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Old October 1st, 2011, 03:40 AM
TanjaBelieve TanjaBelieve is offline
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Wolf Hybrid as a pet

I would love to know what you know about wolf dogs. And if anyone has one or had I would love to know youre thoughts.
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Old October 1st, 2011, 11:51 AM
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The (3) wolf hybrids that I have met have been very skittish and difficult to train. They were very one-person dogs, weary of all other people. They are not the type of dog I would suggest to anyone wanting a companion. They are too wild. I have strong beliefs that wild animals should be left in the wild whether they are wolves, big cats, elephants, or other non-domesticated animals.
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Old October 3rd, 2011, 08:53 AM
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Our very next podcast (to be released this week) was recorded last week with Professor and expert dog researcher Dr. Stanley Coren. IMO, he is one of the top dog experts in Canada.

By Sheer coincidence we talked about this EXACT topic....in VERY GOOD depth. This will be one heck of a fab educational podcast.

Just in case you can't wait till it's published... the answer is a CLEAR NO.
(Do not adopt wolves or wolf mixes as they may be cute and playful as pups, but once they hit sexual maturity, they become way way more aggressive)

Hope that helps and I'll try to throw a link into this thread when the podcast goes live.

Thx Marko
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Old November 27th, 2011, 08:33 AM
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All of that info is not true. They do not become more aggressive as they mature. Now some may, as some regular dogs may be aggressive in a certain breed, but are all of the???? The answer is no.

I own two very high content wolfdogs, which are 3 and 4 years old. Neither have displayed any signs what so ever of WWS (winter wolf syndrome) which is what he is speaking of during breeding season.





If you want to talk to more wolfdog owners, you might want to check out this forum and ask questions there, there's tons of owners there
http://wolfdogforum.com/forum/
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Old November 27th, 2011, 02:32 PM
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I highly doubt this is a good species to own if you have to ask. (and I am not trying to be rude BTW).
If there is not sufficient information out there to answer you, perhaps you can ask yourself your level of knowledge and living circumstances if having one is practical. What are your expectations having this type of species? Do you have other dogs, cats, kids and what are the typical reactions?
Also, if it does not 'work out' do you have a back up plan? Are there rescue groups that would take (because a HS would definately euthanize).
Sounds to me like a pack of trouble but that's just me.
Maybe Cindy can shed some very important information as due to her experience I am certain she would promote to people of extreme responsibility for this type of dog/wolf/dog..
I for one have fostered every breed imaginable and even with my knowledge and experience I would never want to have this type of animal because I do not believe that I would have the proper experience nor education.
Good luck with your decision, but an easier one would be driving to a H/S for an animal that is dying to leave...literally.
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Old November 27th, 2011, 05:24 PM
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Cindy,they are certainly beautiful,but with all the dogs in shelters around the country,why not make one shelter-dog very happy??
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Old November 28th, 2011, 12:11 AM
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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.
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Old November 28th, 2011, 10:00 AM
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I don't think anyone said an automatic 'no'. I think people are saying to be very cautious about this decision.
Absolutely a stunning looking animal no doubt. In saying this, I am very curious to know if there are rescue groups for these types of dogs/wolf (I don't even know what to call this).
My question is why would we breed this as a companion animal? Is there not enough dogs in this society to appease people?
What a horrible trend this can turn into. Consumers go on the looks of an animal and this looks very attractive. I hope these types of breeders are very very picky about where they go.
I guess since I work in rescue I think about the 'what ifs' and the 'no longer wanting'. What happens then? What is the sterlization policies of such a breeder?
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Old November 28th, 2011, 10:19 AM
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Former hybrid owner chiming in here. These creatures tend to be generalists ie; they don't need humans in order to live. Normal dogs are specialists and do ''need'' humans in order to live, even if it's only to provide waste as a food source. So, what you're dealing with, if you choose to get one of these, is a highly intelligent being that you have to constantly convince that life with you is more interesting and beneficial than life without you. Cesar Millan did an episode with wolfdogs and would not work with them himself but refered to a very experienced expert. He freely admitted that his techniques would not work in these cases. A wolfdog will never, ever forget what they persieve as an infraction, no matter how slight. Treated with dignity, care and respect, the can be the most loyal, amazing creatures to share life with. But you have to do it right or very serious consequences will result.
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Old November 28th, 2011, 11:06 AM
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With respect cindy 23323, Just because you own a wolf and it hasn't ripped anyone apart yet, does NOT make it a good pet to own. Not wolves and not wolf hybrids.

OBVIOUSLY many people around the world will not subscribe to this point of view....Some people keep any animal as a pet even when it is not recommended (Chimps come to mind here)....and until accidents happen....there will always be people that say that X breed is a great breed because they have one....and it is true that accidents are not guaranteed. And those people that already have the breed...and have bonded with their pet. Of course I can see how they would want to defend their pet, their breed. Maybe their pet will never get aggressive, and I hope this is the case.

