over a lifetime i have met some anomalous mutts, eg:
7/8 wolf x 1/8 gsd who easily passed for newfie x retriever(saved explaining a wolf under a train table)
1/8 each of ridgie, pointer, grey, beagle x 1/2 johnson line pit who passed for generic yellow hellhound as seen globally:lol:
saluki x grey can be anything from either(good or bad characteristics in any combo) or full on F1 (in genetic or racing car terms) ie a clever, fast, agile, high stamina long dog
some of the lurchers we know are a bit tricky to work out what genetic lines went in and some are very obvious.
i can usually spot saluki characteristics in a mix as they are very different to other canines in anatomy
spotting wolf genetics in dog/wolf crosses can be easy,although some mutts look "woolfy" on seemingly obvious stuff but are distant cousins and some are almost all wolf but look very "doggy"
taking samples and using dna sequencing can sort out genetics but the phenotype characteristics are sometimes at odds with what one might expect.
those wolves would easily pass for dogs if they played the part which if raised in a human pack quite a few seem to adapt to rather well
when he was still with us it was best not to mention that he was not a dog, i did tell his vet who very kindly said "he looks like a dog, he is a dog" even though a quick look at his skull shape showed he wasn't.
quite a few of the sled dog breeds look more "wolfy" than many pure wolves do.
there are a few genetic and anatomical differences between wolf and dog but the gap is not as huge as say between greyhound and pug which look like different species
i had a half gsd/wolf before ronnie, she easily passed for gsd x mutt, for a while i took her and a full wolf for off lead street walks through south london, excellent manners if a little enthusiastic
imho domesticating a wolf is slightly different* to domesticating a dog but just as easy or difficult depending on the canine and human involved.
if you can get one to act the mutt when it has to they are rather good, ron discovered an ability as a herding dog that surprised me as i had no idea how to train one and afaik he had never seen it done, he taught me about working together to steer beasts where they had to go
*the languages are related but a bit different for a start
My parents told me of some welsh border collies who got past a field of sheep without disturbing them. The dogs had never been trained as sheep dogs, but their instinct seemed to tell them how to behave round sheep, even if as a pair they would be expected to act as a 'pack' and worry them. I also knew a GSD that was supposed to be part wolf, but the only problem I had with it was it was rather large with huge feet and wasn't too careful about walking where it wanted to go even if there was someone in the way.
gz
Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 8957 Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 20 9:38 am Post subject:
That sounds like my friend's dog in Cwmcarn..she is GSDxMalamute.
Luckily a happy friendly bitch, BUT...so big!
sean Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 42219 Location: North Devon
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