WerewolfWriter

I know this is probably a touchy issue and I apologize if I upset anyone but it's for a story I'm working on.

Hello, as my user name suggests I'm a (aspiring) writer and my current subject that I'm writing about is werewolves. In my story my main character is bitten by a werewolf and of course the next full moon he becomes a werewolf and as werewolves are want to do he proceeds to hunt down and eat people. Now as I originally conceived the story his pet Doberman Duke was his first victim but under the list of "Things I've Never Seen Before in Werewolf Movies/Books" at the very top was "Werewolf Hunting In a Pack With His Dogs" which I guess was inspired by a scene in Dog Soldiers.

The basic concept is that a domestic dog basically thinks of his owner as his alpha right? So assuming that the transformed werewolf doesn't eat his dog and because a werewolf is basically a feral canine that alpha-subordinate relationship would carry over to the werewolf's animal state. Ergo, they'd basically revert to wild animal behaviors.

So I'm toying with this idea of a werewolf hunting in a pack with his dog and of course werewolves being werewolves eat people. My question is if a werewolf made this kill, not the Doberman because the Doberman's been socialized it's a pet the most it's killed is probably a few mice maybe a squirrel, would the Doberman eat the kill to? If so what would the long term effects if any would there be on that animal's behavior? What about its health?

I'd really appreciate any thoughts on the matter.

Whiskey

Beaumont67

WerewolfWriter - That is one heck of a 1st post......

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smudgeid

Dobermans are prey animals. Mine chases cats that run - why wouldn't your fictional doberman do the same thing? Mine also eats dead stuff that she finds in the fields if I don't see it happening quickly enough.

They also really like deer horns & lots of people are feeding raw these days......

Sure you don't want to make your pet something nice & friendly - maybe a cocker spaniel? <grin> It would add more impact to the scenario if a cocker spaniel started eating people killed by a werewolf. (don't forget, the alpha eats first & the rest only get leftovers.)
Kate

PatchworkRobot

These are my feelings too.

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eventermal

It's actually a proven fact that Dobermans don't like the taste of human meat.


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River

Heh, wow, that is one heck of a first post. Interesting concept for a story, though. I'm a big fan of werewolf movies, but I don't remember many of them featuring dogs as being used to do anything other than hunt down werewolves. Dobermans are big and strong enough to do what you mentioned, and they're very loyal to their owners, but they're also already seen by society as potentially dangerous dogs.

So as far as our breed's image goes, a Doberman that runs down, attacks, kills, and then eats people fits right into the public's image of Dobes as vicious dogs. Dobes were used in Resident Evil as mutant killer dogs and in the movie "Hugo" to scare the daylights out of a child. It probably won't help the breed's image to be shown in the way you're talking about for your book.

As far as the alpha thing goes, some of the original studies on that were done in captive wolf populations. Animals in captivity behave differently than their wild counterparts. David Mech, the same guy who did the original wolf studies 40 plus years ago, has some new information out about how wolf packs function, and it's pretty different from the original alpha/subordinate theories. His site's here, if you want to check it out.

I don't know about health. Probably not too many health problems, because as gross as it sounds, a dog that can eat a week old dead squirrel (thank you, Griffin) and not get sick, should be able to handle a fresh kill. Hah, just writing that about a human eating dog is gross. Behavior-wise, I don't know. Dogs do have a pack mentality, even if the whole alpha/subordinate relationship might be a bit different from what the old studies tell us. A pack of dogs is more dangerous than a dog by itself. So, maybe it'd be natural for a dog to hunt in a pack and not have any serious behavioral issues from it? Hounds are bred to do just that, and most of them are pretty nice dogs around people. Good luck with the book!

alys

Who cares?

brw1982

LOL

Write whatever you want. It's FICTION. I think the fact that your story is based on werewolves will be enough to convince most reasonable people your book does not contain a great deal of facts.

When I read "Charlotte's Web" as a child I didn't require spiders actually being able to speak for it to be a good story...

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PatchworkRobot

Well.. it is a fiction story but I think the OP wants some validity to it, maybe?

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alys

Validity?

PatchworkRobot

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River

Yup. Validity. If you're reading a book, even a work of fiction, there has to be some basis in reality or people won't be able to relate to it. An author wants to make sure there isn't something so obviously wrong with their setting or characters that it distracts the reader from the story. It's obvious when the author takes some time to research the facts that they're basing their fiction on. It makes the story seem more believable.

So if you're producing a book or a movie on werewolves, for example, checking your facts about wolf behavior (and also human behavior), plus the accepted mythology behind the werewolves (full moons, silver kills them, etc) can give some validity to the story. Or if you're writing a murder mystery, interviewing cops and researching past cases makes your fictional book more realistic. Yes, we all know it's fiction, but there's little hints of fact and reality mixed into the story that make it easier for readers to enjoy the book.

dobedream

My two cents, as an avid reader of popular fiction...
- Who is the good guy? Is your main character a conflicted werewolf/human, or a mindless killer?
(ie is this a horror novel or something more palatable for general audiences?)
- Why would he attack his pet? Does Duke turn on him? Or is the book just a string of bloody incidents?
- Is there some sort of redemption for your character and his dog?

Hilary

where wolf

Jonesy'sMom

In the question of "validity" I think Stephen King says it best....
“Fiction is the truth inside the lie.”

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Jynx

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RedFawnRising

If you're an aspiring writer, try to choose a less-hackneyed subject.

Learn the difference between "want" and "wont."

Go join some writer's workshop sites and get feedback.

Be mindful that if you're going to contribute to an already decimated public perception (such as that of the Doberman breed), then there really ought to be some good reason for it, some integral need for that story line, and not just for a gratuitous whim.

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VZ-Doberman

FWIW...

I'd like to see the doberman witness his owner/werewolf feeding on his first kill and completely disillusioned by the horror he moves quietly into the night far far away from the carnage. Along his arduous journey he meets a friendly dentist who fits him with silver canines and the dobe becomes ........a deadly werewolf killer! Stephen King eat your heart out.

Leliel

I don't see the "reversion to wild behaviours" theory working, at least not for me.

(FWIW, I also disagree with the "dogs are prey animals" statement - I would say dogs are hunters but also opportunistic scavengers. )

Maintaining loyalty to now-semi-canine-himself owner makes sense, but you'd need several I think for the right "pack" image. I'm not overly buying the dog(s) eating the werewolf's kill (besides, doesn't the guy just feed them normally when he's human 27 out of 28 days? ) and count me among those not wanting to see yet another "evil doberman" stereotype. Is "Werewolf Hunting In a Pack With His Dogs" really a trope we need?


But I would so read VZ's version; that sounds AWESOME. Move over Blade, you just got upstaged.

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Leliel

Is it bad that when I first saw those in the Resident Evil movie my initial thought was "Thank goodness for easy-to-clean dober coats! Could you imagine trying to get all that faux zombie gunk off of a furry-coated breed??"

:p

Hank

You would be better off studying wolf packs and how they hunt, and just applying it to whatever breed you put in the book. Or you could make the dog still loyal to its wolf master in a human to dog sense still. its your book, you can do whatever you want.
It doesnt need to be realistic. I just watched The Grey, and how the wolves would go after a group of humans wasn't realistic.

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hjgrl

Lol, is it bad that when I first saw those dogs I thought "man I have got to get a doberman"

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Hank

When I saw those dogs, I thought, I want a zombie dog

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KevinK

What if the werewolf bites the dog, and he becomes human in the full moon

Hank

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