This is my new dog I got from a local rescue. They said he was "husky", but girlfriend has a pure bred Siberian husky too that looks nothing like this dog. My girlfriend also had a German Shepard until about a month ago when it had to be put down and it doesn't really look much like that dog either. I'm guessing he is a husky mix of some sort. He has had a tough life until we met him and even got shot once. His name is Ozark and he is awesome!

I'm gonna' hazard a guess and say likely all or mostly husky - just with a "dirty face".  Google "dirty face siberian husky."  Also go to "colors of the siberian husky"   Also, look at one of his guard hairs (the stiffer, outer coat) and see if they are in bands of color on one hair...wondering if he might be an agouti.

So glad you rescued him.  Welcome to the forum.

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

from  http://leahreagh200.tripod.com/id32.html





Also:

http://www.canidae.com/blog/2012/11/the-unique-coat-colors-of-siberian-husky.html

He has a pretty pronounced cape, and a kinda straight line gate... eek  but he is good with our 3 cats , and we also have a bunch of lizards, degus, and ducks. We have about 3 acres of land. If we did an electric fence would that work?

Interesting name. I live in the Ozarks. lol. He could be a dirty face as Amy said. There are a couple dogs on the forum that have similar facial markings and coloring. His eyes have an angle to them similar to an Akita though.

I feel bad that my neighbors put in an electric fence for their German short hair pointer baecause of our ducks if we need to do the same.

Someone found him in the Ozark Mountains hence his name. He followed him for a few days whilst hiking and he brought him home where i live now..

i don't know when he got shot but I can feel a piece of lead in his ear and the last owner said he had shot in his lung and side but he seems healthy and happy with us

there is a husky huddle he has been a part of.... so we are going to bring him back to his friends : ) some how they found us within days of our adoption..... i guess they are pretty hardcore

The head shape between the pure bred and this dog is quite profound.

snowbuddy wrote:

The head shape between the pure bred and this dog is quite profound.

I think that was what first caught my eye, Just didn't want to get into a topic that I may influence badly (but then, I'm also the resident curmudgeon )

Someone mentioned an Akita appearance ... I haven't had much of anything to do with that breed and I'm afraid that my response would have been that I see a lupine appearance there. Now, I'm one of the first to poo-poo the comment when someone says that "Well, he's half (or whatever) wolf." because for some reason people want their Husky to be part wolf ( and that ignores all the legal ramifications of owning a wold-dog.

If he's doing well, with the (buck?)shot in his lungs, I'd leave well enough alone; on the other hand, if the one in his ear can be taken out without a major hassle (like some time when he's under anesthetic anyway) I think I'd ask the vet to remover that one, dogs shaking their heads (especially my favourite breed - labs) can cause an embolism and the weight of the shot might aggravate that situation. (( My thought there was, Yep, Ozarks, someone got caught grabbing a chicken and got shot for their efforts. ))

There aren't any laws against hybrids here... but im always skeptical since alot of dogs can look "wolfy". Id like to think hes just a dog since he is sooo nice with people (small kids too) and other dogs. The worst thing hes done was try to eat my w2 when i didnt give him enough pets.....

I dont know what an agouti is or an akita so ill look into it. The only thing i ever hear when i take him for a walk or to the store is "omg is that wolf".  And all i can say is uhh its a husky.

Agouti is a unique coat color for huskies and yours looks more like a wolf hybrid to me. Eye distance compared to a husky is farther apart and so are the ears. From the pics your dog has the longer snout and ears more associated with wolves. My mom has a german shepherd and the gait and appearance doesn't resemble a gsd to me. He also appears bigger than the average husky from the first pic but I can't tell. Gorgeous dog either way and I'm glad you rescued him, awesome dog.

By the way Akita's and Malamute's have larger more square heads with a bigger bone density. I would rule those 2 out of the mix.

