I got a puppy! The 1st one in 16 yrs!** New pics! post 53**

[Harley's girl]

Queen,
Beautiful boy you got there!!!

 

[Queen Scoot]

thanks!!! he's my big baby. gets along great with our other dog and didnt mind the chickens at all...he was taught they were a "NO-NO" at an early age.

 

[tonini3059]

Cute puppy! Do you know if the lady was from East Liver Pool Oh by chance?

 

[chickygirl2]

I have never owned a wolf hybrid. The only knowledge that I have is through reading a book at one point where it was discussed that much of the predatory behavior does not show up until sexual maturity. In the book, the man that had raised this particular hybrid from birth, had hurt his ankle one day and was limping into the backyard. The hybrid who was about 2 ,if I remember correctly, attacked him. I think it was felt that this would move him up on the alpha scale. He had been raised with the family inside the house like a normal dog was. He played [ can't remember if there were kids] and behaved like a dog up to that point.
Does anyone know the name of the book I am referring to??
Anyway, that made an impression on me after reading it.
Honestly, I would be very afraid to have a hybrid around children.

I pulled this from the website recommended by nekomi:

" Another important issue to consider when making the commitment to care for a wolf or hybrid is the fact that they are predators and display predatory behavior in an intensity far beyond that of a dog. These animals ARE NOT GOOD WITH CHILDREN!! They can be safe in a few instances while meeting children in a controlled manner (such as while on a leash). If the child should wiggle, squirm or make small prey-like noises the animal can react quickly and undesirably in that it can attack the child without more than a subtle warning. The squirming child can trigger a predatory attack in an animal which was a moment earlier submitting to the same child. This includes a child the animal has known since puppyhood and has "always been good with the child." This but one of the reasons wolves and hybrids don't make good pets."

Now, I know the dog reputations are not always accurate. I have the sweetest chihuahua that would not hurt a fly. The reputation for chihuahuas is that the are often nasty and biters. Mine is not like that at all. She may be an exception to the rule.
Your hybrid might be an exception to the rule. But, with any powerful animal that has wild instincts, I would be very worried about my kids being in contact with it. It only takes an instant for a tragedy to occur. I know you have said that you have done research on hybrids, but what I see from your pixs is a little child, cuddling with the new puppy.
Please understand I am not trying to start a dispute here. I am just afraid what could happen to your little one.
I only wish you and your family the best .......

 

[Queen Scoot]

wolfdogs can and are raised with children to live happyily together....you have to understand the wolfdog to begin with and do your research...which in my opinion i dont think those people did in that article.
they are not the "big bad wolf' like most people think they are. they are more shy like the wolf.
its people like that that DO give the wolfdogs a bad name.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Harley's girl :

Quote:
Thank you!!!
LOL I thought I had a big breed! Yours is gonna be HUGE!!!! I will be looking for picks when you get him!

LOL yeah, his father weighs 180 pounds so he is going to be a big boy!!!

I have to wait until July 4th for him to be weaned though and I don't think I am going to survive that long!! I go buy toys every day or two for him. LOL​

 

[tonini3059]

If you don't treat a wolf dog like a normal dog...or like people treat their dogs as babies..it will be perfectly fine. They need structure and boundaries and you can't let them slip up. You also need to remember that normal dogs attack and kill people!

 

[nekomi]

I wanted ask (and since you work with them why not? wink )
I have heard the horror stories about giving them raw meat. I don't give Bella raw meat. But wanted to know your thoughts about it? I eat my steak very rare. I had thought about giving her the trimmings but decided against it. What do you think?

This is completely untrue - giving them raw meat won't make them killers! It's just an old wives' tale. There is a whole community of people that feed their dogs (and wolfdogs) raw meat and bones as their primary diet.

OK - moving on to the children and prey drive issue.

Your hybrid might be an exception to the rule. But, with any powerful animal that has wild instincts, I would be very worried about my kids being in contact with it. It only takes an instant for a tragedy to occur. I know you have said that you have done research on hybrids, but what I see from your pixs is a little child, cuddling with the new puppy.

FIRST, let me make it 110% clear that it's not just wolfdogs that can view kids as prey. ANY large, working dog breed can do this, including any Northern breed such as Huskies and Malamutes, German Shepherds, etc. So this is NOT, NOT, NOT! limited to wolfdogs.

wolfdogs can and are raised with children to live happyily together....you have to understand the wolfdog to begin with and do your research...which in my opinion i dont think those people did in that article.
they are not the "big bad wolf' like most people think they are. they are more shy like the wolf.
its people like that that DO give the wolfdogs a bad name.

