Wolves as pets

[Redith]

Hopefully this doesnt get mistaken for a thread about wow wolves. Im talking about people who own Wolves as pets.
Did you know in most states you dont have to have an exotic animal permit for wolves.

Now I LOVE wolves, and actually had a close to a wolf as a pet, A malumute. But I think the wolves are not a pet. What do you guys think.

[cowmuflage]

Well I think it would proberly be like any other big meat eater that people have as a pet. As in hand reared might look tame and shit but its proberly going ta get you someday. Ya know what i'm saying? like the people with big cats and monkeys as pets who get shocked when they bite them or some such would be the same with a wolf. I would not trust one lol.

[Lupis]

I love Wolves. I love watching wolves, researching wolves, seeing wolves... I adore wolves.
But they're not pets.
Dogs are pets, and they can still be very aggressive and even dangerous if not trained right. Wolves are wild animals.
Personally, I think the best place for a wolf is in the wild. Or, a wildlife preserve.

[Moonlost]

Wolves are wild animals. Despite their dog-like appearance, they do not act like dogs. Most of the wolflike traits were actually breeded out of dogs over time. In exceptional cases, wild animals are raised as pets by people who know what they're doing, see Charlie the Coyote (Who is a very expetional case). Other times the animal is mistreated, sometimes resulting in owner injury.

On wolf-dog hybrids? I've heard they can be hard to manage, although not as hard as a full wolf would be. Certainly not a pet you buy and leave in your backyard.

I'm going to throw this out there, if you want a very wolf-like pet, go for one of the many dog breed that look like them. The Tamaskan has been bred from regular dogs to look remarkably like a wolf while keeping dog temperment.

[Aleu]

I don't really advise it. You must keep in mind this is a wild animal. Even raised as a pet from birth it still retains wild instincts that, can indeed, come out at any time. The animal has the capability to kill you.

It's just something I advise against, but if you want it, you must know what you're getting into. If you don't, you may be in for a nasty surprise one day. Can't blame the animal for it either. =/

Wolf-Dogs... Something that is touchy. They can be trainable, but they do still keep a good amount of temperaments of a wolf, despite breeders wanting it to be more dog-like. Not really the best pet.

Edit: I can toss this out there that there are, I believe, seven breeds of dog that have resulted in recent breeding of wolf-dog hybrids. I think though most were being created for working or military purposes.

[Pawtrack]

If you're an animal trainer, someone who works at a wolf sanctuary, etc., it's okay. But wolves are wild animals, and they deserve to be out in the wild, with their pack, or at least in someplace more natural then someone's home. Wolfdogs... eh, I'd still say no, unless you're used to working with wolves or wolfdogs and are an animal trainer.

[Raederle]

I'm going to throw this out there, if you want a very wolf-like pet, go for one of the many dog breed that look like them. The Tamaskan has been bred from regular dogs to look remarkably like a wolf while keeping dog temperment.

This. Very this.

[Setanta]

Wolves are wild animals. Despite their dog-like appearance, they do not act like dogs. Most of the wolflike traits were actually breeded out of dogs over time. In exceptional cases, wild animals are raised as pets by people who know what they're doing, see Charlie the Coyote (Who is a very expetional case). Other times the animal is mistreated, sometimes resulting in owner injury.

On wolf-dog hybrids? I've heard they can be hard to manage, although not as hard as a full wolf would be. Certainly not a pet you buy and leave in your backyard.

I'm going to throw this out there, if you want a very wolf-like pet, go for one of the many dog breed that look like them. The Tamaskan has been bred from regular dogs to look remarkably like a wolf while keeping dog temperment.

To expound further on this point. Do some research on the North Carolina State University live mascot background. They've had 4 of them in the history of the school. Two were actual wolves, one was a coyote mistaken for a wolf, and their new one (first in a very long time) is a Tamaskan. A "shy and nocturnal" animal does not make a good pet, and since in most cases they don't interact with people well, and any gathering of people that could constitute a crowd would definitely play havoc on their instincts it's not a good idea.

