Hi all - is it possible for an expert to reliably confirm Irish Wolfhound breed from puppy photos? Like these: I have been looking for ages, and found someone selling pups without papers or parentage, which is aus - but they do look legit to me.
I would not trust a visual identification. It's too easy to get it wrong. If you are really interested, then request a dna test by the breeder. For me, I would not buy from this breeder. No papers + no parentage equals a bad breeder or an "accidental pregnancy" that could well mean a mixed breed litter. Hold out for a quality breeder or look at a rescue group.
Hi in my own opinion , I would buy a pup without papers if I could see the parents . If I were happy with the look , temperament , health etc of the dogs , And never intended to show them or care about papers . I’m in Australia too , don’t see many pure wolfhounds , wouldn’t be many breeders around with papers Id dare say either . plenty of crosses with the hunters out there though . ive got an interest in staghounds and kangaroo dogs at the moment myself , window shopping that is , not ready for another dog at the moment however . of course those don’t come with papers here , as they’re a created functional purpose breed made by the settlers , I saw a pure bred wolfhound a while ago however , they are such an impressive dog . it was 75 kg I think the guys said , smallest of the litter !
Excellent answer from @Toedtoes. You can't spot a crossbred puppy as they can resemble either parent - at least initially.
Thank god for cross breeds You can try pick one that’s the “black sheep” of the family and see if you can get a discount ! a good bit of mongrel to undo the damage breeders do to functional dogs sounds good to me . Wink ‘A wind up for the purists out there ‘
There are good and bad among any group of breeders, whether they are pedigree or mongrel Guess I am a purist as I don’t like these designer breeds or unscrupulous breeders. With crosses there is no way to know which breeds genes will be predominant for each aspect of looks, traits, size, and health ect: If I wanted a crossbreed I would choose a rescue dog at least it would mean not lining a designer' or BYB breeder’s pockets.
I was watching this dogumentary the guy talking says about the breed being brought back from what little stock they had left and the other breeds they usedto breed in to save it when they had gotten scarce , way back when . He also mentions health issues nowadays and I think it would be a good idea to put some different blood Back in the mix again by the sounds of it . A couple things don’t sit right with me at times , and I agree with what you said also . I do like pure Breds too, however ...... when I see a “pure bred “ dog look like no normal cattle dog we would be familiar with here when we would have seen thousands , it does get annoying , when your then told this is the pedigree champion , or standard , as though all else is inferior , a lot of the times breeds get different shape heads , different shaped bodies , and different length legs . Then they seem to start becoming like ‘dolly the sheep’ ....as in a ‘clone’. where the health issues may begin . and another peeve is where somehow owners of purebreds seem to think it becomes an extension of their ego and self importance , and that they themselves now represent the breed . Where it was likely the mongrels to begin that gifted them the mix. where one must roll their rrrrr’s when prrronuncing such purrrbrheads , And frown upon the mongrel that doth not conformeth . which I then hence forth feel need to poke such to whence forth , And a kick to boot . not saying it’s going on here , in the context of a bit of mongrel being mixed in , I am a fan . it’s muh sense of humour
This. Too many folks around here will indiscriminately breed their female to any male that comes along and then sell the puppies for outrageous amounts as "designer breeds". And those pups rarely have any health checks, innoculations, socialization, etc, that a quality purebred or even a rescue puppy will have.
@Queensland blue It sounds like your "cattle dogs" are like our "pit bulls" in that it's not an actual breed but a mix of a group of breeds. Our pit bulls can vary a lot in looks because they are not all composed of the exact same breed mixes. Some may be purebred American Staffordshire Terriers, others can be a mix of that and boxer, bulldog, mastiff, bull terrier, and/or something else. So there is no standard to be had for a "pit bull" even though folks will identify it as a "purebred pit bull". In reality the " pit bull" moniker is more of a collective than a breed. Breeders can be bad. That's why it's so important to find a breeder that is carefully breeding for a steady personality and healthy dog not just a preferred look.
