Standard Irish Wolf Schnauzer (Irish Wolfhound & Schnauzer Mix): Pictures & Traits

For families seeking a gentle giant to add to their household, an Irish Wolf Schnauzer may be perfect. This designer dog is the result of breeding the high-spirited Schnauzer with the gigantic Irish Wolfhound. The outcome is a lively, loyal canine that will do anything for their family.

As with any hybrid breed, you can never be certain as to how the physical traits of the parent breeds are going to be distributed to the offspring. However, it is always going to lead to the mix being a large dog, no matter how things are split.

The Irish Wolf Schnauzer’s coat will always be rough and slightly wiry, and they will have those typical shaggy eyebrows that you see with every Schnauzer. This can also extend to their whiskers, but it may be less noticeable.

The overall body of this breed is strong without being too muscular. Their front legs can be quite straight, with large feet, but there is still a sense of them being quite graceful in their appearance. They can have various colors of fur, including red, fawn, and black, or there can be several colors mixed together.

If you’re considering adding an Irish Wolf Schnauzer to your family, here is everything that you need to know about this beloved designer dog breed.

Irish Wolf Schnauzer Puppies

The Irish Wolf Schnauzer is a designer dog, but what exactly does that mean? A designer dog is the cross of two purebred breeds. The difference between a hybrid breed and a mutt is that the former will generally have a thoroughly documented purebred ancestry.

Sadly, with the rise in popularity and demand for designer dog breeds comes the increase in backyard breeders and puppy mills. Both of these breeding establishments are solely out for monetary gain and generally do not care about the welfare of the dogs they’re breeding and selling. Puppy mills are large-scale commercial dog breeding facilities. According to the Humane Society, about 10,000 of these operations exist today and sell about 2.15 million puppies annually.

While both puppy mills and backyard breeders offer Irish Wolf Schnauzer puppies at extremely appealing and affordable prices, the dog will most likely suffer from both health and behavioral complications later. Be sure to do your research and find a reputable breeder who scans their puppies for any illnesses and lets you visit the facilities and meet the puppy’s parents.

Temperament & Intelligence of the Irish Wolf Schnauzer 🧠

To fully understand your Irish Wolf Schnauzer’s personality, you should learn about the temperament and intelligence of their parent dog breeds.

Despite the Irish Wolfhound’s imposing and looming height, this dog is gentle and easygoing. However, due to their hunting heritage, owners must keep a vigilant eye on this pup outdoors. They love to chase animals and are surprisingly swift and nimble. The Schnauzer is a high-spirited dog that’s smart as a whip. They were used as a personal guard breed in Germany, and their intelligence and fierce devotion make them ideal for this role. Easily trained and super curious, Schnauzers need a fair amount of activity to combat boredom. Both parent breeds do best with consistent, firm training with positive reinforcement.

The Irish Wolfhound is a breed that is going to be better when they have a yard to explore, so if you only live in an apartment with no permanent access to this, this will not be the dog for you. They need this space to play, and they will love interacting with you, especially with ball games. As with any dog, you need to keep them entertained, or boredom can set in quite quickly.

Unfortunately, this can lead to this breed developing rather destructive tendencies, so provide them with obedience training, or make sure their walks vary so they are encountering new things and new scents.

Are These Dogs Good for Families? 🏡

Yes, Irish Wolf Schnauzers are great for families. However, it’s important to keep a watchful eye on your pup when they’re playing with your children. Due to their large size, it’s easy for an accident to happen.

Does This Breed Get Along With Other Pets? 🐶 😽

Yes! Just keep in mind that it’s important to socialize your Irish Wolf Schnauzer with both people and pups from an early age. Additionally, your Irish Wolf Schnauzer may have a fierce desire to chase and “hunt” the family feline. So, socializing your pup with the cat from the get-go is critical.

Things to Know When Owning an Irish Wolf Schnauzer

Now that you know more about the Irish Wolf Schnauzer’s personality, let’s take a deep dive into everything else this designer breed needs from you in order to live life to the fullest.

Food & Diet Requirements 🦴

Your Irish Wolf Schnauzer is a big pup and will need 3 cups of high-quality, protein-packed kibble divided into two meals each day. You can feed them lean meat and vegetables, but you should not allow this to exceed more than 25% of their daily diet. This will cost you around $40 to $52 every month.

Exercise 🐕

The Irish Wolf Schnauzer has a medium activity level. While they won’t mind snoozing on the couch all afternoon, this pup does need about 60 minutes every day of activity time. This can be split up into walks, a romp in the yard, and indoor roughhousing.

Training 🦮

Your Irish Wolf Schnauzer is an extremely sensitive hybrid breed. You need to keep this in mind during your training sessions with them. Harsh corrections and punishments are extremely counterproductive to this pup. They want to please you, and if their feelings are hurt, they’ll quickly lose interest and be more concerned about why you’re mad with them.

This is why positive reinforcement training, such as clicker training, works best with this dog.

Grooming ✂️

This hybrid dog is low maintenance when it comes to their grooming requirements. All your Irish Wolf Schnauzer needs is a thorough brushing once every week with a pin brush and slicker brush to keep their coat nice and shiny. Clip their nails and clean their ears as needed.

Health Conditions ❤️

This breed has the potential to develop a variety of health conditions throughout their life, and knowing what the most serious ones could be in advance will certainly prove to be useful information. There are several conditions that can be passed down through their genes, though there is no guarantee that this will be the case.

A good breeder will provide you with details of tests that have been carried out on the parents to show that they are free from various illnesses. If they do not offer this, ask to see it. If the breeder claims not to have any test results, do not buy from that breeder.

The main conditions that you need to be aware of with this breed are as follows:

Male vs. Female

The male Irish Wolf Schnauzer is noticeably larger than his female counterpart. Despite this size difference, though, there aren’t any major personality differences between the two sexes.

3 Little-Known Facts About the Irish Wolf Schnauzer

1. They are the tallest of the tall.

Your Irish Wolf Schnauzer’s Irish Wolfhound parent breed is the tallest out of all dog breeds and can measure up to 32 inches at the shoulder!

2. They are available in two sizes.

Irish Wolf Schnauzers are available in two distinct sizes, including standard and giant. We focused here on the standard mix.

3. They’re fast growers.

Your Irish Wolf Schnauzer will do most of their growing within the first 6 months of life!

Final Thoughts

The Irish Wolf Schnauzer makes a terrific breed for just about any household. Devoted, affectionate, and loving, this gentle giant has a heart of gold. Due to their sensitive nature, positive reinforcement training is a must for this breed.

Irish Wolf Schnauzers make wonderful family companions and will keep a watchful eye over their human pack for years to come.

Related Reads:

• Rattle (Poodle & Rat Terrier Mix)
• Pugmatian (Dalmatian & Pug Mix)

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Featured Image: Pikist