When any animal, wild or domestic, is kept in conditions inadequate to their mental and physical needs, there is a safety risk for humans. In these situations, the animals frequently spend their days in small cages or tied to chains, with very poor quality of life. This results in the animals being kept in an environment where their social and behavioral needs are not met. Wolf Park explains that while many individuals do make an effort to become educated about the potential outcome of owning a wolf or hybrid, others unfortunately do not. One organization educating the public about the issues of wolf and hybrid ownership is Wolf Park. Often, potential hybrid owners overlook the important task of understanding the nature of the wild wolf and the domestic dog and become overwhelmed when their “pet” begins to show behavioral traits that are unexpected and unmanageable. This expectation translates onto the owner when a wolf is kept in captivity. Wolves are social by nature and demand a great amount of attention and interaction from their pack. The reality is that there is an animal with a genetic stew that includes contributions from a line of dogs that has been domesticated over the centuries compiled with a contribution of an animal that has not. Whether or not hybrids make good pets is perhaps the biggest contention. Hybrids, being a mix of these two distinct behavior patterns, may have any degree of territorial or testing behavior-from one end of the spectrum to the other. Dogs, on the other hand, through domestication, have lost that instinct to urinate or defecate anywhere they feel is their territory and are easily trained to eliminate in a designated area. A couch or corner of the room may take the place of a tree or rock. Hybrids can exhibit any combination of wolf or dog maturation rates and behavioral changes.Īdditionally, the territorial instinct of wolves to protect their food source by establishing a home range through defecation and urination may be transferred to the owner’s home. Testing or challenging of packmates can be transferred onto a human “leader” when a wolf is kept in captivity, causing the animal to be perceived as stubborn, bold or even aggressive.ĭomestic dogs tend to mature much earlier (6 to 8 months of age)., but the challenging behavior still exists, although it is typically less intense in most breeds compared to wolves. Status becomes much more important, and the animal may begin testing its packmates to achieve a higher-ranking position in the pack. When a wolf reaches sexual maturity (anywhere from 1 to 4 years of age), their role in the pack often changes from that of a pup to an adult expected to contribute to the pack. This hormonal change is often coupled with behavioral changes in the animal. Sexual maturity of wolves signals a shift in hormone quantity and balance. Wolves and dogs mature at different rates, which makes the physical and mental development of a hybrid animal unpredictable. However, just as with any wild animal, their behavior will always retain some unpredictability. Thanks to the researchers’ hard work, we are able to understand the wolf’s reactions to different situations based on their inherent instincts. Their behavioral characteristics have been studied and observed for many decades by researchers, and much has been published about their social dynamics, hunting behavior and territorial nature. Governed by their instincts, wolves, both in the wild and in captivity, exhibit behavior that is relatively consistent. Although hybrids can occur naturally in the wild, they are rare because the territorial nature of wolves leads them to protect their home ranges from intruding canines such as dogs, coyotes and other wolves. In other words, wolves can interbreed with dogs, and their offspring are capable of producing offspring themselves. Wolves and dogs are interfertile, meaning they can breed and produce viable offspring. The genes they express, have been altered to varying degrees from their wild counterpart and help them live that domestic life well (Addams, and Miller 2012). In essence, the selective breeding process has put a different set of pressures on dogs, shaping them so that they are more dependent on humans for their survival and make them flexible to our way of living.
Through this process, a dog’s behavior, life cycle and physiology have become permanently altered from that of a wolf. WolfLink Virtual Learning for adults & groups.
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