Wow, this thread has sure gotten out of hand! I don't even know where to start, there is so much misinformation and bias being slung around on this thread.
I work with wolfdogs ("wolf hybrids"). I have met dozens of them through my work in rescuing them - the real thing. I also own one (Jasper), and have fostered another in the past (Yuki). I'm fortunate to work with a great mentor who has over a decade experience with PURE wolves, and is helping me to volunteer working with them this summer.
Don't even know where to go with this one.
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IMO it should not be at the DP because it is not a dog
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How much wolf (Canis lupus) has to be in the animal before it ceases to be a dog (Canis lupus familiaris - notice - subspecies of wolf)? Frankly from the photos, there is NOT much wolf in this dog, if any. Do you have experience with phenotyping wolfdogs, IDing them and telling them apart from wolfy-looking dog breeds (and I don't mean Huskies and Mals - I'm talking Tamaskans, Shikoku Ken, West Siberian Laika, Canadian Inuit Dogs, "village dogs", Seppala racing huskies)?
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I don't think the average person should even own wolf/dog mixes let alone bring then to the DP
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Agreed that the average person should not own a wolfdog. These animals need extensive research and special care (diet, thorough socialization, containment needs, etc.). Bringing them to a dog park is another story - if the owner is responsible, and knows their wolfdog well (this is KEY) why not bring them? What are you so afraid the wolfdog might do that any normal dog couldn't (or wouldn't)? What is the essential difference here that wolfdogs possess that dogs absolutely do not?
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Considering that wolfs are wild animals .....I'm not sure how much "control" a person can have over them..
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How much "control" do we EVER have over any animal? Is training really all about control, forcing the animal to submit? Or is it more about learning theory, and management of natural instincts and drives?
What side of the issue you fall on will likely influence your thoughts on wolfdogs to a great degree.
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throwing a wolf hybrid into the mix is a very big gamble IMO.....
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Why is throwing a wolfdog into the mix a big gamble? Are they aggressive? Are they more likely to attack another dog unprovoked? When you take a generally timid, shy creature like a wolf and mix it with a pack-oriented, typically dog-friendly dog like a Husky, where does the dog-aggressive gene come from?
So, as usual, misinformation abounds. For those of you who made these posts, what personal experience do you have with wolfdogs ("wolf hybrids")? Or even pure wolves? Your statements are awfully opinionated so I hope you have some personal experience to back them up with.
This is why working with wolfdog rescue is so difficult. It's sure as hell not the animals - it's the people with uneducated opinions and bias against these dogs.
It's the woman at the shelter who, when asked about a wolfdog I'm going to pull, says, "Oh, that THING is still here? I thought it was supposed to be gone aleady." It's the vet who, upon seeing Willow for the first time, ignores her friendly tail wags and treats her like a dangerous dog, yanking and roughly slinging her around with the slip lead. It's another shelter worker who, after meeting an unsocialized, scared wolfdog who I wanted to send through rescue, calls the dog a "feral, wild thing" and, after assuring me she would be safe until rescue could pull her the next day, proceeds to PUT HER TO SLEEP. Through absolutely NO fault of her own.
Because the lives of these animals are literally at stake - through people perpetuating myths and vague fears, which feed ban laws and BSL - there is no way I can just leave these statements alone on a public forum.
