This is a wolf / mal mix. I have children and there is no way i would ever have one in my home!!! This guy was a friendly as it gets at the park and the owner says he is always that way. One bite and someone is on there way to the ER. Or your putting one of your children in the ground!!! How do they know the % of wolf to dog?? Im going to call bullshit on that. Oh yea thats a full grown bullmastiff in the picture with us. The mix was around 150lbs or so. I thought it was awesome at first, then watched a documentary "I know my spelling sucks, Kansas raised sorry!" on taiming wolves compaired to dogs. Didnt go the way i thought it would. Im not claiming to know anything on this, but please look at the size of this mix. When a dog turns or gets in a fight and you have to pull him off normally you get bit too!

all I can say is WOW I did not know they were that huge. The sibes look like babies compare to the Wolf Husky. Thanks for sharing.

wow, impressive!

Probably crossed with a giant Mal, they are that big to begin with.

yes it was crossed with a mal, funny thing is it used to be owned by a small korean family! It was bigger than most of them. Thats not a joke, im being totaly serious.

holy crap that dogs freaking huge!

Quote :

How do they know the % of wolf to dog??

You determine the percentage of wolf to dog by how many breedings have been done since wolf was introduced into the line and what kind of contents your breeding now - from my understanding.

The further away from the original wolf introduction into the line and the more you breed down the less content wolfdog you'll end up with. (that's really basic and not very clear and not at all correct but an idea)

That wolfdog is enormous! Thanks for sharing the photo.

I think you're right Ceara. The percentages are confusing though. It makes more sense to talk of low-, mid- or high-content. Suppose you breed a dog with a wolf; the result is 50% wolf. If you breed two such wolfdogs together, in theory the result is also 50% wolf, but in practice, because the genetic assortment is random, it could be anywhere from a low content to a high content depending which genes it's inherited. Different pups from the same litter would likely have different numbers of wolf vs dog genes. So most of the time you can't be precise about percentage.

Ghost wrote:

That wolfdog is enormous! Thanks for sharing the photo.

I think you're right Ceara. The percentages are confusing though. It makes more sense to talk of low-, mid- or high-content. Suppose you breed a dog with a wolf; the result is 50% wolf. If you breed two such wolfdogs together, in theory the result is also 50% wolf, but in practice, because the genetic assortment is random, it could be anywhere from a low content to a high content depending which genes it's inherited. Different pups from the same litter would likely have different numbers of wolf vs dog genes. So most of the time you can't be precise about percentage.

Thanks!
Yeah the percentages are really hard and I don't think you'll ever have a spot on percentage for the mix (i.e. 73%). It's just easier with the description low, mid and high because the percent ranges are a given, basically/roughly.

It would be something like F1 obviously will be high content (within the 90% range) - then if you breed that F1 to another wolfdog, but that dog is say a third gen mid content - the pups will be anywhere from say 50-80%. Then you do a breeding from that litter to say a 5th gen mid-low. Well that litter will obviously be getting the low end of mid and becoming low contents by that litter or the next so maybe 30-60%? Any breeding then from that litter to a mid/low would then be the low contents (ideally) so ~25% which more often than not have NO physical wolf characteristics. This obviously doesn't factor introducing high contents back in or actual wolves into the line. This would just be someone who wants to breed lows (eventually).

(The range in percents I left because each individual pup can be from one end of the percent spectrum [low] and another could be the polar opposite [higher])

Those are also in no way actual numbers (I really just pulled them out to give a general idea) - just hopefully to give maybe a little more clarification/understanding.

I just wanted to add that once you get 5 generations from the wolf, they are considered a dog and not a hybrid. (I had to do a lot of research on laws and genetics to prove to my family that we weren't breaking the law)

And if you want a wolf mainly for the coloring, I'd invest in an agouti husky. They look the same!

Zephyr&Titan wrote:

I just wanted to add that once you get 5 generations from the wolf, they are considered a dog and not a hybrid. (I had to do a lot of research on laws and genetics to prove to my family that we weren't breaking the law)

And if you want a wolf mainly for the coloring, I'd invest in an agouti husky. They look the same!

I'm curious: what characteristics does a wolf hybrid have that distinguish it so much from a husky?

I'm trying to understand what the rationalization behind breeding hybrids is. Huskies are independent, prey-driven creatures and in my mind are about as "wolf-like" as a dog is going to get without taking the risk of being a wolf or a wolf-mix. While I don't think I'm ever going to change my mind about breeding hybrids as being unnecessary and dangerous, I'm open enough to want to learn more as to why people believe it's okay to breed them.

I wish Kevin, owner of wolf hybrid Beowulf, from the other forum was here. He could give another side to the wolf hybrid ownership. He's got young kids, a Sibe, a GSD, and a wolf hybrid and he could share what a big responsibility a wolf hybrid is, moreso than a dog, and shared in the past how different they are from dogs and what a learning experience it was for him.

