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Yuki Pet Wolf
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Trainability
Though wolves are trainable, they lack the same degree of tractability seen in dogs. They are generally not as responsive as dogs are to coercive techniques involving fear, aversive stimuli and force. Generally, far more work is required to obtain the same degree of reliability seen in most dogs. Even then, once a certain behavior has been repeated several times, wolves may get bored and ignore subsequent commands. Wolves are most responsive toward positive conditioning and rewards, though simple praise is not sufficient as in most dogs. Unlike dogs, wolves tend to respond more to hand signals than voice. Although they are more difficult to control than dogs, they can be easier to teach if the motivation exists.
Captive wolves have also been shown to be largely unsuitable for working as dogs do. German wolf biologist Erik Zimen once attempted to form a dog sled team composed entirely of pure wolves. The attempt proved to be a complete failure, as the wolves were far more prone to fighting than sled dogs and ignored most commands. North American wolves and wolf hybrids were used as experimental attack dogs by the South African Defence Force in Apartheid South Africa in an attempt to breed animals capable of tracking guerrillas. However, the experiment proved a failure and was discontinued due to the wolves' inability to follow even basic commands. However, their sense of smell apparently rivals that of most established scenthounds. Tests undertaken in the Perm Institute of Interior Forces in Russia demonstrated that high content hybrids took 15–20 seconds to track down a target in training sessions, whereas ordinary police dogs took 3–4 minutes. Their success has led to plans to use them as police dogs for the Russian police.
Philosopher Mark Rowlands wrote a book, "The Philosopher and the Wolf", about his experience in raising and living with a wolf, Brenin.
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