Just outta curiosity

Xios

Is it legal to own a pure bred wolf? Now of course i'd assume it's a very vicious animal, and owning one in a suburb or city is a bit idiotic, but for a farm or country house, with a lot of land.....?

Schlemm

Not 100% sure about the legal side of it in Ireland but there's a good few wolf-dog hybrids in the USA. Wolf hybrids are basically a cross between a dog and a wolf. They're a controversial breed and don't always make good pets. Real wolves are much shyer and less sociable than the hybrids, but when you throw dog genetics into the mix with the wolf instincts, you wind up with a much more confident, and potentially dangerous animal. Their behavior is a lot less predictable than a regular domestic dog and they are generally more difficult to train and housebreak. They also may not bark. So if it's a family pet or a guard dog you're after it may not be ideal!

Many people will get these dogs as a sort of a status symbol, but they're not the easiest nor are they the most practical pets. Given the large amount of unwanted large breed dogs that are on the go, you should probably check out a shelter before getting a wolf hybrid.

tinkerbell

I don't know if my uncle's wolf was a real wolf or a wolf-dog hybrid but he was very social and got on well with the kids in the family (and they were very young at the time, under the age of 7). He was a golden wolf. They also had an Old English Sheepdog and a fox and they all used to get on in harmony! Ah he was a lovely fella

Annika30

Wolfs are not very vicious animlas, I'm from Sweden and we have them in the wild there.
There doesn't seem to be any restrictions in Ireland about owning a wolf or a hybrid for some strange reason.
One option might be to get a Saarloos wolfhound because I certainly wouldn't recommend getting a wolf, here is a link with some pictures.
http://images.google.ie/images?q=saarloos+wolfhound&hl=en&um=1&sa=X&oi=images&ct=title
They are obviously crossed with wolfs.
Annika

peasant

You need a wildlife licence to keep a wolf.

Annika30

Oh ok I couldn't find any information about it. I pressume you get that from the department of agriculture?

peasant

Don't know where you get it ...never needed nor wanted one