Ierne Irish Wolfhounds

Upcoming Irish Wolfhound Events
We will have the hounds out and visiting at the following events:

The Irish Wolfhound Association of the Mid South (IWAMS) is now the Irish Wolfhound Association of the Carolinas (IWAC) after receiving AKC Club recognition. It's the same great interactive club, just with a new name. The first IWAC Club Meeting will be held September 25, 2022 at the Durham Kennel Club in Hillsborough, NC. Please feel free to join us and meet the hounds.

You can email me or visit the IWAC Facebook page below for any additional upcoming club events.

For more information on the Irish Wolfhound Association of the Carolinas:
www.iwams.org

Irish Wolfhound Association of the Carolinas Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/IrishWolfhoundAssociationoftheMidSouth/

Hello! Welcome to the web home of Ierne Irish Wolfhounds. We are a small, inclusive kennel near Raleigh, NC. We enjoy sharing our love and passion for this ancient and unique breed with anyone interested in learning. We are dedicated to preserving the correct type, and functional beauty, of the Irish Wolfhound.

Ch. Ierne's Aine Ni Fear Mor (Grandmother)
Ch. Ierne's Sorcha Ni Shirey, JC (Mother)
Ch. Ierne's Stella Artois (Daughter)
Ierne's La Folie (Daughter)
All three generations health tested, two generations CHIC certified
Photo copyrighted by Carolyn Dean

We are committed to educating potential owners on the health and longevity of the Irish Wolfhound, and this is the purpose of this site. Our goals are to improve both, while maintaining quality hounds who typify the standard of the breed. We participate in the Canine Health Information Center's CHIC certification program with our hounds. We believe to have a comprehensive knowledge of the health of a breed you need to look at all the dogs in a pedigree. The health status of siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins must be considered prior to breeding, not just Mom, Dad, or Grandma and Grandpa. If you are interested in purchasing a purebred dog, regardless of breed, you should visit the Canine Health Information Center website and learn about CHIC certification. You can follow this link to learn more: http://www.caninehealthinfo.org/. This doesn't necessarily guarantee your puppy will be healthy, or have a long life, but it does help to rule out some of the known hereditary issues. Health testing helps the breeder make good decisions and screen for SOME hereditary diseases, but not everything. If a breeder promises you health and longevity they are not being honest with you. Even good dogs have bad things happen, and the Irish Wolfhound has a significant number of genetic concerns breeders need to deal with. You as the consumer MUST be comfortable asking questions and fact checking. Diseases like osteosarcoma, lymphoma, chronic pneumonia, or rhinitis cannot be tested for in advance.

If you've been considering adding an Irish Wolfhound to your family we recommend familiarizing yourself with the health and longevity concerns of the breed. Spend plenty of time researching both the breed and breeders. If you have additional questions not answered on these pages, or just want to meet some hounds, please feel free to email us, we're happy to provide guidance and the opportunity to spend time with the hounds. And if you're chatting with a breeder and they say bile acid screening for liver shunt is not necessary, because they "don't have liver shunt" in their lines, or because "its too stressful for the puppies" PLEASE run hard and fast in the opposite direction. Breeders who care about you, and your new life with your puppy, will not neglect liver shunt testing. It is a horrific defect, both for the owner and the puppy. If you want to know how bad it can get, check out Muirne and Scarlett's page.

Use this site as a learning tool and resource. You will need to understand breed related health concerns if you are to be an advocate for your hound. I also recommend visiting the website for our parent club, the Irish Wolfhound Club of America and our health foundation, the Irish Wolfhound Foundation, click on the names to visit their sites. Take time to learn about the breed, and be prepared with questions once you begin talking to and visiting breeders. If you are local to North or South Carolina, Virginia or West Virginia I recommend contacting the Irish Wolfhound Association of the Mid South for information regarding local breeders or rescues. This group holds multiple events a year where you can meet both wolfhounds and their owners.

My love for Irish Wolfhounds started in third grade when I discovered a 1940s breed book in the school library. It described the wolfhound as being of great size and commanding appearance with it's past "lost in antiquity". I was a young girl, romantic, of Irish heritage and madly in love with animals, I was hooked. I looked forward to the day I could own an Irish Wolfhound, but that wouldn't happen for another 20 years. I bought my first Wolfhound, Kaila, from a breeder in Kansas in 1991. She wasn't a very good breeder, something I recognized when I saw two sad little puppies sitting in the back of a pick up truck. I had worked in veterinary medicine for several years, and knew I was only perpetuating the problem by buying either one of them. But I couldn't bring myself to leave them in that dirty truck. I gave her $800 for both puppies and she said SOLD! (Probably followed by Sucker).

