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Does he have any wolf in him?

5K views 33 replies 19 participants last post by  Jakesworld 
#1 ·
We rescued him from an alleged wolf dog breeder. He shows (to me) a few wolf characteristics. I need your help. This photo was taken directly off my instagram.:help:
 

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#2 ·
Hi....welcome to the forum. I'm new as well! You learn a lot that's for sure. I don't see any wolf in him, just looks like a German Shepherd with a graying muzzle, but non the less a beautiful one! Congrats on your new family member!
 
#8 ·
No wolf, imo. Cochise, my Sibe from yrs back, was often assumed to be 'part wolf' but anyone who knew what to look for saw 100% dog. (The sister of Cochise's 1st owner actually kept/bred high percentage wolf crosses. Cochise's owner thought it was a bad idea & didn't allow his young children around them).
 
#10 ·
Over the years I shared my home with a number of wolf shepherd crosses, and I am 100% sure you have a dog, no wolf blood. I base this on what I see in the photo--the size and set of his ears, the size of his canine teeth, the shape of his muzzle, what I call the "German shepherd bump" on his nose, the shape and color of his eyes, the size and shape of his feet...I am sure that if you posted a side photo of him standing, we could address other conformation evidence. Enjoy your dog for what he is!
 
#12 ·
Every true wolf/gsd cross I've known has been HUGE. 130+ lbs huge. Also they've all been very fearful, skittish.

You have an older dog with a graying muzzle. Is it possible? Yes anything is. But likely? Np

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#18 ·
Those fake wolfdog breeders need to be stopped.
I agree. The fake wolfdogs can give people false expections & a badly mistaken understanding of what wolfdogs are about. If these misguided people wind up with a high percentage wolf cross it can be disastrous. The wolfdog almost always loses. Tragically children can, too. Not to mention friends, neighbors & other pets...
 
#19 ·
Yes he does.

In the original German Shepherd studbook, Zuchtbuch für Deutsche Schäferhunde (SZ), within the 2 pages of entries from SZ #41 to SZ #76, there are 4 Wolf Crosses.[9] This is the first 'documented' use of pure wolf genes to create a domestic dog breed, the German Shepherd, which is historically thought to be the first documented intentionally bred wolfdog.

As surely the original GSD had wolf in him all GSD have wolf in them. I don't think you asked how much did you?

So, yes he is part wolf. Every GSD is part wolf.
 
#30 ·
The russian farm fox experiment proved that the russian silver fox could become completely domesticated, a whole new sub-species, with selective breeding in only 14 generations, spanning roughly 30 years.

If you can completely change the sub-species of a fox in 30 years, can you really say ALL german shepherds are "part wolf" because of 4 in the ancestry I'm guessing roughly 120 years ago? How many generations that would be I would be guessing at least 30-40 + generations for most dogs now? I do not think you can say german shepherds are "part wolf". Selective breeding has eliminated that.
 
#21 ·
Not all look like this, and with the lower percentages, it depends on what breed of dog is in the mix.

Years ago I knew a lot of wolfdog owners, of both high content and low content, all responsible owners (we always said we were not owners, but were owned by them. In ways it's true--you absolutely cannot be a "casual owner" of a wolfdog and have a happy, well-adjusted, stable canine. They fill your life, especially the higher content.) I truly believe that the vast majority of owners are (or at least, used to be) responsible, loving caretakers of these animals. It is the idiots in the minority that get in the papers and get the attention of animal control and other authorities, because of their ignorance and incompetence.

I have read the phrase that dogs are juvenile wolves. If you have a mixed household, as we always did, with pure GSD as well as WD together, you could easily see the truth of that phrase. As intelligent as GSDs are, the WDs could always out think them and maneuver circles around them. The WDs we had all exhibited a strong sense of humor, and the GSDs were often the butt of their jokes.
 
#32 ·
He might be a very large GSD but he still realllly looks 100% GSD & shows no physical evidence of wolf ancestry. My Sibe actually looked 'more wolf' & he really didn't look like a wolf at all for those that knew what to look for.

One problem I've seen is so many Sibes & Malemutes are identified as 'wolf crosses' & even <major*eyeroll> 'high percentage wolf crosses' that many people don't have a good idea of what the real deal looks like. They also use a lot of Malemutes in movies about wolves & wolf dogs which further confuses people as to what they're truly seeing.
 
#34 ·
Sometimes it's hard to tell if it's a small percentage. Sometimes it's just visible in the way they move. My first GSD in 1988 was not PB. He was 3/4 GSD and 1/4 timber wolf. Positively. Yet he was the smartest and most gentle dog I've ever known. As well as very protective. Here's a pic of Judaea, probably about 4 or 5 yrs. His ears were up, but at about 6 months he developed a very severe crippling case of pano, followed by an auto immune disorder, it attacked his jaws -he couldn't hardly open his mouth. His ears went down, and never came up again. I didn't tape them, thought the look matched his personality. :)
 

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