Welcome to the forums............well my current hobby is distinguishing huskies, malamutes, gsd's and wolf dogs. What I see is predominately husky with Mal influence. Mals earset is slightly wider than a husky, and he looks to be an agouti, but he has what is called a mal striping, his coat has like a wave to it. The reason I go against Akita, is akita's are that much larger than a mal, and a mal is that much larger than a husky. He appears to be on the small end. He has those beautiful husky legs. Do you know how tall and how much he weighs? That would help. Also breed standard for husky's is the single track gait, so his single tracking would be from the husky. He is beautiful, and thank you for rescuing and giving him a great home!

Edit...small end as in smaller than a mal or akita

Wolven........if you mix a larger breed with the medium breed husky you will have traits that will be a mix of both. Wolf dogs will not have a wide ear set or eye set, they will not have a square muzzle, like he has. Everything in a wolf dog is closer together than even a husky, a wolf dog will have a v shaped muzzle that is thin, his paws are a nice blend of a husky mal.

Yes, I know what a mix is lol. I was only stating the obvious physical difference to me -"Eye distance compared to a husky is farther apart and so are the ears." This statement is unrelated to my prediction which I only backed up with this- "From the pics your dog has the longer snout and ears more associated with wolves." Longer snout and ears are traits wolves have compared to the smaller husky. Sorry for the confusion.

After looking at some agouti pictures I saw some that look pretty close to him. He is 61lbs. Not sure of the height.

He is so cute! He looks like a big coyote lol! Love his colors. Congratulations!

With all the comments and discussion, I'd love to see the results of a DNA test on this boy.

BTW @snowbuddy, Thank you for rescuing this guy, he's definitely a handsome <what ever he really is>

ETA: @rumflower, I have a couple of coyotes who seem to hang out in the scrub behind my place. I've had to warn (a shot fired into the air) one of them who's less afraid that he doesn't belong in my yard. At the same time, I'd like to have one who was friendly because in an odd way they really a beautiful looking canide.

Snowbuddy, at 61 pounds I would safely say you have a nice agouti racing line structured husky, again with possible Mal influence.

@Wolven.....no confusion....I was simply pointing out that wolf traits will not show up with wide set eyes or ears. Wide set eyes and ears are doggy traits. This statement "Longer snout and ears are traits wolves have compared to the smaller husky" is incorrect, although a wolf trait is a longer snout it is much thinner in a wolf than in a doggy, dogs will have a boxier snout, wolves will not, longer ears is not a wolf trait, they have much smaller ears, heavily furred and very close set, not much separation between ears. I will always stay on the doggy side of rescues, why? because even if there is no laws against having a wolf dog, if by any chance a rescue or a person claims to have a wolf dog run the risk of euthanasia if that dog is ever in trouble, i.e. biting another dog or human, constant escape, with the label of wolf dog, I just wouldn't do it, even if you know they are. Many dogs end up in one of two situations death row or going to a sanctuary by labeling a dog a wolf dog.

@Al and Danielle, I love the majestic-ness of a coyote as much as the wolf. Just a little bit of education in that territory....coyote/dog or the coy dog is much more difficult to achieve over a wolf dog. Coyotes seasons are much different to a wolf and dog, that is why wolf dogs are a bigger conversation than a coy dog. There is an exception, and Al touched on that in a thread last weeks hijack....coydogs in upstate NY...from what I understand with this is that feral dogs mated with coyotes, so coydogs are real, but for general "pets" not very common at all.

I don't think he's a coyote lol, but I like that he kind of looks like one!

I did not know that, Renee! Makes me wonder if all the coywolf fuss is nonsense.

The rescue was very careful to not say he was anything but a husky, which i don't really think is far from the truth. I think he is a mix of something obviously, but not a wolf but he did have plenty of "traits" but always just acted like a dog. He is super friendly and only wants a bit of attention and some love. Apparently he can break out of a metal crate and destroy your entire house, but we always keep him in a big run with another husky

Rumflower wrote:

I don't think he's a coyote lol, but I like that he kind of looks like one!

