OMG Wolf/Pit cross

[Kenzie]

Definately Mal cross. He doesn't have the regular Mal legs with the feathering/pluming and underdeveloped, unless it just the picture, but he does have the Mal markings, eyes(black liner), ears, shape of head. Please, please don't let anyone put him down, pm me if necessary. There's no pitty in that there dog

 

[TroyF]

If he's an ex-fighting pit bull then it's unlikely that he has anything in him let alone wolf. The wolf would make him next to useless in a pit. It was quite a fad a few years ago to have a wolf hybrid but more people said they had a wolf hybrid than actually owned a wolf hybrid. How old is the dog? If it truly is a wolf/pit bull mix I'd have a professional behaviourist look at it and probalby put it down. That is a hugely irresponsible mix.

 

[PFC1]

From the picture, I don't see anything that makes me think it is necessarily a wolf mix rather than an Alaskan Malamute mix. But, there are several different breeds of wolves, so it is hard to really say for certain. Maybe if you actually see it and and handle it there might be something not discernable in the photograph.

For what it is worth, I have had personal contact with a dog that is claimed to be a wolf hybrid-- supposedly 80% timberwolf. I don't see too much similarity between the dog in the picture and the wolf hybrid I know. It looks more like the Alaskan Malamutes I have seen.

 

[casablanca1]

To my admittedly inexpert eye, the dog looks like a Malamute, but it is entirely possible that it's a mix that includes pit bull or wolf. All breeds are not always apparent in a mix. I'd get the dog evaluated by someone who knows hybrids; probably the animal's behavior would be more of an indicator than his appearance. If he is a hybrid, that's tragic.

 

[shepluvr]

here is a comparison.this is a wolf hybrid..looks like a high percentage...

he has more of the face of a malamute...but similar.

who knows?? no one can tell for sure. wolf hybrids look different depending on percentage, and what type of dogit is mixed with.

 

[TroyF]

Wow, didn't see the picture before I posted. I'd have a better guess if I saw it standing. Certainly could be a hybrid.

For those who say it's not and "don't worry about it" and "let it's actions speak for themselves"; the whole problem with the wolf hybrid isn't that they can't be companion animals, it's that they shouldn't because they are completely unpredictable.

 

[shepluvr]

You also can't ALWAYS tell what something is by looking at it. I always tell this story, so forgive me if you heard it already!
I work with a shelter. We had a an apparently purebred pitbull female who came in pregnant. she was never claimed. she gave birth to pups who turned out to look like yellow labs. at 2 mos, they were put up for adoption and listed as pitbull labrador mix. Now, I answered more customer questions of "how can you say they have pitbull in them, they look nothing like pitbulls!" And I would explain patiently over and over that we KNOW what the mother was because they were born here. We were guessing at the lab part. Even when they came back at 4 months for their rabies shots, they still looked like yellow labs..no sign of pitbull anywhere. So you see, it all depends on which genes are stronger...

 

[shepluvr]

btw...cool orb in that pic!

 

[JennSLK]

I guess she has an apointment wih a specialist for later today.
I think I conviced her not to put it down if it i a hybrid. I told her I would take him if he was.. Oh God. I would give him to a hybridsecialist or a verry experianced dog person.

I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[joce]

We have a ton of people that breed hybrids out here and I have never seen one you can not tell in the face. that dogs legs look similar but not in the face at all so I would say no way!

Genetics sometimes always ahve a dominant trait though and in wolves it is that long pointy skull. You will not see a hybrid without it. Even the guy down the street that breeds them says thats how you cna pick out the people just saying they are hybrids. Most people don;t like the look of the actual wolf crosses because they look so unlike a dog.

 

[Gempress]

Wow, didn't see the picture before I posted. I'd have a better guess if I saw it standing. Certainly could be a hybrid.

For those who say it's not and "don't worry about it" and "let it's actions speak for themselves"; the whole problem with the wolf hybrid isn't that they can't be companion animals, it's that they shouldn't because they are completely unpredictable.

It's nearly impossible to tell whether or not an animal is a wolf hybrid based on physical features. My hybrid was low percentage and didn't look much like a wolf at all. I had a classmate with a mal/GSD mix. People would stop her while she was walking her dog, and start chewing her out for taking a "wolf hybrid" out in public.

I'm just saying that if you don't know for sure it's a hybrid, and it doesn't act like a hybrid, don't assume it is one. The poor dog can't help what it looks like.

