Always a wild ride when I am forcibly reminded that my original form was a shapeshifter, and while I have recently been thinking of myself as Caniformia-kin, as in a Cladotherian of all species branches under Caniformia (which is a fuckton, yes I know), that there are still exceptions.
I've been able to narrow down how strong my connection is to various species, like Sea Wolves and Black Bears are my most prominent theriotypes. If someone held a gun to my head and said I have to be 1 type or a max of two, I'd say Black Bear with Sea Wolf as a clear second, but I still feel connection with various other forms.
When I find a strong connection that is outside of being a dog-like being, I'm always caught off guard. Recently, I've become more aware of being a Caribou therian (not for all reindeer species, but specifically the North American variations) and was getting used to that label since it felt like it fit better than being a Deer or Elk therian, subspecies or otherwise. And now, I've realized I feel a connection to being a Cougar. I am still figuring out if this is due to a therian-level connection though or if it is a paratype for being fursona-kin, as multiple times now I've made 'sonas that are based on (in the case of my chakat-sona, who I quickly developed as as fixtype) or strictly are a cougar despite not having a deep connection to any other feline species (I love cats as pets and have always had a bond with those in my home, but as a species the draw never clicked like it did with bears of anything similar).
Idk, I just wanted to write something down about it since I haven't been active here lately and wanted to get my thoughts out. I don't have anyone to talk about my animal side with anymore, so throwing words into the void and hoping for a response will do for now. Hope everyone else is having a good journey on their own path, maybe ours will cross and we'll be able to chat and have a good time out in the woods one day.