Dakota Wolfhounds
Our Irish Wolfhound Story
We met our first Irish Wolfhound in Bozeman, MT, while in College. We both knew this was the majestic animal we wanted to bring into our family, someday. Fast forward 15 years, five children, multiple moves, and a couple of very loved dogs, and we arrive at the perfect time to find our long-awaited dream dog. After spending hours and hours researching and talking to breeders, we had a bit of a divine intervention and found Eliza Gordon, who had just decided to keep her male rather than the female. She was 12 weeks old and ready for pickup. After a few phone interviews and pictures, we knew she was perfect!
To say this was a life-changing moment is an understatement. You don’t adopt an Irish Wolfhound without expecting changes, but we were ready! We wanted to start learning the ways AKC dog shows and opening our hearts to our puppy and a whole new adventure. Little did we know the huge life change would actually be a complete lockdown with COVID-19 quarantines. It was a wonderful time to get to know our puppy, Anam Cara, but we were destined to miss the introduction into the AKC world.
As we came out of quarantine, Cara had spent much time with family and friends (who luckily also had recently gotten puppies), but not much time with strangers. She is still a bit unsure of new people, but is quite curious, and if Fancy approves she approves.
Cara was and is the perfect combination for us. She is perfectly content to laze around until an adventure is proposed. She goes everywhere with us, which with five kids, luggage, our mastiff cross, and a wolfhound is a very full expedition. Cara loves car rides, she, however, does not believe she should stay in the back but
rather up front behind the driver so she can see out
the front window, her head
on your shoulder.
She is the most loving and sweet-tempered dog. We could not have asked for a better companion for ourselves and our growing children.
A few years later, we left Wyoming for North Dakota. We bought a lovely property and were finally able to add to our pack with another majestic Irish Wolfhound. We did our homework, again looking for a dog with show-ring potential, healthy ancestry, and especially a loving temperament. We talked to Ash’s breeder and he seemed like a good fit, but we could not be sure until we met him. He was a 24-hour car trip from our house. On a leap of faith and a heavy dose of intuition, we decided to make the trip to meet him in person.
We arrived to horses in the pasture and a beautiful little nook off the beaten path. When Ash came out to meet us, we knew he was the one. He is so patient and was instantly as attached to my daughter as she was to him. He slept most of the way home. To this day Ash is a MUCH less chaotic traveling companion than Cara and Fancy. Ash immediately fell in with Cara and Fancy. They were not thrilled at first, but he quickly won them over!
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We knew when we brought home a male there was a chance that puppies may someday follow. We had health checks done on both this fall, including eye, heart, joint, and thyroid. Cara was not expected to go into heat again until sometime in the spring or early summer, so we also ordered genetic DNA tests. Over the years, we have talked to multiple breeders and read a great deal on the subject, but we were not quite sure if we were ready to jump off into those waters. We did know that we were not done adding to our own pack as our children started heading off to college. While we were busy doing all the thinking, Cara went into a silent heat cycle just before Christmas, and Ash knew just what to
do. To our surprise and
delight, they are
expecting,
February 12, 2025.
The Love Story
Cara needs extra
cuddles. We are happy
to accommodate her,
but Ash is also quite
accommodating as well.
She takes her walks a
bit slower and according
to Ash is not as much
fun to play with. She has
started to rapidly expand,
which isn't surprising as
the ultrasound showed
a whole pile of puppies.
The whelping box is all
set up and Cara has
decided it is much less
effort to lay there then climb onto the couch. We know how much impact a breeder can have on a puppy's new family, Eliza Gordon set a great example as have other reputable breeders. We desire to have the same open questions and support for these puppies' future families as we received. We are all anxiously awaiting their arrival!