In general it seems wolfdogs are spitz/husky mixes. Is this something that is always a must in their breeding? Obviously a lot of these breeds have vaguely similar characteristics and behaviours, more so than say a yorkshire terrier, and breeding with such extreme differences like that would host a whole range of problems. Are there mixes of others, though? Like collies, or wolfhounds, or sighthounds or dalmatians? would they still be classed in the wolfdog breed?
With VERY few (and well-known) exceptions, wolfdog breeders produce their animals using only three domestic breeds: Huskies, malamutes, and German shepherds (and often mixes thereof). These canines are already rather lupine in appearance (which is why they are also a favorite amongst misreppers), and lend themselves well to the creation of an animal that is literally defined by its wolflike characteristics. Even so, a few oddball wolfdogs do exist out there, and most are well-documented in the wolfdog community given their uncommon nature, and the novelty of their appearances.Crossing a wolfdog with a breed like wolfhound or Dalmatian would still make the resulting offspring a wolfdog, assuming that they exhibit physical, biological, and behavioral wolf attributes. Here are some examples of strange wolfdog mixes:
The strange little pups above are (I shit you not) F1 wolf/Jack Russel terrier mixes. They were bred outside the USA (though I forget their country of origin now) as an accidental pairing between a captive-raised wolf and the wolf owner’s pet terrier. The two animals were raised together, but it was assumed that due to their size and behavioral differences, that they would never produce offspring. Oops.
Next is everyone’s favorite oddball pup, Horton, a low-content Irish wolfhound/wolfdog mix saved from a hoarder in Canada. The hoarder housed several wolfdogs with her wolfhounds and allowed them to breed unchecked. Horton here still clearly exhibits some wolflike characteristics despite his unique heritage.
Then there’s this strange-looking critter, who I believe was also part of a rescue situation. His father was a Labrador, and his mother is the white wolf pictured in the background.
Similar to the situation above, this lovely pupper came from a high-content female who was pregnant at the time of her rescue. No one was sure what her pups would look like, but since the person she was confiscated from had other wolfdogs in the pen with her, they assumed that her offspring would be classic wolfdogs, as well. After the pups were born, it became suddenly apparent that this was not the case. The rescuers did some digging and found that the previous owner also had several bully breed mixes (claimed pit bulls) on the property. One of them is evidently the real father.
I’m sure everyone also knows about the F1 wolf/poodle litter created as part of a German experiment on domestication. Many people don’t know that there is also an F2 litter from these same animals, created when the F1 were bred back to another poodle to make F2 25% mixes:
There are some other strange wolfdogs mixes out there, too, but I don’t know the stories on them as well as I do the pups shown above. Many are created outside the USA, in countries where ownership of pure wolves is less restricted, but where the people producing these animals are also less likely to sell to the general public. So don’t expect to see wolf/JRTs running about at the local dog park or anything (I suspect they wouldn’t do do hot in a dog park environment anyhow). Hope this helps!
