Cú Féin
Irish Wolfhounds
 

Excerpt from President's Message,
1927-1932 Yearbooks,
Mrs. Norwood Browning Smith

"Let us breed our hounds as large as possible, but always keep in mind the purpose of the dog.  Some breeders say they do not care anything bout the old wolfdog.  We are no longer breeding 'wolf killers.'  That may be true, but a glorified Irish Wolfdog should still be our aim, or else we cannot honestly annex his romantic history and bask in his ancient glory.

"...How much more important that the Irish Wolfhound, a sporting breed, should be sound and able to move with ease and grace.  Soundness and a conformation suitable to its purpose in life is one of the prime requisites of all breeds.  Size is intriguing.  The untrained eye can recognize and appreciate bigness, a beautiful color and a fine coat just as all register pleasure in hearing a simple musical air.  To catch all the nuances in a great masterpiece the ear must have received technical training.  The [sic.] is the recognition of quality and the lack of ability to define quality is the reason that so often those along the side lines cannot follow the judging.  We must guard against catering to the applause of the gallery and being content if we merely produce a huge, spectacular hound.  Our Irish Wolfhound belongs in the classical, not the jazz class.  He is more than just the largest breed of dog, he is the greatest."

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