Wolf-dog hybrids are becoming increasingly popular as household pets. But the rise in their sales in the United Kingdom and recent reports of escaped hybrids killing small dogs and threatening humans in the United States have renewed concerns about whether or not these animals should continue to be bred and sold to the public.
Wolf-dog hybrids are interesting and intelligent animals. They are produced by breeding a wolf with any of a variety of domestic dogs, including Akitas, German shepherds, Alaskan Malamutes, and huskies. The blend of wild and domestic genes in wolf-dog hybrids, however, gives rise to a complicated mosaic of disposition and instinct. Hybrids tend to be relatively gentle when young, but as they grow, they increasingly resemble wolves in their behavior. They possess the instincts of a wild animal, and the presence of genes from a domestic dog does little to lessen the intensity of these innate behaviors.
Humans, Dogs, and Wolves
Domestic dogs and wolves share as a common ancestor the gray wolf. The dog lineage is believed to have split from that of the gray wolf about 12,000 to 14,000 years ago, when populations of gray wolves underwent domestication by humans. The process of taming wolves took place in multiple locations around the world at about the same time and ultimately resulted in the emergence of the domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris, which is a subspecies of wolf, Canis lupus.
Thus, thousands of years of existence in very different environments and survival under very different social conditions has created a significant divide in the behavioral and genetic characteristics of wolves and dogs. Dogs display behavior, developmental patterns, and instincts that are compatible with life in a human-centered environment. Humans relied on dogs for protection and companionship and sometimes as a source of food. Our ancestors also bred dogs to produce varieties with unique traits, and because excessive inbreeding in purebred lines has made many of these animals highly dependent on humans, they generally are not fit for long-term survival in the wild.
In contrast to dogs, wolves have shared a complex relationship with humans throughout history. They are wild animals that have suffered greatly from human misunderstanding and anthropogenic activities, including agriculture and urban sprawl. Furthermore, the traditional human perception of wolves was shaped by factors such as myths and legends in which wolves were frequently portrayed in a negative light. Infamous examples include werewolves, the big bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood, and Fenrir in Norse mythology, whom the gods, fearing his strength, tied to a rock. To this day, Fenrir remains bound, awaiting the arrival of Ragnarök (Doomsday) to loose himself, at which point he will greedily consume the Sun and destroy the Norse gods.
In many parts of the world, humans have long been seized by a strong desire to kill wolves. For various reasons, including the threat that they posed to human safety and to herds of grazing farm animals, wolves were hunted to near extinction in North America and Europe. Today, however, we are learning to coexist with wolves. Numerous conservation programs and research projects aimed at providing a better understanding of wolves and their behaviors have shifted public perception and have led to increases in wolf populations worldwide. This change in human attitude toward wolves has, however, fueled some rather misguided notions about just how closely wolves and humans should or can coexist safely.
The Social Behavior of Wolves
Few people understand the intricacies of the social lives of wolves to realize what they might be delving into by bringing a wolf-dog hybrid into their households. Wolves thrive in social units with well-defined and highly organized hierarchies. At the top of the hierarchy are an alpha male and an alpha female, and all the members of a pack are the offspring of these two animals. The two alpha wolves serve as leaders and decision-makers, and they determine and organize the rankings of individuals within the pack.
The second level of the hierarchy is made up of beta, or subdominant, wolves, which support the position of the alpha wolves by reaffirming the subordinate positions of other pack members. At the very bottom of the hierarchy is an omega wolf, an individual who essentially serves as the wolf upon which the rest of the pack takes out its aggression. Omega wolves, similar to other pack members and despite the abuse they receive, seem to understand that they fill an important position within the hierarchy. Omega wolves have been known to challenge alphas, occasionally overthrowing them.
Hierarchy influences many aspects of wolf society, including the territory an individual is allowed to inhabit and the order in which pack members feed on a fresh kill. Hierarchical position is established and reaffirmed through behaviors such as ritualistic fighting and submissive posturing. The complexities of wolf social behavior, however, are not entirely understood. For example, researchers are working to understand peculiar nuances of rank that influence social interactions and give rise to sublevels within the larger pack hierarchy.
Wolf-Dog Hybrids in the Human Pack
Young wolves test their hierarchical position. In a social context in which humans are interacting with or raising a wolf-dog hybrid, pack hierarchy is transposed onto humans. Thus, a wolf may challenge a human to determine whether its position within the family hierarchy has changed. Testing rank may manifest in aggressive behavior, sometimes causing harm to the humans with which a wolf coexists. In addition, because lower-ranking wolves tend to uphold the position of the alpha pack members, they may engage in ritualistic fighting with a human who is perceived as being sub-alpha in the organization of pack hierarchy. In many cases, “sub-alpha” humans are children.
Wolf-dog hybrids often display pack mentality and territorial behavior. Wolves in the wild have territories ranging from 30 to more than 1,000 square miles in area, and they mark their territories by urinating and defecating in boundary areas. Hybrids follow these same instinctual practices, and this often occurs within the household, since this represents the central territorial region.
Many people, however, misinterpret wolf-dog hybrid behavior. In addition, in contrast to domestic dogs, wolves are unfamiliar with the subtleties of human social interaction, and so it is reasonable to assume that hybrids are subject to misinterpreting human behavior. This web of misunderstanding leads to frustration for the animal and owner and may exacerbate the animal’s aggressive or territorial behaviors. When problems escalate to this point, many people resort to caging or abandoning hybrids. Abandonment is particularly problematic, since few animal rescue services will accept hybrids into their facilities.
A Dangerous Proposition
Private ownership of wild or exotic animals is a dangerous proposition, and it is impractical to think that the genes of a domestic dog can override a wild instinct that has transcended generations over the course of millennia. Although wolf-dog hybrids have been bred by humans since the early 20th century, they are not a recognized breed. In fact, they are considered wild animals by organizations such as Dogs Trust, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Humane Society of the United States.
Furthermore, ownership of hybrids is banned in many U.S. states and townships, and similar restrictions are in place in the United Kingdom and other European countries. The decision to restrict or ban ownership is one founded on research, observation, and respect for wild animals. And thus, as with all other wild animals, hybrids should not be subjected to human whim. They are not suited for life in our city apartments and suburban houses; they belong in the native habitat of their ancestors.
—Kara Rogers
To Learn More
- Canid (wolf, coyote, and dog) identification chart and photos from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Previous Advocacy for Animals articles and blog posts on wolves:
- “The Return of Canis lupus: The Case for Reintroduction”
- “Reckless Killing of Yellowstone’s Celebrated Wolves”