My husband had never met an Irish Wolfhound when we started dating. He couldn't get over how big the 6 month old puppy was (she dwarfed his Border Collie). You have to love a man who offers to take you on a dog walk for your first date. We've had the luxury of owning many beautiful hounds since... and I'd like to share a few of them with you on these pages. If you're interested in being owned and loved by your own hound please visit the website of our National Breed Club, The Irish Wolfhound Club of America to learn more.

We only rarely breed, so we may not be your best first choice when looking for a hound. However, I do know many of the breeders in our community and can direct you to someone both reputable and planning puppies. If you are looking for a puppy please visit the page "Muirne, Scarlett & Liver Shunt" before deciding on a breeder. It is important breeders screen for hereditary diseases, but it is negligent if they place a puppy without first screening for liver shunt. Please take a few minutes to understand this hereditary condition and don't be afraid to demand breeders screen. If a breeder tells you they don't screen because its not a problem, go elsewhere for a puppy, there isn't a breeding line of Irish Wolfhounds that isn't at risk of producing a shunt puppy.

Reputable breeders can be hard to find, they typically don't advertise on puppyfind. A few have a website you can go to for information, but most do not advertise at all. This means if you find yourself considering a breeder advertising through puppy selling sites you should proceed with caution. As members of the Irish Wolfhound Club of America we commit to being stewards of our breed. This means doing our best to produce hounds that meet the standard, are sound, healthy when bred, and are free of obviously inheritable diseases. We work not to exploit our breed. The breeding and showing of Irish Wolfhounds should be about perpetuating the breed, not populating it. We should work to bring the best forward with each successive generation. This means breeding responsibly, and in the best interest of the puppy AND the new owner. Reputable breeders will not do the following:

