No saddle needed.

Getting a TLC patch in March 2018 to add howl that will initiate the pack bonus for 5 minutes, will be able to sniff out players or creatures with less than 50% health, and will be able to detect explorer notes.

They can sniiff out hidden animal and also can sniiff out explorer nots and artifact

Like if it helps

Vicious and lightning fast, the Dire Wolf is a great all-around mount for adventuring and attacking. I highly recommended to bring packs of Dire Wolves for any hostile situation. Whether it be kill Alphas, or raid bases, it's size, agility, and damage make for a deadly beast.

Very important early tame although it may be difficult, it doesn't require a saddle and it gathers lots of hide which is difficult to get early in game

Direwolves are easily my favorite tame on the island, they are extremely good battle creatures especially in packs. Breeding and imprinting (which I did) as well as leveling them up means you can take on nearly everything. It’s extreme mobility and small size means you can use it for most caves, as well as collecting tons of chitin and meat along the way. This is a 9/10 tame for me, due to its relatively easy taming process (bola then tranq) and its extremely versatile usage.

-Monkeyking100

I don't know why this isnt mentioned but I just killed a couple of the moths on scorched earth for silk and the my dire wolf ran up and ate them but apparently they are super good at gathering silk...

You can put a cloth hat on them and they can be pirate dogs

People have been saying these are a good tame for early game, but they aren’t. Why? BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN THE NORTH ZONE, YOU DO NOT EVER GO THERE IN EARLY GAME. EVER. Also, hide is actually an easy resource to get in early game, they are just good for farming pelt, and that is difficult to get.