is it ok to keep a wolf as a pet?

[Fanatical Meat]

^^reminds me of an animal planet dog show it had an example of how dogs & humans paired up. People would throw their inedible and unusable animal remains away from where they slept this attracted the wolves/wild dogs and over time the wolves became more comfortable and lived closer to human's. One possible example they gave was a mother wolf fought off another animal, the chief then decided it was protecting his son instead of her babies (she had a fatal wound) the chief then accepts her pups into the tribe.

 

[Murloc]

just get a Czechoslovakian wolfdog.
It's domestic but looks like a wolf.
I don't think it's easy to train but at least it's not wild.

 

[codyray10]

ok so I love Game of Thrones and saw this picture of Sansa with her direwolf and I was wondering would it be ok to keep a wolf as a pet? I want one, but my real concern is that it may turn on me one day and attempt to go for the jugular. are there domesticated wolfs I can buy? would one rabies shot be enough? can they be declawed, or at least have their ferocious teeth removed or sawed down somehow? would be badass to walk around the park with a wolf. i'd call mine Grey Wind or Nymeria.

I seen the same picture you are referring to today and thought the same. Is the wolf from the show actually a wolf? Or just some highly trained Husky?

 

[Broheim]

I seen the same picture you are referring to today and thought the same. Is the wolf from the show actually a wolf? Or just some highly trained Husky?

it's not even a hybrid, it's no more wolf than a pug.

 

[Nintendesert]

I appreciate all the hard work and sacrifices my forefather cavemen put forth to domesticate wolves and just keep dogs.

 

[BladeVenom]

Thus, Cats should be creatures which are capable of killing or saving you, not some decoration that lives in a cage and occasionally moves around or makes sounds.

Cats kill rats and mice which have been known to spread plague and other diseases.

 

[Theb]

I seen the same picture you are referring to today and thought the same. Is the wolf from the show actually a wolf? Or just some highly trained Husky?

FWIW the Wolfs in GOT are

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Inuit_Dog

...

 

[Telgin]

There are many kennels that breed varying percentages of wolf/dog hybrids. You can also get a full-blooded wolf. I would discourage getting one, however. These animals are HUGE! Please do alot of research before deciding to own one.
Here's a link to one breeder.

http://www.wolfzone1.com/

 

[feralkid]

Whoever bred the Chihuahua should be drawn, quartered and ridden to the farthest reaches of the Earth.

 

[Imp]

Why not just buy the same damn dog used in the show...

Google says they're Northern Inuit Dogs -- whatever those are. Huskie or Alaskan Malalute?

 

[norseamd]

Wolves can make decent pets, but they are not dogs. They're wolves. Most people don't even fully understand dogs, so trying to keep a wolf as a pet is bound to end in disaster for most people. Wolves respond to different stimuli, need significantly more space, have higher exercise requirements, and due to their predatory genetic make-up must always be treated with caution. They are not cute, cuddly animals you can watch a movie with. They're wolves, and domesticated wolves see humans as wolves. They need more consistent reminder as to who is pack leader compared to a dog, and may act violently if they determine there's an opportunity to raise themselves in the overall pack totem pole. Long story short, they are wolves, not dogs. They also tend to be a bit bigger and stronger than most dogs, which makes their feral tendencies much more dangerous.

pretty sure this topic has been talked about quite a lot before and the usual advice is as above.

would one rabies shot be enough?

if you do not know if you need a rabies shot from a wolf you raised and had checked out at the vet then you probably should not have a wolf.

can they be declawed, or at least have their ferocious teeth removed or sawed down somehow?

there would be thousands if not millions of people who would probably kill you for even trying to do that to a wolf.

I know someone who has a Timberwolf, the thing is a total people dog. Comes to say hi with tail a wagging.

just like people different wolves will have different personalities.

"When trying to determine why the pet wolf attacked its owner, authorities found it was because IT'S A WOLF."

no. because of context and being a wolf. but not because just being a wolf.

domesticated dogs are a few hundred generations of breeding away from their wolf cousins, though.

likely 20000 years plus. the thought i favor now is that they might have been domesticated 40000 years ago and were a prime reason for the outcompeting of the remaining distinct neanderthals.

also dogs might not be directly descended from the wolf populations of today although where timberwolves and american canid species would sit at this study i do not know.

http://www.unz.com/gnxp/

 

[holden j caufield]

Wolves and Wolf-dogs make terrible pets, and a huge percentage of them end up euthanized.

If you were to even consider it, I would suggest having at least 5 acres of land with an 8' fence above ground and an additional 2' fence buried underground.

Even with incredible socialization from day 1 most of them end up very destructive and un-trainable.

It's just a terrible idea all around.

They've done studies where they take a wolf pup, a wolf-dog pup, and a regular dog pup and raise them the exact same way from day 1, and the difference is striking.

my gf did some research on this for her class and it's just a really bad idea to have one as a pet. I can't even imagine how much it would raise your homeowners insurance the liability could ruin you financially if something happened.

 

[xavier es]

i owned a wolf dog,
my vet who knew the parents said he was 66% wolf, he looked so timber wolf, but was the biggest pussycat, i got him at 3 months old and spent alot of time training and socializing him.
someone abandoned 4 kittens at the back of my property,gf insisted i save them. wolfie loved those kittens, when i let him out in the morning the first thing he would do was find the kittens, then he would take care of his business. when it was cold he would let the kittens sleep on his stomach.
i think if you cross dog and wolf and cultivate the dog characteristics you can have a good pet.

 

[evident]

i don't get why people dont just stick with tried and true sociable breeds of dogs that have been bred for such purposes.