He's a goof haha. Have you tried burying wire a couple of feet down? That's what is usually done for foxes.. or you can lay wire on the ground then put mulch over the top so they can still dig.
I'd give him more logs to play with if he likes them.
Jaclynn
Forum Tech Holistic Ferret Mentor in training
Omg he's a fantastic running partner. But I have to take him out on a fast run with my bike or have him pull the cart first or we wind up with him running full tilt, and me being dragged like a ragdoll behind him by the leash. He just gets excited and takes off into the woods. At least on the cart I can put the brakes on and he has to stop.
YEP. OH YEAH. Chicken wire. He ate it. *pulls shoulders up* yeah. Because that's what wolves eat in the wild..chicken wire. Well he didn't really eat it, he tore it up in huge strips, uprooting all the plants I put in there for him and showering the whole enclosure with a thick layer of dirt. He them used this chicken wire in a pile as a spring board into his trough. So then the trough was full of muddy water, and had mulch floating in it.
And I walk up to him, and he's inside with this goofy smile and his tongue lolling out. he's also still molting so he's got soppy wet legs and chuncks of fur drooping all over. He cocks his head and sits in front of me. Meanwhile I had just got done planting the plants and was still glad in garden gear. I didn't know weather I should cry or laugh.
Someone recommended concrete. But I've been reluctant. Wolf feet did not evolve to sit on concrete all day. So I'm thinking, with the new pen,I'm going deeper with it. It was a foot down before so I'm thinking two feet down this time. Which means renting a earth mover. I think we are going to be trying out the double fences too, just so the neighbors stop eyeballing it. It's been a year and a half, if he was going to chew through the chain links he would have done that instead of climbing.
He's a total pain in the rear but it's worth it.
He's trained to tell us when the three year old's sugar levels get dangerous (type one diabetes) He helps me hunt and he helps me do work around the farm. We live out in the middle of no where, and I have no car so a lot of the time, I'll strap him to the cart and drive down to the grocery store. When we had a storm that knocked out the power, he would help us gather water from the river with it. Plus he is a dear friend of course.
He's great. He acts more like a cat than a dog to be honest. Some days he doesn't want anything to do with me, but that's fine too.
It depends by state and then by city.
We have a loophole. Since we moved into a ban area after the house fire we asked a lawyer what to do. Rydag is a husky/German Shepard mutt on paper. Because he -is- a mutt.
Some states and cities ban owning any wolf or wolf hybrid, some require permits and some don't regulate native or non native animals all together so you don't even have to apply for a permit.
It's better safe than sorry here. But at the same time, while they are technically banned a ton of people have them. So long as they are vaccinated and penned, and so long as they never bite anyone (like any dog) no one even bothers him.
We've had animal control come tell us about our cats being out and they walk right past him without blinking. I think because so many people out here use them as working dogs, it's become a cultural thing.
But the plan is to move to west Virginia so we don't have to worry about anything at all. That's one of the states that don't regulate non-native animals. You could have a elephant in your backyard, and so long as it wasn't able to harm anyone and was cared for properly, it wouldn't matter.
Even on native animals they are pretty lax. If you bring in a domesticated silver fox all you have to do is buy a 2$ permit (and have the enclosure done beforehand of course)
I think one of the hardest places to have a wolfdog would be in areas where they have established packs (native animal at that point) Or in Florida where they are concerned about anything that might get loose and hurt the everglades.
That was a total ramble and not too helpful, I'm sorry but it's the truth. Just one of those really complicated things you have to do to get anything other than livestock or cats.
