Hi Isaac! Thank you for your note! I must admit I've been busy and haven't had much time to write updates on our Raising Tundra blog... Tundra is getting spayed on tomorrow as she's already 6 months old! Enjoy having a puppy as they grow alarmingly fast!
I've noticed that our little wolf didn't hear very well until both of her ears stood up so keep that in mind and have lots of patience with your pup. One thing I would recommend is when you pick up your little wolf pup make sure you have a tiny little kennel for him. Tundra to this day loves to hide in small spaces and loved her tiny little kennel until she grew out of it. From the small kennel she had we automatically upgraded her to her full adult sized kennel and I noticed that she doesn't like being in it. So if you can afford to keep slowly upgrading kennel size as he grows, that would be one recommendation (you can also find used kennels for a decent price). If not, at least make sure that you have a smaller sized kennel for the first couple months if possible. Reading online a dog should only have enough room to turn around in a kennel. If I had my time back, I would have slowly increased the size of her kennel instead of jumping her from a small puppy kennel to a full-sized adult.
For food, I was told to feed Miss Tundra as much as she can eat for the first 3-4 months, in saying that I've heard stories of other pups (male) from the same litter (same Mom & Dad of your new addition) that are abnormally HUGE... now what/how much the person was feeding that wolf-hybrid? Your guess is as good as mine but he was the size of a 5 month old by 3 months and we wonder what that person was feeding him! Males can get very large as if you've ever seen Simba (Dad) in real life, standing on his back legs he's taller than I am (I'm 5' 5") yet Tundras Mom (Celina) was the runt of her litter. Be prepared, especially if you're getting a male, that he will be a big boy!As for food, iiams puppy wet & iiams puppy dry is what you should be feeding your wolf as switching dog food can give your dog diarrhea. If this happens two days in a row, starve your wolf for a day and then feed him boiled chicken and rice for dinner that night. If persists, a vet visit. Only feed the dog water/vet milk (feeding a wolf-hybrid pup normal human milk can kill it).
With Wolf-Hybrids I would strongly suggest to get yours neutered. Wolves behavior will change if you don't spay or neuter so if you want their behavior to be consistent this is another recommendation. To be around the male Alaskan Tundra Wolf this year with Celina in heat he was VERY over protective and ready to snap at ANYTHING that came near his female. He will challenge ANY male dog that comes near her... that being said if you decide not to neuter him please be very careful with him around other male dogs -- especially if there is a female around that is in heat.
To potty train your wolf, if you live close enough that you can kennel train your wolf-hybrid, this is what I would suggest. Unfortunately because we live 35 minutes from work we weren't able to do that and it was very hard to get her fully potty trained as she was used to being able to do her business on her mat in section of the house we blocked off for her. Saying that, make sure that they always have water to drink in their kennel. If you can let him out for a pee just before leaving for work and then coming home at lunch time/after work the dog should be able to hold their bladder after a couple months. I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to be unemployed when we first got our wolf-hybrid so I was able to be home full time for the first 3 months of having her. Also, make sure you have a secure fenced yard. Recently we heard that a pup from Bandit/Celina's litter (less content wolf & more German Shepard) got shot by a neighbor. It makes me angry to even share this because that wolf-hybrid looked more like his Dad who was a full German Shepard. I could understand if it was from Simba/Celinas litter looking so much like a wolf thinking it was wild and after cattle but if you don't know for sure, your pet could be killed mistaking it for a wild wolf.
As for shots/vaccines you can treat a wolf-hybrid like a normal dog. It is recommended that you don't take the dog into public and have people handling him/her until she/he has final shots. If you let just anyone pet and handle a wolf-hybrid from a pup, it could get a disease and die young.
Get your wolf-hybrid used to its paws, ears, teeth, tail being pulled, pocked, touched etc. If you do this they will be used to the human contact from a young age and should be better with younger kids if pocked and pulled on.
And finally... if you've never owned a dog before (let alone a high content wolf-hybrid), I would recommend getting a female as they don't challenge you as much. Even to this day, Tundra will challenge us and push her limits. Shes not like a dog that will just listen to every command, this breed is very intelligent and will analyze EVERYTHING before making a decision. Male dogs will try and dominate you so you will have to be firm with your commands/training. Do not get a wolf-hybrid if you're looking for an easy breed to raise. We love our little wolf but she is not always obedient (she is still young yet). Do not get a high-content wolf hybrid if you don't have the time every day to dedicate to training and attention. Keep the dog close and around you as these are PACK animals that need that bond, don't lock the wolf-hybrid in a room by itself if you need time for yourself have it in a kennel near you.
Hope that helps, Isaac, you're welcome to keep in touch if you have any questions. If I don't know that answers I will ask our breeder/trainer as he has trained over 2,500 dogs/wolf-hybrids and is full of knowledge.
My male is 87% wolf and I WISH I knew then what I know now. I love him to death and he takes so much attention, time and dedication. We just had him fixed at six months and he is a member of our family. That said I would NEVER encourage ANYONE to get a wold hybrid.
ReplyDeletei love wolfs, hybrid or not there beautiful and are great animals. I currently have a 5 month old, female her name is akeida. She is 50% timber wolf & 50% husky. Im still trying to figure her out she is very playful and has a lot of energy.. i'm not real sure how long it will take for her ears too stick up? Maybe thats why she's so hard headed..i will say that potty training her has been hard sometimes she goes outside then sometime she goes in the house.. My grandmother who has had experience with wolfs, said that i should voice train her, it's working to an exstint.. Akeida also is very selective, she's not too fond of my mother! she's already protected of me and also never leaves my side, thats what i love about her.
ReplyDeleteI have a full blooded timberwolf male. I rescued him at 4 weeks old from the wild after his mother was shot. I've been feeding blue wilderness large breed dry kibble which has a 36% protein content. Is that sufficient for him and could you give me some ideas of other foods to give him. He is currently 15 months old and I've only been challenged a few times by him but he is very submissive to me. If you could give any recommendations it would be greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI would refer to our breeder for this question as he is more knowledgeable on this subject: http://sunvalleywolfkennels.com/wolf-hybrid-education/
ReplyDeleteHi again Nancy,
ReplyDeleteOne thing you could tell this person. Wolf_Hybrids don't do very well on dog food, if you mix dog food into their food must be puppy food(even for adult Wolf_Hybrid). Give your Hybrid alot of animals organs(cooked), veggies, potatos, alot of eggs, fish,.... Most people like to have wolves, but feeding them is some what expensive. How ever you should know they look just like a dog, but they are not dogs. I know alot of Wolf_Hybrid owners feeding their Hybrids dog food and non of their Hybrids get as big and energys as they should be.