I petted the sweetest Dog today

[UndertheOcean]

His father was half-wolf, and mother an actual wolf , so he's probably 90% wolf.

But , wow , what eyes , and what presence , you almost believe in spirits when you gaze into his eyes.

And soo gentle too.


I want to get me a breed like that.

Are all wolf-Dog breeds so gentle

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. They are beautiful, but not always gentle or predictable.

"According to the CDC and the Humane Society of the United States, the wolfdog ranks sixth in the number of dog attack fatalities in the U.S.; with 14 hybrid-related fatalities between 1979 and 1998 in the United States." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfdog

[femmocrat]

2. They are not dogs. Some localities actually ban ownership of them.

I remember a story a few years ago of a local woman who was killed by her "pet" wolf-hybrid. True, that could happen with a large dog, too, but wolf-hybrids are extremely unpredictable.

If you are so taken by the eyes, why don't you look into a similar-looking dog ... like a husky? (Although I wouldn't recommend a husky for an inexperienced dog owner.)

[xchrom]

3. no -- and many ''hybrids'' wind up leading bad lives

because they are so independent compared to dogs.
their needs are very, very different often from dogs -- in spite of looking so similar.

they can be very hyper, chewy, inexhaustible animals.

and i put hybrid in quotations because there are so many -- and yet so few actual wolves.
i think some hybrids are just extremely active dogs with owners who don't have time for them -- but that's just me.

[havocmom]

4. A wolf is not a pet, Hybrid is probably a delusion destined to become tragedy

Wolf is a pack animal even more than dog is. ONE wolf would likely suffer depression if not outright mental illness trying to live as a human's pet. One or two would not be happy as unemployed wolves. Employed wolves are in the business of killing for their food and building a strong pack.

I have known such animals. Lovely and intelligent and VERY depressed.

It is sentencing an innocent, intelligent creature to hell and may also be setting the stage for a real whopper of a train wreck.

Do not participate in such an experiment unless you are a wildlife biologist living in a very remote area WITH WOLVES <--- plural.

[UndertheOcean]

5. Thank you ,The last thing I want to do is cause sucha beautiful animal depression

I should stick with cats then , I am a cat person.

Now After you mentioned it, he was probably depressed and some of this depression projected as sweetness.

But he was VERY sweet nevertheless. Poor creature.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

6. Smokey - half wolf, half german shepard...

best dog a kid could have, but hated (strange) adults. :( Wolves are not pets, no matter how much you want them to be. :(

[Jamastiene]

7. That would make him 3/4ths wolf or 75 % wolf.

I'm so jealous. I've always wanted to pet a wolf. :bounce:

[dogonarug]

8. Take a look at this

http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/

This Woman in Wyoming took in a newborn Coyote pup after its parents were killed.
The photos and story are beautiful. I wanna coyote!