wolf dogs

[cane_corso_mom]

Hi there!

I think it is cruel to have wolves as pets... they need to be in the wild, it's not fair to the wolf.

[wolflady]

Wow, how did I miss this thread!

Most people on PT know that I adore wolves, and even worked with them in college when I volunteered at Wolf Park. Wolves and wolfdog hybrids are beautiful animals and I respect them. However, I do not agree with anyone keeping wolves as pets. I used to think the idea of having a hybrid was cool, until I worked at wolf park and discovered that you have to treat a hybrid like you would a wild animal because of their unpredictability. It's a full time job.

There are a few folks who own hybrids that care for them in a proper way (our very own Souraya, for instance), but sadly, too many people get hybrids because "they're cool" or they inaccurately think they will make good guard dogs. This is, in fact, a very large misconception. Hybrids are very unpredictable, and can exhibit largely wolf-like traits, while others might exhibit more dog-like traits. Wolves and dogs are actually cousins...it has taken hundreds of years to domesticate the wolf into the domestic pets that people have today. Dogs and wolves are actually quite different, which may come as a surprise to some people. Although dogs do maintain some of their wolf-like traits, they are still two very different species.

There is some really good information about wolfdogs here.

**hugs**