This Is Why Wolfdogs Are Illegal

For those who don't know a wolf dog is a hybrid of a wolf and a domesticated dog like Siberian Huskies, Malamutes, and German Shepherds are the most commonly crossed domesticated breeds. Both wolves and domesticated dogs are "interfertile," meaning they're genetically similar enough to interbreed, but these hybrid pooches rarely occur in nature because wolves are super aggressive and territorial. it's true that all dogs have some wolf in their ancestry, but an animal can only be considered a true wolf-dog if they have a pure wolf ancestor within the last five generations.

[AlexandriaNFall]

1. The puppies in game of thrones were Northern Inuits, not wolfdogs. There wasn’t a percentage of wolf in them.
2. Wolves are not “super aggressive.” In fact they are extremely shy.
3. A wolfdog does not need to have a pure wolf within the last few generations to be considered what they are, and most wolfdogs that are bred are bred with other wolfdogs, not just a dog and a wolf. You get better temperaments that way. You can have a 50% hybrid that hasn’t had a pure wolf ancestor for dozens of ancestors.
4. Wolfdogs are measured by low, mid, and high content, and rarely measured by F1, F2, etc. The content reflects the percentage and is far more accurate.
5. It is not difficult at all to tell the difference between a dog and a wolfdog. Just do your research or get a DNA test if you don’t have a keen eye. The chances are, if you didn’t intentionally get a wolfdog it’s probably not one.
6. While it is true that you should let them lick your teeth, it is not realistic that he says they will hold your face in their mouth. I’m not saying it isn’t possible but it is extremely unrealistic to say that that will happen because it isn’t common.
7. It is a myth that wolfdogs need raw meat. Some do but not all. Often times the percentage affects this.
8. It is also a myth that they howl a lot. Some may, but I’ve never seen one howl as bad as a husky.

[amandamoreno]

A wolf gave birth in my yard and casually hangs around so I guess I have a pack of wolves 😌

[Article_]

I had a husky that was 25% wolf. Best damn dog ever. Fly high, Shanook ❤️

[bowieq]

I have a wolfdog, my mum has 4 chihuahuas. He is so incredibly gentle with them and he loves children and babies. Even when one of my mums dogs snapped at him he reacted with submission. High contents can be risky but you cant judge a dog by its breeding. A mid or low content wolfdog can be just as kind and trainable as a regular dog.

[nogerboher]

I'm from Russia and here we literally have two breeds (North Siberian Wolfdog and Eurasian Wolfdog) that were made by breeding Caucasian Shepherds, Central Asian Shepherds, Yugoslavian Shepherd and Eurasian Wolves. My family (and many other families) have been breeding these two dog breeds (wolfdogs) for hundreds of years. Czech people also have their own dog breed (called Czechoslovakian Wolfdog) that was bred in the same way as our dogs. 13 years ago I even had a chance to own an actual third generation wolfdog, which was basically the same as owning a wolf, as he was only a third generation wolf mix and he literally behaved better than my Caucasian Shepherd and my grandfathers German Shepherd on walks...

Just because your badly behaved, unsocialized pet dog got bitten by a wolfdog doesn't mean the it's the wolfdogs fault, in fact, it almost never is. Wolfdogs are just like wolves, they are not aggressive, they just have zero tolerance for disrespect and aggression from other dogs and animals. If your dog tries the 'dominance-mount' or the 'chest boop' or the eye contact growl on a wolf dog, especially a high content one, you bet your life that wolfdog won't tolerate such disrespect for even a second... Even majority of bigger molossoid dog breeds won't tolerate disrespectful or aggressive behavior, let alone a wolfdog or a wolf. This is why socialization is important.

And this is not to mention that wolfdog owners are some of the best, most thoughtful, most careful pet owners in existence. I have never met, seen or heard of a bad wolfdog owner. Everyone who decides to own a wolfdog, always does extensive research about canine behavior and always socializes and trains their dog properly and thoroughly.

My wolfdog used to play with small poodles, tibetan spaniels, tiny yorkies, chihuahuas, pekingese and a bunch of other, small and tiny dogs, with 0 issues whatsoever. And you want to hear the best part? I never trained him anything other than heel, stay and leave it. The only thing I did is leave him at my grandfathers farm where he breeds wolfdogs for the first 3 months of his life, so he gets to socialize and learn real canine behavior from older wolves and wolfdogs. That's it. That's all I had to do for him to grow up into such a well behaved wolfdog. From then on, I just kept socializing him either on walks or in dog parks. That is it.

[kelsieswygart]

I have a wolfsky who grew so fast that at 10mo old (currently) he towers over his parents both in height and girth. We know he's about 1/4 - 1/3 wolf and he just happened to fall in the generation that took on more wolf than husky, as his mother and father both have in their lineage. He's such a magnificent animal I wish I could share pics!

