Dingoes, scientifically referred to as Canis lupus dingo, are wild dogs found in Australia. The dog’s precise ancestry isn’t clear, but Dingoes are believed to be Asian dogs descendants brought to the continent from Southeast Asia approximately 4000 years ago.
Dingoes are muscular, medium-sized canines with an angular head, a short ginger-shade coat, and erect ears. However, the coat’s colour can differ according to the climate. A dingo isn’t a dog breed—technically, it’s a semi-domesticated fido that resembles a wolf as much as it resembles a canine.
These dogs are substantially more complex than we perceive them, particularly after the famous film line “a dingo consumed my infant”. Even though there have been some cases of dingoes attacks on people, the attacks were mainly a result of aggressive behaviours toward the dog by other individuals.
Dingoes are highly intuitive and intelligent creatures with strong independence sense. The canine can even love and develop a powerful emotional connection; that’s why some individuals have begun keeping dingoes as pets. This post will take you through what it takes to train and domesticate a dingo just as a regular canine.
First Off; Is Owning A Dingo As A Pet Legal?
Ensure you always confirm with the local government before getting a dingo. Throughout Australia, it’s illegal to take a dingo from the wild to domesticate it as a pet. However, it’s legal to purchase a dingo from an adoption program in a few states.
Some states like Western Australia and New South Wales allow people to domesticate dingoes without a permit. In contrast, other states like Victoria and the Northern territory require you to get a permit to keep a dingo. On the other hand, it’s entirely illegal to keep a dingo as a pet in South Australia, Tasmania, and Queensland.
How Should I Take Care Of My Dingo?
You must care for a dingo properly and establish a loving bond with it to get a chance to train it.
If the dog doesn’t get the necessary attention and care, it’ll be challenging to build a bond, and it’d be next to impossible to train it without bonding. Keep in mind that you must earn a dingo’s loyalty and obedience.
As a result of natural adaptation, these dogs only follow an alpha’s lead that they’re sure they can trust. Your dingo will acknowledge and gain loyalty and respect for you if you present yourself as a fair leader and guardian, followed by bonding which is the fun part.
Even though most individuals perceive dingoes as savage predators, the dog’s main meed is bonding. Just remember that it takes time and effort to bond with a dingo.
You’ll have to spend time with your dingo to establish a bond with it—you can play with it, take a nap together, develop a way of communication, and experience and explore unknown outdoor territories. These dogs require real-life experience, and if they obtain that while having quality time with the owner, you’ll certainly establish a permanent bond.
Once you’ve established a loving and strong bond with it, you’ll still have to care for your dingo’s other needs to get a shot at training it successfully. But first, let’s go through how to do that before training.
You have to vaccinate your dingo against distemper, hepatitis, and parvovirus, just like other canines. Dingoes also require regular treatment against heartworm, roundworm, tapeworm, and fleas.
Diet-wise, dingoes take a meat-based diet, and you can feed them high-quality canine food that’s mainly meat-based.
Because dingoes are related to wolves, pack values are deeply ingrained in them. Following this, when you have them as pets, you should avoid leaving them on their own for a long time and ensure you spend fifteen to twenty minutes greeting them when you get back. Failure to do so can make them feel disappointed and upset, making it challenging to train them.
Additionally, they require ample space and physical activity in plenty. A yard check is usually needed before adoption to make sure you have a minimum of thirty square meters to keep it in.
When it comes to physical activity, it needs to run or walk roughly 10km each day, simulating what the dingo would do in the wild. Ensure you get the best collars and utilise a strong leash, including in the “off-leash” zones.
Now let’s go through how to train a dingo.
Training Your Dingo
This is the easier part of having a dingo as a pet, particularly if you cared for it properly and established a tight bond at the beginning. After sorting that out, training is similar to training other canines. You can train your dingo for nose work with odour containing cotton buds.
You only have to adhere to the 3Ps rule—praise, persistence, and patience. Keep in mind that there’ll be occasions when the dingo doesn’t listen because they’re independent and have their reasons for defying orders; be it the dingo not being in the mood or having a sense of danger. Nevertheless, don’t lose hope since that’s part of having a semi-domesticated breed.
Your dingo will also do amazing things at times without asking it. Owning a dingo entails a give-and-take relationship incomprehensible to other pet owners.
Wrap Up
The main takeaway is that you can train your dingo—you just have to be patient, persistent, and establish an honest and strong bond with the dingo before training it. After accomplishing that, you’ll have a great and long-lasting relationship with your affectionate and properly trained creature.