Woof.

So, I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that I’m getting a wolfdog in the spring. The name seems to throw people off, so I figured I’d post a little bit of information about the breed.

In the world of wolfdogs, there are two type. There are dogs with wolf lineage, which is what we’re getting, and then there are dogs bred to look like wolves. The latter are generally a mashup of a few types of spitz breeds (german shepherds, alaskan malamutes, huskies), bred and bred over again until they come out looking very similar to wolves.

This is a dog bred to look like a wolf. It has no wolf in it.

This is a dog with actual wolf in its heritage. Note the eyes. This is the easiest way to figure out if it's a real wolf, or just a wolf-like breed.

It’s important when choosing a wolfdog to make sure you know what you’re getting. Breeders will pass off spitz-types as wolfdogs to con people into paying more money, which is reprehensible. Anyone who sells a dog claiming it’s something it’s not is an awful person, in my opinion.

As for dogs with actual wolf heritage, there are few things you need to watch out for. The type of wolf they come from isn’t always important, but for some people, they want a certain kind of wolf. Arctic wolves are a popular breed to mix with. It’s important to remember, however, that regardless of what’s in their heritage, there is never a guarantee for how much or how little wolf is in the puppies. This is true of all mix breeds. You have no way to predict which puppy will have which traits of the breeds in its mix. For examples, go back to my first post about Chewy. One of them came out looking like a malamute, while the other three had bear dog colouring. As a result, people talking about percentages and pedigree are just blowing smoke up your ass.

Wolfdogs are very similar to spitz breeds, not only in size and looks, but also in behaviour. Whether you’re getting a malamute, wolfdog, or even a jack russel terrier, it’s enormously important to research the breed beforehand. Sled dogs and wolfdogs are full of energy, and this energy needs to be used up or they will use it to destructive ends. They require special handling, and they must be trained. They’re escape artists who can jump very high, and excellent diggers. You need special fencing/enclosures to ensure they stay in your yard. We learned this from our first dog, Ziggy, who was a husky/border collie cross. She was Houdini with the escapes.

Wolfdogs require a specialized diet, but it’s not a bad idea to feed wholesome natural ingredients to all of your dogs. Store brand kibble isn’t good, it’s like the ramen of the dog food world. Good enough to survive off of in a pinch, but it will have adverse effects on your health if eaten over a long period of time. After the whole poison pet food out of China scare, I prefer to go the extra mile to make sure what my pets are eating is good for them, and good for the environment.

Spitz breeds and wolfdogs are prey driven animals. If you’re getting one as a puppy, it is absolutely imperative that you socialize your animal. This means puppy class, dog parks, and exposure to cats and other pets you might have as early as possible and as often as possible. The sooner you show them that other pets are part of the pack, and not food, the better. It’s also a good idea to introduce them to as many people as possible. We had tons of people coming over when Chewy was a puppy. The door was always being knocked on, the doorbell was always ringing, and as a result, she does not bark at the door or at strangers.

Almost anything can be fixed with proper training, but it requires you to train yourself as well. You need to be the alpha, you need to be assertive, and you need to exercise your dog daily, if not bi-daily. Any breed can become vicious and destructive if the owner is weak. Educate yourselves.

I like music, do you?

I’m pretty musically inclined, though it seems to run in our family. My mom and dad can both sing well, and my sisters and I grew up listening to them and breaking randomly into song during shopping, baking, decorating, etc. My mom had her own special songs for all of us, and we often woke up to her “good morning” song, much to our chagrin. It seemed embarrassing to me when I was young, but now that I’m an adult in my own rights, those memories are very much cherished.

My mom was incredibly supportive of anything we wanted to do. Ariella liked to paint and write, and my mom supplied her with the tools to develop those artistic impulses. I don’t think she’s painted anything in a  long time, but she still writes. I haven’t read anything Ari’s written in a very long time, but I support the shit out of her. I hope she gets published one day, cause she has some really fantastic ideas for books. She’s also a great singer, only recently getting back into it.

