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Irish Wolfhound
- ireland
- breed health database
- irish wolfhound
- international breed collaboration
- swedish insurance data
- health surveys
- Irländsk varghund
- Lévrier irlandais
- Lebrel irlandés
- Irischer Wolfshund
- Irsk Ulvehund
- National kennel clubs and breed clubs (see, e.g. Breeding/Health Strategy Documents, below)
- Population-level statistics (see, e.g., Swedish Insurance Data, below)
- Research articles
- Breed club surveys
- See our article which contains a video and other information pertaining to Pneumonia and respiratory conditions in the Irish Wolfhound.
- Breed-specific information on rates of disease and death from Agria Pet Insurance (Agria Djurförsäkring) is available for many breeds.
- The Kennel Club, UK: Breed Watch (Category 2 - read more)
- Sweden: Breed-specific Breeding Strategies: (in Swedish) and/ or English summary
- Finland
-
Norway: Breeding Strategy RAS (English)
- The Kennel Club (2004)irish wolfhounds.pdf
- Irish Wolfhound Health Group (UK) Health Surveys
- Seminars - presentations from 2011
Up to the end of the17th century, Irish Wolfhounds were used for hunting wolves and deer in Ireland. They were also used for hunting the wolves that infested large areas of Europe before the forests were cleared.
Source: Irish Kennel Club
Links to Breed Descriptions
See: Irish Wolf Hound description from the Irish Kennel Club
Irish Wolfhound Club of America - Illustrated Breed Standard
More resources from IWCA: https://www.iwclubofamerica.org/illustrated-standard
View more videos on AKC's YouTube Channel
Other Names for Breed
Country of Origin and Parent Breed Club
Country of origin: Ireland
Health and Well-Being
Some sources of health information include:
Breed-Specific Articles
Irish Wolfhound: Respiratory concerns: Pneumonia
OWNERS: If you are new to keeping IWs, please see this article - it could help you and your veterinarian to save your dog's life.
Breed Standards
There are numerous breed standards.
The basis of breed/conformation shows is the judging of pedigree dogs against the 'Breed Standard', which is a picture in words that describes the range of features that are deemed appropriate for the breed.
Three of the major international standards are:
Breed-Specific Statistics
1. Swedish Insurance Data
Breeding/Health Strategy Documents
Health/Breeding Strategy Documents and Links:
Health Surveys
DATABASE
About IWDB.ORG
This site is made with the express intent of being a valuable source for the Irish wolfhound community. It is made by breed enthusiasts - for breed enthusiasts. IWDB is a free and open database.
As of 6-4-2016 the database contains records on 133,856 irish wolfhounds. There are 9,523 sires and 17,747 dams in the database.
Contact IWDB through email at info@iwdb.org.
See the presentation from the 4th IDHW...
The Irish Wolfhound Database - Per Arne Flatberg (*Also see the Poster)
The Irish Wolfhound Health Group (IWHG) have released their first newsletter of 2017; there is a great article on using the IW Database!!! 
- you can find it here
The Irish Wolfhound Health Group (UK): http://iwhealthgroup.co.uk
Be sure to check out the updated website Library which contains research articles and IWHG Newsletters, the Health Surveys page for current survey participation and News!!!
The first IWHG Newsletter was released in October 2016.
Don't miss the 1st newsletter with an introduction to the new IWHG services, team bios, project highlights and articles including, Do wolfhounds have a small Genepool? by Maura Lyons.
Many thanks to Maura Lyons for sharing updates from the IWHG!
Caring for a Wolfhound updated 2020 - for new owners - download handbook here.
GUIDE-Your New Irish Wolfhound_IWHG_UK.pdf
IWHG Newsletters
Many thanks to Gary Bogart for sharing the IWHG's March 2017 Newsletter - full of health information and features on IW's in art and media!
Again many thanks to Gary Bogart for sharing this publication with DWN!
Many thanks to Gary Bogart for sharing this publication with DWN!
Many thanks to Linda Forret for sharing this publication with DWN!
Many thanks to Mara Lyons for sharing this publication with DWN!
Check out reporting and preliminary results from the IWHG's Breed Health surveys from September 2018 along with other info on the Breed Health Conservation Plan (BHCP), and breed health studies news.
Many thanks to Wendy Reeves, Secretary Irish Wolfhound Health Group, for sharing this publication with DWN.
IWHG's Summer 2019 Newsletter contains a special focus on mega-esophagus; also covered are ongoing research projects, updates on Livershunt research and heart testing, surveys and so much more is covered in this issue.
Many thanks to Wendy Reeves, Secretary Irish Wolfhound Health Group, for sharing this publication with DWN.
IWHG's Autumn Newsletter invites IW fanciers to attend the Breed Health Seminar [MUST BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE, INCLUDES LUNCH AND REFRESHMENTS.To book, please email the IWHG secretary]. Held Saturday, November 9th - speakers will cover allergies and vaccines. The upcoming seminar along with other health news on surveys, research and coverage of UC Davis's genetic diversity project fills out the issue.
