Dire Wolfhound

This large breed of hound was created for the purpose of running down and slaying large monsters. Though the name suggests dire wolves as their primary quarry, the breed is commonly used to combat a variety of large threats.
With their long legs and powerful shoulders, dire wolfhounds are capable of running at a brutal pace for long periods of time. Adept at jumping, they instinctively prefer to leap onto the backs of their prey where they can use their powerful jaws to grip and break the neck or spine.
Intelligent and even tempered, dire wolfhounds can still be dangerous if not properly trained and socialized. They are fanatically loyal to their masters and possess great empathy. An ill-trained hound has been known to interpret rising anger on its master's face from a minor insult and repay the perpetrator with a bite from its vise-like jaws. As a result, they have a reputation as being an unruly or aggressive dog, but this is more the fault of naive or negligent owners than of the animal's natural temperament.
Various lines of this breed are quite common in places with high concentrations of Cystrisen or Karrusk. Against smaller members of these groups dire wolfhounds are truly terrible foes, capable of dismembering a goblin or ork in seconds, or separating the spine of lesser trolls and chewing at the regenerating flesh and bone until fire is brought to bear. Larger beasts may take them longer to bring down, but the hound's great stamina and natural preference for hit and run tactics are effective at wearing down creatures many times larger and stronger than themselves.
Exemplary specimens include the brothers Hrevart and Dinpheer.