Angel was a ballerina, and from what I hear she was pretty good at it. Sadly, Angel’s dancing was before my time and I never got to witness it. Well, that kind of dancing at least, she was always dancing to popular music and such when getting dressed. I won these tickets to see the Nutcracker ballet when I was in elementary school, and I can’t even put into words the excitement and pride I felt when I asked Angel to go with me. Of a lifetime of memories with Angel, this one is by far my favourite. For the first time in my life, I felt like Angel and I had really connected, and I was so happy that I had been able to take her to a ballet.

As for myself, well, my mom really wanted to cultivate my singing voice. I was in choir for much of my school life, and often was given solo parts. I still sing, mostly to myself when I’m in the shower or doing chores. I know if I ever have children, they’ll be brought up with their mother singing to them just like my did did for us.

I tried quite a few things, as well. I was in drama, and I played the mother in Peter Pan in a school production. I really enjoyed improv, and the idea of voice acting is still something that very much sparks my interest. Only recently has voice acting begun to be taken seriously. Video games and animated movies/shows are finally getting the kind of press they deserve, and a very underappreciated subsect of acting is starting to rise in popularity. In Japan, their seiyuu (voice actors) are just as famous as their musicians, idols (models), and movie stars. I look forward to the day when people like Jennifer Hale and Raphael Sbarge receive awards for their outstanding work in video games.

I tried dance, even after my car accident. I wasn’t very good at it, but I gave it my best. I’m convinced my body was never meant to move in that way. I can ballroom dance, but pop dancing just doesn’t work for me.

I took art, and still spend a lot of time drawing, it’s one of those things that I’ll always do. Drew’s somewhat jealous of my artistic ability, and I keep trying to tell him to just draw and eventually he’d be good at it too. Have you seen the first couple years of Penny Arcade comics? Gabe sucked, now he gets asked to do comics and promotional artwork by the biggest names in the gaming industry. I started out drawing dinosaurs in ECS (kindergarten), and I swear to god my plesiosaurus was the best in the world. I still can’t draw one as well as I did back then. When I started hanging out with Stephanie Lawrence in grade 3/4, I started copying the drawings from her Sailor Moon cards, and fell in love with the manga style (which is what I stuck to).

Another love of mine was writing stories. I always have dozens of ideas floating around in my head, and getting older hasn’t dampened my imagination any. I’ve written countless multi-chapter fanfiction, as well as poems and short stories. I’m currently working on a completely original idea of mine, it’s sci-fi meets paranormal. A vampire finds a solar system in which the unique sun is not fatal to him or any of his kind. It’s turning out pretty well so far, and I think I might actually send this one in to a publisher when it’s finished. I feel good about it. I enjoy getting my ideas down on paper and fleshing them out, I also write my dreams down cause I have some pretty awesome ones that’d make great stories.

I taught myself to play the piano when I was young, but my mom had to sell our old upright when times were tough back in the day, so I haven’t really touched a piano since then. I’d love to start back up, and I’m currently looking at different USB keyboards. The idea of making my own music very much appeals to me. I’m also going to take violin lessons. I found a purple violin that I just fell in love with, and I’m determined to learn how to play it. if I get good enough, I’m so putting up youtube videos of violin video game covers.

Which brings me to the music that inspires me, the music that I can’t live without. I listen to classical, string instruments and pianos are what strike my fancy. I’m also a metal fan, listening to everything from Slipknot to Static-X to Kamelot, and everything in between. For alternative rock, Deftones, Tool/A Perfect Circle/Puscifer, Muse, and Nine Inch Nails set my soul free. I can’t live without music and art, it makes up who I am at my core. The music I listen to, the things I read and watch, it’s all part of me. It influences me, inspires me, makes me strive to better myself.

I’ll keep you updated on my violin learning and Vampires in Space (I don’t have a real title for it yet), and now you know a bit more about me.