My sister had a wolf hybrid several years ago that the family got at a PetsMart rescue center. The people at PetsMart thought it was a Malamute mix. My sister and her husband thought differently and an expert they knew confirmed that CJ was probably 80-90% wolf. Because of this, CJ was never allowed off lead unless they were in an area with no other dogs or only with those few that CJ accepted. She was very people friendly but as she got older became more and more dog aggressive until they finally had to have her put down at age 7 years before anything really bad happened.

The woman you met on your walk was beyond clueless, she was totally irresponsible. Some of the problem may stem from the fact that society is becoming more urbanized and doesn't have the contact with nature that previous generations did. And some, like the man who had his kid go stand by a breeding bull when I lived in WY, are just plain idiots.

unfortunately wolf hybrids are fairly popular where i live. we do have wolves living in the mountains, and there are a lot of freemen types around here who want to live outside the law. wolf-dogs and wolves appeal to their independent streak.

i've known some wolf crosses that were actually very nice pets and completely harmless. perhaps they only had a small percentage of wolf in them (or maybe their owners glamorize them and they weren't wolf crosses at all).

there's a couple in town that raised a wolf pup (100 percent wolf) and take her into the schools to educate kids about wolves. i've spent time with her and she's a nice animal. but she is not a dog. they are quite different creatures than dogs and must be managed very differently.

They absolutely must be treated differently. I had a childhood friend whose father had a wolf (pure, not hybrid)that we played with. But, they were extremely careful who was permitted to have th privilege of playing with her and the father was a wildlife biologist specializing in wolves (he worked for the San Diego Zoo). I too have known a few very gentle hybrids but I suspect either they had very little wolf or the owners were misled and they were actually husky mixes.

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there's a couple in town that raised a wolf pup (100 percent wolf) and take her into the schools to educate kids about wolves. i've spent time with her and she's a nice animal. but she is not a dog. they are quite different creatures than dogs and must be managed very differently.

Jeez, what insurance carrier is crazy enough to insure them? Don't get me wrong, I think it beyond fantastic what they are doing educating the young - only way we're going to save half the animals in this world - but c'mon that has to be a hard thing to find..."Excuse, sir, I need a policy that will cover my bringing a wolf, yes, that's what I said, a wolf into kindergarten classes. How much will that cost me"?

Good for them they're able to pull it off.

I have known and trained a few wolf hybrids - some high % wolves. In my experience they are very shy and NON aggressive to people - they can be nervous (shy) but not fear-aggressive - they would more likely roll over and pee than bite in defense. I don't believe wolf hybrids (or wolves) to be a danger to people or children whatsoever. Dog aggression is another story - they are high-prey animals, never safe around cats or small dogs. And as for them being pets - TERRIBLE, mainly because they are very difficult to housebreak, very vocal at all hours of the night, not good with cats/small animals, and VERY destructive by nature. They are VERY difficult to contain and are always looking for escape from any inclusure, including the house. And when they are on the loose, they are very dangerous to livestock. Wolf hybrids should never be allowed to be bred, they do not make good pets and it's not fair to the dogs (wolfdogs) who end up killed or the lucky ones in a sanctuary.

molly

the couple i mentioned who takes the wolf into the schools: she is a wolf biologist and he's a natural history writer and educator. the wolf spends most of its down time in a large enclosure that has a roof. she is not a house pet, though she has bonded with their small shepherd mutt and they are good pals.

she's friendly in an aloof way, but when you are around her, you can't mistake that she's a wild animal, not a pet.

I have had little personal interaction with either the PB wolf or the hybrids but one instance stands out. I came across a couple, years back that raised wolfs for parks and for repopulation purposes. Upon meeting their pack, in a super enclosure out back behind the house, I fell in love with their social and non aggressive nature. Like Molly stated they seemed much more interested in getting along and keeping themselves out of trouble (of course they were well fed <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> than being aggressive.
However the same people also did their share of rescues for the wolfhybrids. According to them those were the ones not to be trusted because of the internal struggle between the dog and the wolf. The ones they had were very bold, bossy and quite aggressive. I observed them, the wolfs and the hybrids with awe but also with some mixed feelings. The hybrids is what would worry me. Especially, like I was told, the breedings with the huskys and shepherds, had a tendency to produce questionable character. It would make sense to me as I know that both breeds have their own issues as well.
Anyway just my two cents worth....

