My first encounter with a "Wolf Dog Hybrid" was 10 yrs. When my daughter and her husband decided to add another dog to their family. Not being familiar with these dogs they ended up getting 3 puppies from the same litter. As they grew to adulthood these wolf dog hybrids did not resemble a wolf in the way they looked. One looked like a Rottweiller, one looked like a Siberian Husky and the third dog looked like a longhaired mixture of German Shepherd and Rottweiller.
The one dog named "Lokie", was friendly to a fault. When you walked in the door she was right there jumping up and licking your face, arms or legs. When she would finally calm down she immediately laid down on the floor and roled over exposing her belly. This reminded me of how lower ranking wolf acts in the pack. The second dog, named "Thor", was timid and shy and took a while to warm up to you. The third dog, named "Oden", seemed to be the boss over the other two. I think he was what they refer to in a wolf pack as the Alpha male. He certainly took charge when the other two acted up. My daughter found out the parents had a mixture of Siberian Husky, Rottweiller, and wolf in them.
In the 10 years my daughter has had these dogs she had had problems with their behavior and often takes them to the local Dog Park where they interact with other dogs and people. She originally wanted a large dog to provide protection at night when her husband was working the 3rd shift. Needless to say when someone approaches the house and hears the barking they will think twice before breaking in. I am thankful my daughter felt safer having these three wolf dog hybrids as protection and has never had any problem with their behavior.
Thor has developed hip problems and went through surgery to help alleviate his pain. He has had a bout with cancer too and is not so active anymore but he is still the boss of the group. Lokie has also developed problems with cancer and had several tumors removed. Thor is doing okay so far.
Because of behavior problems that wolf dog hybrids can have, some communities have tried to ban ownership of them. Unfortunately, many will end up in sanctuaries or are euthanized because of their risk to cause harm. If I had been around when my daughter got her three wolf dog hybrids I would definitely have cautioned against her getting them. But she was a responsible owner and spent the needed time socializing and training her dogs to be good companions. To many people ignore their pets and mistreat them and never properly socialize them. Some only want a large dog to show they are "Macho" and others find enjoyment in fighting their dogs. People who fight dogs are only using them as a way to make money. The Pit Bull is a good example of how people go wrong with owning a dog. Pit Bulls make very good pets without put into the wrong hands.
I hope the popularity of owning breeds such as the wolf dog hybrid will soon be a thing of the past and no more cross breeding of dogs and wolves will take place. If there is no demand and then no money in breeding these type of dogs the breeders will stop promoting them. The wolf belongs in the wild and not crossbred to our family pet.