 

[shepluvr]

It's nearly impossible to tell whether or not an animal is a wolf hybrid based on physical features. My hybrid was low percentage and didn't look much like a wolf at all. I had a classmate with a mal/GSD mix. People would stop her while she was walking her dog, and start chewing her out for taking a "wolf hybrid" out in public.

Thank you.

 

[TroyF]

It's nearly impossible to tell whether or not an animal is a wolf hybrid based on physical features.

No it's not. As a matter of fact, with many of them it's obvious.

 

[Saje]

That's not true Troy. Many people assume that a dog is a wolf hybrid because it ran off and bred in a remote area or wherever but it's much more likely it's mixed with husky, malamute, ... whatever.

 

[JennSLK]

She just e-mailed me. The vet thought he might be a hybrid so 'he's putting her intouch with an expert.

 

[Gempress]

No it's not. As a matter of fact, with many of them it's obvious.

I didn't want to post this, but here's a picture of my dearly departed wolf hybrid, Odin. I usally call him a rott/husky mix while on the forum, just because I don't want people to think I support buying hybrids in any way. His father was a rott, mother was a Siberian husky-wolf hybrid. Is it obvious he is a wolf?

Check out the pictures on this site I linked to. Every single dog in these pictures is a purebred Siberian husky. Check out the pictures of Yankee and Mac, specifically. Don't they look like wolves?

http://www.huskycolors.com/wolf.html

You cannot tell a wolfdog by sight. Most responsible wolfdog resources tell you that blatently. There is no DNA or blood test to tell if a dog is part wolf, either. If you don't know for 100 percent that he is a wolf hybrid, don't assume it.

 

[oriondw]

People often tell me I have a wolf. If they are not polite I tell them off and say to run along or else...
If they are polite then I explain to them that its not a wolf and give a short explanation on what he is

 

[Renee750il]

Gempress, I wish you'd post more photos of Odin - maybe in the gallery? He's gorgeous. I've never seen anything marked and colored quite like him. Smkie will have a fit over him

And no, you can't tell by looking at a dog . . . So many people thought my Bear was part wolf and he was just a cross between a GSD and an Akita. He actually looked somewhat like Orion's pup - just with full erect ears and his coat laid somewhat smoother on his body from just behind his shoulders to his hind legs.

 

[joce]

I really don't think anything like he has .083 percent(or something like that!) wolf in him is relevant anyway. I hear people say his great grandad was a wolf and really by this point its jsut a dog. I wish I could go get pics of the ones down the street but I guess I'll wait till they are in my yard again I'll never forget the first time I stopped in the road because these three dogs were just hanging out at the side of the road and I realized they were not really dogs and I was on the wrong side of the car at that point! There is another guy in wellington that apparently breeds them and when they get loose instead of paying fines he jsut lets the pound put them down. So if anyone is interested every couple of months one shows up. His are gorgous though were the guy next to me are really not all that attractive. Thank god they are pretty sociable though. I still think they are what keeps the stray cat population down here though.

I cna't count the times little kids have run screaming from tawny yelling wolf. Or the poor little girl that turned the corner in petsmart and went crying to her dad about a werewolf

 

[shepluvr]

There are all different percentages of wolf hybrid, and no you can't always tell by looking at any mix what is in it exactly. I reiterate my pitbull story....

You also can't ALWAYS tell what something is by looking at it. I always tell this story, so forgive me if you heard it already!
I work with a shelter. We had a an apparently purebred pitbull female who came in pregnant. she was never claimed. she gave birth to pups who turned out to look like yellow labs. at 2 mos, they were put up for adoption and listed as pitbull labrador mix. Now, I answered more customer questions of "how can you say they have pitbull in them, they look nothing like pitbulls!" And I would explain patiently over and over that we KNOW what the mother was because they were born here. We were guessing at the lab part. Even when they came back at 4 months for their rabies shots, they still looked like yellow labs..no sign of pitbull anywhere. So you see, it all depends on which genes are stronger...

Here is another example:
There was this dude who was a client in the animal hospital I worked in. He had a purebred Golden retriever. He found what looked like a black lab mix. She was a female. Before he had her spayed, they "accidentley" bred. The pups all came out looking like golden retrievers. Exactley like golden retrievers. Guess what he sold them as? YOU GOT IT! GOLDEN RETRIEVERS!! Does that make them Goldens?