Wolf Hybrid as a pet

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by Choochi

This can't be said enough

Wolves and wolf hybrids ARE NOT slightly different dogs!!!!

geezz first time in my life I have used this massive font on a forum


Cindy, I don't think you have the slightest idea of just how lucky you are that things are working out for you so far. If you had the slightest clue about what you're talking about and the sheer responsibility involved, you would not be telling people this is ok. Any true wolf lover who has these magnificent animals' best interest at heart and has the slightest clue about what's involved in keeping them responsibly would never dream to be so irresponsible as to even suggest that this is ok and might work out for some one.

In VAST MAJORITY of cases where people think they can keep a wolf or a hybrid as a pet, the results are tragic. These animals are not pets, they are not cooler looking versions of dogs, their behaviour is completely different, they have no need for human companionship and in fact dislike it, they are extremely difficult to keep, require specialized and expensive diets, and very often do become aggressive, and the fad episode ends with the animal being put down or shipped away to a specialized reserve. You might as well think that you're going to keep an alligator in an aquarium in your family room.

If you like the look of them, buy yourself a poster. If you want a companion animal that looks similar, consider any of the northern breeds, but picking a breed based on looks alone is a terrible idea and all of the northern breeds (huskies, malamutes) don't make good pets in all circumstances and can be very difficult to live with if you are not prepared to care for them properly.

I know people personally who have owned or had access to wolf hybrids. In all cases the animals were put down and their owners could not tell you enough how horrible of an experience it was to be imprisoned by the amount of care and responsibility that comes with owning an animal that plain and simple is not pet material. In all cases they had to have very expensive and elaborate holding cages built in their yards, these were obviously only large enough to contain the animal, not large enough to provide adequate exercise space. Even then in many cases the animals found ways to escape and when they did all they were interested in was killing things. In one case one of these animals was especially interested in killing any neighbourhood children, you can imagine how terrifying that was when the owner knew he couldn't reliably keep the animal locked up. The animal eventually tried to kill his son, who he grew up with and knew very well, this is when he was put down and the family was left with the emotional scars of the ordeal and the stress of keeping this animal for the past few years. It took this man over 10 years before he was able to ever own a dog again and he is a major animal lover.

There is a lot of scientific material out there showing the massive behavioural differences between dogs, which have been domesticated for thousands of years, and wolves which are wild animals and even in captivity never become dog like in their behaviour.

One European experiment comes to mind. Scientists raised wolf cubs, bottle fed them and handled them in their homes since they were a couple days old. They did every thing to raise them like a dog. By 8 weeks of age the wolf cubs already began to show strong anti social tendencies towards humans, by age of 4 months they became highly aggressive and very destructive. They didn't as much as made eye contact with their human companions and either avoided contact with them or aggressed towards them over resources. By 8 months they were too dangerous to keep and the experiment was stopped. Despite of every thing they did, the wolves became wolves. It's in their genetics and you can't changed that with love and understanding. Any one who thinks so is delusional.

Here is an excellent documentary about the relationship between dogs and people, at some point it goes over the wolf study with some detail and shows footage from the experiment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM1JsGr76Ro


Get yourself a dog, they make fantastic companions. Even better, adopt one and save a life.

I knew someone that had a coyote/dog and when the woman moved to a new house the coyote/dog kept going back to their old house . It did not like being moved around like a pet dog. The owner was not good with training her coyote/dog and did not understand anything about coyotes . I felt really bad for the poor animal . It wanted to be wild and not some trained house pet. The owner was treating the poor animal awful as it was not being a 'good' pet! I agree with everything you said 110% !
I loves wolves and I can't stand it when people mess with them and try to made 'pets' out of them because they think it cool. It is not cool at all for the wolves .

[Choochi]

Originally Posted by TanjaBelieve

Im sorry Ive been away and couldnt answer. WOW thank you all so much for your answers. I have many experiences with dogs of all breeds and sizes (Dutch Smoushound, 2x German Shepherds, golden retriever labrador), so it wouldnt be my first dog. And I do kinda.. am good with dogs. I do not get scared of them, I am calm and I love spending time with them. I am very patient. Of course I dont want this dog just because the sound of owning something wild is exciting, but as someone said before, I wanna make one hybrids life easier. Im very interested in Dog W. and I use a lot of his techniques on our family dog, so I do have a patience to teach him and go out for long walks and everything. I will actually live alone once I move out and it will be just two of us.So, no cats around them? What if they grow up together? Does not count this for a hybrid? You know like normal dogs and cats that are like brothers. I love running and hiking and I will have everything to provide a wolf dog almost everything he will need (if I decide to adopt one). A big place to run around andeverything. I just want to give a dog that was unfortunate and is mixed with a wolf, to give him a home, away from shelter, where he doesnt get all the love he needs. I understand the difference between wolfs and dogs, but every dog or animal is a challenge.