Many thanks to Wendy Reeves, Secretary Irish Wolfhound Health Group, for sharing this publication with DWN.
IWHG's Winter Newsletter features include Heart Testing Results 2019, and an overview of topics covered at the the 2019 Seminar (dermatology/allergies, vaccines, dentition...). The presentations from the Seminar are on the IWHealth Group web page and can be accessed at http://www.iwhealthgroup.co.uk/news.html#nov19.
Many thanks to Wendy Reeves, Secretary Irish Wolfhound Health Group, for sharing this publication with DWN.
IWHG's Summer 2020 Newsletter features articles on DENTAL OCCLUSIONS* IN IRISH WOLFHOUND PUPPIES - from
8 – 23 weeks - What is ‘normal’?, management of dogs for Hyperacute Exertional Rhabdomyolysis (thermoregulation), links to health surveys and a program for recognition of IWs that are long lived.
Many thanks to Wendy Reeves, Secretary Irish Wolfhound Health Group, for sharing this publication with DWN.
IWHG's Autumn 2020 Newsletter features an in depth analysis of multi-country age of death data for IWs: "Using the data pertaining to wolfhounds born in the last 20 years only and the top 20 countries best represented with numbers of hounds registered we found some interesting discussion points..." Heart testing and links to Surveys and Guides are available,
Many thanks to Wendy Reeves, Secretary Irish Wolfhound Health Group, for sharing this publication with DWN.
IWHG's Winter 2020 Newsletter features an article on Adaptive Immunity in puppies... "Failure in getting sufficient colostrum is a major key to many serious infections in young puppies; Joint ill being one of them."
Many thanks to Wendy Reeves, Secretary Irish Wolfhound Health Group, for sharing this publication with DWN.
The IWHG is involved with or helps to coordinate various different research projects in Irish Wolfhounds. See the Winter 2021 Newsletter for more information and IW articles - as always informative and well done!
Many thanks to the Secretary of the Irish Wolfhound Health Group for sharing this publication with DWN.
The IWHG Winter 2023 Newsletter contains links to surveys, health project overviews current research and more! To stay in touch with everything health-wise: Please sign up for notifications of announcements on our website here, http://www.iwhealthgroup.co.uk/home.ht
Many thanks to Wendy Reeves, Secretary of the Irish Wolfhound Health Group, for sharing this publication with DWN.
IWHG-Newsletter-Winter 2022.pdf
Irish Wolfhound Health Group Facebook page
The Irish Wolfhound Club of America - health resources
The Irish Wolfhound Foundation - health articles, research studies and more resources
Information for Researchers: The Irish Wolfhound Foundation offers funding for studies relating to Irish Wolfhounds or to sighthound-related research.
IW Foundation Health Studies
IWCA National Specialty Show Presentations: presentations are now available for the benefit of all IWs and their owners
Breed-Specific DNA Tests:
Other Breed-Specific Webpages
INTERNATIONAL
There's a list of European Irish Wolfhound clubs at the website of the Federation of European Irish Wolfhound Clubs. The list of participating clubs is available here.
Check out the many educational and health related resources at E.I.W.C.!
Here are just two links to past Congress presentations:
E.I.W.C. Health Information
The Irish Wolfhound Archives -- Courtesy of Elizabeth C. Murphy
Breed-Specific Research
Momen, M., Kohler, N.L., Binversie, E.E. et al. Heritability and genetic variance estimation of Osteosarcoma (OSA) in Irish Wolfhound, using deep pedigree information. Canine Genet Epidemiol 8, 9 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40575-021-00109-y
(Internal) gb-2013-14-12-r132.pdf
Denmark: Irish Wolfhound Longevity Study
"The Irish Wolfhound Longevity Study is a population study, aiming at establishing the status quo of the Irish Wolfhound Worldwide."
Request for participation: information on the IW Longevity Study and contacts are available.
Multi-country: For more information on IW Research projects see: Irish Wolfhound Research
This article contains links to research project descriptions, participation submission forms and other relevant information from IW clubs, Foundations and other organizations.
December 2019 - New research paper on AF is available on the IW Health Group's website: Pedigree analysis of atrial fibrillation in Irish Wolfhounds supports a high heritability with a dominant mode of inheritance
Fousse, S., Tyrrell, W., Dentino, M. et al. Pedigree analysis of atrial fibrillation in Irish wolfhounds supports a high heritability with a dominant mode of inheritance. Canine Genet Epidemiol 6, 11 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40575-019-0079-y
Breed Clubs
We are listing sites for breed clubs with health or other information that might be helpful. Follow links below.
Norway: Irsk Ulvehundklubb Norge
USA: The Irish Wolfhound Club of America
IW Clubs list maintained by IWCA
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