I will try to answer what I can. We have only had Max for a little over a year. Keep in mind, all of this is based on my experience with my dogs and my opinions. Others may totally disagree. When we were looking for a puppy, we found prices ranging from $1,000 to over $2,000. No they do not bark like pyrs do. They are very quiet dogs. They are not guard dogs, by any means, meaning they do not vocally let you know something is going on, unless they truly think it is a threat. They are basically hunting dogs and are protective of their property only against other animals. I have been told that they can be protective if the situation arises that they need to be, but ony to the extent they need to be. They are most likely not going to chase an intruder down the street. Once the threat is gone, intruder left the house, they stop. Their average life expectancy is considered to be 6 - 8, but it is common among dog forums to hear of 9, 10 and 11 year old dogs. They are typical hounds in a much larger body, meaning, they never meet a stranger and will approach anyone, they don't bark at strange people coming into your home, they are very laid back, easy going dogs. They love their families and friends and will lean against you or lay his head in your lap for as long as you will pet or love on him, but, although they will approach strangers to check them out, they are very likely to walk away in the middle of someone else petting them. They can be a little aloof with strangers at times and don't need or want to be fawned over by them. Where Jake will stand still for hours it seems, if a stranger is petting him, Max wants to see what else is going on and who else is around. Some of them are very prey driven, meaning they will chase small animals, just for the fun of the chase and have been known to kill them. Max still chases our cat, if he runs from him. He doesn't hurt him if he catches him, but he loves the chase. They are very calm and easy going inside. The biggest differences between Pyrs and IWs are; they eat more, they are much lower key, they are quieter, they are not as guardy or protective, they are very quiet, they are a little easier to train and not as independent, they are more of a velcro dog than a pyr. Hope that answered some of your questions.
Kathy