Tanja, I'm sorry but in my books that barely makes you experienced enough to own a some what difficult dog breed, no where close a wolf or wolf hybrid. It sounds like your expectations are completely wrong for this animal. They do not want human attention, they do not need it, they do not want it. You would not be doing a wolf or wolf dog any favour by treating it like a pet dog (taking it for walks, giving it love and attention, taking it out in the public) 100% all things you should never do with a wolf or wolf dog and things that would likely freak them out. This would be torture for this creature, they are much happier with their own kind in a reserve on their own with lots of free space to roam freely but safely. Your intentions seem very selfish and while you think you would be bing kind to a wolf dog and that in turn would make it happy and love you in return, you are not taking into consideration at all what they actually want and need. You are making up a fairy tale image. What you're doing is not only very dangerous, you would be harming another living creature for your own satisfaction so that you can show it off to other people and try to make it fall in love with you. I know you're not seeing it that way and your heart is in a good place, but that counts for nothing when what you're actually planning is harmful and alien to that creature.

What you're saying is like a kid saying I want a Goldfish so it can sleep in my bed with me at night and I will love it and hug it and kiss it and take it out to the sand box with me and it will then love me in return and be my best friend.

That's what dogs are for. Rescue a dog from a shelter and he will be forever grateful that you saved him.

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by Digston

I think that we shouldn't automatically jump to the answer NO. After all, all of our canine campanions descended from wild canines.

I do, however, think that wolf hybrids should be treated in the same regard as bully breeds in the sense that they should NOT be owned by weak, inexperienced people. These dogs will need a strong leader to keep them well balanced. I would never recommend this type of dog to anyone except an experienced dog owner.

As the owner of a Wolf Hybrid you take on a huge responsibilty. All primal instincts will be much more predominant, main one in my mind that would be concerning is prey drive. Small animals, small children....

Please do not look at this breed if it will be your first.

I think it is very irresponsible to get a wolf/dog , as this only encourage more people to breed them. There are going to be people getting this kind of dog and having no idea on how to train it or feed it. A wolf is nothing like a dog , wild animals do not like feel trapped or cornered . If you ever made the wolf /dog feel threaten it could attack you or a child. The wolf's instinct could click on at any time, this was why my boyfriend was bitten by the wolf/dog. It felt threaten and attack out of fear. My boyfriend was very lucky he was tall as the dog could had gone for his throat very easliy . There is no reason to breed a wolf with a dog when there are thousands of dogs needing a good home.

[Choochi]

Originally Posted by Barkingdog

There is no reason to breed a wolf with a dog when there are thousands of dogs needing a good home.

Amen! And any one who thinks you can infuse the size and aggression from the wolf into a dog and create a perfect guard or protection dog, the Russian military has tried that and they're wolf hybrid experiments failed miserably. The fearful and unstable temperament always persisted. Even after multiple generations of breeding and with training.

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by Choochi

Amen! And any one who thinks you can infuse the size and aggression from the wolf into a dog and create a perfect guard or protection dog, the Russian military has tried that and they're wolf hybrid experiments failed miserably. The fearful and unstable temperament always persisted. Even after multiple generations of breeding and with training.

That wolf hybrid that bite my boyfriend was a reject police dog! The police gave the wolf hybrid to the old lady because she was getting robbed a lot and the cops told her she was to only use a 4 foot leash when walking the dog not a 6 foot leash . I could not believe this when I investigated the dog's background. I told my boyfriend that the dog looked difference than other dogs . I was shocked the cops gave a reject police dog to an little old lady because they felt sorry for getting robbed all the time. If a wolf hybrid hurt or kills a person the first thing people will do is to blame the wolf part of the dog and this is not fair to wolves as wolves fear people and do not go near them. They do not need to have any more people fearing them , if anyone is to be blame it need to be the person that got a animal they could not handle. Having a wolf hybrid would be like leaving a loaded gun lying around , you'll never go when it could go off.

[Choochi]

Originally Posted by Barkingdog

That wolf hybrid that bite my boyfriend was a reject police dog! The police gave the wolf hybrid to the old lady because she was getting robbed a lot and the cops told her she was to only use a 4 foot leash when walking the dog not a 6 foot leash . I could not believe this when I investigated the dog's background. I told my boyfriend that the dog looked difference than other dogs . I was shocked the cops gave a reject police dog to an little old lady because they felt sorry for getting robbed all the time. If a wolf hybrid hurt or kills a person the first thing people will do is to blame the wolf part of the dog and this is not fair to wolves as wolves fear people and do not go near them. They do not need to have any more people fearing them , if anyone is to be blame it need to be the person that got a animal they could not handle. Having a wolf hybrid would be like leaving a loaded gun lying around , you'll never go when it could go off.

I don't know where you are but no police department in North America uses wolf hybrids. I think it's far more likely that some one told you (or the old lady) a story just to get rid of that animal.

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by Choochi

I don't know where you are but no police department in North America uses wolf hybrids. I think it's far more likely that some one told you (or the old lady) a story just to get rid of that animal.

I live in Massachusetts and I called the Boston police department to find out about the dog and policeman told me the dog that bite my boyfriend was a wolf hybrid. This was about 43 years ago and people may not been as educated about using wolf hybrid as working dogs. I never spoke to the old lady , the polices where the ones that told me about the woman getting robbed all the time. The only thing I was concerned about it the dog had all it shots and getting my boyfriend to the ER. You have no idea what are talking about as you where not there and you may not had been born yet.