It was and still is possible to domesticate wolves. They are harder to train but it is perfectly possible [1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolves_as_pets_and_working_ani...

domesticating dogs refers to multigenerational breeding and selecting for genetic traits.

in the sense of domesticating meaning training, I wouldn't call what you can do with a wolf "perfect". Don't leave the baby alone with them.

I guess people sometimes say “domesticate” when they mean “tame”.

yeah, but we are in a thread talking about our ancestors domesticating dogs originally

True, I should have said "taming" but my comment was a reply to "It must have been quite an interesting relationship", so it is still relevant.

I like to think humans stole the pups or took the abandoned ones.

Saw this [0] on HN a couple months ago, which could hint at how it started.

[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28272893