[Turgus]

Wolves are very much wild animals, and the biggest think I have seen is that, to be blunt, they grow up.
From my experience, the reason we love domestic dogs so much is that, well, to be blunt they never do.
They grow physically, but they do not grow mentally.
They are in perpetual puppy-hood.

I grew up with my next door neighbor having a half-wolf. (Got to love Alaska)
She was easily the best darn dog in the world.
But you could definitely tell that she was different, she was inquisitive, perceptive, independent, and she made her own decisions on somethings regardless of what "you" wanted her to do, even though she still stayed within the "pack order."
She had very powerful predatory instincts, and demonstrated that she could "hunt" when she wanted to.

I describe it this way, most dogs are children mentally, Kiska on the other hand was a teenager, and I view wolves as adults.

Getting a child to do what you want instead of what they want is fairly easy, a teenager, a bit harder, and an adult, just forget about it.

All in all, wild animals are that wild, and should not be "pets."

[zedxrgal]

I'm heavily against a "common" person owning a wolf /hybrid. These animals are VERY difficult to work with and train. They take a huge amount of patience. And 90% of the time if the animal is not taught from an extremely young pup /cub the owner will have a 115+ pound terror on their hands that they have no clue of what to do with. You CANNOT punish (for lack of a better word) these animals for what the normal dog owner would consider bad behavior. The second they are not treated like a wolf all respect is lost and you are no longer the alpha, beta or anything but lowest pack member if not worse.

I've had the pleasure of working with hybrids and two pure wolves and the consensus is clear from those that have owned them and those who I've seen had them removed from their care. The animals DO NOT MAKE GOOD PETS! 100%. They require huge space, huge amounts of food and even more time and patience to care for. Your average joe-schmo cannot provide that especially in a suburban setting. Not to mention these animal pose a huge safety risk to the public since even when cared for properly wolves /hybrids are not good usually with those outside of their pack and aggression is very common. Most humans cannot wrangle a 120+ wolf and they sure as hell couldn't chase one down if it escaped from them.

Several states are now adopting a permitting system because of issues and most cities have outlawed them. So if you cannot tell I'm against it almost solely as very few people outside of a zoo etc have the means and ability to take on one of these animals.

[Redith]

I'm going to throw this out there, if you want a very wolf-like pet, go for one of the many dog breed that look like them. The Tamaskan has been bred from regular dogs to look remarkably like a wolf while keeping dog temperment.

Oh I have heard of those. They are expensive as hell but they have a good temperment if you dont like leave them alone for long times.

[Ryai]

Wolf-Dogs... Something that is touchy. They can be trainable, but they do still keep a good amount of temperaments of a wolf, despite breeders wanting it to be more dog-like. Not really the best pet.

Actually most attacks I've heard about, caused by wolves? Are really caused by wolf-dogs, or dogs gone bad. But getting back to the point, the reason why I frown on wolf dogs, and anyone who breeds them and anyone who goes out and heaven forbid, buys them- thus helping sustain this crappy market, is the fact wolf dogs have the temperment of wolves but usually NO FEAR OF MAN. Meaning if they ever get wild or lose, they're not going to act like most wolves and stay away. No, no they're going to hold no fear of you, just like a dog. But worse, they'll have feral instincts. This can be even more damning when coupled with a severely strong alpha attitude or worse, a subservant beta/omega attitude as that is another cause of problems, when the dog actually does fear you. That's why you should never pick the cowering pup in the back of a litter, no matter how sorry you feel for it.


I mean yes would I love to own a wolf? Yes. I would also like to own a unicorn. Is it ever going to happen? No.

Besides I don't even need to start trying to imagine how bad things would be with wolves, wolf dogs or even medium to large breeds would be in the hands of irresponsible owners as I live in Texas, I watch the news.

