For those of you who are Saarloos & Czech wolfdog owners out there (or just may know the answer):
Are there chat forums for wolfdog owners?
Someone I know just got a wolfdog puppy, and I think they may want a little help. (well, I think they might need a little help)

Do you socialize your wolfdog pups the same way you would socialize any other dog? This was a topic that came up, and quite frankly I'm curious at this point. The owners want to withhold contact with small children. Would this be the right or wrong thing to do with a wolfdog pup?
hmm...
just curious...
thanks!!!

heya, there sure are lots of discussion groups and a google search should produce some good results... the only problem is that most of the forums are not in English, usually either German, French, or Dutch, so you might have some difficulty finding an English one...

Not sure if you can find your awnsers here, it doesn't seem to be really active:

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Maybe Miran knows more about this? She has a Tjech and Saarloos.

I think that the socialization for these dog's is even more important. Keeping the dog away from small children isn't a good idea I think. Big chance the dog gets scared of small children then.

definatly want them to be familar with children. My aunt had a standard poodle that wasn't really near children except my cousins who weren't the best example to the dog. when i was one the poodle bit me quite badly and if i hadn't been in a walker thingy would have thrown me around like
a rog doll. I still have a scar.

so you also have to be carefull with what kind of children are introduced to them and how they treat the dog.

Socializing wolfdog puppies is VERY different from domestic breeds...early (very early) and often...

I will send you a contact who has been involved with wolfdogs for many, many years...she will give you some very important insight for your friend!

Socialising of wolfdogs should begin as early as possible pref from a few weeks of age but that is not always possible. Either way they need to be handled very carefully depending on the % of wolf of course. I would not stop them socialising with anyone, children, other animals etc but all under very close supervision. One really does need to know what one is doing here and they are not for novices thats for sure.

I don't have Saarloos or Czech wolfdogs, but other breeds of wolfdogs and don't EVER stop socializing!
Teach them everything you want them to know, just keep in mind that the amount of stimulation they can handle differ from individual to individual. Be careful with that because it is very easy to give them too much to handle and it is very difficult to repair the damage made by that...

The forum link above is a wolfdog link but just one warning: People usualy don't like it if you come with a wolfdog that is different some people may accept you, majority won't.
I have the same problem with the tamaskans and the "not" saarloos or czech wolfdogs...

YEP good advice Karen. If you want questions answering just dont mention you have Tamaskan or any other type of wolfdog etc. Just ask the question. They are a 'shallow' lot on the forums.

I socialized the wolfdogs and tamaskans here with everything I wanted them to know. But outside world and strangers are still for 2 coydogs a very scary place. They wont accept strange people or children, but the children they learned to know as pups as "member of the pack" are absolutely no problem. To withhold any contact with things is just waiting for a terrified dog (wolfdog in this case). Just keep their natural distance towards strangers in mind.

Another wolfdog and wolf lookalike forum here. You will find you are more welcome to talk about your tamaskan to.

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Thanks everyone! It was my hunch that withholding contact from all small children was the wrong idea--espically those in the family.
Thanks very much! I'll look into all of this!

There are some good groups on Yahoo, like WolfDogPeople and Wolfdogz. I would recommend going there to ask any wolfdog related questions as there are many knowledgeable people to help out.
And as for withholding contact from children, that seems like a very bad idea to me. I think the trick with wolfdogs is to get AS MUCH socializing to EVERYTHING in as possible...for their whole life. And they are bound to run into a child at some point, so better start now getting them used to it. Do you know what content their wolfdog is?

I think the dog is pretty high content wolf. I actually don't know this person--we have a mutual friend. But I do know that she'd like to own a wolf--so the high content was attractive to her. (I believe it was 80% or more.)
I gave her all the information you've provided above. Now I just have to cross my fingers...

The main thing you always have to keep in mind whit a wolfdog is that you always must be the Alfa so he/she can really on you in new situations.
Learn as much as possible as early if you can or otherwise you will have a very shy dog in new situations.
Whit any kind of wolfdog you have to be firm but lovable

By the way I want to say something about all that talking how much % a wolfdog can be wolf. Nobody can tell you that because if you cross a dog with a wolf the pups can be 99% wolf but can also be 99% dog. It just depend on the gens they get. So can a F3 be 45% wolf and an F5(two generations further) can be 66% wolf.

Yes you are quite right Miran and also people have to bear in mind that many people like to say their dog has wolf when it dosnt, or have more wolf than it has! The only guarantee is when one has bred it themselves and knows exactly what is in there.

Yeah for sure I had been going to say, there is SO much misrepresentation in the wolfdog world that there's a good chance someone could end up with a lot less wolf in the mix than they paid for. Which might not be a bad thing for a first-time wolfdog owner!! But regardless of the content, I hope all goes well for these people and their new puppy. And, if the pup really is high-content, then I really hope they did their homework prior to picking up the puppy!