Bizarre, Environment, Society, Torts

Wolf, Dog, or Wog? Breeders Raises Troubling Legal Questions Over Hybrid Wolf/Dogs

It appears that the recent popularity over new hybrid dog breeds (like Labradoodles) has spawned a more dangerous market for hybrid dog/wolf pups. Animal activists are warning about the potential for attacks. Moreover, the new breeds could still be illegal in some states and may expose owners to strict liability.

In torts, we often discuss the liability associated with the possession of wild animals, particularly wolves (which are popular with many pet owners). State laws not only prohibit such ownership but sometime prohibit half-breeds — animals that are half dog and half wolf.

The hybrids have become the rage in the United Kingdom, which allows ownership if the pups are three generations removed from the wild animal. They sell for £5,000 — creating a serious market for breeders (including some who may not wait for three generations to pass).

They are often cross bred with German shepherds, akitas, malamutes, huskies and other large breeds.

Beverley Cuddy, editor of Dogs Today, insists that “[t]o live in a domestic situation with a part-wolf is insane . . . Hybrids are a potential disaster area.”

These owners may find this to be an expense habit in the United States where wild animals are subject to strict liability. Even domesticated animals are held to such a standard if they have known vicious propensities. While many have heard of the “one free bite”rule, it is a bit of a misnomer. You do not get one free bite with a dog if you knew or should have known about its vicious nature or breed.

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37 thoughts on “Wolf, Dog, or Wog? Breeders Raises Troubling Legal Questions Over Hybrid Wolf/Dogs”

  2. Hello when I lived in Northern Ontario I bought a dogsled tem of 4 dogs two of which were hy-bred cross the lead dof & her sister.They have their own ajenda as to how the rest of the team worked & by the time I was up to 15 dogs as tough as the rest thought they were they knew the pecking order under the two sisters as the rest would do battle but never crossed that line with the two sisters.Hybreds are very much on to them selves as far as pulling the sled went & in running with the sled would back off putting just enough slack in the gang line so the rest of the dogs beared the weight! They did this behavior several times & a touch of the brakes would fix that problem up , only to have them back off again & again!Her & her sister were the alfas of that pack & made sure the rest knew who was boss.Hybreds I was told later are not welcome to dog sled teams for the stuborness they posess.At best they are a passing “fad” & would not make the ideal pet! I wouldn’t recomend them to families with small children at all.Not to say there would be an attack or anything like that but little kids do have a way of putting things to the test & would surely produce a tragic result from a hybred if something went wrong!
    They are spectacular animals but best to visit someone with a hybred than just have one because “They’re Cool”

  3. Anonymously Yours-
    I am 100% positive he will NOT harm anyone. If you were to ACTUALLY see him with your own eyes and be around him sure you would most likely be intimidated, but you would find out for your own that he is simply harmless no matter what ingnorant and narrow-minded people think. Just because he is part wolf does NOT mean he acts like one.

  4. cass,

    Ans when the hybrid does what the hybrid does, what are you going to say?

  5. I personally have a wolf hybrid and he is the best pet I have had. He is really attached and has never harmed anyone. Hes rather quiet and has such a docile attitude. He gets along with my lab great. So I see no problem with owning a wolf hybrid as long as the person is not abusive or neglecting.

  6. If you outlaw politicians, only outlaws will have politicians.

    I don’t see much change from the current situation.

    This message sponsored by K Street (If you’ve got the time, we’ve got the graft!), Exxon (We’ll kill the innocent for oil! Put a dead Iraqi child in your tank!), Halliburton (Vile and Proud! 70 years of being scumbags.), Xe (We’re Not Those Zealot Mercenaries, Blackwater! Really!) and a grant from PNAC (Proud sponsors of Global Fascism).

  8. In NSW Australia pit bulls are now outlawed.

    One day when Rexx (my really nice dog) and I were doing our regular six kilometer walk around the local roads we passed a house which had a new dog. Normally when one walks a dog past a house which has a dog, the dog belonging to thehouse barks in a manner that is more territorial than friendly. But this beautiful big tan Staffordshire terrier came over and wagged its tale in a friendly manner and subsequently greeted us each time we walked past. Some time later I spoke to it owner an complimented him saying “that is a beautiful staffordshire”. He replied no it is a pit bull.

  9. The Australian dingo (wild dog) is closely related to the wild dogs of Asia from which it is thought the domestic dog originated. Plenty of people keep them as pets. They are incredibly intelligent. My late father told me a story about a dingo owned by a next door neighbour. One day this dog visited him and looked at him then turned around and looked over its shoulder at him. He interpreted this as a request to follow it which he did and in doing so discovered the dingo’s human collapsed unconscious in his yard. There also used to be another very friendly half dingo a couple of doors up the street from my parents and they used to take it for walks.

  10. The only hope for preserving lions, tigers, lepoards bears and others may be to domesticate them for use as pets.

  11. Experiments have shown that it does not take very long to domesticate a wild carnivore. Only a few generations are required to produce a tame animal, other dog typical characteristics manifest at the same time, floppy ears and vari-coloured coats without any explicit selection being done for them. The particular experiment to which I am referring was with foxes. It should be possible to produce tame wolves using only direct wolf descent (no dogs) in a human life time.

  13. Chimpanzees definitely are dangerous, they are humans’ closes animal relatives and like humans they go in for pack rape and genocide.

  14. Recently a documentary from the BBC was shown on ABC (Austalian Broadcasting Commission) television. It demonstrated how bad breeding practices have turned pedigree dogs into dysfunctional monstrosities. Cavalier King Charles spaniels with brain cases too small to hold their brains, pugs with crooked spines and their cuts protruding into their chest cavities, bulldogs that have problems breathing and can only give birth by caesarian and German shepherds whose hind quarters are half the height of their fore quarters and cannot walk properly. All these cases mentioned are of best of breed show winning dogs. Inbreeding has resulted in 90% of the genetic variety of some breeds being thrown away.

    Introducing some wolf genes to remedy this atrocity by breeders is no bad idea.

    I really find it a bit rich humans being so afraid of wild animals, the human being is the most dangerous animal on this planet, how many humans have been killed by lions, tigers and wolves as against those killed by humans.

  15. Jill.

    One of the most important needs of the dog is company, canine company is best but that of humans will do. If one only has a single dog one needs to let it be an inside dog and needs to take it with one when the house is otherwise empty.

    People who exile their dogs to the back yard are missing out on most of the benefits of having a dog. Dogs are cheerful, enthusiastic and friendly and if one leaves a dog outside one misses out on the cheerfulness, enthusiasm and friendliness services that dogs provide.

    If one has a single dog, one needs to take it to the dog park to meet other dogs.

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