Wow - it's easy; or is it ?

This is probably one of those articles that will never read by the people who most need to read it - but here goes anyway.

Occasionally we hear about places planning to set up to do the wolf-walking bit like we do. Our response is "think twice - and then some more!"

So! you're thinking of getting some wolves to take out for walks with visitors.
 

Let's not talk about the planning permission, license, money, facilities and space you'll need. Let's assume you already have all that.

Well, it's not quite as easy as that. Anyone can sleep and bottle cubs (assuming that you can get any) as long as they're reasonably gentle and sensible about the job, but the big problem is in keeping the relationship with the animals stable as they grow up.

Many visitors to our site see our wolves producing what can best be described as 'pet' behaviour. This is an illusion. Our wolves are indeed laid-back, friendly and contented - as wolves naturally are - but arranging for them to keep that demeanour is the result of years of 24/7 hard work by trained and skilled handlers.

You cannot improvise your way through a relationship with wolves. You have to have foreknowledge of how to deal with every one of the behavioural problems they will present you with all the time.

You have to keep that knowledge and those skills in house permanently, not just for the visitor season.

Mistakes in handling a wolf can and usually do result in an immediate behavioural vicious circle in which the animal develops ever more difficult tendencies and quickly becomes dangerous and unmanageable. Avoiding those mistakes - and recovering the situation if any are made - involves detailed knowledge of canine behaviour and a high degree of practical handling skill. An occasional panic call to a well-known TV canine behaviourist will not save you!

Managing the behavioural problems they will present you with requires expert knowledge and cannot be delegated to a non-expert young keeper.

There are still, sadly, proponents of the 'smack-em-round-the-head' school of wolf handling. This approach has been a) consistently and permanently discredited and b) responsible for numerous dangerous and unmanageable wolves finishing up shut in the pen permanently because nobody dares to handle them. The only approach which produces wolves which remain friendly and manageable is the Wolf Park method. There is no substitute and no alternative. This is not a matter of opinion. It is a matter of fact.

Think about it! If managing a relationship with a wolf was a simple as hitting it then nobody would ever come unstuck trying to keep pet wolves.