Briar Patch Wolf Dog Rescue
Wolfdog Temperament
Depending on wolf content temperament can vary greatly. Both the wolf personality and the domestic dog personality should be taken into account if you are interested in a wolfdog.
High Content Temperament: High content wolfdogs tend to share most of the same personality and physical features as wolves. As such high content wolfdogs are often very fearful, preferring to hide from any stranger, they are NOT protective, you may get one or two warning barks/chuffs/howls to let you know there is a stranger present before the animal retreats.
High contents are extremely intelligent and will test your containment. Unless you have a six sided kennel which is all 4 normal sides of a fence plus a top and bottom made of heavy duty chain link or cattle panels there is no such thing as bomb proof (and even then a wolfdog may find a weak point such as a rusted or damaged area).
For the most part with high contents, there is no such thing as a “house dog”. While there are people that have had success with bringing high contents into the home it is not the norm and they often can’t leave the animal unattended. This is because the term of an animal “eating you out of house and home” comes into play. In this case we are NOT talking about food. It is not unusual for a high content to chew apart your furniture, chew the drywall in your house, chew wires, chew doors, chew the outside siding of the house, whatever they can get their mouth on. Other unacceptable behavior often seen in high contents is jumping on tables, furniture, and sometimes even the top of fridges.
High content wolfdogs are the least likely to want to please you. Although very loving they are not likely to perform tricks, sit when asked, stay, rollover, etc... unless there is a trade worthy of their time (ie food/treats) and even then that may not work.
Because of a high prey drive young children, cats, or small dogs should NEVER be left alone with a high content wolfdog. A child running around screaming is likely to invoke a high prey drive response and can lead to injury or even death. Please note that this is not solely a wolf trait, other breeds of dogs (especially northern breeds) tend to have a high prey drive as well. Even with early socialization to cats or small dogs a high content should really never be left alone with either.
Mid Contents Temperament: Mid Contents tend to be more social than High Contents. They can take time to warm up to strangers and be very fearful at first but with patience they tend to trust much more quickly. A poorly socialized mid content is less likely to become “feral” than a high content with the same lack of socialization. With good breeding mid contents can be outgoing but many will retain some kind of shyness around strangers. Mid contents can often be brought into the house although chewing may be a problem, they do tend to be more willing to please than high contents. (We can attest to some of this as Roxie, who is a low to mid-content, ate our couch, tore carpet and destroyed a few kennels, and broke down/chewed a few doors. At four years old, she has only recently ceased that behavior.)
Mids are in general better with small animals than high contents but since often times wolfdogs are mixed with Northern breeds, GSDs, Border Collies, or other breeds with high prey drive any owner should be cautious when they are around young children, cats, or small dogs. Mid contents also can be destructive.
Low Contents Temperament: Low contents are the best choice for someone new to wolfdogs. They are often the most outgoing, willing to please and best in the house while often retaining the intelligence and self awareness of a high content. Low contents are easy to train albeit they can be stubborn at times. Low contents are also the most likely to do well with children, cats, and small dogs. However cats tend to still be viewed as prey. Early socialization can help to eliminate most risks.
Also remember that breeding that does not take temperament into account can result in an animal that is unstable (certain breeders are known to have aggressive wolfdogs or wolfdogs with behavioral issues). This isn’t necessarily due to the “wolf” in the animal but because aggressive animals have been bred further promoting poor behavior in offspring. Instability is not necessarily due to breeding 'aggressive' wolfdogs per say. What often times happens is a mis-match of temperament in the dog breeds chosen to cross with a wolf. For example some German Shepherd working lines have an inherent genetic make-up toward aggression, protection and/or assertion. That is why, with proper training, they make excellent police or protection dogs. If you mix this temperament with a wolf's shy, witholding temperament, the wolfdog will be more unstable because of the internal conflict created by these two opposing genetics. Some times the wolfdog will withdraw and sometimes it will aggress, always with unpredictability. In one situation the wolfdog may not react. Then in a later very similar situation, the wolfdog may try to aggress. You won't be able to predict future behavior by past behavior. This propensity cannot be 'trained out of them'. The unprovoked 'snapping' between shyness and aggression will be possible and more unpredictable regardless of the 'content' of the wolfdog, because of the breed it was mixed with. This is an unfortunate consequence of uninformed, careless breeding. The wolfdog pays the price with it's life when it is then labeled 'vicious'.