Wolf Hybrid Dogs: Loving Pets or Threats to Kids?
I recently came across this article in the Telegraph about the growing numbers of families in the UK choosing to rear wolf dog breeds. Veterinary experts in the country are warning that this growing number of wolf dog hybrids could be a danger, especially to children who are looked upon as prey by these breeds.
In fact, according to representatives of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals, these wolf dog hybrids may be likely to express their naturally wild behaviors inside a home, placing young children at potential risk of an attack. In the UK, recent changes in the laws now allow these hybrid breeds to be raised without a license, as long as the dog is at least three generations removed from the wolf. The change in the law has led to an increase in the number of people rushing to buy these wolf dog pups which can cost up to 5000 pounds, or other wolf breeds like the Saarloos, which is derived by mating a German Shepherd with a timber wolf, and the Czechoslovakian wolf dog, which is a cross between a German Shepherd and a Carpathian wolf.
Last month, I discussed an ongoing controversy at a New Jersey town, after a pack of wolf dogs escaped from the owner’s home, and ran loose on the streets. The dogs didn’t attack anyone, but there have been calls for a ban on the raising of these breeds in the town.
The risk of danger from a wolf dog depends on how much of the “wolf” there is in the dog. It’s fair to assume that the “wilder” the hybrid, the more dangerous it can be, especially towards children. Wolves in the wild live in a social structure that is based on a hierarchy of dominant wolves. Including animals with traces of such traits in their genes may be undesirable for families with kids. Raising wolf dog hybrids also requires special training techniques that may differ from regular dog training methods. Raising these dogs can be a much more time consuming time activity, than caring for regular breeds, and unless, you’re willing to invest the time and effort it’s going to take to train your wolf dog, I wouldn’t advise these hybrids as family pets.
Scott Grossman is a New Jersey dog bite injury lawyer representing victims of dog bites and attacks in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and ocean Counties and across the state of New Jersey.
