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| Tundra |
This is Tundra. He's our rescued wolf-dog but is all dog in temperament, so we're very lucky in that regard. Very intelligent and destructive at times but not skittish, nervous, or prone to snapping like some wolf-dogs are. Instead he's sweet tempered and loves kids, cuddles, and kisses.
This is our favorite expression he makes, his 'I'm listening, and I'm hearing, but I'm definitely not understanding' face. He tries so hard to understand when we talk to him, but he sometimes gives up and just howls back. Exactly how I feel sometimes. :)
33 comments:
oh. What a gorgeous guy. And, lol. Exactly what I want to do sometimes when I don't get it. Howl back.
Tundra is majestic and beautiful with such sweet intelligence in his expression. This has been so much fun discovering all the fur friends who inhabit the Reef.
Although, I miss our sharkly Queen.
Tundra looks cool--really, no pun intended. Just a really cool dog, like he knows he's the best of both worlds.
I read an article yesterday about a man who kept a wolf as a pet. While the wolf got along with him to a point, he didn't with the children, which resulted in some trauma. One of the kids ended up writing the article years later and said the father knew it should have never been kept as a pet, but that it was just so beautiful (which opens up another can of worms I won't get into). The thing that struck me the most--and what I was really happy about--were the comments to the article. So many people started talking about their own wolf-dogs--their personalities, their temperaments, their respect for them. I know dogs, but I don't know wolf-dogs; it was really cool to learn about them.
And now here we have Tundra! Opie, if you can share more, I'd love to learn more. Tundra seems great.
Loving the quizzical look! And now want to hear the destructo stories!
Worse I have heard is from a good friend. They put their pup in a bedroom while they had to go out and he chewed though the door (luckily didn't hurt himself!). So - thinking they were smarter than the dog - the next time they added a sheet of Plexiglas to the bottom of the door. Ha! Let's see you get through that dog!
He went through the wall instead.
Loving the quizzical look! And now want to hear the destructo stories!
Worse I have heard is from a good friend. They put their pup in a bedroom while they had to go out and he chewed though the door (luckily didn't hurt himself!). So - thinking they were smarter than the dog - the next time they added a sheet of Plexiglas to the bottom of the door. Ha! Let's see you get through that dog!
He went through the wall instead.
Hah, my kids get exactly that expression.
I've never heard of a wolf-dog, but I assume it's a crossbred dog and wolf? Most dingoes (our native dog in Oz) are crossbred now sadly, thanks to feral dogs interbreeding.
I love hearing these stories - Manda Zim, that's a classic!
There was a wolf dog that visited the dog park when we were there a few times. Most people thought he was a husky. We had wolves that visited when we lived in British Columbia. I said "That's not a husky." The guy said "Nope." He was very well-behaved but they didn't mingle.
I've seen that expression before, on our teenager! The "I'm definitely not understanding" part of the expression should perhaps be translated as: "I understand, and I'm going to nod my head and agree, but then I'm going to do whatever the heck I please!"
Tundra is totally gorgeous. We just saw some wolves at the Seattle zoo, and their coats were much lighter in color than we expected - almost completely white.
Opie: Does Tundra's coat color change at all over the course of the year?
What a great face -- and name.
I once knew someone who had a wolf-dog (co-worker, not a friend). But, unlike Tundra and his happy home, this wolf-dog's person did not train him. She found his wildness as a puppy cute. This co-worker was petite and the wolf-dog grew to be quite large. By the time he was full grown, he was no longer allowed in the house -- and she rarely went out in the yard to play with him. I always felt badly for him and wished he had been adopted by someone who knew what they were doing.
Now Tundra here is a very interesting dog. I mean wolf-dog. I love that he's not snappish, but that the PO also seems to have done their homework on this breed's personality traits.
I can see wolf-dogs being kept as pets, but find it a little harder to swallow when it comes to a "real" wolf from the viewpoint of wanting to leave things where they belong sort of mentality. It could be that some folks end up with them as rescues, I suppose - if they were hurt in some way, or abandoned etc. And to that, then I would much rather they have a home than to suffer/die out in the wilderness in a "survival of the fittest" kind of way.
Happy Sunday, y'all! Mom turned 80 on Friday and we had a little party for her here yesterday. It was fun - but I. Am. Tired. :)
Hello, Tundra! It sounds like you guys won out on the rescue dog lottery, wolf-dog or otherwise! Temperament is so important.
'I'm listening, and I'm hearing, but I'm definitely not understanding' face.' Oh, Elka has a face like that, and I love it as well! She gets little wrinkles on the top of her head, between her ears (which maybe Tundra has too, but Elka has far less fur!) It's a thing you run into with intelligent dogs, I think; they're able to go so far, but when that barrier is reached, it's reached.
My first reaction to the picture was "I want him."
I'm cutting and pasting Peggy Rothschild's observation:
"What a great face -- and name."
Beautiful, and what a luxurious coat. I knew a wolf-hybrid thirty years with a longer coat. Like you, Kimo's owners got lucky with the temperament. He was quite friendly.
We had two Siberian huskies who seldom barked but "talked" a lot. One of them ate through an exterior door. My mistake at penning a claustrophobic dog into a small room. They loved to howl, and would give concerts twice a day.
What a beautiful guy!
Missy listens and and tries to understand most of what I say (unless she's running, in which case I'm sure all she hears is the rush of wind in her ears and her little brain going 'lalalala I can't hear you!'), but of course, being a dog, can't always understand. She gets this sad little look on her face, like, "I wish I knew what you were saying."
