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Thanks for that post Hepcat. There is a wolf sanctuary in Colorado which sometimes takes in wolf-hybrids, but must keep them separated from the wolves. That sanctuary also details what tcrackly has said, that when one wolf steps over the line, the alpha will pin it by its neck, unless it submits almost immediately, and even then it will be pinned. But these are wolves. God love 'em, they are some of the most gorgeous creatures on earth, but they are not pets.
Interesting about BYBs crossing GSD/Malamutes. Interesting, but not surprising that people would do that.
You are right about Cesar crossing the line with this one. However, before condemning Cesar, I spent quite a bit of time trying to find the episode # in Episode Archives of Cesar's show that deals with the OP. I couldn't find it...perphaps the OP might know?
The hybrid was muzzled on the show with Cesar's pack but it was stated several times that they were planning to bring the hybrid to the off leash dog park (and Cesar encouraged it) - I don't know if they used a muzzle when they did or not (hope not) but a dog with a history of aggression shouldn't be in the dog park, and I admit I'm ignorant about wolf hybrids, but I don't want to be in a dog park with a wolf hybrid.
You are right about Cesar crossing the line with this one. However, before condemning Cesar, I spent quite a bit of time trying to find the episode # in Episode Archives of Cesar's show that deals with the OP. I couldn't find it...perphaps the OP might know?
Here's a link to the episode overview - there was also a segment with a toy aggressive chi:
Dog Whisperer | Hyde & Vada and Nacho | National Geographic Channel (http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/dog-whisperer/3731/Overview - broken link)
Ah, I found the episode number - 506 - they are beautiful dogs, regardless - the comments are interesting:
PS: Ah, interesting. To me that "wolf-hybrid" looks like a MalamuteGSD-mix, maybe like what Hepcat was writing about. The other one looks like a Timber wolf. This whole thing is fishy. I can't believe (well, yes I can) that he'd advocate having a real wolf-mix.
Last edited by Wicked Felina; 01-01-2010 at 03:16 PM..
I just don't understand what is to be gained by crossing domestic dogs with wild canids, other than macho bragging rights to claiming that your "dog" is part wolf. It seems clear that most of these animals end up euthanized when their owners realize they don't make good pets. How is that ethical? Dogs are wonderful companions, with all the domestic dog breeds in the world, not to mention all the mixes you can find in rescue, why would anyone need a wolf-dog? If you like a natural looking dog, or a dog that looks "wolf-like", you can get a northern breed, or even a GSD. I know a guy who breeds GSDs from German working lines, (titles in shutzhund and trains police canines, also). The picture of "Bear", the wolf-dog pup on the Wolf Hollow website looks almost identical to some of the all-black GSD pups that I have seen on this gentleman's website. So why not get a dog that looks exactly like a wolf-dog hybrid, but doesn't have all the behavior problems, and will ultimately make a better companion? My guess is that it is all about human ego ( being able to say "I live with a wolf!"), and has nothing to do with wanting a canine companion.
I did not see this episode, but quite frankly, I am shocked to hear about it. Virtually every Humane advocacy organization on the planet condemns the breeding of wolf hybrids. Cesar Milan could have used his popular show as a platform to condemn the practice of keeping wild canids to create wolf-hybrids for the pet trade. People listen to him, he could have used his celebrity status to decry the practice and explain why it was dangerous for humans and bad for the animals. Instead, I'm sure this episode just created more demand for these poor creatures.
I just don't understand what is to be gained by crossing domestic dogs with wild canids, other than macho bragging rights to claiming that your "dog" is part wolf. It seems clear that most of these animals end up euthanized when their owners realize they don't make good pets. How is that ethical? Dogs are wonderful companions, with all the domestic dog breeds in the world, not to mention all the mixes you can find in rescue, why would anyone need a wolf-dog? If you like a natural looking dog, or a dog that looks "wolf-like", you can get a northern breed, or even a GSD. I know a guy who breeds GSDs from German working lines, (titles in shutzhund and trains police canines, also). The picture of "Bear", the wolf-dog pup on the Wolf Hollow website looks almost identical to some of the all-black GSD pups that I have seen on this gentleman's website. So why not get a dog that looks exactly like a wolf-dog hybrid, but doesn't have all the behavior problems, and will ultimately make a better companion? My guess is that it is all about human ego ( being able to say "I live with a wolf!"), and has nothing to do with wanting a canine companion.
I did not see this episode, but quite frankly, I am shocked to hear about it. Virtually every Humane advocacy organization on the planet condemns the breeding of wolf hybrids. Cesar Milan could have used his popular show as a platform to condemn the practice of keeping wild canids to create wolf-hybrids for the pet trade. People listen to him, he could have used his celebrity status to decry the practice and explain why it was dangerous for humans and bad for the animals. Instead, I'm sure this episode just created more demand for these poor creatures.
Yeah and he didn't do that at all! It was disturbing as the owners had a bunch of reptiles and they said they wanted a more "lovey" pet...so they got two wolfdogs. I bet you're right, that people saw that, bought a wolfdog, alpha rolled it, pushed it to the ground, took it to the dog park...ugh. Poor dogs.
Unlike what Dashdog implies, my opinions are based on my own observations of my dogs as well as other dogs. The whole concept of a slip-release leash is to provide slight pressure on the scruff of the neck in imitation of another dog's correction.
There is a wolf sanctuary in Colorado which sometimes takes in wolf-hybrids, but must keep them separated from the wolves. That sanctuary also details what tcrackly has said, that when one wolf steps over the line, the alpha will pin it by its neck, unless it submits almost immediately, and even then it will be pinned. But these are wolves. God love 'em, they are some of the most gorgeous creatures on earth, but they are not pets.
As an addendum I would like to add that these Colorado wolves were all born in cages, and confiscated or donated by people who realized they'd made huge error in breeding them. All of the males wolves are vasectomized, so that they can continue their natural mating habits and rituals as much as possible. But they will never be able to be released into the wild.
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