Wolfdogs and Livestock

If you’re a wolfdog owner in a rural area, and some of your neighbors happen to be livestock owners, there’s a good chance you’ve heard whispers and rumors that your wolfdog will escape one day and kill their cattle, sheep, goats, horses or any other farmyard critter that’s alive.

Why do they automatically assume this?

It’s because your animal is part wolf and therefore, they were taught to believe for a fact that wolves kill livestock.

It’s common knowledge, right?

WRONG!!

A wolfdog can learn to share his life with barnyard animals, if he has a good personality to start with, and if he gets plenty of consistent socialization time with various animal species from a young age. A wolfdog, regardless of content, can be a great farm dog. A wolfdog, regardless of content, can also be an unholy terror around the barn. It all depends on the animals’ individual personality and also his upbringing. If you want to get a wolfdog and you happen to also have some goats or horses or even a pet pig, it’s important to introduce your livestock and your pup at a young age, and teach your pup that these animals are part of the pack; not the food chain.

Always make introductions when your pup is leashed. If your pup tries to act aggressively, tug sharply on the leash and tell him, ‘that’s a NO! You be nice! You don’t bite that pony! No!’

Do this over and over again if you must. Many pups will come to understand that they don’t need to kill or chase small animals, and will learn to be friendly with other species. Others (specifically individuals who are crossed with husky, a breed with a very high prey drive) will never accept this kind of inter-species friendship, and must be monitored at all times.

NEVER BUY YOUR WOLFDOG TOYS IN THE SHAPE OF ANOTHER ANIMAL, especially ones that squeak.

This actually encourages the prey-drive.

Owning a High Content Wolfdog differs greatly from owning a dog.

A high content wolfdog is an animal that genetically contains more wolf than it does domestic dog. The behaviors are more intense, like a wolf. The appearance is very intense, like a wolf.

For all intent and purposes, owning a high content is a lot like owning a pure wolf.

The main difference between a high content and a wolf is the fact that the high content is mixed with a small amount of dog (no more than 20%).

This small amount of dog DNA can manifest itself in a few very subtle ways, but a high content is going to always look like a wolf.