[nathanmauricio]

I had a F1 wolf hybrid with Blk Labrador, they require alot attention, training, but even then they are very unpredictable when it comes to territory and they don't mix well with other dogs. My lab hybrid was runt female out the litter and still hit 90 pounds, she used to howl when it would rain.

[HoomerbirdG]

We basically ruined every breed of dog just for appearances. Soon we’ll have pocket wolfdogs

[RHRX]

We had a wolfdog who’s mother was a wolf and who’s dad was a malamute and he was probably the coolest dog you could ask for based off all the stories my family had about him over the years when they looked after him, he lived a full life and died when I was 4 though

[bnovak]

My aunt had 3 wolf dogs. Lived a long life but lived outside in their large fenced yard. No animal survived entering it. They had a cat indoor and wouldn't allow it outside because the killers out back 🙈 but we're friendly with people

[ashleynewman]

The fda had also stated that in all areas where they are legislated as a domestic dog they are on label for the rabies vaccine. They are not naturally aggressive. They are naturally skittish and timid and take more socialization than a regular dog because of this. A wolfdog is a wolfdog if it has wolf % it does not matter how many generations removed from a pure wolf it is. My 41% gray wolf is from a long line of wolfdogs and there hasn't been a pure wolf in 50 years and much more than 5 generations.

[sca]

Wolf dogs could be aggressive.
-Okay.
Wolf dogs could pass rabies
-Sounds fine.
Wolf dogs need special diet
-Can be managed.
Wolf dogs lick your teeth.
- No thanks, I'm good.

[lorrainefisher]

“All dogs have some wolf in their ancestry” - buddy, get a clue. Dogs and wolves share 99.9% of their DNA. that small percentage left accounts for ALL the differences between the breeds - coat type, ear shape, tail shape, everything.

[JeromyGreen]

“There’s no vaccine against rabies for wolf dogs and your wolf dog could get rabies… also, if your wolf dog tries to stick their tongue down your throat, you should let them!”

[creativeflyfishing]

As with any cross breeding, the F1 hybrids are all more or less in-between the parental phenotypes (all genes have one allele from the wolf, one from the dog), whereas when crossing two F1 hybrids, you can expect a lot more variation (due to recombination and independent segregation of chromosomes).

[LittleImpaler]

Mixing a wolf with a dog is dangerously stupid. If your wolfdog has high percentage of wolf it's not going to be pet, but a wild animal.

[cordulam]

In Germany wolf hybrids are illegal for a very important reason: the protection of the endangered species wolf. If you want a dog that has a little bit wolflike character just get yourself a northern breed like Husky or Malamute. But please don't choose any dog just by it's look. It usually doesn't end well for the poor thing.

[kerrols]

Alright let's get some facts straight.
1)Wolfs are illegal wolfdogs are legal depending on your state, county, and city ordinances.
2) you can tell exactly what your getting based on your breeder and the parents.
3) the lower the content of wolf within the wolfdog the more dog like.
4) the more content the more likely it will be to be scared of people and need socialization to overcome this fear.
5) they are more likely to run then to attack anyone.
6) they don't communicate like dogs and so they take effort to train effectively
7) they are amazing companions and require a lot of exercise thus it's best to be in an active home.
8) the prey drive is super high with these animals so I wouldn't leave them unattended with anything smaller then them.
9) they bond with their people and take a lot of commitment, it isn't something you should just leave in the yard, and it isnt an animal you should give up on when it get difficult, if you think you don't want a pet for their whole life don't get one.
These are furry family members are a lifestyle, not a present to be given and dumped when your tired of them, if you can't handle that don't get one.

[rdwwdr]

We've had wolf dogs for about the last 11 years, one derived from grey wolf and the other from arctic. The grey wolf wolf-dog is only about 40% wolf ( with IT'S father around 85% wolf & mother a rottie) and the artic wolf wolf-dog is a high percentage wolf dog with some german white shepherd. Both of these wolfies are female and very very sweet and stay in the house with us at night. You left out one type of howling in your description: when you come home! They whine and howl when you come home in addition to the cases you mention. Because they are so sweet we bred both these females with our 2 domestic males (a rottie and another that is german shepherd & golden retriever mix) prior to being spayed and neutered and the puppies are amazingly good dogs (rehomed with other people). Wolves are demonstratively smarter than domestic dogs, I can attest to that.

[ChrisGrahamkedzuel]

One of my old neighbors had a wolf dog. One quarter wolf. Cuddliest thing in the world. Had poor eyesight so, I always had to announced my presence. He recognized my voice every time. Yeah, he growl at me before I announced myself, but once I did, he immediately demanded scratches. The only problem anyone would have with a wolf dog is improper treatment of said dog.