Largest Dog Breed
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With its imposing size, the Irish Wolfhound qualifies as the largest dog breed. A dog breed of this magnitude with a bad temperament would be unmanageable and its history very short.
Instead the wolfhound breed accompanied man for many centuries because of its easy going personality that earned it the nick name of “gentle giant”.
The devotion of these dogs to their human families and to children is legendary.
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Probably the Celts imported the wolfhounds in Ireland and innumerable legends and poems testify of how precious were these hounds in the hunt and war.
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The most famous story is about the brave Gelert, the Irish Wolfhound that belonged to Prince Llewelyn the Great.
Here is the story written on the dog’s tombstone in the Welsh village of Beddgelert .
”In the 13th century Llewelyn, prince of North Wales, had a palace at Beddgelert. One day he went hunting without Gelert, "The Faithful Hound", who was unaccountably absent.
On Llewelyn's return the truant, stained and smeared with blood, joyfully sprang to meet his master. The prince alarmed hastened to find his son, and saw the infant's cot empty, the bedclothes and floor covered with blood.
The frantic father plunged his sword into the hound's side, thinking it had killed his heir. The dog's dying yell was answered by a child's cry. Llewelyn searched and discovered his boy unharmed, but near by lay the body of a mighty wolf which Gelert had slain. The prince filled with remorse is said never to have smiled again. He buried Gelert here".
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With the extinction of the wolves, the role of the wolfhound lost importance and maintaining these demanding dogs became an expensive extravagance.
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The systematic rescue of this dog breed started at the end of the 1800, thanks to few aficionados who were able to recover some of the last specimen and mated them judiciously with similar breeds.
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In time the fierce hunter attitude has given way to a mellow temperament and now the wolfhound finds his place as guardian (mainly for the impressive size) and family pet.
Click on the arrow to watch a "vicious dog attack" video of an Irish wolfhound.
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