Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Which domestic dog breed can hold its own against Wolves?

Gents

'Been reading up on this wolf thing. Lots of stories of domestic canines getting et up by wolves. Is there a domestic dog breed that is capable of holding its own against wolves or is any domesitc canine likely to be so outnumbered that it has no chance? Personally, I like a Presa Canario's chances, but sure would not want that breed for a pet.


Thanks,


Jordan

That's a fairly open-ended question, and depends a lot on what you mean by "hold its own". My 70-lb chocolate Lab held her own long enough to get rescued by my wife, but it cost $4000 in vet bills to repair her. (The wolf in question now lives in my shop...well, OK...his hide hangs there.)

Most dogs capable of taking on a grown, wild wolf on their own might not make the best of pets, regardless of breed. Komondors were bred to defend flocks of sheep against European wolf predation, but I'm not too sure how well that would work with our wolves, which regularly eat full-grown moose.

Best defense is to keep the dog inside unless you or some other armed person is with it. Then you can modify the behavior and genetics of the wolf population over time. Assuming such intervention is legal on your part, of course.

Ain't there such a dog as is called an Irish wolf hound???

I don't know doodly squat about wolves and don't want to know first hand either but if they operate anything like coyotes a dog no matter how mean and tough he is ain't got a Chinamans chance.

One coyote (wolf??) will lure a dog out and then the pack will jump it.

Do wolfs operate that way?


BCR

Hate to say it but IIRC the Irish wolfhound today is a recreation of what folks think the original may have been like, nowadays bred docile and prone to confirmation problems. Although I have heard of wolfhound mixes being used to run coyotes.

Folks around here would swear by pit bulls, and I have seen some massive examples with heads like platters. Jack London, who had a first hand familiarity with both dogs and wolves, has a "bulldog" almost killing his otherwise unbeaten wolf-dog in "White Fang".

Stands to reason I expect, if one wants a dog for fighting wolves, it might make sense to get a fighting dog.

Well bred, well raised pits are famously docile around humans (think "Petey" on "The Little Rascals"), I dunno if the same is true of them foriegn fighting breeds like dogos and filas.

Birdwatcher

I don't live in wolf country, but I don't think any dog could defend himself against 3 or more wolves if they decided they wanted dog meat for supper. One on one, a pit bull from good stock would be hard to beat. My uncle had one that was attacked by coyotes while he was on a chain. He wasn't hurt too bad, but after his cuts healed he was hell on coyotes. I've seen a pit bull with his guts dragging the ground hold a wild hog down. But against a pack of wolves, he's supper just like anything else.

I would say that a pit or Akita could hold its own against a wolf.......Blake

I'd give the big white sheep dogs (i.e. Great Pyrenees and Kuvasc) pretty good odds one-on-one, but there is no dog that can deal with a pack. Once a pit bull has his mouth full, he's defenseless. JMO, Dutch.

Some folks that I work with in south-central Idaho that run sheep have had at least one of their guard dogs (a Great Pyrenees) killed by wolves. They have been using these dogs for the last five years and run a lot of sheep bands over more than 600,000 acres. So far, it qualifies as an isolated occurrence.

Rob,

The key phrase in your question is "domestic dog", which makes the answer: Nope

In a nutshell, you're looking for a 150-pound dog that doesn't actually fight - it kills. A domestic dog has been genetically tweaked to be biddable - you can modify or condition the dog's behavior to suit a task. The most important characteristic to breed out of dog is the instinct to kill, and breeders have been very successful at it.

Wolves are wired to kill from the start - their survival depends on it and they have all the physical tools to be very good at it. A domestic dog that encounters a wolf will, at its most aggressive, try to establish dominance or run the wolf off. A wolf comes to the encounter to kill the dog - just as it will kill another wolf that has infringed on its territory.

Birdwatcher mentioned White Fang, there's also a part in the story where where a collie owner suggests that the collie and White Fang fight out their differences, after which they'll be friends. White Fang's master responds that the collie will be dead "inside one minute - two minutes at the farthest."

