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Possible to have a wolf as a pet?

If I got a wolf from a very young age, is it possible for it to be just like a domestic dog?

Is it legal?

Would its temperament be too unpredictable or would the fact it has been raised by a dog mean it would grow up to be like a malamute or husky?

(edited 10 years ago)

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Reply 1

amholcroft

Dogs have been bred to continue showing childish traits into adulthood hence they don't challenge your dominance wolves have not.

The nearest thing you can get is a husky and even they will push you as far as possible when it comes to dominance.

Reply 2

yodawg321

Yeah..except it's "play" will be taking a nice chunk of meat from your thigh.

Reply 3

Exon

Original post by yodawg321

Yeah..except it's "play" will be taking a nice chunk of meat from your thigh.

OP better hope it doesn't aim higher. :ninja:

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 4

PinkMobilePhone

Volunteer Team

Put it this way...it's really not advisable.

Reply 5

Alix-21

My cousin has a wolf dog , not sure what breed tho
http://www.wolfzone1.com/
http://www.wolfdogsuk.com/

Reply 6

Zenomorph

oh my goodness...

I think that might be illegal ?

Reply 7

hippieglitter

OP are you talking a about wolfdog from a reliable breeder or an actual wolf from wild parents? I wouldn't recommend it. Get a nice docile domesticated dog.

Reply 8

bestofyou

Original post by hippieglitter

OP are you talking a about wolfdog from a reliable breeder or an actual wolf from wild parents? I wouldn't recommend it. Get a nice docile domesticated dog.

Wild wolf.

Original post by amholcroft

Dogs have been bred to continue showing childish traits into adulthood hence they don't challenge your dominance wolves have not.
The nearest thing you can get is a husky and even they will push you as far as possible when it comes to dominance.

Well maybe if I had a female one then? Surely if I just stayed assertive it wouldn't do anything?

Reply 9

_jake_

Yes it is possible and several people keep them in the UK. You need a suitable enclosure, food source and insurance and then you can apply for your Dangerous Wild Animal license from your local council. This involves a inspection, vet bills and a yearly fee. Oh yeah, you also need to find one for sale.

Reply 10

InsertWittyName

I don't think it's possible to have one as a pet, eventually it will challenge your dominance and that probably won't end well... There was a program on channel 4 a while back about a man who lived in a wolf pack. That's definitely possible, especially as he was the pack's peace keeper rather than taking an authoritative role. So you could definitely be a wolf's companion, but I wouldn't recommend trying to tame one...

Reply 11

nails9999

Just out of curiosity, why do you want a real wolf?

Reply 12

Darth Stewie

You need a license, the fact you want to keep a single wolf tells me you probably won't be given one as you have to display you known a great deal about caring for the animal(s) in question as well as showing you have the practical capabilities to do so which would include a huge secure enclosure which alone would probably cost around 30k to set up and that's providing you already own enough land (you are probably going to need at least 10 square miles). Wolves are not pets they have never been domesticated and although they have a few social similarities to dogs they are a lot smarter which means training them is much more difficult and have very different needs.

To summarize, get a hamster.

Reply 13

Corvus

The Starks had direwolves, just saying..

Reply 14

username1150116

I've heard of wolf-husky mixes being kept as pets successfully, but I wouldn't risk owning a raw wild wolf on a whim of "Surely if I'm more assertive it'll be fine." They are wild and will show wild traits instinctively whether they're trained from cubs or not.