Maned wolves are monogamous, meaning they have a single sexual partner their whole lifetime. The male and females organisms usually live private lives and only come together during the breeding season. In South America captive maned wolves engage in sexual intercourse from August through October, and in the Northern hemisphere from October through February. Because of these times, it is shown that the onset of reproduction is correlated to the photoperiod, or the daily time an organism is exposed to light. Sexual intercourse is also known as copulation, and this is characterized in maned wolves by long lasting bonds, at times lasting up to 14 minutes. Also, the intercourse generally happens for a duration of one to four days (Dietz 1985). While mating, the female takes charge by bending in front of the male, rubbing her hind against him, and thumping her front paws on the ground (cosmosmith.com). For about one week before delivery and several months after, the captive females are hostile toward humans (Dietz 1985).

The female gives birth in a den made of tall grass or brushes after a gestation typically around two months, and labor is the same compared to other dog breeds (denverzoo.org, Dietz 1985) Being the primary caregiver after birth, the female provides milk and later regurgitates food for the cute little pups, and may be aggressive toward the male. In the wild, how much the male helps raise the pups is not known; however, in captivity the males are sometimes seen regurgitating their food for the pups. At about 15 weeks the pups are weaned from their mother's care (denverzoo.org).

Maned wolves typically have a litter size between two to five pups, although 7 was once recorded. At birth the pups and are blind and helpless, weigh 340 to 430 g (about 18 ounces), which is within the normal range for canids, and are brownish-gray or black (Dietz 1985, denverzoo.org). The little ones develop rapidly, for by the 9th day the eyes and ears open, by the 4th week the mane can stand erect, and by the 10th week the fur changes to the rusty red color that symbolizes this animal. It isn’t until the wolves are one year old when the legs are fully developed into adult proportions, and the pups are fully grown (Dietz 1985). The males are sexually mature at about 365 days and females around 730 days, and the genders usually sexually interact after they are two years old. Lastly, the life span of maned wolves is approximately 15 years (cosmosmith.com).