# Low Content Wolfdog?



## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

So I started fostering again for the first time in about a year now that I'm off of vet school for the summer. My first guy is Colorado, a 2-3 year old intact male. He's being listed as a husky mix and I'm very familiar with Northern breeds, which is usually why I end up fostering them (because no one else wants to). He was a stray, so don't know about his background other than he needs a much better diet (I'm going to try California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato with him) because his coat looks like crap. He'll be gorgeous in a few weeks with some fish oil and TLC. But yeah, I've got some suspicions he's a low content wolfdog. He doesn't have the yellow eyes and he's very doggish, friendly, and social, but...what do you guys think from the photos? Do I have a wolfdog on my hands?


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

I have seen alot of wolves and think his head and posture is very much like one, but couldn't say for sure.


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## Kristina Senter (Apr 4, 2006)

He's very handsome 
I agree that it would be a smaller percentage but I can definitely see a possability. Most of what I've deal with were pure wolves or high-percentage hybrids, but his narrowness and head are pretty wolf-like. How much does he weigh?


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

I am not for sure, but I'd estimate about 65-70 lbs. He could definitely stand to gain another 10-15 as he's quite thin. He's about a 2.5 or 3 on a 1 to 9 body condition score. I've seen a few wolfdogs and he's not quite as leggy as the ones I've seen, but the head is pretty darn close. But he's real doggy and friendly. Not shy or somewhat aloof like most of the higher contents I've seen.


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## Jennifer Marshall (Dec 13, 2007)

Maren, it is difficult to tell with low contents especially when they get to F3 or more. His head structure is correct for a hybrid though the muzzle is a bit thick/not as tapered but that could be the angle of the pictures fooling me. Having that nice dark eye rim with the amber eyes could be a wolf trait but some northern breeds have quite light eyes. Shape/size of the ears would be correct for a hybrid. What catches my eye the most is the coat. Most wolfdogs I've seen have very rough guard hairs along the back, and look exactly like his coat is currently. How many bands are on the guard hairs? 

For low-mid contents, 50% and less, the sociability in regards to humans doesn't guarantee or prove the % of wolf, it comes down to how the dog was socialized and handled as a pup though yes wolfdogs have a higher chance of being aloof, standoffish etc. I've been around quite social high contents, up to 75% F1s

I'd say primarily husky with maybe 25% wolf.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Jennifer Marshall said:


> Most wolfdogs I've seen have very rough guard hairs along the back, and look exactly like his coat is currently. How many bands are on the guard hairs?


Most of the guard hairs are very long. Not the same texture as a Sibe or a Malamute, very coarse. Very similar to a Samoyed wolfdog I've seen before. I would attribute some to poor diet. Most of the hairs have two bands, but a patch of guard hairs on his back has three (the one you can easily see in the last photo).


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## Jennifer Marshall (Dec 13, 2007)

Poor diet is definitely a factor to look at but wolfdogs tend to have a predominant mane of hair that is longest towards the base of the neck and over the shoulders. This hair tends to stay quite rough in comparrison to the rest of the coat, the hairshafts are thicker. This of course can depend on the breed of dog mixed in and the percentage of wolf and the generation the wolfdog is but I personally have never seen an actual wolfdog without it. Even with raw diet and plenty of fish/salmon oil and E the ruff remains more course than the rest of the coat.

Considering his color 2-3 bands is nothing telling, though for the lighter coats like he has, which looks like an interesting red tipped cream (beautiful!) if you hold a hair up to a light you may see more bands. Whatever he is, he is gorgeous and if he does not exhibit any behavioral issues that point to problems with the wolf heritage it will be in his best interest not to mention it. Any wolfdog I've ever cared for/fostered/rescued etc only a select few knew what they were elsewise they were mixes. Most common issues being very strong territorial/guard drive and rank drive and for unaltered 50% + wolfdogs there is always WWS to contend with and it can be a very serious problem.

