From: mlhb@mammoth.dr.att.com (Sky Warrior)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Subject: Re: More Wolf Hybrid Opinions
Date: 20 Nov 92 20:42:57 GMT

In article <1992Nov18.233817.28441@nmt.edu>, iguana@nmt.edu (Shawn Clever) writes:
|> 
|> How bout an opinion from a hybrid owner???  Many of you seem to know everything
|> about them, yet you have never owned one or just believed everything you have
|> read in the papers...

I do not own a hybrid nor have I ever owned a hybrid.  However, I have *known*
hybrids through mushing and I can relate experiences that I and others (who have
owned them) have had.

|> 
|> First of all, Yes, emphatically yes, a Wolf-hybrid is different.  Training
|> methods are different.  Dealing with the animal on a personal level is 
|> different (than with the average mutt)  The responsible hybrid owner researches
|> these differences and understands them-- learns to deal with them.

Yes, but are are very few responsible hybrid owners.  My contention is that 
most people who buy a hybrid don't know what they are getting into.  They cost
a lot of money (I've seen most go for $500+) and there is a machismo sort of
thing in saying "I've got a wolf".  They've become a status symbol and are often
portrayed as a dog that looks like a wolf (by most of the hybrid breeders!!!)

Most people who buy them tend to think they are supposed to be wolfy looking dogs.
My contention is that because they are portrayed as such, they can be a time bomb
in the wrong hands.  The other problem is there is no APPROVED rabies vaccine
for hybrids (the dog vaccines are not proven to be effective against rabies) and
in fact, if a hybrid is given a modified live rabies vaccine, it will become
rabid.  

|> Just a few of these are that hybrids are extremely intelligent-- more so than
|> the average dog...  They respond differently to the same cues that you give
|> a dog.  They appear to have a greater perception of bodygestures and human
|> expressions than most dogs do.  They are very protective, but can be very
|> gentle.  Ours is over a year old, and is very gentle around our 7 month old
|> baby.  (Not that I would be foolish enough to ever leave the wolf alone with
|> him, however.)

I am not disputing the intelligence of a hybrid.  I am concerned over the
unpredictablity.  Yes, your hybrid is gentle *now*.  I knew a musher who had
a 96% hybrid who was singing the exact same praises as you have.  A year later,
he had to put it down because it was too aggressive.  

Hybrids are a mixture of a wild animal and a domestic one.  The wolf side of the 
hybrid tells the animal one thing; the dog side tells it another -- which wins 
out is anybody's guess.  It is hard enough to teach people to properly train and 
take care of dogs, let alone an animal like a hybrid.  You are 100% right when 
you say they respond differently to cues; most people are not aware of that.  My
parents were able to trust my 75 lb Collie alone around me when I was 6 years old 
-- would you trust a hybrid with a 6 year old?
  
|> Which brings up another point... Hybrids have eaten no more little kids than
|> dobermans, bullmastiffs, buldogs, pitbulls, german sheppards, and any of the 
|> other myriad of dogs I can name.  There have been a few instances of untrained,
|> unattended hybrids hurting kids, yes, but there have been no more so than many
|> of the other breeds.  As usual, the media has picked a few gruesome incindents
|> and columnists have looked at it as an opportunity to endorse legislation 
|> against the breed.

I don't necessarily believe in legislating the hybrid out of existance, but I feel
that the hybrid should be put into the same class as a wild animal -- with the
same restrictions.

|> Hybrids require a different type of approach... They are not dogs, it is true.
|> It is also no guarantee that you will get a docile family pet, or a wild
|> animal searching for it's first opportunity to return to the pack.  As a 
|> responsible hybrid owner, though, one should be aware of this.  Problems arise
|> when people purchase these animals and do not bother to find out how they 
|> are different.  Problems also arise when people do not follow common sense
|> practices about approaching strange dogs...  Children should be taught, this,
|> but often, they are not, or they forget.  A bad result follows.  Children
|> should never be left alone with *ANY* dog, or wolf, or hybrid, or whatever
|> breed you choose.  It's too much of a risk, and I don't feel too much sympathy
|> for parents who don't follow this basic axiom.  It invites a tragedy.

You do sound like a responsible owner.  However, you and your compatriots are
in the minority.  Hybrids are big business here in Colorado and the breeders who
don't screen buyers are irresponsible.  As for your global statement that dogs
cannot be trusted with children, I have to disagree with you.  I think *small*
and *irresponsible* children cannot be trusted around dogs; nor can *untrained*
and *unsocialized* dogs be trusted around anyone.  Maybe I was a rare case, 
but I learned about responsibility and training with my Collie as a kid.  She
was my best friend growing up.
   
|> However, to condemn the entire breed and legislate their end is unrealistic.
|> Not all of them are aggressive.  Some yes, some no, but really no more than
|> many of the other domestic breeds... In experience, I find that many of the 
|> smaller dog breeds are far more aggressive.
|> 
|> Responsible ownership is the key-- not legislating the elimination of Hybrid
|> ownership.

I agree with your statements above, but I highly discourage hybrid ownership to
anyone who asks about it.  Why?  Because I *know* over 90% of people who get
hybrids end up putting them down, taking them to animal shelters, or dumping
them off on the side of the road.  I also know that once they bond to a person,
it is very difficult for them to bond to another  (hence the lack of success
in hybrid placements).  I find northern breeds (Alaskan Malamutes, Alaskan
Huskies, Samoyeds and Siberian Huskies) to be a big enough challenge to train.
I have always recommended the first time dog owner to get a dog like a golden
retriever (no insult intended to the golden fans out there) rather than a
northern breed because northern breeds are so dominance oriented and so stubborn.
(It is tough enough for the first time dog owner -- why be masochistic?)  

Sky Warrior

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