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Tomorrow is an adoption event and they have exhibits there and one will be a wolf Sanctuary from a few hours up north of us so I am planning to go and talk to the people for awhile see if they can offer some advice especially about diet as he has to be at the point where his body will cannibalize muscle tissue to get the protein it needs. Then hopefully I can get the message across to her about his diet and how whoever does end up with him will need to understand he will not do well on just dog food.
He does have a muskier odor then any dogs I know too. I could still smell him on me until I took a shower. Pissed my dogs off as I did not take them when I went to the park to see him as I wanted to be able to give attention to him and the little Maltese mix with out my attention hog Chaos getting in the way. As it was the little Maltese mix was loving the attention and started growling at one of the Goldens who felt he should have my attention just because he is a Golden
He is more dog like then wolf like but he does have some wolfness to him too that is why I think she needs to make sure who ever she gives him too understands that and what it means. Even his howling would get many people in trouble where they live and he is good at howling! He howls along with any siren he hears and many neighbors are not going to put up with that for long. He does it when he is at the coffee shop as usually there is a siren or two while he is there and his howl is loud.
I told her I would ask a friend that lives up in the Valley where it is more farms and bigger properties to ask around as she is really into the dog world and knows a lot of people and it was met with a sigh and " I do not know if he will be happy up there as he loves the dog park and the coffee shop and all his friends there." Being I was often at the coffee shop when he was I will say what he loved as the burgers on BBQ night as people would give him some or even buy him plain burger patties for him. He does love Burger patties!
I think what is really happening is she is going to miss him so would like to see him stay in town where she could still see him and that is clouding her judgement.
Dash - I know you say you believe this is a wolf-dog hybrid, but everything, absolutely everything you tell us about the animal's behavior says it is NOT a wolf hybrid. Within the past year I read a highly respected dog - researcher/trainer who spoke out that a lot of dogs being passed as hybrids were not so. Based on your description, I think you have a dog who just happens to look wolf-like.* Wolves and wolf hybrids do NOT like people. You have to get several generations away from a wolf ancestor to get the dog line back to liking people. Wolves and wolf hybrids tolerate people, and that is extremely dependant on massive socialization efforts from the day they are born.
If it IS just a dog, your adoption possibilities go way up - a lot easier. In this case, a DNA test might just be really useful. It it is not just a wolf look-alike, twelvepaws did some good research on organizations, and other posters have mentioned some organizations as well.
I think if you are judging that this dog is a hybrid, based on looks alone, that you stand a better than 50/50 chance of being wrong.
REGARDLESS of the wolf/hybrid issue, I wish you the best of luck re-homing these dogs!
Oh - and BTW - that event you are planning to attend sounds like a magnificent idea. I'm not sure from what you said, but I hope you are taking the dog/hybrid with you.
Good luck!
* If I could remember where I read this, I would mention it. But I can't. My apologies. What I do remember is that it was a respected and well-known knowledgable source.
Dash - I know you say you believe this is a wolf-dog hybrid, but everything, absolutely everything you tell us about the animal's behavior says it is NOT a wolf hybrid. Within the past year I read a highly respected dog - researcher/trainer who spoke out that a lot of dogs being passed as hybrids were not so. Based on your description, I think you have a dog who just happens to look wolf-like.* Wolves and wolf hybrids do NOT like people. You have to get several generations away from a wolf ancestor to get the dog line back to liking people. Wolves and wolf hybrids tolerate people, and that is extremely dependant on massive socialization efforts from the day they are born.
If it IS just a dog, your adoption possibilities go way up - a lot easier. In this case, a DNA test might just be really useful. It it is not just a wolf look-alike, twelvepaws did some good research on organizations, and other posters have mentioned some organizations as well.
I think if you are judging that this dog is a hybrid, based on looks alone, that you stand a better than 50/50 chance of being wrong.
REGARDLESS of the wolf/hybrid issue, I wish you the best of luck re-homing these dogs!
Oh - and BTW - that event you are planning to attend sounds like a magnificent idea. I'm not sure from what you said, but I hope you are taking the dog/hybrid with you.
Good luck!
* If I could remember where I read this, I would mention it. But I can't. My apologies. What I do remember is that it was a respected and well-known knowledgable source.
I do not have the dogs the woman the owner dumped them on does and I was just trying to help as she could get kicked out of her home if she can not find homes soon . I feel bad that the guy took advantage of her this way. We are basing the wolf mix on what the original owner who killed himself claimed. The person that currently has them even found out where the man got him as a puppy . Not saying they could not be puling a scam and selling dogs as wolf hybrids but they claim they are wolf hybrids.
