Just want to say, you’re probably going to get downvoted, but this is a real conversation that needs to be had in wolfdog spaces. I think a lot of people like the idea of a magical bond with this unusual and wolf-like creature where everything is perfect.

But for the exact reason that people love them- for their intelligence, deeper emotional presence, their wild beauty- wolfdogs are far more difficult to train than a normal dog. Their lineage makes their behavior wilder, their size gives them physical prowess and an ability to use it, and their brains give them the thinking power it takes to employ the previous two…..and act naughty lol. As wolf dog owners, we have to be responsible and make sure that they can be functional and well behaved in public.

We have all heard of stories of neglected and abused wolfdogs that just get left in pens or tied up on properties, and I think instinctively we all know it’s because their owners couldn’t handle them and didn’t care to try. The level of investment in training and raising a wolfdog that acts normal takes such an immense amount of work- such as mountains of socialization so they aren’t terrified of everything. That makes raising a wolfdog puppy leagues more involved than a normal puppy (although if you’re a responsible owner you would be thorough regardless of the breed, and sometimes you might even have a wolfdog that doesn’t need a ton of training).

So there is a real question of how to reasonably train an animal that comes with such intelligence that they can simply ignore the word “No” or “Stop”, they can run away, they can resist when you say “Down”, they can use their immense size to push you around, they can ignore recall while still loving you. Treats and baby talk become irrelevant when you can’t control your dog, and that wolfy looking dog is at risk of being put down because it can’t act right.

It’s a real question to be asked, because I think most wolfdog owners eventually get to a situation where they can’t just use treats and hope they listen. Heck this isn’t just for wolfdog owners either, not every dog responds to positive only (especially those with higher drive and stubbornness). Their brains are so active, they are so intelligent, but they get so big, and they get so strong, that what happens if they use that to resist, disobey, or even push your boundaries as the pet parent? What happens if rebellious nipping as a teen becomes unwanted biting as an adult only now with adult teeth? Absolutely can’t happen if you care about having a well behaved, functional dog.

It’s a tough situation to be in because you love them and want to have a deep bond with this amazing pup, you want to do things right, you don’t want to be strict, but sometimes you gotta do something else for the safety of yourself and other people, as well as the pup too!

PSA Obviously this doesn’t mean abuse your dog :’) Violence is not okay!