Wolves as Pets. Tell us your story. Good or bad. Photos immensly appreciated .

I don't know about wolves, but I have an online friend that has wild cats. It is essential to have a license to keep them. You also need plenty of space if you are to be fair to the animal. Raising a wild animal is not for everyone. You must always respect that the animal is indeed wild. Too many people get a wild animal thinking it's cute or cool and once it grows up and shows any sign of being hard to handle or too expensive to care for, they abandon them or find a zoo to drop them off at. With smaller animals, it is easier to maintain a natural environment for them. I think a wolf should be free myself.

a reply to: pheonix358

That's true, dogs can be savage, there's no disputing that. But my thing is, there are a lot of wrong reasons to acquire wolves as pets, such as 'wolves are cool, I want that!' But how many right reasons are there to obtain a wolf as a pet?

Not trying to be a buzzkill, I've definitely heard of success stories and its fascinating. Just seems like we should keep them in the 'wild' column as opposed to 'pet' column.

a reply to: Ashirah

I feel the same way. Why does anyone need a wolf? They're better off in sanctuaries.

Had one once... It was a mix with a malamute or husky.
I had to get rid of it, it had way too high of energy for an indoor dog. It would climb the walls to get out, hated crate training, destructive and was anti social with people and dogs. Face biting etc...Complete pita.

It was cute, but made a horrible pet. With its prey drive, it was a walking liability, and around kids? No way.
I raised it from a pup, it was wacko by about age 1. Its animal pack instincts kicked in early as well. Maybe 6 months old.

I have done a bunch of breeding and training with some powerful dogs....Rottweilers and English Mastiffs, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for a good dog who likes humans.

Cool to watch in the wild, if they aren't watching you

a reply to: Night Star

I think a wolf should be free myself.

Yes, that is very true which is why I think having one as a friend as opposed to a pet .... but they are going to be dangerous.

Still, a few more personal stories are yet to come.

P

a reply to: pheonix358

I almost owned a Malamute hybrid ( 50 / Wolf ) that a buddy of mine came upon - if I had the space for her I would probably own her today...

The only thing that must be recognized when dealing with Wolf hybrids is that they are still very much wolves, and they very much expect a pack mentality even when it comes to dealing with humans.

They will expect to be able to do what they please, and in order to own one ( in every experience I've had ), you must build a very rigid structure and hierarchy. I'm all for support of free will and such; but owning a dog is like 'owning' a child - you must teach them, and they must respect you; or they will do things you truly do not want.

The first time I met Kitori ( above mentioned hybrid ) her first response was to try and dominate me... Not violently; but we had a fair 'shoving' match across the yard ( she would stand up and put her front paws on my shoulders trying to knock me down ), and the only way to get her to stop was to assert myself over her. This doesn't mean hit the animal - it just means to show power over. In her case, our first encounter warranted a fairly heavy shoulder check -- after which, she looked up at me for a moment, wagged her tail, and started rubbing against me. From that point forward we never had an obedience issue. She just knew.

For 200 lbs of dog that can stare you in the eye; shoulder-to-shoulder, to change demeanors so quickly is proof that they are 'controllable' ( in the same respect that any dog is ), but anyone interested in owning one must know that you will have to assert yourself.

Besides all of this, I am absolutely 100% for ownership of wolf hybrids ( or fulls for that matter ); and if I had the space for it I'd breed a 12-dog pack myself.

Wow... I'm reading some of these comments and it hurts...

Wolf hybrids make amazing 'pets' if you're going to call them that - but you have to know how to handle them... It's like owning a lion or a bear. It's going to do it's own thing; and if it wasn't raised well, it will be an absolute menace.

:-/

<3 4 Wulvz

a reply to: DigitalJedi805

I love wolves, too, maybe thats a factor as to why I'm not 100% sold on people owning them for the sake of owning one.