Humans call it "mindset", but in wolves it's the much more powerful "instinct". Give the same instincts, every fight we get into would end in a death - that's the goal from the start. An act of submission just makes it easier for for one to kill the other.

I have the worlds most placid dog. It is a 65 pound Akita bitch. I was walking her in the Rockies a couple of years back and was attacked by two dogs at about 40-50 pounds each.

The Akita simply and without a sound, moved between me and the dogs and waited until the attacking dogs were about 4 feet away and in full run. She turned on them both with the most savage attack and growling I ever heard.

The attackers are still running. My pooch went back to being the most placid dog I ever saw. I'd have another.

AGW

I own purebred Rottweilers, from the finest German stock, one is 120 lbs. and one is 160 lbs, these dogs are rocksolid muscle, fearless and will fight each other to the death, if allowed to do so. I have never, in just over 50 years since I got my first dog, seen stronger, braver, tougher domestic dogs...or more loyal, loving/lovable cuddlers, either.

I have lived alone in northern BC and Alberta wilderness for months on end and seen Wolves firsthand as well as their kills. While a single Wolf or even a pair can often be afraid of domestic dogs, NO dog will survive a battle with Wolves. In an encounter between a full grown male Wolf and one of my Rottweilers, I am certain that the Wolf would prevail due to better wind, a Rott's weak point; however, a big tough Rott. or similar dog would give a Wolf a good fight, especially my 120 lb. "Axel" in his younger days, fast, fearless and able to sustain savage damage while cheerfully grinning and fighting like the wonderful protector he is.

Dogos and Filas are NOT "fighting breeds", they are for hunting boars, escaped slaves and so forth, but, even they would not usually survive a Wolf encounter as Wolves don't "fight fair". No dog is going to schitkick a number of Wolves, it just ain't a "fair fight".

Kutenay,

I think there would be a dead Rott in very short order. The outcome might be very different if "heart" was a factor.

In addition to an adult male wolf's instincts and tools, they are also very intelligent - nothing you don't know already know. The wolf has refined his killing skills and techniques on some very large critters and quite likely other wolves. A great athlete, such as a pro-bowl linebacker, is going to get his livin' azz kicked by a journeyman professional fighter.

If the professional fighter is genetically wired to kill, and has years of experience killing, things are going to get bloody real quick.

I would like to see a couple male Rhodesian Ridgeback, African Lion Hounds, mix it up with a wolf. They are a beautiful and fearless breed.

Oh the fight's fair enough, it's the rules of engagement the domestic dog doesn't understand! The domestic dog is not fighting because it want's to eat,,, the wolf is!

Rott's,Ridgebacks and Akita's may do great in a fight with DOMESTICATED breeds but against Canis Lupus they are simply out of their league!
Check these out and then rethink your premiss of domestic-dog vs timber-wolf(and that don't mean any yote)!
Mike

Them ain't small...

YUP! Best anti wolf doggie! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Even if there was a dog breed that could stand up to a wolf most wouldn't have one.

My 30 lb heeler will jump into the middle of a cow or bull's face and bite their nose if she has to, in order to turn them. She can also be quite intimidating to adults. She'll also allow my 3 year old daughter to climb all over her. Most folks around me have dogs that will do the same. None of them would last 5 seconds with one adult wolf.

My akita goes about 135 and is all muscle, while he may not kill a wolf. I garuntee he would give a single wolf all he wanted. Dogs are funny creatures they can be the most loving thing in the world one minute and turn into Godzilla the next. Any animal that thinks you are trying to hurt it is going to fight to stay alive just like a wolf would.........Blake

Very interesting!I know some local Bear hunters that take choose to take one Airedale with the rest of there spendy dogs, because of there aggressiveness and willingness to fight..The problem with any domestic animal fighting a wolf is,jaw/bite power.Not even close...

In my mind the closest thing, could only be a pit bull.Get a hold and never let go like the submission hold that little fighters beat big fighters with.

The likelihood of owning enough pets to whup up on a Wolf pack is non-existent. You may only see one but whats behind tree number two?There not dumb and take on all comers over food.

There is a picture at the local pawn shop of a pack of wolves taking on a black bear near Elk City.

Jayco