Wolf-baiting is a blood sport

Blood sport

Bloodsport or blood sport is any sport or entertainment that involves violence against animals.Bloodsport includes coursing or beagling, combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, or other activities...

 involving the baiting of wolves.

Historically, the baiting of wolves was more in the context of training dogs for wolf hunting

Wolf hunting

Wolf hunting is the practice of hunting grey wolves or other lupine animals. Wolves are mainly hunted for sport, for their skins, to protect livestock, and, in some rare cases, to protect humans. Wolves have been actively hunted since 12,000 to 13,000 years ago, when they first began to pose...

 than public entertainment. Wolves would sometimes be caught, either at the end of hunts, or in set traps, and would be set upon by the dogs, usually as a way of helping them master their fear of the animal. When training young or inexperienced dogs, the wolf would be hamstrung

Hamstringing

Hamstringing is a method of crippling a person or animal so that they cannot walk properly, by cutting the two large tendons at the back of the knees.- Method :...

. Accounts as to how wolves react to being attacked by dogs vary, though John James Audubon

John James Audubon

John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats...

 wrote that young wolves generally show submissive behaviour, while older wolves fight savagely. One of the earliest recorded incidents of wolf-baiting occurred during one of the Roman civil wars

Roman civil wars

There were several Roman civil wars, especially during the late Republic. The most famous of these are the war in the 40s BC between Julius Caesar and the optimate faction of the senatorial elite initially led by Pompey and the subsequent war between Caesar's successors, Octavian and Mark Antony in...

. The Dacians, hoping to take advantage of Rome's division, pressed their chieftain Scorlyo to launch an offensive.

Scorlyo brought several dogs to the city square, which immediately began fighting one another. However, a captured wolf was brought in, to which the dogs ceased their fighting and attacked it. By this, Scorlyo intended to teach his people that whatever war a nation had within itself, it would always stand firm in attacking an outsider. However, wolves can be extremely dangerous opponents for dogs, even when outnumbered. Louis XIII of France

Louis XIII of France

Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...

 once acquired an old wolf and set his best dogs on it three at a time. The wolf managed to kill twelve of them without sustaining any serious injury. The fighting styles of wolves and dogs differ significantly; while dogs typically limit themselves to attacking the head, neck and shoulder, wolves will make greater use of body blocks, and attack the extremities of their opponents. Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

 once wrote that he considered a large mastiff a match for a wolf only if the latter was a young or undersized Texas wolf

Mexican Wolf

The Mexican Wolf is a subspecies of the Gray Wolf. It is native to North America, where it is the rarest and most genetically distinct subspecies.- Physical features :...

, though he conceded that even if the dog was the heavier of the two, its teeth and claws would be very much smaller, weaker and its hide less tough.