Irish Wolfhound

The Irish Wolfhound is the tallest dog breed in the world, and the single most important thing any honest profile can tell you is this: you are not adopting a dog so much as signing up for roughly six to eight years with a 120-to-180-pound housemate whose heart, bones, and stomach are all working against the clock. A mature male stands 32 to 35 inches at the shoulder and weighs 140 to 180 pounds; females run 30 inches and up and 105 to 140 pounds. The rough, harsh double coat comes in grey, brindle, red, black, fawn, and wheaten. This is a sighthound built on Greyhound lines — fast in a short burst, then content to be a wall-to-wall carpet for the next 22 hours. Temperamentally the breed is the opposite of its hunting past. Modern Wolfhounds are calm, dignified, gentle, and famously unsuited to guard work — the breed motto is 'gentle when stroked, fierce when provoked,' but the provoking almost never comes. They bond hard to their family, are patient with children, and are typically fine with other dogs. They are sensitive to harsh handling and do not thrive in kennels or isolation. Who the Irish Wolfhound is right for: an owner with the space (no apartment — this dog needs room simply to turn around), the budget (giant-breed food, giant-breed medical bills, and giant-breed grief), and above all the emotional readiness for a short life. Who it is wrong for: anyone who wants a long-lived dog, anyone on a tight medical budget, anyone in a small home, or anyone who cannot commit to a screened puppy from heart-tested parents. The Wolfhound's size is its romance and its tragedy in equal measure — go in with both eyes open.