Do you remember the movie ‘Wolves of the Mist’? I’m sure you must have, after all who can forget those cute looking puppy wolves that grew up into rough tough looking yet protective towards each other wolf pack! After that many times I asked my dad to bring me a wolf so that we can pet him, and he used to laugh out very loud and tell me that if you pet a wolf, it will eat you up one day. This confession of him used to scare me till death, but was never able to kill the desire of petting a wolf ever from my heart. And so, though I grew up without a pet wolf whom I desperately wanted to name as ‘Moses’, but to sometimes calm myself down, I traveled around the world & used to see different kinds of wolves, would get fascinated by their looks. Their strong, determined & calm, yet heavily dangerous looks used to get my eyesight captivated.
Many people think that if you pet a wild animal, then someday of its life, you’ll be either eaten by it or the animal would run away from your house and would start living in the forests. This can be true to an extent, where the animal is not being treated either nice or proper care is not being given. Usually this sort of behavior from wild animals kept as pets is seen only when the required natural movement or exercise or diet is not acquired by them. Now this fact can make many to pet this animal because wolf which is 15000 years old, was kept as pet by the warriors to fight anything wild in order to protect them from any harm. Thinking of petting a wolf gives many people the chills of their lives but this animal is not kept in its purest form. Nowadays a mix of dog & a wolf which is known as Wolf Dog or Wolf Hybrid is kept as a pet in many homes. There are several Wolf Dog breeds around us. This dog is mostly created for people to pet in, as you can get the best of the both worlds, a dog’s friendly companionship & a wolf’s good looks & its untamed nature.
Now this breed in many countries is illegal to own, as it is said to be half wolf & they are considered ‘very dangerous’, sometimes next to lions in many countries, and so many times it is very difficult to own a Wolf Dog as a pet. And as it is a hybrid, therefore there is no approved rabies vaccination. If this dog bites someone, then it will have to be put to sleep & owners have to have a very clear mind about whether to have Wolf Dog as a pet or not because they are aware of the fact that even if the rabies vaccination is given to them, they still can’t depend on it.
This dog makes very good & friendly domestic pets, if taken a proper care & trained well from the childhood. A wolf’s traits of being extremely charismatic & highly intelligent, extremely strong with a bigger brain than a dog, & dogs, trait of being friendly, loving, caring & protective has made this mix breed a very favorite pet in many houses.
Now the temperament of this hybrid can be a little unpredictable in the adolescence, usually at the age of 18 months. This mix can be very playful and adaptive too at this age. It is after 18 months, when these half wolves grow out of adolescence show the typical behaviors of a wolf. Wolf hybrid will usually not respond to loud noises, dead objects, fast motion or new people quite well. They can be found eating poop outside or anywhere near them, and if much attention is not given then they can the other minute be seen happily rolling & coating itself in it. As a Wolf Dog is very adaptive when it is young, therefore it is very important to train them very seriously at this time of their age, as a non-trained Wolf Dog can heavily result in temperament & command taking issues when it grows into an adult.
An ample space should also be provided to it to move around, and digging is what they love the most, and so they dig every possible ground & make space for them to hide, stay in dark & cool off. In adolescence, a hybrid should be given the training of how to socialize with people & other dogs, as this is the shyest dog one can own, and not doing so can result in a very fearful & angry wolf, once it grows up.
Now wolves are carnivores & totally depend upon raw food, and so they result in eating a lot of meat, sometimes a lot of in a single day. Therefore educating yourself on what and how much to feed your Wolf Dog should be the first priority for any owner who goes for this hybrid. Theses hybrids make a fantastic pet if given the best care, & the right use of their special traits makes the hybrid & the owner live really happily & strong together till the end.