Best advice is if you REALLY WANT A WOLF? To CARE AND FEED AND 'LOVE'? Donate to a wildlife sanctuary. Volunteer at one. Become a vetranarian for a zoo. Something, anything, that involves you actually doing something good for the animals instead of thinking you can actually raise one.

I think people don't grasp the fact that just because some people can have such... a connection with these beautiful beasts, it doesn't mean you will too.

Also on Dirty Jobs, when Mike went to I think it was a wildlife or wolf sanctuary, not sure, and they had a wolf pack? The woman caring for them, mentioned, the former Alpha's own daughter, killed him. She killed her own father, because he was evidently sick or ill, and took his place as alpha wolf. If I remember right for the reasonings, but she still killed the alpha wolf to take his place. These are wild and at times extremely dangerous creatures. Not the pooch who sits on your lap.


Oh one last thing on intelligence, dogs can actually be smarter than credited for. My mother had an un-nuetured wolfhound. As well I think she was hoping to eventually stud Wolfie out, as he was a glorious example of the breed. Well bred, well behaved.. but Wolfie never jumped a female in heat. And even when they moved to our old home and there was no fence, he never left the designated 'yard'. Yes I know security dogs can receive the same training, but how many security dogs can ignore a bitch in heat trying to get them to mount?

Wolfie did.

[Setanta]

I don't remember the name of it, but I know there is a Wolf Sanctuary in New Jersey that you can "sponsor" a wolf.

[erwil]

I'm going to throw this out there, if you want a very wolf-like pet, go for one of the many dog breed that look like them. The Tamaskan has been bred from regular dogs to look remarkably like a wolf while keeping dog temperment.

Never ever get a dog for its LOOKS.
If this is the first thing that goes into a person's mind when they're looking for a dog breed, they should seriously reconsider getting a dog at all.

I'm quite heavily against hybrids, and there's loads of scammers out there who claim the dog to be a halfwolf, when in reality any of them sold as pets are usually more likely to be half malamute or a husky than any bit of wolf. I also cringe whenever I see someone advertise breeding long coated malamutes.

I own a malamute myself, a very lovely girl who I love to bits. When I bought her, I was looking into getting either a hunting dog or a sledge dog. My family and friends have kept hunting dogs and I've pretty much grown up with all kinds of spitzes. The breeder who sold the pup to me, they refused to sell their dogs to anyone who's not handled a dog of this kind before.

Malamutes are hard headed, and they will try their boundaries constantly. A malamute who doesn't know its place in the family, will be frustrated, stressed and bossy, hence why it needs proper training. They're big and strong dogs, very smart and require a lot of time to train and exercise. They don't have the need to please humans like some other dog breeds do, but you can make them do pretty much anything as long as food is involved.

I love this dog breed more than any of the others I have own, they're absolutely wonderful family members and they love kids. But they need to know their place in the pack from day one.

[Ziarre]

Once upon a time, a wolf hybrid wandered into our yard. We found his owner, who told us he was 1/2 Chow, 1/4 Husky, and 1/4 wolf...and remarked that he liked to run off a lot, so if he was happy and willing to stay at our place that we could keep him. Thus, we obtained Wolfie. Time went on, and a German Shepherd female we owned had a litter by him. I picked one to keep, naming her Blackie.

Both were some of the best dogs I ever had. Wolfie was absolutely sweet and lovable, and Blackie was an amazing dog to take with us when we went trail riding. Both were extremely responsive and obedient. Sadly, Wolfie overheated one particularly hot summer, and...I didn't know that hybrids were particularly subsceptible to distemper, and it claimed Blackie.

*misses them both, and wishes she might be in a position to obtain another wolf hybrid someday*

[Shade]

No to wolves as pets.