But that does not make owning wolves or wolf hybrids a good idea.

This Podcast below from expert Dr. Stanley Coren cites his own experience and the research of notable wolf scientists.....

They say NO - bad idea, bad pet because of their innate prey drive especially after sexual maturity.
One false move from a child...another pet etc....could spell disaster. They have NOT proven themselves over the years as dogs have. I'll play safe and believe the experts, thank-you....and I'll continue to recommend that people adopt any of the many breeds available (many of them that look like wolves - like German Shepherds) from shelters.
I'm not into risk as much as other people and I never risk my family's safety.

http://www.pets.ca/blog/pet-podcast/...stanley-coren/
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Old November 28th, 2011, 11:53 AM
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Originally Posted by marko View Post
I'll play safe and believe the experts, thank-you....and I'll continue to recommend that people adopt any of the many breeds available (many of them that look like wolves - like German Shepherds) from shelters.
I'm not into risk as much as other people and I never risk my family's safety.

http://www.pets.ca/blog/pet-podcast/...stanley-coren/
I am in total agreement with you here Marko.
BTW - I actually have a very very close friend that is a trainer (no surprise I know) who has 2 of these species (as puppies btw). Her and the husband have had to make alot of sacrifices; got rid of the small dogs, cats, chickens, horses are sold. Even though she brought them in as puppies she has had one heck of a time with them. She gave up all her other pets because she could not trust anyone else with her beloved wolfdogs nor was there any rescue group to take in these animals. The breeder does not want them back either.. Yep - from someone seasoned as she, I would have expected better results and she is the first to say DO NOT GET ONE!. She did say that this was not an impulse buy on her part. hmmmm, to bad that all is lost due to a want.
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Old November 28th, 2011, 01:02 PM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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and that wolf hybrids are illegal
Well they are where I live. But possibly not in Slovenia or Tenessee. They are, sadly, legal in at least one province/territory that I know of, B.C.
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Old November 28th, 2011, 01:06 PM
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yeah i know Longblades...frustating to say the least
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Old November 28th, 2011, 02:06 PM
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Legal in AB too. Hybrid bybs are popping up all over the place here. And if they end up at ACs or HSs, they're immediately pts. Basicly, they're being bred to be sold to the misinformed, mishandled and then killed.
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Old November 28th, 2011, 03:14 PM
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With respect cindy 23323, Just because you own a wolf and it hasn't ripped anyone apart yet, does NOT make it a good pet to own. Not wolves and not wolf hybrids.



One false move from a child...another pet etc....could spell disaster. They have NOT proven themselves over the years as dogs have. I'll play safe and believe the experts, thank-you....and I'll continue to recommend that people adopt any of the many breeds available (many of them that look like wolves - like German Shepherds) from shelters.
I'm not into risk as much as other people and I never risk my family's safety.

http://www.pets.ca/blog/pet-podcast/...stanley-coren/
I'm with Marko on this one. As a Malamute owner, the prey drive is hard enough to keep in check, and it's nowhere near that of a wolf or hybrid, even low content. I watched my 12 yr old "stalk" a toddler in my neighborhood. He isn't a bad dog, he has just never been around kids (totally our fault, but we didn't really know anyone with children when he was young). It gave me chills.

Another thing to consider is daycare and boarding. Where I live, good luck finding a daycare or boarding facility that would accept a wolfdog, even low content. There are so many things to consider here, but the most important IMO, is for every wolfdog that is sold, a shelter dog, who is there through no fault of his/her own, will die. And a good chance that the wolfdog will suffer the same fate due to lack of education/experience on the part of the person purchasing it as well as the irresponsible behaviour of the breeder. A "2 for 1 deal", though it isn't much of a deal for either pup.

Just my
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Old November 28th, 2011, 06:22 PM
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Hybrid bybs are popping up all over the place here. And if they end up at ACs or HSs, they're immediately pts. Basicly, they're being bred to be sold to the misinformed, mishandled and then killed.
Exactly my point! Thank you for posting this.
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Old November 29th, 2011, 07:49 AM
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Since the OP is from Slovenia, perhaps she is thinking of the Czechoslovakian Wolf dog??? I think their breed goes back further (50-60 years ago???) than our North American ones so they may be more domesticated.
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Old November 29th, 2011, 06:32 PM
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What beautiful animals!
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Old November 29th, 2011, 08:17 PM
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With respect cindy 23323, Just because you own a wolf and it hasn't ripped anyone apart yet, does NOT make it a good pet to own. Not wolves and not wolf hybrids.