Years ago I did know a couple that owned two wolf hybrids one was very shy and could not really be trusted around dogs or strange people the other was very sociable and did well people with dogs too.Not all fit the wolf stereotype just as not all dogs in a specific breed do. I will say their two were massive and the first time I was at their house I was told to ignore them and let them come to me. They entered the room and froze as they studied me. Then social one then came over and acted like a friendly dog would. The other one took 2 hrs to come sniff me then backed up if I tried to pet him so I never did get to touch him which was ok.
The friendly one was out and about town much like the one that needs a home was and my dog Jazz was in love with the big guy. I tried to find the couple but they are living on the east coast now.
Today turned out to be a waste as the wolf sanctuary people did not show up to the event. As for doing anything more about organizations others have mentioned well now the person that has him does not want him to live at a sanctuary or even go to someone that wants a wolf as she feels he has lived his life as a dog going to dog parks and coffee shops and that is how he should continue to live . Being she has the dogs she has the say too.
As I posted earlier I am more concerned about how under weight he is as he is thinner then Dazzle my sighthound and while he is a much larger dog he only weighs 10 lbs more then Daz as he does not seem to do well with Dog food.
Ok. I hear ya'. Sounds like you are thinking about things, but your friend might not be. Well, like you say - she has the dogs now - they are hers. It is what it is.
Too bad about the event today. That might have been real helpful, meeting those wolf sanctuary people could have been real helpful - or at least a chance to learn something!
Well, good luck with the weight issue with this dog! I don't know what to offer on that problem.
sounds like the frined has already decided shes keeping him....(ive met many who make that decision in their head but never say it outloud and it becomes very obvious when every suggestion you make is turned down, or "not good enough" they start to do the same with potential adopters too....hey find things to pick at, the silliest reasons...
in this case id say the MOST important thing for this guy is to get her to change his diet...
id personally go high protein moderate fat red meat, grain free, or Raw.
id also supliment with a pancreatic enzyme and probiotics (both will help him digest his food more efficiently even if he doesn't have pancreatic issues (pretty common in wolf hybrids.
and id probably put him on satin balls too just while he fattens up some.
and please, try not to blame the guy who killed himself, he didn't do it because he was poor and didn't want to work...he did it because he had a serious mental health problem that was obviously going unadressed, he would have thought about this over and over and over and over, planned and planned and changed the plan and replanned, this would have CONSUMED him along with the darkness...
the fact that he CARED about those dogs enough to (all be it deceitfully) leave them in the hands of someone he knew would care for them shows that those dogs were probably the ONLY thing in his life that mattered, the ONLY things he felt deserved a good home and the ONLY things he probably felt loved him in return...unfortunately in his cae though obviously it wasn't enough...
BUT he cared for those dogs or he wouldn't have left them in her hands...
what he did may seem selfish to you...but as someone whos been in a place that dark...to the person suffering from the pit responsible for suicide...what he did in HIS mind was the most selfless thing he could do...to his mind he was a burdon o the world and the ONLY thing that made sense to stop the pain was to end his life.
unless you've been in a place where suicide seemed like a real and viable option...its impossible to truly understand how dark and consuming it is...
Thos doges were likely his absolute everything, be glad he left them in your firneds hands, becaue most don't, most leave them to run the streets, dump them in the woods, or just don't think about it leaving the dogs to be found with the dead body however long after...(if they are lucky enough to be found alive...)
This indicates that if he is wolf, he is low percentage, or else the gene wheel of fate landed heavily on the dog gene side of his pedigree.
The pure wolf that my neighbor had, every dog who saw him attacked him on sight. He smelled like a wild predator and dogs could not tolerate him to be around their humans.
My own German Shepherds were going to eliminate him at first contact. It took a very strong order from me to stop them and a few sessions of close supervision before they learned that the wolf could be played with, and they never really played much with him. They would tolerate his presence to trot around with them and they loved to join into the howling sessions.
Even my human nose could smell predator on the wolf. He must have smelled like a death dealing dragon to a dog's nose.
,,,,,,it was met with a sigh and " I do not know if he will be happy up there as he loves the dog park and the coffee shop and all his friends there." .........
This sounds suspiciously like the friend is making up excuses so that she can keep the wolf herself. Animal hoarder logoc: no one can take as good of care as I can.
The sad part is even if she wants to keep him she can not as she rents and the agreement they had was 2 dogs and she has two Goldens. If she does keep him she will loose her home and finding places that even allow one small dog let alone 2 or 3 big dogs in this town is very difficult.
I mentioned she might want to feed him some raw food as he needs it and she is a vegan so is rather grossed out by that so I doubt if she will do it .
how about pre-made raw? might not freek her out so much...
if not though a good grain free red meat based kibble is better than nothing if she realy cant handle the idea of raw meat/cooking meat for him...
Honest Kitchen has a dehydrated raw line that she may be able to tolerate making for him, just add water and doesn't look like meat in any way.
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