If you’ve never heard of Irish Wolfhounds, you’re in for a treat. That’s assuming you love dogs. To be honest, seeing one of these giant dogs might be a little scary at first!

But there’s no need to be. Irish Wolfhounds might be bigger than the average dog — a lot bigger. But the people who own them know they’re just as kind, friendly, and snuggly as any other dog.

Irish Wolfhounds can stand as high as 3 feet at the shoulder. The males are often as much as 120 pounds, although they can get much larger. Their shaggy coat, long curly tail, and enormous paws all lend to the image that this dog is less dog and more wolf.

To make things even crazier, these dogs are known for their ability to “gallop.” Yes, you read that right — they gallop like horses. Can you imagine having a 120-pound dog run at you at 40 miles per hour?

As fierce as they might look, Wolfhounds are too calm, friendly, and sweet to serve as any kind of guard dog. But that’s okay because the sight of them alone is enough to scare off any troublemakers!