Jaclynn
Forum Tech Holistic Ferret Mentor in training
We had the same mix of a wolf-dog when I was growing up, instead of retyping, I'm going to copy/paste from another forum I'm on:
We had a 75wolf/25husky growing up. Smartest dog ever, and a real PITA. If she got mad at you (for some dog only reason) she would pick out your toothbrush, chew it up, and deposit it in front of your bedroom door. She hated me (the feeling was mutual) so I went through a lot of toothbrushes. She had a large 'dominion' which included the corner store. She could bunny hop over a 6ft privacy fence, travel to the corner (a country corner, so maybe 1/2mile away), and guard the front entrance of the store, not allowing anyone in. My mom got to recognize the voice of every dog jailer when they called for her to come pick up the dog. She was super selective on who she liked. I was 16 and dating, she was more picky than my mom or step-dad, one of the reasons I hated her...but she was always right. The guys she went for the throat on were the creepers who never got date #2. She was ALPHA, over all of us people, and the lab was low man on the totem pole. She got last dibs on anything, mostly food, lab is still with us (approaching 20 years old now) but only attained half-size from being stunted by the she-devil dog. Lastly, she hid being ill really really well. One day she was 'playing' with us in the pool (She didn't let anyone swim in her pool, if you got in, she grabbed you by the arm and dragged you out. Hers.) the next she let the lab eat first. Mom took her to the vet and she was one massive tumor she was so riddled with cancer everywhere. She had just had her yearly exam a few months before and got the all clear. It was quick. So there is my anecdotal 'owned by' story. Looking back she was a great dog, at the time I hated her passionately because my 16year old fragile girl psyche couldn't handle being outwitted by anything with paws. She had a special bark that meant "Hey, parents, Kelli just snuck in after curfew" :/
~Kelli
This is the dog that ate my bunnies I mentioned in another thread. I'm the oldest of 9 and this dog was technically my baby brothers, even tho no one else saw it that way. The only animal she tolerated was my moms pot-bellied pig and that was probably because he was also a giant @sshole of an animal ( I still have scars from him)
Not saying anything to you, sharing my experience. Animals have their own personalities. Most of the time our pets were rescues or rehabs so they had issues to be worked on. It happens that this dog and the pig were bought as babies to be pets and we just got lucky they were Alpha personalities. I should seriously write a book about growing up in my moms house, its still crazy now that she has the farm but at least now the animals have their own pens/runs. I still have to share living space with them when I visit, she recently had a house-calf (heart condition) and a house-sheep. BTW, adult depends work great on house-calves and house-sheep. You know, in case you were wondering....
Judge, Indie, Odin, Mr. Frodo, Miss Emily, Cody, Lucrezia, Willow, Suki. Mr. Stubbs, Ligeia, Herne, Watson. DIP Sinnead, Vincent, Boris, Zeus and Athena.
Pfft.-giggles- Sounds like your typical wolfdog attitude problem. Rydag ate bunnies too, but they were wilds he caught himself. I can't really blame him for that one though, since he is a predator, and they did manage to find their way into his pen.
At first I didn't believe people when they said how high they can jump. Like you mentioned, 16 foot fence. Rydag sort of does this Jakie chan thing where he bounces off the walls of a corner until he's out. Or he digs his way out. But that can be fixed with things like logs, wire and other stuff. I just have to check his pen out every other week to check for weak spots.
Rydag has never displayed dominance over places but he'll do it with toys. Don't you dare walk close to toys he loves. So instead of the stuffed toys he would develop attachments to, we give him tires, balls forage puzzles and bones.
I've noticed he can tell when someone is scared or intimidated by him. He will lean up against people like that and if they don't lean back and make him give them space he decides he is of higher rank. When he leans, it's his way of testing your limits. Dominant people will push him off, submissive people will yield to it. Knowing what his body language means and how to respond to it is critical to curbing any unwanted behavior.
Your lady sounds like she was decently behaved for her content anyway. The higher contents tend to be...strange little beings.
*shrug*
Ry is house broken but thanks for the tip, I'll remember it for later. It took nearly a year but I've got him trained to rattle bells attached to a doorknob when he needs to go.
In case you were wondering I didn't jump into it either. I read on the "breed" I went to obedience classes, interacted with and cared for other breeds. I did a ton of "field" research before I even contacted a breeder. Almost 3 years' worth. He is a pain sometimes but it's worth it.
I do want to get into more species though. But not anytime soon. We live on a farm, and I've got the land, resources and time to take care of them since I'm a friendless looser. But there's no rush.
As it stands I'm happy with my mice.
Jaclynn
Forum Tech Holistic Ferret Mentor in training
Judge, Indie, Odin, Mr. Frodo, Miss Emily, Cody, Lucrezia, Willow, Suki. Mr. Stubbs, Ligeia, Herne, Watson. DIP Sinnead, Vincent, Boris, Zeus and Athena.
I know. I see them pop up all the time on craigslist, or people buy them from the big chain stores without ever owning them and just have no idea what to do with them. Not even close to being cool. Not to sound elitist or anything, it just bothers me.
I'd love to have ferrets again, but they are just so care intensive I don't think I'd be doing it justice. It would be caged all the time and that's not fair. Even the rats have playtime out of cage.
Personally I love fennec foxes, but those have the same problem. Right now I'm trying To get a AA and then BA degree, on top of that I have a three year old with a disability and then the mice,rats and wolf dog. Just not happening. Plus if I ever want another kid I'd have to do those things pretty quick. *shrug* Some people just don't -think- before they get them, it's a shame. Those crappy pamphlets that petsmart hands out don't do much help either.
d! We see that all the time with ferrets :-/