But social and plays well with others, sounds like a very nice Husky Mix


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

He came in as a stray, so they listed him as 3 years old. He looks more like around 1-2 years based on his behavior (he's intact but still doesn't usually lift his leg to pee) and his teeth show little wear. As much as I understand keeping him listed as a husky mix for his survival, I had definitely heard that intact wolfdogs, especially around 2-3 years of age, do require very strong structure and pack drive. He should go to an owner with extensive Northern breed experience at any rate as he'll need proper containment. He popped the door off the plastic crate I had for him, so I slept on the couch last night (got a whole hour of sleep, woo hoo!) so he wouldn't destroy anything or get into massive fights as none of mine like him. I don't have a nice $600 aluminum crate to keep him in, so I'll have to return him today. :sad: He can also escape from most of the kennel runs at the shelter too, so he's quite the escape artist. I may ask them if I can pick him up in the morning and drop him back off in the late afternoon, or something. He is a nice boy for certain, I just don't wish my house to be destroyed by a bull in a china shop who can't be contained.


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## Michelle Reusser (Mar 29, 2008)

Oh yeah he has wolf in him somewhere. The coat, the eyes, the posture and conformation, too much is adding up to just look wolfish. Good luck trying to get his wight up and coat to improve, it may not.


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## kim guidry (Jan 11, 2008)

Maren, I had a Samoyed/mix of I don't know. With the exception of his weight, he could pass for his brother. My dogs weight was 80lbs. His looks alone would stop someone in there tracks. Very vocal dog.

No expert here, but if he was a stray and with that head of his.:-k A wolf just may have stopped by his grandmoms camp for some smores! One thing I can tell you is that I had my dog for 15years before I had to put him down and I always said that I wish I would have had 10 of him.




Maren Bell Jones said:


> Most of the guard hairs are very long. Not the same texture as a Sibe or a Malamute, very coarse. Very similar to a Samoyed wolfdog I've seen before. .


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## Jennifer Marshall (Dec 13, 2007)

I didn't know he was intact, if he is going to be adopted he needs to be neutered. I am usually not a big advocate for altering every dog but in the case of wolfdogs it is a necessesity. The possibility of him being more than 25% is there, but him being a stray and being friendly with people leads me to believe that he is not unless his homeless status was from his ability to escape. 

Wolfdogs ARE escape artists, they can get out of nearly any crate or gate or yard. Tend to be extreme diggers, they jump very well.

The issue with intact wolfdogs coming of age is with winter wolf syndrome (WWS) which is breeding season. Any wolfdog can be affected by it but primarily 50%+. Wolves have a very specific breeding season and are not fertile the rest of the year, the testicles of male wolves literally shrink and they are incapable and disinterested in breeding and the females do not come into season. Any dog that is supposedly 37.5% or more F1 or F2 could not have been born past May/very early June or earlier than February, maybe January. Behavior changes from WWS can begin in October, tend to end in March/April. 

What happens is a huge overload of hormones and the need/drive to mate. Because wolfdogs that go through WWS do not have these hormones all year like a dog, the behavior changes can be extreme but this also depends on whether or not the animals are altered and at what age and the level of rank drive the animal possesses. In wolfdogs rank drive is more prevalent than in most dogs and while it will increase and aggression will become an issue during WWS, the rank drive will be there all year. The wolfdogs that have the issues when they reach sexual maturity are the ones that did exhibit rank drive in the beginning. WWS only enhances the traits already seen in the wolfdog.

The main issue is with inexperienced owners. The average person that owns wolfdogs are no smarter than people with regular pet dogs, often they tend to be LESS dogsmart and the animals are not raised properly to begin with and have a *lot* of problems when their "pet" reaches sexual maturity and experiences WWS. WWS is the culprit of most cases of owners claiming their wolfdog "turned" on them, etc.

Wolfdogs should be treated like a dog in the sense that people understand their drives and train and handle them accordingly. Some wolfdogs have low or no rank drive, others have high rank drive, some have low prey drive, some have high, etc etc. This is mostly speaking of low to mid contents but even high content wolfdogs have varying levels of drive. In the end what is of the most importance is the animal is matched with an appropriate owner.

Maren, I'm sending you a PM


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

maren--he sure looks like he's got some wolf somewhere (in my in expert opinion)!!! but i'll trade ya 15# from gracie; wish i could just send it to ya   he is a pretty boy, tho.

BTW--tranny went out on my car saturday, so it's a good thing we made the trade friday a.m.....


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