Irish Wolfhound History

The Irish Wolfhound has ancient origins in the 1st Century BC as the 'Great Hound of Ireland'. Its most notable documentation was by the Roman Aurelis in 391 AD when he was gifted seven of them while in Ireland.  In Rome it was famed as a gladiator and hunting dog.  They were fearsome in battle, used to pull men from their horses or chariots.  They were also used for guarding herds and hunting large prey, capable of taking down 1.8m tall Irish Elks and Wolves, hence their name.

In Ireland, they were highly regarded and could only be owned by nobility, your status indicating how many Wolfhounds you were allowed to own.  They almost became extinct in the 1800s as a result of the extinction of the wolf in Ireland, their regular gifting to nobility and the 1845 famine.  The breed was revived by crossing original Wolfhounds with Great Danes, Borzois, Scottish Deerhounds and Tibetan Mastiffs to create the breed we have today.