Once I was in a pet store, had left my male gsd in my truck.
A lady came in with a choc lab, commented mine was making some racket, I should bring him in. I did, thinking it would be a training opportunity and social moment. When she approached, her dog charged, and the woman was in glee! I so wanted to smack that woman! Luckily I pulled back on mine, he escaped injury. She set us up for the sole purpose of reenforcing abberent behavior. Yes, some people are certifiably whacked.

As for wolves, containment and danger to children are reason enough to forego the hosting. I love them immensely, but have no desire to cage one. Even when contained in large spaces, they are not free, and creating an environment rich enough for them to lead a full life is a labor of love it takes an army of dedicated staff and volunteers to accomplish. They make lousy pets, need to be free to hunt.

Like BSL, the aerial shooting of wolves in Alaska, Idaho and Poland is misguided paranoia gone amuck. When the prey herds come down with some pandemic, they'll wish they left the wolves alone to eat the sickly. We are our own worst enemy. There is no vaccine for stupidity!

I used to take my older GSD (11 yrs old at the time) to a park where you could walk for 3 miles on a concrete walk bordered on each side with small hills of lawn. (One mile was all she and I could handle comfortably.) Once when going back to the car along the dirt road above the little hill, I saw 2 pitbulls running loose, off leash, very excited, with their owners half a football field in front of the dogs. They didn't see us, thank God, cause I had no way to protect my dog or me. I stopped behind a bush with my dog so we would stay out of sight, praying they wouldn't smell us. I didn't dare move to the larger bush 5 feet away, not wanting to make any movement they might see. I also didn't dare yell to the owners cause even if they responded, my yelling would alert the pitbulls and there would be no way the owners could get there in time in case there was an attack. We waited until they were out of sight then quickly went to the car. I was soooo mad. My son (then 20) was being followed by 2 loose pitbulls while on a walk, no owners in sight. He stopped and faced them for a few seconds, they stopped, then he started walking again, they continued to follow him. He stopped, faced them again, told them in his deep voice to go home. This scenario played out one more time, they finally turned and left. When my son was 3 or 4, we went for a walk around the block when a pitbull tied in a front yard with a huge chain lunged at us, barking, didn't even know they had a pitbull. Imagine a bear protecting her cub and you'll know what I was feeling. Intense rage that I suppressed but told the dog to shut up, stand down (that phrase just came out of my mouth), or I was going to kill him. He did exactly that. Again, I was so mad, what if the tie out had failed.

Just the other day there was a adolescent bernese mountain dog tied up in its front yard. I was walking my two dogs; a pit bull (who is muzzled in public because thats the law here) and a rottiXbullmastiff. She saw us just as the dog started to charge and what does she do? She hysterically screams asking if my dogs are on leashes! What an idiot. My dogs are both rescues and were behavioural messes when I got them, both dog aggressive. I have been able to train both of my dogs not to pay any attention to other dogs while one walks, no barking at other dogs going by the house etc... She can't train a dog she has had since a puppy to behave itself, and then freak on people innocently walking their dogs down the street. People amaze me.
I had a golden retreiver (who had been ordered by the province to wear a muzzle while in public) attack my pit bull when we were visiting nova scotia this summer. I had Sweeties front feet off of the ground so she wouldn't be able to bite the dog, and the dog grabbed her back and started shaking. the owners stood on their front porch calling the dog as it attacks my dog, then runs to the little dog behind the fence, then comes back and tries to attack me as I am between it and my dog. I was yelling at the owners to come and get their dog, they weren't listening. In my rage I ended up telling them to get their f***ing dog and they had the nerve to yell at me for foul language. I was soooo mad. I thought pit bulls were vicious and owned by irresponsible people and golden retreivers could do no wrong. Irg.