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Wolf Dog Breeds
I wanted to start a thread about a subject that is dear to me but also controversial. I hope to be able to do this in a way that won’t ruffle feathers.
This subject is dear to me because 22 years ago I accidentally bought a low content wolf dog hybrid. When he was six months old he killed some river rats. I stood there in disbelief when my neighbor who was facing the pup playing by the river said “uh your dog just killed a rat.” I told him that my dog must have found it dead. He argued that he had seen him grab it out of the water and shake it to death. On another occasion I let him off his leash after a very long run in the woods. He ran into a large cement pipe that went under the road and by the light of the sewer grate I had to wait till he was done exterminating a family of musk rats. He killed a ground hog on another occasion and then the neighbor’s cat. The cat used to eat with their family dog and was friendly with dogs. One day on our way home I spotted our dog running like a wolf by the side of a cow and jumping at it in exactly the way wolves jump at game. We stopped the car immediately and the farmers were coming out of the barn with pitch forks. We managed to get the dog into the car and an argument ensued with the farmers. They said to my husband “if there is anything wrong with my cow you will pay for her” to which my husband replied ‘no problem, but if I pay for her he will eat her” To my surprise the farmers laughed and the cow seemed to do fine after that. We were however being sued by the cat owners who had been friends and we were no longer able to be insured if we kept the dog. We called the breeder who told us that her line of black huskies had extinguished and she needed him anyways. I cried when we signed his papers back over to her and as I heard him howling as we drove away down the 300 yard driveway. My husband and I wrote to the owner of Mission Wolf hoping he would allow me to post images directly to this forum and he has agreed. This is the reply I got from Mission Wolf: Thanks for your work to help educate others about the reality of owning a wild canine (and for your patience with my reply). Yes, you are welcome to post any images you like. Please provide copyright credits to M:W and the artist of the image where appropriate. Have a great year and good luck, Kent I was hoping someone could help me make a sticky about this problem. I want to give credit to the photographers but couldn't immediately find their names on the website so for now I will post a link to the website. http://www.missionwolf.com/ Also The Dog Whisperer did an episode on this problem and part of it is on you tube. The head of Mission Wolf is on that episode. I think these groups are doing great work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfpQVjYFcSE I specifically asked to use the images directly on this website but realized I may not be computer savy enough to do it. I hesitate to copy them to photobucket. I am looking forward to hearing your opinions on this subject. |
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If you do a search this topic was discussed not too long ago.
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Contrary to popular belief, wolf hybrids are pretty rare. A wolf doesn't make a good pet and trying to keep one as a house dog is kind of like trying to pretend that a tiger is a house cat.
There are several breeds of dog that are known for their high prey drive and would kill as you have described. Huskies and Malamutes both are known for this - as they are for their tendency to roam if allowed. This is not to say that your dog was not a wolf hybrid, just that there are breeds out there who are capable of doing the kind of damage you are talking about.
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Sandi |
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Our vet clued us into certain anatomical features in our dog that were more standard to the wolf than the husky. He was over sized, his teeth were very large, the position of his legs apparently was a telltale sign. Then I met people with purebred huskies from other breeders. Many seemed not to know what I was talking about when I disclosed the problems we were having. Our neighbors had nicknamed the dog Houdini for his amazing escapes, eating through a door, jumping over a eight foot enclosure somehow ect. Others did not have the problems I was having. I am sure other huskies may have been just like my dog. His lineage is strong in Canada. I got my husky when he was a pup and all of his brothers died of rabies. The breeder sold many dogs in France as well. This is the reason she was eager to take him back. I can't complain about the breeder because in my opinion she was extraordinary building world champions. However the guilt of having to abandon a dog because of the lawsuit by a neighbor and my inability to contain him properly has stayed with me. When I hear about the plight of wolf hybrids Kim comes to mind. He was beautiful and loyal and probably my best friend and yet I could not because of money find a way to keep him. I always hope it ended well for him but I will always be haunted by his howling as I abandoned him back to the breeder when he was six. Weather any of the wolves in the enclosure were distant relatives of his I will never really know. I feel strongly about the fate of so many animals that end up in shelters weather they be dog, wolf or whatever. The reason always seems to be our lack of understanding and preparation or sometimes a child is allergic. I am glad this subject was brought up however did not see a sticky so the site can give a strong opinion on this subject as they do about unnecessary breeding. I have seen forums encouraging sixteen year olds to do breeding of birds even though they don't know who would pay for the vet in the case of an emergency. I am very appreciative of the responses and hope I can avoid one person from having to abandon a lovely animal like Kim. To this day these pictures are of the saddest day of my life. I Took them so I could remember him, also a drawing in aquarable crayons was done during the trip. It is in my album on this site. |
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Actually in those pictures your dog looks perfectly like a show line husky and not a thing like any thing resembling a wolf. And yes, the type of behaviour you are describing would also be very fitting of many huskies. And BTW I would be taking with a grain of salt any information coming from a woman who without much thought hands you forged papers. Either that or she saw an opportunity to sell some one a "wolf dog" to seal the deal and you still only had just a husky pup and the papers were correct but you were led to believe some thing else. Either way, shady. |
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The reason I respect the breeder is because the area photographed is where she had her dogs. She did sledding and knew how to raise these dogs. The only thing I don't like is having seen the wolves enclosure, I always felt bad about that. I did not respect that part of it. The point I want to make is that wolves and dogs should not be bred together. She did admit to having some problems with her neighbors however being a famous breeder things worked themselves out. By the way my husband is six feet three and my youngest is six in the picture but now just shy of six feet. I don't know myself how typical his size was of a wolf but was just told this by the vet. I would not have bought the puppy if he had given off a strong indication of having wolf. I too was sure he was 100% husky till the vet pointed out certain things. I guess I will never know. Still his plight aligns with theirs. By the way I mentioned my experience with Kim because people who buy a wolf hybrid may have the same heartache. I don't want to make the thread about kim though. I would rather discuss the problem of wolf hybridism and selling as pets. The owner of Mission wolf has to turn dogs away every year because he can not take them all in. I find this sad. These animals are destroyed and that could have been a possibility for Kim. Education can save these dogs before they are born I believe. Last edited by kittiesandbirds; September 7th, 2012 at 12:49 PM. |
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If she sold you a dog that was a wolf hybrid (and the dog in the pictures look like a well bred husky) and gave you papers that said the dog was a purebred husky - she either lied to you about there being wolf in your dog (which I suspect is true, based on the photos) or she was lying to others by selling them dogs that were not purebred. Either way, there is nothing extraordinary about it and such practices would get her kicked out of either the AKC or the CKC now.
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Sandi |
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