What is the truth about this idea? (Wolves as guard animals)

Post wolf-related questions and we'll try our best to find the answers.

Moderators: Isela, Koa

Post Reply
victortiti89
Newborn Wolf
Newborn Wolf
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 9:35 am

What is the truth about this idea? (Wolves as guard animals)

Post by victortiti89 » Wed Aug 30, 2017 2:03 am

Before asking, I just want to say I am not thinking of doing such a thing, I am just curious as I read many different oppinions online...

Do/Can human owned wolves/wolfdogs be used as "guard animals"?(just like a dog), or are those websites who claim that wrong?

What happens if someone has a dog and a wolf in the same household? Would they cooperate to protect the owner and his household?
Last edited by paperpaws on Wed Aug 30, 2017 2:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: moved to Wolf Q&A; less obscure title

User avatar
Koa
WolfQuest Moderator
WolfQuest Moderator
Posts: 13101
Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:53 pm
Gender: Female
Location: washington, d.c.
Contact:

Re: What is the truth about this idea? (Wolves as guard anim

Post by Koa » Wed Aug 30, 2017 8:22 am

1.
Blightwolf wrote:Also, not to sound disrespectful or rude, but that whole "sit in their own corner and watch over everything to make sure nothing is wrong" claim is utterly and completely wrong. They do not behave like certain watchdog breeds. They are alert and territorial but they aren't "protective" in the same sense as a watchdog would be. They do not protect the house OR the owner - they only protect primarily themselves, their pack, and their territory. You cannot (and shouldn't) compare wolfdog hybrids to guard dogs - they behave COMPLETELY differently. And on the contrary, you CAN and SHOULD have people come over even if you owned a wolfdog - but there MUST be certain rules and precautions when people besides the handler are introduced to the animal, even if the animal would be well-trained and socialized. You cannot predict a wolfdog's next move as you could do with a domestic dog - they're completely unpredictable.
http://www.wolfquest.org/bb/viewtopic.p ... s#p1745410

2. Again, wolfdogs are not watchdogs. How they would get along in general would depend on each animal and how each animal has been raised and socialized.

victortiti89
Newborn Wolf
Newborn Wolf
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 9:35 am

Re: What is the truth about this idea? (Wolves as guard anim

Post by victortiti89 » Thu Aug 31, 2017 1:33 pm

I am sorry if this question seemed stupid, it's just that I've read different things on this subject...

On some sites they said the wolf would actually run and hide if someone would enter the household, while on others, it said they would attack strangers, and especially other dogs and you should always be careful not to provoke it(even the way you look at the wolf is important), and you could conclude you're dealing with a dangerous being..

Does it mean it's actually ok(a hypothetical situation, as I said before I'll never get a wolf/wolfdog as a "pet") for someone(including a thief) to enter a house with a wolfdog/wolf, with nothing to fear? Thank you for taking your time to read and answer this..:)

User avatar
Koa
WolfQuest Moderator
WolfQuest Moderator
Posts: 13101
Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:53 pm
Gender: Female
Location: washington, d.c.
Contact:

Re: What is the truth about this idea? (Wolves as guard anim

Post by Koa » Sun Sep 03, 2017 12:06 pm

victortiti89 wrote:I am sorry if this question seemed stupid, it's just that I've read different things on this subject...

On some sites they said the wolf would actually run and hide if someone would enter the household, while on others, it said they would attack strangers, and especially other dogs and you should always be careful not to provoke it(even the way you look at the wolf is important), and you could conclude you're dealing with a dangerous being..

Does it mean it's actually ok(a hypothetical situation, as I said before I'll never get a wolf/wolfdog as a "pet") for someone(including a thief) to enter a house with a wolfdog/wolf, with nothing to fear? Thank you for taking your time to read and answer this..:)
As I said before, it depends on how the animal has been socialized; a blanket statement of "if you have a wolfdog/wolf as an animal in your home and strangers should have nothing to fear", implying that the animal won't ever be, to whatever degree, hostile towards the stranger because it's not a watchdog breed is inaccurate. With that being said, expecting a wolf/wolfdog to behave like a watchdog breed is also a misguided expectation, because wolves/wolfdogs are not watchdogs.

Post Reply