Dire wolves aren't magical in nature. They are just big ass wolves. Dragons also have evidence they exist. There are skulls, and the last dragon was only a few hundred years ago. Nobody had seen a white walker for a thousand years. It is rather easy for people to simply say "never seen one nor knew anyone that had" and simply not believe in them.
still, there are plenty that doubt the existence of dragons for the very same reason--I think it was Bronn and or a few others early in the series, saying something like: "Have you seen one? I haven't. Why should I worry about it?"
I think they fall in the same category for most people: we accept that they existed, that they can exist, but there really is no reliable evidence that they still exist, so whatever. Even when reports first started coming in of Daenerys and her dragons, it took many of these reports to actually convince people like Robert and Tywin that they were not only true, but an actual threat (though I think Robert was the only one to not brush it aside as easily as everyone else). I agree that there is a time issue with people's ability to believe in these things--100 or so years vs a few thousand, but even with dragons, the last few generations of dragons were said to have been puny little things that couldnt' possibly threaten anyone.
Not sure if that was something Tywin was talking about, or even Daeany's brother early on, but I rememebr a lengthy history lesson about how the dragons kept shrinking in size over the final known generations, and were even born deformed or something like that.
Further, as you say, it is just easy for everyone to dismiss the claims of whitewalkers because the come from the Crows, and no one really cares about the claims of petty criminals
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