic commands early: recall, wait, and lie down are the three that will do the most for a safe, calm life together.
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Teaching your dog to follow your movement and walk alongside you is also essential, even before you introduce a collar and lead.
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Keep training sessions short and fun when you do introduce the lead, and avoid trying to do too much too soon.
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If you need a trainer, look for one with experience of large sighthounds and strong reviews. The UK dog training industry is currently unregulated — anyone can call themselves a trainer regardless of qualification — so it's worth knowing the training style you want before you start, and checking for accreditation through a recognised body like the APDT, IMDT, or ABTC.
EXCERCISE
Avoid over exercising your puppy (especially on the lead). Their bones and joints are still forming and will be for some considerable time. Let them self-regulate play in secure areas but be cautious about interactions with other dogs at this stage as the puppy can be easily hurt or can over exert themselves.
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Use lead walks primarily for training, bonding and physiological forming – keep them very short at a young age. We suggest around 5 minutes per month of age so 3 month old puppy shouldn't do more than 15 minutes - up to 12 months is around 60 minutes. This helps to keep the focus on you as their handler.
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There should be no forced running or long walks until their growth plates have closed (usually around 12-18 months but sometimes later depending on how your puppies generational lines grow) – your breeder can let you know how their breeding lines mature.
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Walks should be a combination of some focus training (nothing too heavy) and of some free rein, so allowing them to get enrichment through sniffing is vitally important to a dog's happiness.
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GROOMING AND CARE
Start desensitising your puppy as soon as they arrive home. It is going to have a lot of grooming undertaken over its life but start slowly as it's a lot for them to take in.
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Regularly touch all parts of your puppy's body including between each pad, toe, webbing and nail bed. Inside its ears, clean the corners of its eyes, check its bottom and around the tail are. Make sure you can gentle inspect all areas of your hound. If checking your puppies mouth be very gentle as teething can be very uncomfortable for your puppy and their mouth is not complete until it is much older.
Brush your hound with a long pinned slicker brush as often as you wish but generally twice a week will be enough to ensure the coat is clean and free flowing. An unmatted coat can do its job and protect your hound from cold, wind, sun and rain.
Start nail trimming and ear checks immediately so that it all becomes an everyday occurrence and there is no drama.
Comb through their face including their beard area as you do not wish this to become a bone of contention as they grow older and need this cleaned daily!
Irish Wolfhounds are relatively clean. Indeed some hounds never have a bath their whole lives. However if you do wish to bathe your hound, you can of course do so using a shampoo appropriate for their coat. A shampoo for coarse/wire haired breeds is a must. No conditioner is needed as the coat should have its own natural oils to keep the hounds coat waterproof.
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There is a page on Facebook where you can obtain some fantastic advice and knowledge on grooming with videos and photos. Go to www.
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HEALTH CARE
Register with a vet early on. Your puppy will need:
Vaccinations – if their course has not been completed by the breeder – thereafter you can choose an annual vaccination protocol or to titre test your hound.
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Flea/tick/worming – you can use chemical or holistic remedies.
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Weight checks (if you do not have a scales large enough at home).
Welcoming an Irish Wolfhound puppy
The first six months