My SO told me he fostered a female wolf hybrid for a little while and she was great for him, friendly with him, but apparently she was Houdini in canine form

originally posted by: Ashirah
a reply to: DigitalJedi805

I love wolves, too, maybe thats a factor as to why I'm not 100% sold on people owning them for the sake of owning one.

My SO told me he fostered a female wolf hybrid for a little while and she was great for him, friendly with him, but apparently she was Houdini in canine form

Most hybrid, or upper-echelon canines in general are fairly mischievous. This is definitely a factor when it comes to owning one. They need a lot of space; and absolutely NO way to get out.

If you must keep them in a 'yard'; they should be on a tether when you're not physically watching them. Always. And a long one at that.

My buddies was on a 60 ft run, got walked multiple times daily, chased around a much smaller dog all day; and still tried to maneuver her way out of 'custody' on a number of occasions. Picture 200 lbs of dog trying to remove... basically a buried boat anchor, from the dirt.

a reply to: DigitalJedi805

And that's wonderful information to have for anyone considering wolf or wolf hybrid ownership. If only more people were armed with such knowledge as well as the means to incorporate that information into the handling and care of these animals before jumping into that situation! Thank you.

A friend of mine owned a really nice one but because it was only 1/4 she was hell bent on getting another more purebred. Stupid idea. We went out into the bush to meet this sketchy guy who had many sled dogs staked out on lines, no shelter except the trees they were tied to. We had to go on the back of his skidoo to get there in the dark, up in the mountains. None were wolf enough for her until he showed her a half wolf puppy in a cage at his house. Cute little thing. He sure didn't want to sell it but she begged and begged.

Long story short, her cat had kittens and the wolf pup ate every single one. Not the wolf's fault... just instinct. And that was just for starters.

I think it's an abomination to keep a wild animal as a pet. If people don't care about the well-being of the animal, perhaps they'll be dissuaded by studies that show that wolves raised by humans from a week old never respond to humans like dogs. Dogs have been domesticated over tens of thousands of years. You can't domesticate a wolf in a generation.

I suspect that an inadequate sense of self-worth is the prime motivating factor for most people who want a major predator for a pet: something to make them look tough.

It is illegal (at least in most states) to keep a wolf and it should be illegal to breed wolf/dog hybrids.

Do humans have to exploit every species?

i dont have a whole lot to say about wolves at the moment because i haven't thought about the topic due to a discovery i should write a thread about that has me shaking at the knees a little . after reading i decided to ask do you have suggestions or dare i say advice on how to go about putting such a thread together?

originally posted by: Ashirah
a reply to: pheonix358

That's true, dogs can be savage, there's no disputing that. But my thing is, there are a lot of wrong reasons to acquire wolves as pets, such as 'wolves are cool, I want that!' But how many right reasons are there to obtain a wolf as a pet?

Not trying to be a buzzkill, I've definitely heard of success stories and its fascinating. Just seems like we should keep them in the 'wild' column as opposed to 'pet' column.

There are no right reasons to acquire a wolf as a pet. Caging a wild animal, and that is what you have to do, is cruel. It's essentially no different than sticking a human child with a pack of wild wolves. Yes, the wolf and the child might survive, but expression of their basic nature is denied and all for the sake of a selfish experiment.

originally posted by: GEZUCHKRiCT
i dont have a whole lot to say about wolves at the moment because i haven't thought about the topic due to a discovery i should write a thread about that has me shaking at the knees a little . after reading i decided to ask do you have suggestions or dare i say advice on how to go about putting such a thread together?

I suggest that you tell us here.

