Excuse me, but I have had a wolf as a pet. Yes, pure wolf. And i have a hybrid right now. They are not mean and are the most protective dog i have ever owned in my life. They protect the children and have even stopped a kidnapper from attacking my house and trying to take my children! You simply have to keep them socialized, because if you dont, they become agressive towards strangers. I got mine from my grandma, who got him from my aunt. Im not sure where they got him from but he was very loyal. Sadly, he passed away from old age four years ago. My new puppy is a hybred but he seems to be just as Bud was. Whoever said there is a difference, most definatly hasnt had one as a pet. All it takes is LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of time and patients. Im ashamed of the ones who think they need be kept away from people. How did we domesticate dogs? We tamed them! How do you domesticate a cat? Tame it! How would you keep a wolf as a pet? Tame him/her! They are by far the most intelligent breed ive ever seen besides german shepards. Please, take my advice, learn as much as possible before going and getting yourself one. They are lovable and sweet if you raise them right. Just take your time. Also, i do not recomend getting one if you are in school or have a strict work scheduel. They need LOTS of attention. Head my lecture! They are a big responcibility! If you find yourself unable to take care of a child, dont get a wolf. They are just as hard to take care of. :)

I had a wolf in the 1970's. A wolf is NOT A DOG! Mine stayed outdoors and could not be left indoors alone. She was much more territorial than ANY dog. I once got determined to keep her in the yard so she would not tackle any more motorcyclists by chaining her (log chain, she snapped guard dog chains in under 10 minutes EVERY TIME)to two sandstone chimney blocks (about 125 lbs.) she drug them around ripping up the grass.
I lived on a farm of 180 acres and that was about as small as I believe you should use to try and get along with a real wolf,
I guarantee you will NEVER own a wolf, as they decide who they respect and who they dont. I cant imagine the level of insanity needed to try to raise one in a city. I can NOT believe the wolf could be happy treated like a dog. I regretfully had to cage her when the Mastiff was in heat, as she nearly killed it the first time.
Like ANY exotic animal, there are risks, and it is not natural to the animal. She was loved by our family and seemed happy as she stayed in spite of being free and unchained 90% of the time. If I could go back, i would have taken her to the wilderness and released her to be what she was meant to be.

Wolves and Wolf hybrids are ILLEGAL to have in many states without the appropriate USDA license. A veterinarian is not allowed to vaccination or treat a wolf or wolf hybrid or any other wild canid hybrid for that matter unless you provide your current certification. Any vet who does could stand to lose their license to practice. As well, in some states, if a hybrid is brought into a clinic the veterinarian is required to impound the animal is the owner is not licensed by the USDA to have it. Keep this in mind when you are thinking of a hybrid.

So I am on my own little mission I guess to educate people on wolves and wolf hybrids.

First argument: people keep saying wolves are vicious and therefore the wolf hybrids are vicious and make great attack dogs

False, wolves are very shy in nature and will avoid contact with humans as much as possible except for in extreme cases when the animal is under intense distress like starvation, injury, or being antagonized while cornered.

My experience: I own a wolf a wolf dog that was an accident. This guy in northern florida raised champion huskies when the endangered red wolf got in to the yard and made a litter with one of the dogs. Only two puppies survived due to complications and I have one. She has never bitten a single person and avoids strangers at all cost, even if it means squeezing behind the A/C and hiding for hours.

Which leads me to my next argument: The percentage of wolf determines the viciousness of the dog.

False, it is impossible to accurately determine the amount of wolf traits that were actually handed down to each pup in the litter, Yes the traditional way is to add up the percentage of the parents and divide by two and there is your "estimated" wolf percentage, but the traits are different for each pup.

Ex: wolf (100%)+Husky (100%)/ 2= F1 (wolf hybrid 50%)
Ex 2: F1 (50%)+ F1 (50%)/2= wolf hybrid 50%

experience my wolf hybrid as I stated before had a sister who was literally the complete opposite of her. Sheba (my hybrid) has the same large bone structure, facial features, and traits of a red wolf. Her coat is coarse and reddish brown her eyes are golden and her ears large along with snout. She is very skittish and will growl at strangers from afar. If you approach her however she runs away and hides behind either me or my boyfriend. She shows that she only accepts her "pack members" people that are around her constantly. Without us she gets extreme seperation anxiety and will howl for hours until one of us howls back to let her know we are there. She is super smart and acts more like a person than a dog.