They will not advertise on internet sites set up specifically for the commercial sale of puppies.
They rarely take deposits, and never non-refundable deposits. If they've vetted you and feel you will make a great home they'll commit to you without you risking non-refundable money.
They will want a premise check prior to sending you the puppy. This entails an experienced wolfhound owner coming over, visiting with you, discussing where the pup will sleep, eat, how many hours a day he'll be left alone, and where he will exercise and play. They will give advice on fencing, stairs, and positioning of furniture. They'll help you identify things in your home that may present a danger to your new puppy, or be at danger FROM your new puppy! Like that antique quilt made by Grandma.
They will provide certification of health testing done prior to breeding, and completed by veterinarians specializing in those aspects of health. The standard should be heart, hips, elbows and eyes.
They will provide bile acid screening on ALL puppies prior to going to their new homes. This protects both you and the puppy from what can be a very tragic diagnosis.
They won't have a complicated contract. It will be 1 to 2 pages and address breeding, sterilization, recommendations for vaccination, feeding, exercise, registration and disposition of the pup should you ever be unable to keep it. A reputable breeder will expect the pup to be returned if something in your life changes and you can't keep him. It won't matter his age, they'll want to involved in the process of rehoming the pup. The contract should request you get the puppy to the vet within the next week for a vet check. Be sure to ask breeders about their health guarantees! Its very important that you realize that RARELY does anything truly BAD happen in the first 72 hours!
Reputable breeders usually don't differentiate on the price between male and female or show and companion quality. It costs exactly the same to provide a well socialized companion puppy as it does to provide a well socialized show puppy.
Reputable breeders don't charge more for full versus limited registration. If you have never bred before a reputable breeder isn't going to encourage you to breed. They will encourage you to get involved in our community, visit other owners and dabble in showing, lure coursing or obedience... They'll want you to get to know the breed, fully understand structure, temperament and movement and once you have a good knowledge base with which to make decisions they'll support you through your first litter if you choose to make that commitment to the breed.
The breeder will make the decision of whether the puppy is on full or limited registration based on whether the puppy is of a quality to be bred, not on whether you want to breed or not. They will encourage you to learn before breeding, not to just jump in.
You will not see paypal links on their websites where you can click on the link and leave a deposit. They will never take your money until they are sure the two of you are a good fit for each other. They want to get to know you, get to know your family, and make sure you're making a good decision for everyone involved. You can't just hit a paypal button, leave a deposit, and have them send you a puppy like it was a commodity and not a living creature.
Reputable breeders don't market their dogs, don't get me wrong, they're proud of their accomplishments... but it isn't about selling puppies, it's about preserving a beautiful and noble breed.
Just because a potential breeder shows their dogs doesn't mean they're reputable breeders. There are plenty of breeders who market their dogs through online, puppy sale websites and who also show. Pay close attention to what they say to you. If they say things like our dogs are known for their "health" "longevity" "wonderful temperaments" "phenomenal size" or "European lines" then steer clear. A reputable breeder will give you an honest picture of the breed. They won't use sound bites you want to hear just to lure you in to buy a puppy from them. And that's what the above are, they're marketing sound bites. A breeder cannot fully guarantee you'll have your hound for 10 or 12 years. There isn't a breeding line of Irish Wolfhounds out there that hasn't dealt with some life threatening medical issue, be it lymphoma, osteosarcoma, seizures, bloat or atrial fibrillation. Be aware of this and understand showing isn't the same thing as commitment to quality. I'll be honest, you could dress up a pig in an Irish Wolfhound suit and with the right handler in the all breed show ring he'd probably finish his championship. Showing, like breeding, is only useful when used as a tool to guide instead of a tool to market.
I'd like to make one more comment on the "European lines". I see a lot of profit breeders showing and marketing their hounds as "healthier" or we have "rare blacks" due to their European and/or Irish lines. ALL Irish Wolfhounds come from European and Irish lines. There are many imported hounds in ALL the pedigrees of today's Irish Wolfhounds, and many breeders import. However, they don't import because they are getting a better dog, there is nothing inherently better about the European or Irish dogs over homegrown Irish Wolfhounds. The Irish Wolfhound community is very close knit and the reputable breeders in Ireland, England and mainland Europe all communicate and collaborate with each other. We participate with each other in health and longevity studies and share information across borders. We're ALL dealing with the same medical issues and challenges. It could be a less than reputable breeder in Europe misinformed a novice breeder in the U.S. when selling them a puppy, but don't allow yourself, as an educated consumer, to fall for the same marketing spiel. And black Irish Wolfhounds are not rare, it's not the most common of colors, but it is far from rare.
A reputable breeder won't place a puppy before the age of 10 weeks, this allows them to become well socialized with other dogs through their mother and littermates. It also allows for liver shunt testing to be completed and results returned. This should be a non-negotiable for new owners.
If, when asked, a breeder tells you they don't show at the Specialties or belong to the Irish Wolfhound Club of America because those breeders are "to political" or "to cliquish", or "they just don't like me because they're jealous" consider walking away. Our goal is to invite every new member, visitor or breeder to our specialties and gatherings. Our hope is we can educate them enough that they'll understand the damage being done to the breed when breeding strictly for profit. However, sometimes these breeders don't want to hear this, and that's when the blame game begins.
Beware of breeders who advertise size... "All our hounds are between 32 and 36 inches" or color "We have all colors including blue, black and pure white". A responsible breeder isn't going to look past the hound being within standard. They won't care if the pup is 32, 33 or 34 inches at the shoulder when grown, as long as it has a well laid back shoulder, a reaching gate and balanced movement. Once he/she is within the standard we never pay attention again. We're not trying to breed the biggest dog, we're trying to breed a well put together, large galloping hound who is of commanding appearance, balanced and with the look of eagles in his eyes. His size within an inch or two and his color have no bearing on that. He can be just as commanding if he were purple with yellow polka dots. These are also marketing tools to sell puppies. Well, maybe not QUITE as commanding. ;o)
Being a good steward means protecting the breed from exploitation, and over breeding equals exploitation. We don't want to go the route of the Dalmatians in the 1970s, or the Labradors, Yorkshire Terriers or Shih Tzus today. These breeds are regularly found in rescue, emotionally damaged, confused over the loss of their families, or used to make designer breeds whose biggest selling point is often the cute mixed names they've been given, Chiweenie, Puggle, or Doodle something. These breeds are at risk, we want ours to stay safely within our stewardship.

If you want to learn more about what to expect from a responsible breeder, and what it means to be a good steward of the breed, please consider reading the Standard of Behavior for breeders on the IWCA's website.

While on our way back from the Rocky Mountain Irish Wolfhound Association Specialty in 2009 we stopped in St. Louis to visit our good friends Carolyn Dean and Maureen McCreery. Carolyn, a professional photographer, graciously agreed to take the picture above of our three generations together. I want to thank both Carolyn and Maureen for their friendship and support over the years… I am a much better person for having known both of them.

The beautiful collars the girls are wearing were made for them with love by their Aunt Maureen and you can find similar collars for your own hounds at Carolyn and Maureen’s online store www.fuzzywumpets.com. These have been the best collars, durable, comfortable and machine washable.

And to show that dog shows aren't always so serious, here is a little light entertainment for your viewing pleasure. This is a Video of Aine, Sorcha, Stella, and Nora playing cowboys during the team class at the Rocky Mountain Irish Wolfhound Club's Specialty.

To contact us, email ierneiw@aol.com

I will give thee a dog which I got in Ireland. He is huge of limb, and for a follower equal to an able man. Moreover, he has man’s wit, and will bark at thine enemies, but never at thy friends. And he will see by each man’s face whether he be ill or well disposed towards thee. And he will lay down his life for thee. ~ The Icelandic Saga of Niall