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is there anything special or diffirent that I should do owning a hybrid. It is a wolf mix so I dont know if they require more attention then other dogs and if setting boundaries for them is more important as normal dogs. Also do they need more exercise and require more training?
Hate to say it but I always find posts like this a little worrying as it implies you’ve taken something on BEFORE doing any research. Yes, by all means take on a challenge but you could be letting yourself in for more than you can handle as your question says you don’t know anything about it.
Firstly, can you be sure there is any Wolf in your dog, or has that just been claimed by the person you acquired it from? If it really is a Wolf mix, what is it mixed with and what is the percentage of mix? There is also no such thing as a Wolf hybrid, a hybrid is when an offspring is produced from two different species and the result is sterile, dog and Wolf are same species, although I think its more correct to say that the domestic dog is a sub-species of the Wolf, so essentially it’s only a cross-breed.
Wolves are NOT domestic dogs, they are light years apart, although apparently it only takes something like 7 generations to breed domestic from wild and 7 generations to get back again. They will learn to adapt to almost any given environment as best they can which is why they still exist but apparently for the most part they are almost totally un-trainable, highly intelligent compared to domestic dog, shy, very high prey drive, the teeth are almost twice as long, they have double the bite pressure of a domestic dog (domestic dog is about 1500lb per square inch if I remember correctly) and first class escape artists, oh yes, pound for pound about twice the strength too. So here’s hoping that either there is no Wolf in your dog, are at least very little.
A large part of what makes the domestic dog what it is, is because it lives its life in a sort of ‘time trap’ they never grow-up, they remain puppies, rather ‘teenagers’ all their lives. Wolves do not do this, they very quickly reach mental maturity, which results an opportunistic predator with absolutely no morals whatsoever. They don’t play games, they don’t chase sticks, they don’t retrieve balls etc. As for 'bounderies' the wolf part will only respect its own!
I’ll look forward to hear more about what you actually have and how you progress with it.
Dave (England UK)
A friend of mine, Jordan Heppner, is an animal trainer who has two hybrids that she has trained for movies. We have had discussions on this. Although they are trainable, in many situations they can become unreliable and distracted much more quickly than a dog. It also takes a lot longer to housebreak. They are very strong both physically and mentally. Positive reinforcement is a must when training as any punishment based program may cause a wolf-like defensive behavior.
A G Dugan
Infinite Journey Dog Training
Promoting Natural Dogmanship
Having at least met a few wolf-dog crossbreeds over the years I think the most important thing for you to remember would be consistency. Don't allow any negative behaviors, no matter how small. Even the smallest of things can lead to them later engaging in extremely negative behavior, like biting someone. A dog with wilder origins must be well socialized - with everything. Taught to get along with everything. You can't allow a dog like that to be dominant to anything. Be consistent in your discipline; you can't be prepared to just "let something go." Be prepared to regularly wear your dog out with exercise to keep him in the best state of mind possible. Having said that, I can tell you these crossbreeds are perfectly capable of being loving, loyal pets. They are playful and beautiful animals. Still, if you are not prepared (with knowledge and resources) to handle a dog like that, you shouldn't! Definitely not a dog for everyone! ;)
As the owner of a malamute/husky/wolf mix I thought I would share my experience. My dog was extremely easy to house break. She loves toplay with doggy toys. Especially the soft squishy ones. She is very submissive and follows directions easily. Very much a pack animal though. Extremely loyal to not only me and my husband, but sticks to our other dog like glue. I dont know what percentage of wolf she is. I would suspect quite small since she is beige and white and looks more like a husky shepherd mix. No one ever asks if she has wolf in her unless the person asking has a wolf dog themselves. I think these dogs get a bad reputation much like pit bulls have a bad reputation. Any dog can be agressive, and any dog can be submissive. It just depends on the indiviual dog. I have heard from some wolf dog owners that they go through a stage of rebellion around 18 months. we have not gotten to that age brackett yet so we will see. The behavior that she does display that could be considered wolf like is that she is timid and shy at times, and is weary of people. She will walk up happily to any dog and lick their face but she is always more cautious of humans. But then again so is my australian shepherd so its hard to tell what to really attribute to any wolf that may be in her. I met both the parents of the pups and while they looked intimidating they walked right up to me tails wagging offering kisses. These dogs are not for everyone.
i'm sorry but there is such a thing a "wolf" hybrid or any hybrid. it's not a term used just between two different species and sterile-- it's just a term for a mutt or mix, or not purebred. the term is used for crosses between breed and/or species You have cow hyrbids such as angus hyrids, dog hyrbids, cat, pig, etc, rose hyrbids, corn hyrbids, and so on and so forth . Hybrid is the technical term for a mix, whereas purebred is the technical term for well a purebred.
As for the question. Wolf hyrbids need to be well-disciplined and trained for they have a tendency to act more as a wolf rather than a domestic dog and snap back to a wolf-state of mind more quickly. Though I have known people who had wolf hybrids who act like a dog and are great. I've never owned a wolf hybrid so I can't say from my own experience, but they can be dangerous with the wrong owner who knows nothing and just has them just because they're "cool" kinda like gangstas and pitbulls.
Drumm,
You are correct, there is no such thing as a Wolf Hybrid (not in the public domain at least). A hybrid is the cross breeding of different species resulting in the Hybrid that is sterile and incapable of reproducing.
Dog and Wolf are same species and therefore do not produce hybrids. In the UK in conjunction with the Dangerous Wild Animals Act (DWAA) and unscrupulous back street breeders the media whipped up a scare frenzy that lead to an investigation…
It is illegal to keep a wolf or wolf-mix in the UK without a Dangerous Wild Animal License (DWAL). However, some back-street breeders were advertising Wolf-Hybrids for sale, using the term ‘Wolf-Hybrid’ to aid sales of what were otherwise poor quality Malamute x GSD and the like. However, as there is currently no scientific way to quantify Wolf x Dog percentage the authorities accept ‘linage’, what this means is if one ‘claims’ that a dog is a Wolf-dog mix then in the eyes of the authorities it is!!! As such just 1% wolf in dog qualifies it under the DWAA and a DWAL would be required!
But here’s a thing… according to a UK government investigation its easy to spot Dog in Wolf provided the wolf is 100% pure to start with, because just 1% of dog in wolf will ‘spoil’ the purity. On the other hand it is apparently impossible to quantify wolf in dog, either by, looking externally, internally or even on a DNA level. At the time of the report DNA technology was unable to find and ‘measure’ wolf in dog percentage.
Interestingly according to some scientists there are no 100% ‘pure’ wolves left on the planet, this is based on the fact or belief that ‘back fur’ is a genetic mutation unique to domestic dog (in respect of wolf), so any black in the pack means its domestic dog contaminated BUT just because there is no black showing doesn’t mean its ‘pure’.
All this raises questions… should one consider a wolf or wolf-dog mix ‘special’ or just another ‘breed’ of dog? And what about the experts who say there is no relevance in comparing dog and wolf in terns or management, training, behaviour etc. as it suggests that dog trainers/behaviourists can do what current scientific DNA technology cannot!