OBVIOUSLY many people around the world will not subscribe to this point of view....Some people keep any animal as a pet even when it is not recommended (Chimps come to mind here)....and until accidents happen....there will always be people that say that X breed is a great breed because they have one....and it is true that accidents are not guaranteed. And those people that already have the breed...and have bonded with their pet. Of course I can see how they would want to defend their pet, their breed. Maybe their pet will never get aggressive, and I hope this is the case.

But that does not make owning wolves or wolf hybrids a good idea.

This Podcast below from expert Dr. Stanley Coren cites his own experience and the research of notable wolf scientists.....

They say NO - bad idea, bad pet because of their innate prey drive especially after sexual maturity.
One false move from a child...another pet etc....could spell disaster. They have NOT proven themselves over the years as dogs have. I'll play safe and believe the experts, thank-you....and I'll continue to recommend that people adopt any of the many breeds available (many of them that look like wolves - like German Shepherds) from shelters.
I'm not into risk as much as other people and I never risk my family's safety.

http://www.pets.ca/blog/pet-podcast/...stanley-coren/
I agree !!!!

I remember when you could buy tigers, lions, bears from the Toronto Sun classified section, So Many ignorant people bought them, and so many of those poor animals were destroyed when their ignorant owners got rid of them when they could no longer control them.

Bottom line.....They are wild animals and as such should only exist in the wild, and not be "owned" by any human......I hope they are banned as pets everywhere.
Don't give me the line......well dogs were once wild......well so where cats, doesn't mean you should go out and buy a cougar or bobcat as a pet !!!

If you people truly cared about and love wolves you would leave them in the wild ! As ohers have posted if your wolf/hybrid ever is beyond your control or hurts anyone or you decide to dump it it will be KILLED!!!

I'm sorry there should be laws against breeding wolves/hybrids !! As long as some money hungry jerk breeds rare or unique but still wild wolves/hybrids....ignorant people will buy them!!

Some people are so caught up with image and having a different or unique "pet" they don't really give a rats behind about the consequences....that the poor animal will eventually have to pay the price for. All boils down to insecurity....people with insecurity issues tend to be the same people who do this all of the above
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Old December 14th, 2011, 05:33 PM
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I agree with most of the other posters. True wolf dogs make terrible pets (at least, by the definition of what most people expect out of their pet).

On a slightly unrelated note, my understanding of most 'wolf hybrids' that you come across are actually nordic spitz mixes that resemble wolves but have no wolf in them. This, to me, skews any kind of behavioral expectations based on people's experience with their animals because you have no idea if you are really dealing with a true hybrid. I have met owners and seen many online posts/photos from people who claim they have wolves that are obviously malamute-husky-malinois mixes.

Cindy: I mean no disrespect in making this statement. From your photos I think you have the real deal and believe you when you say you have no problems. I do, however, think that that makes you very very lucky and puts you in the vast minority. A few well respected professional dog trainers (for example: Patricia McConnell) have very upsetting stories about trying to work with severely reactive, nervous, and unpredictable dogs that they believe may have been true wolf hybrids (after fielding dozens of cases of "falsies").


If you are attracted to the wild look, why not try these guys?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamaskan_Dog
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Old December 15th, 2011, 08:06 AM
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LOL I wish I had a nickel for everytime someone's told me that their husky cross or poorly bred malamute was a wolf. My first reaction is ''I hope for your sake you were lied to by the ''breeder.'' Heck, so many people that have them can't even deal with huskies/malamutes/Northern dogs because of their extreme work ethic. When their dogs run away, they take it personally and think their dogs are running away from them not realizing their dogs just NEED to RUN. When asked for advise in dealing with this I tell them to harness the dog, train it to run constructively and go with them.
Sorry for the rant, but this is a subject near and dear to my heart. One of my favorite rescues is the Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary. The person who runs this place really knows her stuff and does it right.
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Old December 15th, 2011, 09:58 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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LOL I wish I had a nickel for everytime someone's told me that their husky cross or poorly bred malamute was a wolf. My first reaction is ''I hope for your sake you were lied to by the ''breeder.'' Heck, so many people that have them can't even deal with huskies/malamutes/Northern dogs because of their extreme work ethic. When their dogs run away, they take it personally and think their dogs are running away from them not realizing their dogs just NEED to RUN. When asked for advise in dealing with this I tell them to harness the dog, train it to run constructively and go with them.Sorry for the rant, but this is a subject near and dear to my heart. One of my favorite rescues is the Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary. The person who runs this place really knows her stuff and does it right.
So true. I hope those folks took your good advice. Neighbours across the street bought their young adult but still living at home daughters sibling Siberian puppies. Double whammy there, with siblings AND the breed. Very pretty but out of control bitches, the dogs. They were both in an obedience class with me and our highly trained rescue dog so I got to observe them. Several other neighbours lost small animals like cats and ducks when the Sibs got loose. Then the older son came home, rather co-incidentally with an interest in dog sledding, got those two bitches working in harness with other dogs and the change in them was remarkable. They calmed right down, became obedient and nice and lovely dogs. That breed NEEDs to run and work.

