What To Do With A Wolfdog Stray In Tampa Bay

Last week, we got word that a New Port Richey neighborhood came together to save a couple of dogs running wild in the brush of the surrounding neighborhood. It took a while for the neighbors to get these two big guys to come out of the brush, and trust the humans enough go with them. However, once they did, the humans took them to a veterinarian and started sending out pleas for help. 

As the plea came out, we learned that a wolfdog was among the two. The wolf dog, nicknamed “Big Guy,” was big, scared and skittish of people. He did well with other dogs, especially his friend that he was running with in the woods, but kept escaping from his kennel at the vet’s office.

Since a wolf dog is something that might sound a little scary to people (as it conjures up thoughts that wolves are out mating with neighborhood dogs), I wanted to clear up some possible misconceptions about wolfdogs and tips if you are considering keeping one as a pet. 

The term wolfdog denotes that the dog has wolf somewhere in its ancestry going as far back as four to five generations. It’s not to be confused with a wolf hybrid, which is the result of a first-generation wolf bred with a domesticated dog. 

Wolfdogs are often crossbred with breeds that resemble wolves, such as German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies and Alaskan malamute. 

According to Full Moon Farm, a North Carolina-based wolfdog sanctuary, you cannot always tell what kind of behavioral traits the crossbred dog will have. Two dogs from the same litter can inherit completely opposite behavioral traits. One can have more wolf traits, whereas its littermate could behave more like a dog.

These adoptions do not always work out for the people purchasing them, so the wolfdogs end up back with the breeder or released into the wild. Unfortunately, this can put the wolfdog in danger. Since they are born with humans caring for them, they are raised to fully depend on humans for food and companionship. They have no idea how to survive in the wild.

Do wolfdogs make good pets? You can raise a wolfdog around kids and other animals, however, these dogs have a high prey drive. A prey drive is a natural instinct to chase and kill something smaller. If you have a small animal (i.e., a small dog, a cat or a child) you do not want to leave them alone with the wolfdog (although, you probably do not want to leave small children unattended with any dog — whether wolfdog or Chihuahua. Any dog can bite and cause an issue.). Most people might think that a wolfdog would be a great guard dog, but realistically, they are more likely to run and hide from a human breaking into your home than protecting it. 

Our wolfdog rescue, Big Guy, actually hit the jackpot. We found woman in Tampa that was more than happy to have him come live on her 130 acres. This was the best choice for him as he was not socialized with people, and now he can run and actually live without worrying about food or shelter. We all wish Big Guy luck at his new Tampa home.

Here are some websites that you can get some information from if you are considering adopting a wolfdog. 

• The Florida Lupine Association is a good resource for finding state codes and regulations for keeping wolfdogs and wolves.

Some more educational resources:

• Wolf Park (an Indiana-based research and wolf education center)
• The Wolf Dunn (an online network for wolf hybrid and wolfdog owners)