Overview
Taming a Wolf multiplies its health five times over. A wild one has 8; feed it bones until hearts appear and the same animal jumps to 40, wears a dyeable collar, sits on command, teleports to you when you travel, and attacks whatever you hit or whatever hits you. A pack of four tamed wolves clears a cave faster than you do and takes the hits you would have. Since 1.20.5 you can also armour them: Wolf Armor is crafted from 6 armadillo scutes, fitted like a saddle, and repaired with more scutes, which turns a pack from expendable into durable. The same update rewrote the coat system — there are now nine variants, including pale, woods, ashen, rusty, black, chestnut, snowy, spotted and striped, and which one you get depends on the biome you tame it in, so a collection means travelling. Wild wolves are neutral but a whole pack retaliates if you hit one, and they attack sheep, rabbits, foxes and skeletons unprompted, which is occasionally a problem near a farm. They spawn in packs of four in taiga, forest, grove and windswept forest biomes. Feed raw or cooked meat to heal one.
A mobile fighting pack. Tamed wolves attack whatever you attack, soak damage you would take, and with Wolf Armor from 6 armadillo scutes they survive fights that would kill an unarmoured animal.
Feed a wolf bones until hearts appear and it becomes yours: health jumps from 8 to 40, it wears a dyeable collar, sits on command, teleports to you, and attacks whatever you hit or whatever hits you. Untamed wolves are neutral but a whole pack retaliates if you hit one. Since 1.20.5 you can fit Wolf Armor, crafted from six armadillo scutes and repaired with more of them. They will attack sheep, rabbits, foxes and skeletons unprompted.
In Minecraft, Wolf is classified as a tameable mob. It has 8 health points, or 4 hearts. On Normal difficulty each hit costs you 4 damage.
It is worth 3 XP.
Properties
Wolf has 8 health, which is 4 hearts. It drops up to 3 experience when a player kills it. Its hitbox is 0.6 blocks wide and 0.85 tall, which is what decides whether it fits through a gap or a one-block-high opening.
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Added in
- 1.0.0
- Tameable
- Yes
- Breedable
- Yes
Damage by difficulty
Wolf hits for 3 on Easy, 4 on Normal and 6 on Hard — the site's stat strip shows the Normal figure, which is the one most guides quote.
A full set of diamond armour cuts that by up to 80% against a small hit and less against a large one, and Protection IV on all four pieces — 16 EPF — takes a further 64% off what is left.
| Difficulty | Attack damage | Hearts |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 3 | 1.5 |
| Normal | 4 | 2 |
| Hard | 6 | 3 |
Spawns in
Spawns in packs of four. Since 1.20.5 the coat variant depends on biome, with nine variants including pale, woods, ashen, rusty, black, chestnut, snowy, spotted and striped.
It is restricted to Taiga, Old Growth Pine Taiga, Old Growth Spruce Taiga, Snowy Taiga, Forest and 4 more, so it will never turn up outside those biomes however dark it gets.
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Light level
- ≥ 9
- Biomes
- Taiga, Old Growth Pine Taiga, Old Growth Spruce Taiga, Snowy Taiga, Forest, Grove, Sparse Jungle, Windswept Forest, Old Growth Birch Forest
- Added in
- 1.0.0
Dimension: Overworld · Added in 1.0.0
How it behaves
The Wolf can be tamed, after which it follows and defends you. A tamed one still takes damage, so it is worth naming so it never despawns.
Killed by a player it drops up to 3 experience; killed any other way it drops none.
Command
In a world with cheats on, this spawns one Wolf where you are standing.
Summon
/summon minecraft:wolf ~ ~ ~Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How do you tame a Wolf?
Feed it bones until hearts appear. A tamed Wolf's health rises from 8 to 40 and it gains a collar.
How do you make Wolf Armor?
Six armadillo scutes, brushed from a live armadillo. It is fitted like a saddle and repaired with more scutes.
How many wolf variants are there?
Nine since 1.20.5, decided by the biome the Wolf spawned in — pale, woods, ashen, rusty, black, chestnut, snowy, spotted and striped.
What do wolves eat?
Any meat, raw or cooked, including rotten flesh, which heals them without any side effect.
How much health does the Wolf have in Minecraft?
The Wolf has 8 health points, which is 4 hearts.
What does the Wolf drop?
It drops no items, only 3 experience.
Where does the Wolf spawn?
Spawns in packs of four. Since 1.20.5 the coat variant depends on biome, with nine variants including pale, woods, ashen, rusty, black, chestnut, snowy, spotted and striped.
How much damage does Wolf do?
4 on Normal difficulty — 2 hearts — with 3 on Easy and 6 on Hard.
Related pages
How to get it
Wolves spawn in packs of 4 in taiga, old growth taiga, snowy taiga, forest, grove, sparse jungle and windswept forest at light level 9 or above. Feed bones until hearts appear; a tamed Wolf's health goes from 8 to 40.
Tips
- Craft Wolf Armor from 6 armadillo scutes and fit it before any cave trip; spare scutes repair it later.
- Tame in different biomes to collect coat variants, since the 9 variants are decided by where the Wolf spawned.
- Order them to sit before you fight anything explosive, because a following pack walks straight into a creeper.
- Keep them away from a sheep pen — untamed and tamed wolves both attack sheep, rabbits and foxes unprompted.