It took only
one picture of an Irish
Wolfhound standing on a man’s
shoulder and my life would
change forever. I was 9 years
old when I first saw the print
in a dog book. I was captivated
by the size and the majesty of
the dog. Unfortunately, it would
take years before I finally got
my first one, right after
medical school.
Ever since,
my life has been dedicated to
the breed, first as a breeder,
competitor and later as a judge.
I judged my first match in
England in 1990 and went on to
become an international judge in
1994. I feel honored to have
judged specialties in England,
Ireland, Sweden, the US and
Canada, where I judged all 4
specialties.
In my
formative years in wolfhounds, I
was privileged to visit many of
the famous old kennels in
England and their knowledgeable
owners, most of which are now
gone. In 1980, I imported my
original breeding stock from
Seplecur Kennels, England. The
hounds were Seplecur Shamus,
Seplecur Sierra and Seplecur
Christian and carried
Sulhamstead, Witchesbroom,
Eaglescrag and Sanctuary lines.
They went on to produce
offspring, which not only won
numerous specialties, but also
passed the ultimate test as
hunters. My imported stock was
bred to Meadowbrook bitches and
Witchesbroom, Berwyck and
Lonnkyle males.
My priorities
in breeding are overall quality
and type. I appreciate shapely,
well-balanced hounds that are
able to hunt all day and kill
the wolf. At home at Rockhart,
we have 65 completely fenced
acres of woods and fields. Our
dogs enjoy their daily hunts
along the 10 miles of trails in
what we call “Rockhart Park”.
As a breeder
and judge, I am concerned about
the quality and type of the
breed today. I will be looking
for strong, conditioned and
typey Irish Wolfhounds with
lovely side gait, who lack
straight upper arms, straight
pasterns, long loins, splayed
feet and gay tails. The shortage
of “stallion males” should also
be of great concern to serious
breeders. Breeders will need to
be selective and have a better
eye if they hope to hand the
breed off to the next generation
the way we found it.