While we have no wolves roaming in the wild here in the jolly UK we have Foxes.
I have wondered why we can't have a pet fox...they are pretty.

a reply to: pheonix358

I just wanted to let you know that in Australia people sometimes keep the native wild dog the dingo as a pet with varying results. The dingo used to be classified as a sub-species of wolf but it is usually regarded now as a primitive type of feral domestic dog. They can be savage (they have killed kids in the wild) but others can be great pets. My uncle has several dingo crosses to work his cattle and they look almost pure but have a tiny amount of border collie in them. They are yellow in colour and are tall and a bit greyhound- like in build. He was going to give me one when it was injured but the poor thing had to be put down. This dingo had the sweetest nature of any dog that I have ever met. He would come up to me and gently put his head into my hand for a pat and stroke. The other ones were not as nice. They probably have a different nature to true wolves but will sometimes desert you when breeding season arrives. Like wolves they only breed once a year. I believe that you can get them in the US and they would be much easier to deal with than a true wolf.

I had a hybrid, mixed with a malmute, but it was a very high percentage wolf breed. He was mostly timber wolf. My girlfriend bought him for me after I had to put down a dog I owned for sixteen years. The wolves name was Makia. I raised him from a cub. When people say that they are difficult to train, they are telling the truth. Makia was a terror. He literally destroyed most of mine and my roommates furniture. I had a house at the time, at least for a little while, and while he was small he was somewhat manageable. But he grew and so did his needs. He was not sociable at all. He was fearful of everybody but me . By the time he was roughly five months old his teeth and jaws were stronger than the Shepard I'd had for sixteen years. He chewed every pair of shoes I owned to shreds. I even had to go to work one day shoeless because he had eaten my last pair over night.

My roommate had a chow as a pet and we came home one day to what looked like a tornado had ripped through the house. Five gallon plants ripped from the roots all over the floor. Couch cushions and stuffing mangled throughout the house. Chunks of carpet dug out and ripped apart coffee table toppled over. Mind you, he wasn't even a third his full grown size and managed to do all that.

For other reasons I had to move, and having little means at the time I had to stay with some friends. That had a six foot block wall surrounding there yard and at about a year old Makia could clear that fence like it wasn't there. I couldn't keep him contained. I had no business trying to raise this animal. We had bonded in a huge way, I spent most of my time hiking with him in during the days when I wasn't working. If I left him alone he would go nuts and drive the neighbors nuts howling, or rather crying. He was by no means a pet.
He had his own mind, and nobody or nothing was going to change that, not even me.
It have few regrets in life, but getting Makia was one of them.
I managed to keep him for three years only. At three years old he was over a hundred pounds and deadly fast. He was clocked three times by animal control at around fourth miles an hour. They finally saw him jump back in my yard and threatened my roommate with fines if he didn't let them take him.

They we're going to euthanize him but they had taken him outside there respective jurisdiction and had to give him back. I finally left him on a ranch out in the country and never looked back.

I know of no circumstances where an average person should ever breed or own a wild animal it's cruel and selfish. Wild creatures are not pets, and while they can be friendly they can just as easily rip out your throat. Makia never challenged me but if he had , I have no doubt he could have killed me in a heart beat.
We used to play tag in the park. I would chase him, and then turn around and run the other way and he would stop and chase me back. He would get fifty yards on me in like ten steps and when I turned to run from him he would be on me like stink on s$&t. I wouldn't get three steps and he would have me on the ground.

Makia was without a doubt a beautiful creature. And every bit as deadly. He should have never been bred and I should have never agreed to raise him.

a reply to: Tangerine

I was trying to be open minded but I just cannot shake that feeling it is inherently wrong to keep these animals. I can see the appeal of wanting a one of a kind bond with such an animal, but ultimately, its pretty selfish to keep one enclosed without proper pack structure, diet and territory simply because one wants a wolf friend.

For those leaning towards wolf or hybrid ownership why not a Belgian Tervuren instead? Beauty and brains and bond in a 100% dog package.

a reply to: twohawks

Thank you for sharing your story. I hope it serves as a warning to others. Now that the internet is easily accessible, there's no excuse for anyone to get a wolf or wolf-hybrid thinking the situation will turn out well for the animal. If they do choose to get one, they do so out of selfishness and a willingness to kill or abandon the animal when it reaches the point that they can't handle it.