I did not know that, Renee! Makes me wonder if all the coywolf fuss is nonsense.

My cats are bigger than the coyotes we see out here. They don't really make it very long out here...

For further education....wolf dogs and wolves in general are just slightly larger than a husky, average weight is 80 pounds and that is average, most females will be 70-75 pounds and most males 80-85. The wolf that is mated to a malamute will be larger simply because a mal is a larger breed. It is a misnomer that a wolf is generally larger than most dogs. There is a heated debate currently on a rescue in California over a dog that the rescue has stated it to be a husky wolf dog, the dog has a bad case of mange, and those who are skilled in wolf dogs are begging this rescue to change the breed listed to just husky, those who "have" a wolf dog, generally go by what the byb breeder told them, that they have a wolf dog, because the byb breeds out of standard dogs. Or go by a rescue who have a hard time just listing an unusual, normally agouti's, looking dog as a wolf dog, when they should list as a mix, as in a husky mix.

Danielle, the coywolf thing is very real tho, in Upper Northeast Canada there is a research group studying this. Since wolves are very few and coyotes are more common, it has been determined that a sole wolf, has sought out coyotes to mate with, and have produced coywolves. The science behind this is, wolves normally mate in late winter having spring pups, and can link up their seasons with coyotes or dogs. Coyotes have a much more difficult of a time linking their seasons. Coyotes have not been over hunted compared to wolves, so the coyote population is greater than the wolf population. I am not all that great on genetics, but genetically speaking dogs have more genetic markers to wolves than to coyotes. They all share a common ancestor, however, the divergence is farther back for coyotes than to wolves as to dogs, so genetically wolves and dogs are technically closer in relation than a coyote is to a dog.

I am pretty passionate about this, misrepresentation of dogs get dogs killed or at best sent to sanctuaries. Dna tests are not accurate, and even the best places like UC Davis, will only show genetic markers that may include wolf in a dogs dna, doesn't mean a particular dog really has any more wolf dna than the next dog. There is also another thread on the forum with a video of a dog, the owner proclaims is a Malamute wolf dog, again, I mentioned that dog is just a mal, but because of his enormous size people keep saying he is a wolf dog. I am not sure why so many people have the need to say an unusual looking dog is automatically a wolf dog? There are strong and costly reactions when someone says a dog is a wolf dog, and the costs, well if someone were to prove their dog is not a wolf dog, because it killed the neighbors chickens, hmmm, court costs are enormous. The story of Karma, still lurks in my head, a poorly bred husky, and the owners would joke and say she was a husky wolf dog, AC was called out, and they took Karma, because wolf dogs were not permitted in the area with out licensing. The owners have spent a ton of money to try and get her back. Courts demanded a dna test, well I just mentioned they are not accurate, and wont say that all dogs can % out with even 1% wolf, does that make a dog a dangerous dog? Karma was taken off the euthanasia list and has been ordered to be sent to a wolf dog sanctuary. The owners will never have their pet back, and spent a ton of money, I guess they should be thankful that all the money they spent spared her her death, but.....

This rant is not an attack on you Wolven, and OP I apologize for hijacking your thread. But throwing out words like hey I see wolf in that dog, can be detrimental to a dog, causing it's death, or taken away from a life they will never know again, being taken away from their family, to spend their days with limited human contact. Believe it or not there are still people in the world who truly believe a blue eyed wolf exists, not true, and believe it or not huskies can have some funky looking coat colors, but again are not wolves. It is best not to mention a dog looks like a wolf and just tell people "wow that is an unusual looking husky".

My main concern was I did't really want him to be a wolf dog... but the month I've had him everyone says he looks like one, which is fine but even in the local husky community people get berated for having "wolfdogs" which are supposedly not legal.... but they are here and they just have beautiful pure bred huskys... he also got booted from a doggy daycare based on appearance.... before we got him

@miyasmomma i never thought he was a hybrid he just showed signs(like black claws and caudal spot) and i think he a loving beautiful dog