Some of the most popular misconceptions I hear are...
- They're vicious.
- They are unpredictable.
- They can turn on their owners at any time.
- They prey on children.
- They're wild animals that should be released to the wild.
- Wolfdogs are untrainable.
- Wolfdogs make great guard dogs.
- Wolfdogs interfere with the wild populations of wolves.
- Raw meat makes them aggressive and blood thirsty.
- Wolfdogs make great house pets.
- Mixing dogs with wolves results in an animal with the aggression of the wolf and the outgoing nature of the dog, leaving you with a confused animal with a battle going on in its head.
Wolves are not vicious at all, they are actually very shy by nature, and would rather run away and hide from a new situation or new things rather than confront them. Due to their shy nature they will hide from any intruders making them an awful guard dog, but a great watch dog in the sense that they will watch as people come in and take all your stuff. LOL
Dogs are domestic wolves, there is no battle going on in their head for which is in control. Wolf body language and dog body language is the same. Wolves are the animal from which we try to understand our dogs. Wolves tend to be much more exaggerated than dogs, they let you know when you have started to push their limits, and they will let you know when they are on their last nerve without biting or snapping. They dont "turn on you", they will give you plenty of clear warning. Dogs have been bred by humans to easily adapt to new situations and to not express their feelings as much when uncomfortable (aka growling or snarling). Dog body language is the toned down version of wolf body language with some aspects removed due to selective breeding. Hence why wolfdogs aren't "unpredictable".
Wolfdogs of today are the result of breeding captive animals together. These animals have been in captivity for generations stemming back to zoos and fur farms. There is no "my dog got loose and bred to a wild wolf" . Wolfdogs are not wild animals, they are captive bred animals and if released into the wild they will die. They don't know how to hunt and rely on people to feed them and care for them. If released, they will starve to death or be shot by approaching people due to their socialization to humans in captivity.
Training is all about reward. Unlike many dogs, they don't have much of a desire to please you, more of a "what's in it for me?" mindset. They absolutely can be trained to do basic commands, very easily actually. These are highly intelligent problem solving animals, if sitting gets them what they want (aka a treat) they will pick up on it immediately. It should be kept in mind these guys are "single event learners", meaning they only need to do something once to remember it forever. A bad experience can scar them for life, which is why caution is so important, otherwise they may be to scared to do what you want them to.
I don't often use the term "pet" to describe wolfdogs. The lower content wolfdogs can sometimes be trusted in the house unsupervised, as they act mainly like their dog counterpart, but anything with significant wolf content requires an outdoor enclosure due to their destructive tendencies. They make excellent companions, but require a huge commitment and many life sacrifices. Like any big dog, they should be supervised around children, not so much because they are out to eat them like little red riding hood, but because these are large animals whose idea of playing is jumping up and mouthing. If a 80 lb wolfdog jumps up on your 4 year old, it's not going to be a fun time. The same thing goes with ANY large breed canine.
Megan Lindsay socializes and trains wolfdogs as a volunteer at HWF. She is co-manager of In the Company of Wolves: Wolfer Magic Facebook and helps administer many wolfdog pages, including Wolfdog education for beginners.
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