If the puppies were a rescued litter, then they could be anything. Rescues will try to guess a breed in order to attract attention to the pups. Many times they get it wrong. I love GSDs. When I get a new dog, I always look for a shepherd or shepherd mix. Most of the time, I can find one that actually has shepherd in it. But, over the years, I have learned that I cannot guarantee it and I have to be willing to have a dog that ends up being everything but a shepherd. My new puppy came from a rescued litter. The shelter identified them as "border collie mixes". When I got his dna back, he was a Parson RussellTerrier, Shih Tzu, Collie, and Pekinese. I call him a Giant Jack Russell Terrier because his personality is pure JRT and his size is, well giant for a JRT. . In the end, I love him for what he is, not what he isn't. I think that's because I liked his looks over what they identified him as. So, if you like the look of this puppy and you like his personality, go for it. If he turns out to have Irish Wolfhound, then great. If not, then love what you did get.
I had a couple pit bulls years ago here in Australia so read a bit about them back then , the akc and the ukc kennel clubs (from memory) and how they started the American Staffordshire terrier breed , the name coming about to get away from the pit bull reputation . Now they do look different , the pit bulls were supposedly brought over to USA for fighting I read , I think those lines will still exist (the traits will and do ) , and I have seen some definitely different looking new types / crosses coming about like the xxl bully’s etc , Well the “am staff’s “ that have papers here can be sold very expensively , and the pit bulls don’t really get advertised , they’re banned to do so I think . so they designed them to look scarier when they were already functionally the toughest probably . Trying for looks . Guess they’re job was pretty useless , and wrong anyway in my opinion . in the case of cattle dogs across Australia , I think on working farms a neighbors dog with a bit of border collie in it , kelpie , dingo, stumpy tail , Smithfield etc Sometimes sneaks in from a nearby farm throughout the years , where it keeps the predominant gene going , so there is variety , or there already is a bit of variety in looks anyway . funny when your used to something and don’t stop to really question the diversity of breed . And some breeds are at a younger stage of ancestry , so looking at it from a point of hindsight with others trying to not make the same dead end mistakes I suppose . well the vid I posted the guy says lifespan of wolfhounds between 6 and 10 years , and he says basically they will have health issues . I just watched an Australian staghound vid where the dog lived until 13 years and 5 months . I know a different dog , a bit smaller and a cross younger breed that is bred to functionally hunt , to this day in Australia , which Is kinda my long winded point .
The giant breeds have very short lifespans. It's sad because they are such sweet dogs. From what I read, the staghound is not a breed, but again a collective. By definition, to be a breed, you must be able to breed any two dogs of the same compostion and get puppies all of the same composition. So while every breed is made up of other breeds, it becomes its own breed when it can stand on its own four feet without additional crossbreeding or extreme variety in appearance. He is very charming in the video. Of course my older cat, Looney1, was not impressed with his dying cow imitation. The Jack Russell Terrier is now split into two breeds. The short legged Russell Terrier and the long legged Parson Russell Terrier. That's happened in a very short time due to preferences by individual breeders.
I’m not sure how many new staghounds are being created , maybe , although I’m not sure , it has been created /going on quite a while now. I know things like Neapolitan Mastiffs crossed with pit bulls to make ‘ban-dogs’ still does go on , although that experiment was supposed to have already created a breed , people still think it’s that simple, which is faux in my opinion . here is a bit about staghounds http://www.boardogs.com/Boardogs_Staghounds.htm if you were interested .
They are an older dog. Older than many recognized breeds. But they lack a viable standard. Our American Staghounds can weigh 45-90 lbs and be 24-32 inches tall. That is a huge size range for a single "breed". They've been bred for the work, but even that is in question as they are commonly crossbred to get a better working dog. Most folks who are trying to create a breed are very careful about crossbreeding until the breed is established and recognized. Otherwise, a staghound-bull terrier cross is really just a greyhound-deerhound-bull terrier cross. It's all very interesting from a scientific standpoint. I'm not a "must be a purebred" type of person. I love my mixed breeds. But I am interested in seeing how the genetics play out. Purebred boxers show a standard set of traits due to genetics. But any single boxer might be a throwback and lack those standard traits. From a breeder's eyes, the fewer "throwbacks" born, the better the line. If there are enough "throwbacks" in all the lines, then it doesn't get recognized as a breed regardless of how it's presented. And of course, once you get the breed recognized, there are those who then decide to breed for a non-standardized trait. So instead of the JRT, you get the Parson and the Russell. You get the Miniature American Shepherd alongside the original Australian Shepherd.
