Despite their size, Irish Wolfhounds don’t need extensive exercise. A daily stroll and a few games in the park will keep your pet happy. Avoid too much strenuous exercise or long distance walks under the age of two as it can cause bone developmental issues.

Your Irish Wolfhound will need a minimum of two hours of exercise every day to keep them fit and healthy. It’s better to spread this across the day rather than doing two hours in one go. We’d recommend splitting this into walks and off-lead exercise in a safe area.

Although puppies are little bundles of energy, they usually sleep 18-20 hours a day.

Running Miles: An Irish Wolfhound in good condition may be able to accompany you on a run for three to five miles. Though the Wolfhound loves to run, too much running, or running before the dog is fully developed, may damage his joints and bones.

Start with short walks of no more than five minutes, and build up to walks of a mile over a three-month period. They shouldn’t reach a distance of two miles until they’re a year old. Walks on leash are a must with this breed.

He loves attention, but is also happy to sleep for twenty hours. He enjoys racing around around the garden in a figure of eight and squeezing his eight and a half stone frame into a two foot gap between me and my husband on the sofa. He’s very affectionate and sociable, but can be a bit pushy with his affection.”

They are not a high energy dog but, despite this, they still need a minimum of 2 hours’ daily exercise to keep them strong and healthy. Like all puppies, Irish Wolfhounds should be exercised carefully, with duration and intensity of exercise being built up slowly to allow their joints to develop properly.

Irish Wolfhounds require at least 40 minutes of daily exercise and do best in a home with a large fenced yard. Irish Wolfhounds need a fenced yard to keep them from chasing prey away from their yards. They should not be kept in a yard with underground electronic fencing.

Although the Irish wolfhound is the tallest dog breed, they can move quickly, reaching speeds of up to 35 miles per hour.

Positive reinforcement training is the most effective way to train a Wolfhound. They do not respond well to harsh corrections, often simply “shutting down.” Despite their size they are very sensitive dogs. Some IW owners train their IWs for official obedience, rally and agility events.

However, walking uphill is good for building muscle once a dog is adult and requiring conditioning. The Irish wolfhound should be hard muscled – it is, after all, a galloping breed – but good muscle is as much due to structure and diet as to exercise.

Smaller breeds have more energy and can go on way past the stage at which a wolfhound puppy should have given up and rested, but in such circumstances the wolfhound pup often will continue to play and cause damage to its growing bones. So the rule is: do not allow the puppy free access to either older dogs or puppies of smaller breeds.

No form of exercise should be given for an hour before or two hours after feeding because of the risk of bloat/gastric torsion. Also, do not exercise your hound in the heat of the day; in warm weather exercise early in the morning and late in the evening when it is cooler.

Regardless of your dog’s age, there are a few safety tips from the American Veterinary Medical Association that can help keep your puppy safe during exercise. Teach your puppy how to walk on a leash. Begin with short walks, taking frequent breaks. Increase the length of the walk gradually.