Aerie Dogs About Us

Our philosophy is to love and enjoy our dogs. We raise healthy, well socialized puppies, & give preference to companion homes. We obsess over pedigrees and enjoy looking at and going over all dogs. Being students of the breed is important to us. A trip with me, particularly to Europe, has been 1described by my good friend Ginger as a “dog marathon”. We are absolutely passionate about this breed and feel an immense responsibility to keep it healthy and functional: to be both a companion and as a dog that can catch a wolf and kill it.

We interview prospective puppy buyers thoroughly. We expect them to visit and interact with our hounds. We hold hound visitation days where we invite several families in at the same time to visit with the dogs and ask questions. When they commit to a puppy we have them visit several times to see the litter (although it is actually hard to keep them from visiting every weekend at that point). After the puppies leave we spend a lot of time making sure they are doing well in their new homes. Most puppies are sold with a limited registration with spaying and neutering required. In our contracts we have a “bring back to us” clause should the owner at any time not be able to keep the dog.

In 1973 I was 12 and I wanted a horse. My parents said that I could take riding lessons but no hay burner at our house. I said then I need a “real” dog. We had always had Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Beagles and mongrels but not a “real” dog. My dad did the research, he gave me a choice: Kerry Blue Terrier or Irish Wolfhound. I said, Wolfhound, it’s bigger, more like a pony.