People In The US Having Dingos As Pets

[Majesty]

In case you don't know Dingos are Australian wild dogs.  I work at McDonald's and I see several people with a Dingo and it's their pet obviously.  I asked just to be sure.  I asked how you get one, because to me that's no different than someone from Australia owning a Coyote or wolf.  Someone told me today you can order one.  I know people have pets they buy shipped and they go on planes and stuff.  But, do people in Australia kidnap Dingo pups and raise them to sell to people?  Sorry if that sounds weird but in my mind it's just like someone selling Coyotes or wolves from the US like I said. I can't get my mind around it.

[Bekuno]

Dingos???
I didn't even know you could keep those as pets! Especially here in the states!

I'm afraid i have no info to add but I hope someone else does because now I'm relay curious as well :/

[moonsugar]

Well, that's alarming.

I found a website that looks interesting: http://www.dingodiscovery.net/owning.php

[kaoskat]

Interesting. Would never have occurred to me to import a dingo.

[Whippycorn]

Why? I mean, I might understand an Australian person with a pet dingo, but to export them to the USA? Just get a dog! I have seen mutts and village dogs that look very much like dingos...maybe that's what you saw (she says hopefully).

[Starfall]

It's illegal to own a dingo as a pet in most states.  The species is actually under threat because of interbreeding with wild dogs.

And if you were to mention the possibility of an Australian owning a dingo as a pet outside this understanding forum, it would be met with derision. It's a bit like saying people from the bayou or everglades keep alligators as pets and take them for a walk down the street.

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[merging posts - kkat]

Above paragraph should read ."Australian States".

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[Icecrystalline]

I think that's unnecessary (yes, choice of wording may offend some people, please just ignore me if you don't like my wording, I've stopped taking English Literature so my vocabulary has decreased dramatically....!) but it just seems unfair to them to transport them all that way. hmm. Well, humans think they're better  than everyone else, so whatever, it won't make me get a Dingo imported to the UK.

[Starfall]

Because they're a protected species I would imagine someone has just brought over some cross bred animals and bred from there.

They are beautiful creatures, and well worth investigating further, if you're a canine fan.  If I remember correctly, pure Dingo is likely to die out in our lifetime.

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[little.fox]

Because something is beautiful it doesn't automatically make it a good idea to take one on as a pet.

Reading that site, how very sensitive they are, what kind of a commitment they need, it makes me really question why they are suitable as pets at all. Haven't we got enough dogs, cats, horses, etc etc ect that aren't being properly cared for already? Shelters are overloaded across the western world, but in stead of looking after what we've already got we are looking to take on even more species..

[Whippycorn]

And if you were to mention the possibility of an Australian owning a dingo as a pet outside this understanding forum, it would be met with derision. It's a bit like saying people from the bayou or everglades keep alligators as pets and take them for a walk down the street.

Don't worry, I didn't mean it like that. It's more like, if those Americans wanted to keep a wild dog as a pet, surely it'd be easier to go for a coyote, which actually occur naturally in America, rather than shipping one from the other side of the planet. Not like, 'Hey, I bet Aussie kids have koalas as pets'. 


It really is such a shame that these animals are under threat though, like the new guinea singing dogs too that I was listening to a radio programme about. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if coyotes become endangered in the future, despite their adaptability.

[ponybabe]

Wow that's just insane Even if they're not purebreds and maybe just ½ Dingo, I would think it dangerous to own one

I recently saw an episode of "The Dog Whisperer" (with dog trainer Cesar Millan) where some people had wolf/dog hybrids as pets (think they were ½ wolf and ½ dog) and had huge problems controlling them Cesar had a wolf expert or something like that with him and it ended up the owners were told they had to treat them as wolves because they're more wolf in personality than dog.

I personally believe that no one should be able to own a wild animal or even hybrids, it's just too dangerous both for the owners and for any people who might get hurt by one of these animals It's also a pity for the animal in my opinion if they're more wild in nature and should actually be running free somewhere or at least in a nature reserve or a humongous enclosure. At the very least, people who wish to own them should be informed of what they're getting and be forced to go through some course in how they need to interact and train the animal, get a sort of license if you will

[Starfall]

Just making sure, Whippy! ♡

It's so ironic that irresponsible owners (in various ways) are both perpetuating the species in some form overseas, and diluting their genetics in Australia by allowing their dogs and offspring to become feral and interbreed.

It's widely believed that pure Dingos, like wolves, will run from people.  It's the feral crossbred that kill cattle and, er, steal babies (true story)

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[ponyqueen]

People in the US (and elsewhere) keep way crazier wild animals as pets. Giraffes, monkeys, and popular wildcats like tigers, cheetahs and pumas. With enough money and permits, you can pretty much do anything you want, including getting around ordinances and bans.

[HavACrumpet452]

I imagine they're captive bred, much like all the lion and tiger pets out there. There are multiple times more pet tigers than wild tigers now, but they don't typically use the pets in breeding programs once the people realize they can't take care of them anymore, the pet breeding isn't well documented or regulated so they don't want to introduce that dna into the captive breeding programs aimed at conservation. You can order just about any animal as a pet. Most states have minimal regulations in regards to exotics.

[Galactica]

There are people with Dingos in the US-  but those dingos are Carolina Dogs, or American Dingos.  So they have nothing to do with the dingos in Australia.  They aren't illegal to keep, although some communities may have restrictions (as they do against many dog types)

I actually know a couple with a dingo-  they bought her from a breeder.  They didn't set out wanting a dingo though-  what happened was that they retired- and spent six months or so at a beach house in Roatan Honduras (little dive island).  My wife and I actually came to visit at the beginning of the trip- which is when they/us were adopted by one of the (many) stray "beach dogs" who started hanging out with us, going on walks with us, and guarding our house.   She was a remarkable dog-  frighteningly intelligent, but so sweet and gentle.  She had also clearly also had a rough life.  They named her "Scarlet" because she had these large machete scars on her back and across her face.   When it was finally time for my friends to return to the US, they couldn't leave their new dog friend, and before they left, they got her fixed, all her shots, and took her with them.   Unfortunately, it turned out that she had every dog disease and parasite known to dog-kind, and she actually didn't live long.   When she died their hearts were completely broken-  so they got a dingo from a breeder, hoping to get another dog like scarlet.   Well, that isn't exactly what they got.  It turns out that dingos are a very challenging kind of dog to own.  Scarlet had actually been an older dog, but a dingo puppy is another matter.  The puppy was almost out of control active.  They actually had to get completely into dog agility just to keep her occupied, and now that is what our friend does in ALL of her free time (which is saying something, as they are retired)(.  Dingos should definitely NOT be kept by any but the most experienced dog-owners, who also have a LOT of free time.