A tamed wolf is the best early companion in Minecraft. It fights for you, scares off skeletons, and follows you anywhere. Here is how to tame one and how to keep it from dying.
What you need to tame a wolf
The only item you need is bones, which drop from skeletons. Bring a small stack, because taming is not guaranteed on the first try.
Where to find wolves
Wolves spawn in packs in colder and wooded biomes, including:
- Taiga, old growth taiga, and snowy taiga
- Forest and flower forest
- Grove
In modern versions, wolves come in several coat variants depending on the biome they spawn in, but every variant is tamed exactly the same way.
How to tame a wolf step by step
- Approach a wild wolf. Wild wolves have a grey coat and their tails hang low.
- With bones in your hand, right-click the wolf (use the interact button on console or mobile) to feed it a bone.
- Each bone has roughly a 1 in 3 chance to tame the wolf, so keep feeding until it works.
- When taming succeeds, hearts appear above the wolf and it gets a red collar. Its tail also lifts up.
That wolf is now yours. It will follow you, teleport to you if you get too far away, and attack anything that hurts you.
Caring for your wolf
Make it sit or stand. Right-click your wolf to toggle between sitting and following. A sitting wolf stays put, which is useful before you travel somewhere dangerous.
Heal it. Feed your wolf any meat to restore its health, including raw or cooked beef, pork, mutton, chicken, rabbit, and even rotten flesh. Rotten flesh never poisons wolves. A wolf's tail height shows its current health, so a drooping tail means it is hurt.
Breed more wolves. Feed meat to two tamed wolves at full health to breed them. The puppy belongs to you automatically.
Change the collar color. Right-click your wolf with any dye to recolor its collar.
Add wolf armor. In current versions you can craft wolf armor from armadillo scutes and equip it on a tamed wolf for extra protection.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Do not hit your own wolf. Friendly fire makes it yelp and can kill it.
- Watch for fall and cactus damage. A teleporting wolf can land somewhere harmful, so keep an eye on it near cliffs.
- Leave wolves sitting when you fight in tight spaces so they do not take hits meant for you.
Frequently asked questions
What do you feed a wolf to tame it? Bones, not meat. Meat is only for healing and breeding after the wolf is already tamed.
Why won't my wolf get tamed? Taming is random per bone. Keep feeding bones until hearts appear.
Do wolves attack creepers? Tamed wolves attack skeletons on sight and will attack most mobs you attack, but they avoid creepers.
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