This is very true - a combo of dogs and handler against a knight on horseback would definitely be effective - after all, the dogs are really there to take down the horse, and naturally, the knight goes down with it. I do think, though, that dogs alone, against a knight on foot and prepared to face them, wouldn’t do the trick.
I’d almost be willing to bet that they were trained to take down the horse - after all, Irish Wolfhounds (and the other large dogs, like the closely related Scottish Deerhound) were bred for the taking down of other animals, usually four legged by means of tripping/slowing them and then going for a kill. Their techniques in attacking can be seen in the way they play - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9uZdYyEZ5A&feature=related
Notice that their tactics involve outrunning and getting in front of the “prey” animal, where their bulk can be used for tripping attacks. When they do go in “for an attack”, they tend to go low and aim for the legs before sweeping up for the throat - there is very little pouncing that isn’t a reaction to the other dog going low. This is part of how they are bred to hunt and attack.
Also, I very much doubt that the dogs distinguish a knight from his horse - they likely don’t see the pair and think “there’s a man on a completely separate animal” - rather, they most likely view it as one big critter altogether. I don’t have the depth of experience with dog training, however, to know if this is true or if such recognition is something they can be taught.
A final caveat - I could be wrong entirely about the whole shebang - my experience with Wolfhounds has obviously been with the modern breed, and they are such gentle, giant, lovable bundles of fur that it’s hard to imagine them as the lean, mean, hunting machines that they were in centuries past. It is very possible that the attack tactics that the “kinder, gentler” bred dogs have now is entirely unrelated to how they attacked then.
Hmmm…that seems to be the exact kind of play my poodles and terrier engage in. I’m guessing it is totally unrelated to instincts they may have honed to use in warfare. Unless these are war-poodles!!!