I worked with a wolfdog/coydog rescue once (I was secretary, nothing more. I wasn't able to work with the dogs themselves). It was sad how many people would want one, thinking that wolves were so beautiful, so such dogs must be beautiful, loyal pets. Or they thought that owning a partially wild animal would be 'cool'. The OP obviously knows and understands this crossbreed. The rescue wouldn't adopt to people who didn't know the realities and possible problems of these beautiful dogs. Or to people in areas where the laws wouldn't allow them. There are a lot of places that don't allow ownership of these crossbreeds. Sometimes we'd have to rescue a wolf/coydog from one of these places, once the law found that someone had one.
Happy birthday, Donna's mom!
Tundra has a wonderful face. Love that expression!
Manda Kim that's a great story!
Did you know that August 26 was International Dog Day? (Yeah, I know; every day is International Dog Day.)
Tundra is beautiful. He also looks like he is much better adjusted than the other two wolf/dog hybrids I have met.
I am not sure what the motivation of the two other owners I knew were. Maybe they just thought it would make them stand out and be cool. They did not know the specific requirements of raising a wild pet.
Both of their ownerships ended badly. I hope you can do better and it looks like you have a good start on it.
If Tundra lived with Sam the Cat, this is the look he would give him. All the time.
"Really?"
:)
When Hubby and I were first married I had a collie and he had a Siberian - one of the sweetest dogs we ever had but he was destructive. He chewed the control panel on the dryer. He shredded the couch. He ate our wedding guest book and my family bible. The collie would meet us at the door every night going "It wasn't me." Fortunately he outgrew most of it.
I love this dog's adorable face.
"...skittish, nervous, or prone to snapping" so wolves are like bigger Chihuahuas? I suppose that's the reasons they're so endearing, Chihuahuas that is, they think they're wolves but forgot to look in the mirror.
Howling at the world? How I felt, the majority of the last week or so. But it's Monday morning and the sun is shining and the whole week lies before me, rich with possibility, so here's hoping that there's no howling before me this week!
Oh, and Tundra - what a gorgeous dog! And such a perfect name too. Leaving me convicted (yet again) of the need to up my game when it comes to naming future pets...
Happy writing day, everyone!
Our Queen has been busy - there's a new post on her Query Shark page.
Tundra is one beautiful looking animal. And what a priceless expression. I love the communication between animals and humans and the sometimes miscommunication!
Oh, what a magnificent creature. Alert ears, intelligent eyes, gorgeous coat. I'm glad you were able to rescue him, OP, and that he fits in well with your family.
I'm with you on the whole feel-like-howling-sometimes thing. In certain circumstances, that should just be accepted, even expected, behaviour.
We didn't name him as he already had a name when we got him. So no credit there. :) His coat doesn't change color very much, but he does 'blow' his coat twice a year and leave us in a sea of dog fur!
My family has always had malamutes, and we were looking for a malamute on Craigslist. We saw him instead, listed as a malamute mix, went to meet him, and he was so sweet we said 'yes' even when we found out he was a wolf mix. There was a great deal of learning at first, but in many ways he's a hyper smart malamute who NEEDS people around him all the time. Very similar, thankfully, although it has been bumpy.
He's six now, and he has mellowed a great deal. I understand that most wolf dogs are dumped in the first few years, and he was three when we adopted him. I do NOT recommend either wolfdogs or malamutes as pets for inexperienced owners!
Destruction... we kennel him if both of us are forced to go out at once (my husband generally stays home with him as he is self employed), and he rocked his kennel across the floor, ate part of the couch through the wire, and ate part of the carpet. It's bolted to the wall now!
He swallowed a tennis ball whole once, but our vet managed to make him puke it so he wouldn't need surgery. That's the biggest scare we've ever had with him.
He's totally worth it though, and we adore him.
Wow! Tundra is gorgeous.
Wry GirlI'm glad you had so much experience (similar experience at least) when you picked him up. I hear such sad stories from people like BJ described --folks wanting these guys because of their beauty or wildness, not having a real grasp of what life with them might entail. I see it a lot with German Shepherds, too.
It sounds like Tundra really put you & your hubby to the test :) And, awesome story about the tennis ball. Glad he found you.
Destructive? Most sporting dogs reach maturity around 18 months. That is also the time that they lose their baby teeth.
If you ever met a child that is teething you can multiply it by eight or ten times and it will be a dog teething.
They will eat anything to make it easier. My son's retriever ate the incoming cable line three times in one day. Many said that Tabasco sauce would keep her away. Fat chance. She loved that stuff.
Even after I covered the cable with conduit she ripped it from the wall. Putting clamps every four inches disallowed her from ripping it from the wall so she ate an eight foot 2x4.
Tundra is still a beautiful beast. Glad he has someone with him most times.
A lot of people see the beauty and not the responsibility involved. We support several rescues (IAMRA, Big Oak Wolf Sanctuary and Texas Wolfdog Rescue most often) and the stories are heart rending.
I'm just very happy he worked out for us. We don't intend to ever get another Wolfdog. It really pushed us out of our comfort zone, and we were very lucky with Tundra. :-) Thank you all for the kind compliments!
Wry Girl: From what I've learned about Malamutes, having experience with that breed is an education that can prepare you for a wolfdog. :)
Tundra is a beautiful fellow.
"Did you read the label on that dog food, did you?" No Tundra, did not...
(He's a beauty! And he looks so smart. I bet he does sudoku on the sly.)
Wow, what a dog! Stunningly gorgeous. I've heard about the problems with wolfdogs, but it sounds like you're a lucky dog-family :-)
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