Going to check that sanctuary out on-line.
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Old December 19th, 2011, 06:08 PM
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Alas, Longblades, no. Many people here seem to feel that allowing their dog to do anything in front of them would make the dog dominant to them and won't dare risk it.
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Old March 26th, 2012, 06:54 AM
TanjaBelieve TanjaBelieve is offline
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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.

Last edited by TanjaBelieve; March 27th, 2012 at 05:46 AM.
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Old July 3rd, 2012, 10:26 AM
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millitntanimist millitntanimist is offline
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This is an older thread, but I'm going to tossthis in anyway.
I highly reccomend reading this book before you get your wolfdog.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1451634811

The author adopted a high percentage wolfdog to be a companion/protector.
An electrified 12 foot fence could not contain it (it continually escaped and attacked neighboring livestock). All it took was for her to stop watching it for a few minutes, like having a shower or using the toilet, for it to dig up or disable the fence .
Hours (i think 2 or 3 a day) of running with her in the woods were inadaquate to tire it.
She was evicted multiple times because of its behavior and had immense trouble finding places to rent, especially places that would allow her to set up a giant enclosure.
Eventually she was forced to euthanized it (the wolfdog rescues were full and no regular shelters take hybrids) after it attacked her while she was making its food. Literally came into the kitchen and with no warning grabbed her by the arm and threw her accross the room, knocked down the pot of food from the stove and started to guard it.

This is nothing like dog behavior, and I don't think it's wise to judge how prepared you are to handle working with a wild animal based on the behavior of a domestic one. Even if they are related. You don't realize how much tractability is bred in to domesticated animals until you work with something wild that has absolutely no interest in capitulating to you.
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Old July 3rd, 2012, 12:34 PM
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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.
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  #27  
Old July 3rd, 2012, 01:22 PM
Choochi Choochi is offline
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Actually... if you want to get crazy, domesticated foxes make much better pets and are very dog like
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  #28  
Old July 3rd, 2012, 03:42 PM
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Dog Dancer Dog Dancer is offline
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Jumping in here rather late, and have not read the entire thread, for my two cents, if you are considering a wolf hybrid I strongly suggest you find yourself a wolf sanctuary or hybrid sanctuary where you could volunteer for some time before you commit to owing one. I have to agree that a wolf hybrid is a totally different animal to a large dog. Get some hands on experience first and then if the sanctuary feels you are compatible with an animal they may be able to assist you in finding one. This is just too huge a commitment to go into with good intentions that end up with the animal paying the price in the end.
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  #29  
Old July 3rd, 2012, 04:08 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TanjaBelieve View Post
I would love to know what you know about wolf dogs. And if anyone has one or had I would love to know youre thoughts.
I when to Wolf Hollow Sanctuary in my state and asked the person that started the Sanctuary what he felt about Wolf/dog and he said it is a very dangerous breed to own as a pet as the wolf has a fear of man and when a wolf it bred with a dog the wolf part will be fearful of people and this could cause the Wolf/dog to attack a person . I had a boyfriend that was bitten by a Wolf/dog while we where out on a walk. We passed an older woman that had a strange looking dog on a 6 ft leash and the dog for no reason just leaped up and bite my boyfriend on his thigh! I was told by the guy at Wolf Hollow it was the wolf in the dog that attacked my boyfriend out of fear as it felt threaten . My boyfriend was 6'4" and this could had felt like a threat to wolf dog.
I think it no reason for any person to own just a breed and it not fair for the wolf to breed it with a dog , as this add to the 'Big Bad Wolf " image
if the hybrid does attack a person. We should stop messing with nature as we really have no idea what we're doing when we breed a wild animal with a
domestic animal. I would never have one around a child. And you really need to know how to train and understand animals to own a wolf/dog.
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  #30  
Old July 3rd, 2012, 04:14 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Originally Posted by Dog Dancer View Post
Jumping in here rather late, and have not read the entire thread, for my two cents, if you are considering a wolf hybrid I strongly suggest you find yourself a wolf sanctuary or hybrid sanctuary where you could volunteer for some time before you commit to owing one. I have to agree that a wolf hybrid is a totally different animal to a large dog. Get some hands on experience first and then if the sanctuary feels you are compatible with an animal they may be able to assist you in finding one. This is just too huge a commitment to go into with good intentions that end up with the animal paying the price in the end.
http://www.wolfhollowipswich.org/


The OP could contact this wolf sanctuary and they may tell the OP this risks of owning such a pet. I agree with you the it is always the animals that pay the price
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