Irish Wolfhounds: The Dog with the Shortest Lifespan?

It surprised me to learn that the Irish Wolfhound has a very short lifespan. Records show that this dog breed only lives to be 4.95 - 8.75 years old. Statistics have shown that in general small breeds of dog's live longer than large breeds, and the Irish Wolfhound is indeed a large dog. In fact it is thought that these dog's are the tallest in the world.

They are usually around 33 - 36 inches tall, and males weigh about 120 pounds, with the females around 10 pounds lighter. There rough coat comes in a variety of colors of red, fawn, white, gray, black and brown. Dilated cardiomyopathy is a common disease for the Irish Wolfhound. Bone cancer, gastric torsion, and portosystemic shunt are also known conditions to cause the death of Irish Wolfhounds.

The breed possibly dates back to the 1st century when it was used originally for hunting purposes. They are very intelligent, fast, reliable, and strong animals making them ideal sports, or hunting dog's. As the name suggests the breed originated in Ireland. During times of war with England these dog's would be summoned to knock knights off their horses. They were very good at doing this in times of conflict. In the past the breed was owned only by nobles, the British made a point of stressing this when they took over the ruling of Ireland.

Before you decide to have an Irish Wolfhound as a pet consider the following information. It is obviously a big dog so you need a lot of room outdoors as well as indoors to accommodate the animal. Like most dogs this breed needs a lot of daily exercise. Consider also that the breed has hunting instincts, as a result the dog may not be suitable if you have any other smaller pets in the household. They have a large area of coat that needs constant attention, and they do shed hair. As mentioned earlier the breed does not have a very long lifespan in general so this may also be a point to keep in mind.

If you have decided on getting an Irish Wolfhound be sure to feed the dog a healthy diet. Give your dog as much exercise as you can. Giving your dog a healthy lifestyle will give it a balanced, healthy life. Although the average age is not much some dog's of this breed have lived to be at least 10 years old.