OK, the folks who wrote the articles I referenced DID do their research. Heck, they are the ones who run WOLF PARK, an internationally-renowned wolf education facility. They do plenty of work with hybrids. They are not the ones making the wolf out to be that bad guy - quite the opposite. I am an ADVOCATE for these animals and would never reference a site that makes them out to be evil, vicious, etc.

Now, that said, your assessment of wolfdogs is 100% spot-on. They are shy, they are NOT vicious, they do NOT attack unprovoked. They are sweet, shy, timid, and gentle. However, there is no denying that they are highly prey-motivated. Now, as long as the animal is raised with children (your own children) and socialized from birth around strange children, you are likely not going to have a problem. The problem comes with wolfdogs who were not raised around kids, and suddenly exposed to them later in life. And yes, sadly, a tripping, falling, shrieking child can arouse the prey instinct in ANY dog (they are all predators), not to mention wolfdogs. My personal rule is to never leave a child unsupervised around any large dog. Just seems like good common sense to me.

PLEASE remember too, that actual amount of wolf content will make a massive difference in the animal's temperament. A very low-content wolfdog such as Bella is not going to be much different from a regular dog. HOWEVER, an animal that is nearly pure wolf will be very, very different - and will display a greater degree of predatory behaviors. It depends on the individual dog, too.

Also, it's not true that the "predatory instincts" kick in at 2 years old (as a previous poster said), or 1 year old, or 3 years old - the number changes depending on who you're talking to! They are present from birth and can be seen in puppies playing with each other ("rehearsing" predatory and dominance behaviors by chasing, biting, wrestling, etc.), chasing bugs (in your case, chickens) and small animals, chasing their toys, etc. There is no "magic switch" that suddenly flips on when a wolfdog hits a certain age. Like any dog, it's ALL in how they are raised. And they are definitely harder to raise than a normal dog. I won't deny that. But, there are many, many responsible owners out there who work with them. They aren't any more dangerous than a normal dog - they have all the same capacity for fear, aggression, etc. as any other large breed. However, handler margin for error is less. You can't make the same mistakes in early training and socialization as you can with a domestic dog.

I hope people take the time to read what I wrote. These animals are greatly misunderstood.​

 

[Queen Scoot]

i hope people take the time to read what I wrote. These animals are greatly misunderstood.

i agree with you 100% on this!!!​

 

[Harley's girl]

Nekomi.........Thank you! I really feel much better. You said Bella is low percentage. I am 100% fine with that.

After seeing your dogs I bet she is not ore than 1% and that is ok with me.

I do thank you for being so informative. I have had person after person say....well you just sentenced your children to death....(Oh thanks that is what I wanted to hear!

) It is really great to hear this.....

Also, it's not true that the "predatory instincts" kick in at 2 years old (as a previous poster said), or 1 year old, or 3 years old - the number changes depending on who you're talking to! They are present from birth and can be seen in puppies playing with each other ("rehearsing" predatory and dominance behaviors by chasing, biting, wrestling, etc.), chasing bugs (in your case, chickens) and small animals, chasing their toys, etc. There is no "magic switch" that suddenly flips on when a wolfdog hits a certain age. Like any dog, it's ALL in how they are raised. And they are definitely harder to raise than a normal dog. I won't deny that. But, there are many, many responsible owners out there who work with them. They aren't any more dangerous than a normal dog - they have all the same capacity for fear, aggression, etc. as any other large breed. However, handler margin for error is less. You can't make the same mistakes in early training and socialization as you can with a domestic dog.

I guess I have been worried about the age 3. (3 is what I was told.) I have been tying Bella while I tend the chickens.

Thank you so much! Thank you a thousand times! You should come to the Danville swap! It is this weekend! It would be great to meet you.

Cute puppy! Do you know if the lady was from East Liver Pool Oh by chance?

I have no clue where she was from. She never told me. She was a much older lady. There were whites pups in there as well. She told me that all the pups were siblings (they all had the same dad) Bella was the only one that looked like a GSD. The rest sorta looked like terriers to me. She was at the swap in Farmerstown. Do you know her?​