Irish Wolfhound

Sighthounds

Giant

Median 9.9 y

FCI group 10 · Sighthounds · Derived from the adult weight midpoint (61.8 kg)

Median survival across 719 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 7–12 y

The Irish Wolfhound is a breed of large sighthound that has, by its presence and substantial size, inspired literature, poetry and mythology. One of the largest of all breeds of dog, the breed is used by coursing hunters who have prized it for its ability to dispatch game caught by other, swifter sighthounds. In 1902, the Irish Wolfhound was declared the regimental mascot of the Irish Guards.

Courageous

Dignified

Calm

Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · reference ranges from the Kintail breed dataset

Adult weight

Reference

Male

54.5–81.6 kg

Female

47.6–63.5 kg

100

Breed club figure (the Irish Wolfhound Club of America)

Weight for age

Stock data

Male

Female

Expected range

Expected range from the breed's own adult weight, kilograms. Growth reference: Hawthorne et al. 2004, WALTHAM, n=7 Irish Wolfhounds.

Heat cycles · females

Stock data

First heat

8–12 mo

typical

Interval

180 d

typical

Bleeding

~9 d

typical

Proestrus 9d

Estrus 9d

Diestrus 52d

Anestrus 110d

General figures for dogs, not for this breed — individual cycles vary widely.

Questions people ask

Adult males usually weigh 54.5–81.6 kg and females 47.6–63.5 kg. Most are close to their full size by around 12 months, though the last little bit of filling out takes longer. Growth reference: Hawthorne et al. 2004, WALTHAM, n=7 Irish Wolfhounds.

No Irish Wolfhound cycle figures are published here yet, so this is general guidance rather than a breed number: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later.

The median is 9.9 y. Median survival across 719 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 7–12 y. How the later years go comes down to weight, teeth, exercise and regular check-ups far more than to the breed.