As to wolf hybrids-I don't think that we should be breeding wild animals into designer pets speices for ourselves when those wild animals are still endangered. A number of wolf sub-species (Mexican, Red, Ethiopian, etc) are still listed as endangered. I think that energy should be spent trying to increase the population of those subspecies instead of trying to make designer pets for someone who wants to show off how tough they are because they have a 'wild' animal as a pet. I'm sorry I've always considered it more a matter of ego then anything else when someone says that they want to have a wild animal as a 'pet'. They don't truly understand the species and what it means to be a wild animal in my own opinion.

But that is just me.

And zedxrgal said it much better then I could above!

It is a bit along the lines of the Savannah breed of cat, which is a crossbreed of a hosue cat and a serval, in my own thinking. Gorgeous creatures, but I would never own one as I don't think it would be right. I love big cats-I have maine coons and my current 2 yr is already over 15 pounds. She's enough of a handful just by herself. A pet that has wild tendencies still? No. I don't think that is a pet that belongs with the average person.

And if you are not an average person and you are used to tending to wild creatures-then you likely already know that wild animal crossbreeeds are not the best pets. They have a lot of needs that an average person cannot give them.

[Ziarre]

I'm all for proper precautions, proper handling. One should always be realistic about what they're getting into. For instance, while a F5-or-higher Savannah is domesticated (although a bit stronger than the average housecat--be careful when playing rough!), I would not recommend F1-F3 Savannahs to anyone unfamiliar with them. In a similar vein, I wouldn't want 50% or higher wolf--25% maybe, 12.5% made a dog that I'll miss every day.

Even then, you have to think--who's owning the higher percentage hybrids that made that 25/12.5% hybrid? I admit that I have sentimental reasons for not dismissing hybrids completely, but the method does need to be right.

[cowmuflage]

I would stick to cats.

[Rawr]

I'm ok with 39% wolf/dog (I believe thats still the percent that counts it as a dog in the states) I had a friend once who had a half and half, the other half being Irish Wolfhound and he was HUGE. His name was Titan and one of the sweetest dogs I ever met. But we could never leave him alone outside, he seemed to have dependency issues, and would break down fences to get to people so he wasn't alone.

[Moonlost]

I'm going to throw this out there, if you want a very wolf-like pet, go for one of the many dog breed that look like them. The Tamaskan has been bred from regular dogs to look remarkably like a wolf while keeping dog temperment.

Never ever get a dog for its LOOKS.
If this is the first thing that goes into a person's mind when they're looking for a dog breed, they should seriously reconsider getting a dog at all.

I'm quite heavily against hybrids, and there's loads of scammers out there who claim the dog to be a halfwolf, when in reality any of them sold as pets are usually more likely to be half malamute or a husky than any bit of wolf. I also cringe whenever I see someone advertise breeding long coated malamutes.

I own a malamute myself, a very lovely girl who I love to bits. When I bought her, I was looking into getting either a hunting dog or a sledge dog. My family and friends have kept hunting dogs and I've pretty much grown up with all kinds of spitzes. The breeder who sold the pup to me, they refused to sell their dogs to anyone who's not handled a dog of this kind before.

Malamutes are hard headed, and they will try their boundaries constantly. A malamute who doesn't know its place in the family, will be frustrated, stressed and bossy, hence why it needs proper training. They're big and strong dogs, very smart and require a lot of time to train and exercise. They don't have the need to please humans like some other dog breeds do, but you can make them do pretty much anything as long as food is involved.

I love this dog breed more than any of the others I have own, they're absolutely wonderful family members and they love kids. But they need to know their place in the pack from day one.

You're quite right. And trust me, although I admire many dog breeds, all of my dogs have been rescues from our local Pound. They have all been remarkable pets, very loving and never mean tempered. It makes me happy we rescued these wonderful animals from death. I would never get a dog from anywhere else.
With that said, I'd much rather a person be stupid and go buy a Tamaskan or a Husky or some other wolf-like dog becuase they "want a wolf for their very own" rather than to try and rear the real thing, or a hybrid, and get hurt because they weren't prepared.