Has someone ever kept a fully-grown wolf as a pet?

[Bolt the wolf]

I think its not legal to keep a wolf as a pet

[Blightwolf]

I think its not legal to keep a wolf as a pet

The legality of owning wolves varies from state to state in the United States and only a handful of countries allow the keeping and owning of wolves. The regulations are very strict, however, but unfortunately there are a lot of people who have committed the illegal possessing of wolves and high content wolfdogs.

For example, in my country (Finland), it is against the law to keep any kind of exotic animals (wolves, tigers, bears, etc) and you can only own a wolfdog that is less than 50% wolf. But, of course, people in here have high content wolfdogs, but we don't have much incidents involving them, which is an extremely good thing.

Anyway, to sum it up: you need to acquire a "wildlife permit" to obtain a wolf in the states/countries where you can have a wolf as a pet.

[onepersonteaparty]

Well it's possible, you would have to get a pup and socialize it very early in life, earlier than most domestic dog, but its not recomended because it still is a wild animal. However there are wolf-dog hybrids, i personally had one, he was husky/timber wolf. My parents and i didnt find this out until we took him to a vet ^^' he was a great dog. But there are wolf-like dog breeds that aren't as dangerous.
Hope this helped!

[Blightwolf]

Well it's possible, you would have to get a pup and socialize it very early in life, earlier than most domestic dog, but its not recomended because it still is a wild animal. However there are wolf-dog hybrids, i personally had one, he was husky/timber wolf. My parents and i didnt find this out until we took him to a vet ^^' he was a great dog. But there are wolf-like dog breeds that aren't as dangerous.
Hope this helped!

Wolf pups have to be hand-raised from before the age of 14 days and no later than 21 days. They also have to be isolated from adult canines for the first four months of life to properly bond with humans. They do need contact with other canines as well because it is not recommended that they would fully imprint on people, though, and the best way to successfully raise a wolf or a wolfdog is to raise them in pairs or as a pack. They must be socialized to both humans and other wolves.

How were you supposed to find it out? There are no genetic markers or DNA tests that would reveal a dog's ancestry or tell if it has wolf in it or not. The only indications are appearance and behavior. You cannot genetically determine whether a dog is a wolfdog or a wolf.

[grape500]

actually you can genetically determine if it has wolf in but not how many generations ago

[Blightwolf]

actually you can genetically determine if it has wolf in but not how many generations ago

At this time, no definitive test exists to prove if an animal is "part wolf". In time, science may provide such a test using DNA markers, but there is none now.

There is no test currently, DNA or blood, to determine whether a dog has any "wolf blood".

There has been, to my knowledge, no court case against a hybrid owner that was lost by the hybrid owner when the issue involved was identification. In other words, the states, counties etc. have been unable to prove in a court the identity of a suspected hybrid. This is primarily because wolves and dogs are the same species and no scientist has yet found a DNA marker that will hold up in court to "prove" an animal has recent wolf ancestry.

Presently the answer to this question is no. There have been no genetic markers found to accurately do this test yet due to a lack of funding.

http://www.inetdesign.com/wolfdunn/

[grape500]

ok i'm just sure i read some where on this site that you could tell like that if they had wolf in them but not how many generations ago

[Blightwolf]

Well, your source probably was not accurate, that is all. As far as I know and according to all of my wolfdog-related sources, there still isn't a way to figure out a canine's wolf ancestry.

[Necro-Obscurite]

I know a few people who own wolf hybrids. one is a wolf/husky and the other is a wolf/german shepherd. however, I've never heard of someone owning a purebred wolf. also, surprisingly enough, both are quite timid.

[Blightwolf]

also, surprisingly enough, both are quite timid.

It's not surprising, really. Wolves and wolfdogs are both timid animals, it's their nature.

[Borea]

I've actually seen videos of wolfdogs on Youtube. One person had trained his wolfdog to growl on command, and she looked pretty scary. Then as soon as he gave the wolfdog a treat, she stopped. Another one was a wolfdog pup trying to get his owner out of bed. Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute! And the last was a lazy wolfdog and his owner trying to get him out of the breakfast nook and trying to get him into his "place", which is, "Somewhere...under that tree." Personally, I think it would be cool to have a wolfdog, but I already have two dogs.

[Blightwolf]

Not very good examples to practise with your wolfdog, in my opinion. Teaching a wolfdog to growl on command (especially when there is food involved as the price) is not a healthy option to teach to a wolfdog. Dogs, wolves and wolfdogs all associate growling and snarling as a display of aggression and an act of warning or dominance. Also, allowing a wolfdog claim places in your house apart from their own enclosure or pen is not a bright idea - if the wolfdogs are allowed to sleep on beds or couches, etc, they will assume the furniture or object is a part of their exclusive property, and they will simply categorize them as something they have fully claimed, something that is included in their territory. If you try to break such behavior when they are adults (removing them from a bed or a couch), a wolfdog can see it as an act of challenge and they are quick to response to that kind of challenge - they do not tolerate another pack member of claiming their property. Wolfdogs are in a dangerous state of mind when they are willing to protect something they consider as their own.

I would not really encourage anyone to watch wolfdog clips from YouTube if they contain such behavior from the owners; it gives an extrmely bad example of responsible and safe wolfdog ownership.

[tsumeslife]

my great grandfather owned a wolf once but we had to kill it.sad.it killed my great grandfather.i miss the wolf more then him.

[Blightwolf]

Ignorant people should never keep wolves as pets. It is my strong personal belief that wolves should only be owned exclusively by people who live in a remote location and fully understand the possible risks and the responsibility of owning a non-domesticated animal.

Wolves can be tamed and they can be socialized but they can never be domesticated. It is extremely unfortunate that people rarely do anything to escalate the safety of themselves and their pet wolves. You cannot buy yourself a genuine wolf and expect it to behave in the same way as a domestic dog. Without proper training and thorough socialization, wolves - just like any other animals - can change from timid and considerably docile beings into dangerous and unpredictable creatures. Wolves require even more human contact and handling than wolf hybrids in order to get them to accept human interaction and presence in their habitat. It's a very expensive and a long process.

My ultimate advice for all the people who'd wish to get a wolf is this: Do your research. Study the behavior and physiology of wild canids. Get the wolf from a reliable, professional breeder who has a permit and a license to breed and sell wolves. Make sure you live in a state/country that allows the ownership of wild animals. Apply for a wildlife permit to assure you are keeping the wolf legally. Offer the animal optimum living conditions (space, company, nourishment, shelter, containment, veterinary requirements... etc). Accept the potential risks of owning a pure wolf and take responsibility in your ownership. Assure that your wolf and anyone/anything within close proximity of your animal will be as safe as possible.

[Rairox]

but its not recomended because it still is a wild animal.

Bingo.

I guess some people would buy them and keep them as pets, but after a while they would probably release them because of how much they eat or how big they get. (Like all illegally-kept wild animals) There probably are laws that prohibit the possesion of wolves.