You may know Josh Wolf as that funny comedian you see everywhere, but he is very serious when discussing his love for his dog, Rocky. “He’s got a very gentle soul,” he says about the hound. “He is not a huge fetch dog, he is more of a cuddle dog — that is why my family loves him. He was perfect for us!”
The host of his very own talk show — the aptly titled “The Josh Wolf Show,” which premiered on CMT in June and is executive produced by good pal Chelsea Handler — has been toiling around Hollywood for many years, but is now finally getting his due.
Born in Boston and raised in Amherst, Mass., Wolf did his first stand-up show when he was just 15 years old. He attended San Antonio’s Trinity University, and then moved to Seattle to expand his comedy career before settling in Los Angeles, where he still resides. He quickly landed talent deals with 20th Century Fox, ABC and NBC, and began dedicating all of his time to writing for TV comedies like “Yes, Dear,” “All of Us” and “Cuts.”
Wolf returned to his first love, stand-up comedy, in 2006 after becoming a finalist on the fourth season of “Last Comic Standing.” From there, he secured recurring roles on the hit shows “My Name Is Earl” (2006-2009) and “Raising Hope” (2010-2011). In 2009, he started making appearances regularly on “Chelsea Lately” and soon began writing for the show. He wound up working with Handler until the series ended in 2014.
In between all of that, Wolf hosted the Discovery Channel’s “Shark After Dark” in 2013 and 2014, and “Naked After Dark” in 2014; released the 2013 book “It Takes Balls: Dating Single Moms and Other Confessions from an Unprepared Single Dad”; has been actively involved in podcasting; and has also written a screenplay for Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison production company. And, yes, he is related to Scott Wolf from “Party of Five” — they are cousins.
The now married 45-year-old comedian will hit the stand-up comedy club circuit starting in September, but first he chatted with HNGN about his wonderful dog, Rocky.
Tell us about Rocky?
It was my son Jacob’s 8th birthday, we went out for some breakfast, and my wife was telling me about a huge pet adoption event taking place in Burbank, Calif., near Disney, with hundreds of dogs. We walked around and walked around, and I was looking at another dog, and my wife and son went straight to Rocky.
What was it about him?
Oh, for sure, his demeanor. He really is very kind and very submissive. One of the reasons why we don’t take him to dog parks anymore is because everybody humps him — puppies, little dogs, big dogs, females, males. He always looks at me like, “I can’t do this.”
Were you ever concerned about his size and breed with your child?
No. They say he’s half pit, half boxer. I think he is closer to all pit. To me, it’s not the breed, it’s the person in charge of raising the dog. I know we weren’t going to have a violent dog, and we could tell he was very kind.
What are some of his favorite things to do around the house?
He loves to sleep. He loves to eat. Outside of those two things, he likes to get on the bed and cuddle with me. He’s not a real active dog and never has been. He is only good for about three or four minutes of me throwing the ball out of the house and running back in, then he’s done. He likes to chill, sit in the room with my son and his friends when they are playing video games. When my son’s friends are over, he loves being with them — he thinks he is one of the guys.
Does he like show business?
He hates it! We brought him on my show and he didn’t like the crowd. He didn’t like the lights. He didn’t like anything about it. He doesn’t like getting in a car. He likes to be here at home. He likes to take walks with us. He likes to get up in the bed and lick your face. That’s his life.
How did he respond to Cesar Millan when he was on your show?
He didn’t. He didn’t respond at all, but I wasn’t surprised. That is part of why I brought him on. He is very smart, but his nerves take control. He will always sit and stay, but when he is nervous, nothing will stop him. The fire alarm went off in the house one night and, ever since, he can’t stand high-sounding beeps. That day the alarm went off, he didn’t come in the house all day. We had to pick him up and bring him back in. For about a week, he would run outside and would not come back in. We would have to bring him back in.
What have you experienced and learned from rescuing Rocky?
I have never been one who felt the need to go buy a dog because there are so many rescues. My kids learned that, which is really important. I, personally, really like rescues. I just feel that rescues are really smart and intuitive. They know when they are at those places that it’s not the place for them because, when they come out, they are like, “I am with you. I thank you very much. You will not regret this.” There is something really sweet and caring about them. My kids realize that and they will never buy a dog.
Do you remember the first day you brought him home?
He wouldn’t come inside for two days. Then, when he came inside, the living room is the only place he would go. He wouldn’t go into the kitchen for the first month. He wouldn’t go into any of the bedrooms. It must have been where he was before that made him act this way. Maybe he wasn’t an inside dog. Maybe he wasn’t allowed inside a house. But it took him a long time. For the first year, he never made a noise — no bark, growl, whimper, nothing. We thought that maybe they removed his voice box as they do with certain dogs. Then, one day, he made a slight little noise. He has always been a shy, gentle giant. People look at him because he is black with some white on him and, because of his breed, they are petrified of him. It always makes me laugh. Sometimes people will cross the street to avoid him. I think part of it perpetuates the stereotype but also, when dogs cross with the breeds that are supposed to be dangerous, they don’t get the interaction that they should get with other dogs. I think that makes it worse.
What do you get from Rocky when you’re having a bad day?
Honestly, there is a certain calm that he gives all of us. We have all talked about it in the family. Like I said, he is not the guy that is going to run and play, but he knows when you are having a bad day. He really does, and he comes and just hangs with you. If you are having a bad day, he will shadow you every time you are in the house, wherever you go. If you go in the bathroom, he will sit and wait for you. He is very intuitive about that. He will make sure that his head or his paws are always on you. It is very interesting, he has always been like that.
Do you think Chelsea Handler was inspired by you rescuing Rocky to go and get another rescue herself?
No. She adopted her dog Chunk and, I think, she just wanted to get Chunk a buddy. She adopted an 8-year-old dog, I think. She heard about a chow that was being pushed away and thrown aside, so she went out and got him.
Are you enjoying doing “The Josh Wolf Show”?
I love it, man. I get to have my family on there, including my dog. One day, I said I want to teach him how to do some tricks and, as long as I have a TV show, let’s just film it. And that’s what we do. I’m having a great time. I’m making the show like there is nobody watching — does that make sense? I make and do things that I enjoy. I make it, and hope people enjoy it. You have to trust what you do.
Did you ever think that you would have a show on CMT?
With today’s landscape being what it is, there are so many options and everybody is watching everything. The name of the station to me now is irrelevant. Lots of people are just watching clips now anyway. Most people are not watching it straight from the show. For me, it was, “who’s going to let me do what I want to do?” And we go from there. I am a very big country music fan though.
Who have been your favorite guests on the show?
Jewel, we sang a song together. Lance Bass was really funny. Then all my comedian friends come on and d--k around with me, that’s always fun. You know what I mean? Like, we are getting paid to do something we do anyways — to sit around and be stupid. So, honestly, I’ve loved everybody on the show. One of my other edicts with my show is “no drama.” So we just don’t put anybody on there that is going to provide drama. We have had some bigger stars that wanted to come on the show and I know their reputations, but for me it is more important to have people on that I like. There will be no drama and we are going to have fun.
Any plans to adopt another rescue pet?
We have thought about it. We’ve been told we have to find another dog more submissive than Rocky or else he will be dominated in the house. You know what? Rocky has put his time in. This is his house. We don’t want anyone to come in and dominate him. We have had friends bring their dogs over and he just sat in my son’s room and shivered. So this is his house. This is his castle and let him be the king for as long as he can!
For more on Josh Wolf, connect with him on Twitter and Instagram and visit his official website.