Now her sister Sasha has the so-called same percentage of wolf 50%. Her coat though is soft and fluffy black with grey streaks. Her eyes are blue and her ears are and muzzle are small. The only features of wolf she has is again the large bones. She loves everyone and never howls. She eats kibble without complaint and loves children. She weighs about 15 lbs less than Sheba and dogs don't act aggresively towards her at all.

I love wolves and therefore the wolf hybrid. I am sick of people giving the wolf a bad rep because they hve no idea what they are talking about.

In all the stories of people being attacked and killed by hybrids and wolves I have seen a common theme:
Its a child usually a toddler
The animal is on a chain or in an enclosure

Now if an animal that is half wild or pure is attached to a chain or in a cage chances are its going to be pissed off.

A hybrid requires at least 1 acre of room to roam and cannot be let on a chain!

The only dog I was ever attacked by was not a pitbull or a wolf but man's best friend a golden retriever. why did that dog attack me? I was walking home from the bus stop and this golden was attached to a tree by a metal chain. The owner was there watching it but the dog broke the chain and launched itself at me grabbing my arm in its mouth and shook me. Now if I had been a toddler at the time my arm would have been ripped off but I was able to kick the dog off and run into the neighbors house.

So don't judge a book by its cover. ANY dog is capable of being vicious. Most cases of hybrids attacking people are ones that are mixed with things like shepherds and akitas which are KNOWN for being aggressive breeds. Even my purebred husky is more aggressive than my hybrid. So do some research before you open your mouths to speak about things you don't know.

Wolves and hybrids are strong, smart, beautiful animals and when given the proper room to roam and diet they can be one of the most loyal and compassionate companions anybody could own.

Wow, I heard some mixed messages here don't know what to believe... I've never posted to a forum before mainly because there is always a few people who are somewhat smart but have to wait at the sideline for someone to come along with something dumb to say as if they have no life. As far as the topic, take it from me, I have been a scientists of wolf psychologists for 77 years. In order to be a master of the study I myself had to become a wolf, not an easy task.. Finally at the age of 94 I have graduated to alpha of my wolf pack. Seriously though, I read all the posts and joined because I'm simply manic at the moment and came across this post. That and I have an 8 week old catahoula leopard nestled in my lap and don't want to wake her.
Is it really impossible though ? I'm asking all those who have had semi stupid responses to one question which was not thought out or researched.. Let's say I have the time, money , resources such as a large parcel of land, the consultants of the wolf experts who owns wolves already and of course enough passion to do so? Any one going to tell me I would not be able to do a good job.. If I was to cross breed the least aggressive ones and casttrate the others I could not do so within 20 years and end up with a product of a superior well behaved wolf? Please don't say "oh that's illegal" otherwise I feel like Im speaking to someone who is not grasping that I don't follow laws that I don't agree with and don't care for that factor. I have the tendency to pee on such people, I am a alpha wolf afterall... So in short I'm someone who has accoplished some great goals with perseverance , great meaning big not so good though.. I have thought of this as a study but found it not to be my true passion, I have not carried this out because of the opportunity costs factor related to my other wants.. However all it would take is for a few people to challenge me and I'm cetain I could produce a tame wolf as my pet. Again please don't say that's illegal, we live in a world were we take risks, well most people whether they be small or large. If a rocket launcher can be purchased along with 200 kilograms of coccaine then I should be able to buy a pup wolf. Again please don't make me pee on you. With about 150 acres and all of the resources one would need , tell me? I guess I posed the question with greater punctuation and grammer hence more respect will be given? Fyi I'm not really a scientist nor have I ever been a wolf, that was a joke for some :)

Everything about wolves and domestic dogs is different. Dogs have been hardwired for centuries to socialize with humans while wolves are genetically hardwired to do the opposite. It's not even a good idea to mix the two species let alone attempt to domesticate a pure wolf.

Wow the maturity of people these days. My 7 and 8 yr old have more sense and maturity. If a wolf cub is raised right as in our reg "dogs" pitbulls , german shepperds and any other dog yes it can be a great domestic dog/ animal regardless its original breed. Wolves raised by loving and caring families turn out to be one of the greatest domesticated animals. they become very protective over the family and especially with the children. ive spent days and ridiculous amounts of hours doing my research because my boyfriend is set on buying one. At 1st i was not so sure especially with my children. wolves are obviously not for just anyone to raise cause there are those idiots who like to torment and tease animals and have them fight others for money.. these people should be locked up honestly. but as far as anyone being stupid or dumb trusting these rare animals, i think not... do your research and actually asks people who own them and their outtakes before bad mouthing and starting irrelevant arguments just to spice up your boring lives..

no offense but at first you sounded like an idiot, im glad youre seeing sense