I'll admit there was a time before I knew about wolf hybrids that I thought I might want one. Until I did my research and talked to other wolf hybrid owners. The risk and unpredictability with the true hybrids are a huge deal and not something for anyone to take lightly, especially people who have never dealt with true hybrids. Not to mention that I've yet to see any reasonable explanation for a purpose behind breeding hybrids, especially considering what wild cards they can be.

And just as a side note to explain my "true hybrid" comment, the majority of people I've seen that claim to have or have met a wolf hybrid really don't or haven't. The majority of people have been either misinformed or deceived into thinking their wolfish lookalike is a hybrid when it's really some other dog mix. Like the "wolf/mal mix" at the top of this page, doesn't look the slightest bit like it could be a wolf hybrid to me.

With mine, having them isn't to say "I have a hybrid, look at me!" or anything like that. We found Zephyr at a flea market. The woman who bred was quitting and she was trying to find homes for the last litter. We both loved huskies so we got her. We had done zero research and had no clue what we were really getting.
For me, I just love them. I love how they act. I love that they aren't like most dogs.
I've never had a pure bred husky. We were supposed to get one last year and the woman sold him the weekend we went to go get him (we were so heart broken).
Honestly, we had never intended to own a hybrid. We wanted huskies and malamutes (more so mals but we could never afford one).

I just believe that the same argument could be made toward any breed.
Some people have good experiences with them, and some don't.

According to a book I read, wolves did not evolve to understand human body language, where dogs are bred to. When you mix the two, you can create a hybrid that has a hard time understanding its care-takers and that's part of the reason they tend to be uncomfortable with people. Why breed this?

To clarrify itwas told it was a timber wolf / mal mix if that makes a difference. Idk if its true or not. But however i should have gotten a picture of his teeth. Big and long. And his growl / howl was blood curdling deep! I can say out of the mals ive ever seen, they never compaired to this dogs size.

huskies81 wrote:

To clarrify itwas told it was a timber wolf / mal mix if that makes a difference. Idk if its true or not. But however i should have gotten a picture of his teeth. Big and long. And his growl / howl was blood curdling deep! I can say out of the mals ive ever seen, they never compaired to this dogs size.

Timberwolves are generally just as big as a regular malamute. That dog is most definitely crossed with a Giant Malamute which is a fake, designer breed. People breed malamutes to be in excess of 150-200 lbs. That is not only unhealthy for the animal, it's downright irresponsible. It shortens a Malamute's lifespan from 12+ years to about 5.

Wolves are generally the same size as regular dogs.

Koda wrote:

Wolves are generally the same size as regular dogs.

Just wanted to clarify on this a teeny bit lol before people go assuming Wolves are as big (small) as Siberians (These are the measurements for the Timber [Gray] Wolf only):

HEIGHT: 26 - 33 inches.
LENGTH: 6.5 ft. (including tail)
WEIGHT: Can weigh up to 175 lb.

Zephyr&Titan wrote:

I just believe that the same argument could be made toward any breed.
Some people have good experiences with them, and some don't.

Reputable breeders only breed to show or work their dogs. IE- they are a strong and conformed example of the breed. Their existence should be to better the breed (add good examples/offspring to the world) and they would ONLY be bred to produce another dog to show or work.

Wolves and mixes do not conform to that standard. A wolf's purpose is to be wild. They are not domestic. You can't RESPONSIBLY breed a hybrid because it doesn't exist. By the sheer nature of it being a hybrid, it doesn't adhere to that standard of being bred to be worked or shown, to be a better example of the breed. A hybrid isn't a breed.

And I'm still curious what about a hybrid's personality is unique? All the desirable traits of a hybrid are traits that are naturally found in the husky or malamute.

Niraya wrote:

Koda wrote:

huskies81 wrote:

Wolves are generally the same size as regular dogs.

Just wanted to clarify on this a teeny bit lol before people go assuming Wolves are as big (small) as Siberians:

Wolves:
HEIGHT: 26 - 33 inches.
LENGTH: 6.5 ft. (including tail)
WEIGHT: Can weigh up to 175 lb.

CAN weigh. Timberworlves are long, tall and lanky. Their faces aren't as huge and bearlike as that dog. THAT is a typical Giant Malamute trait. The reason wolves CAN weigh so much is their height.... weight, not so much. They are similar in size to a great dane or mastiff.

I wasn't disagreeing O.o just making a statement since you didn't clarify really - you just said "regular dog" which by any one persons standard could be different. Going off of that one could assume they're as small as a Siberian and every Siberian is then a wolf (?).

I dunno was just something I thought would be for better clarification. I used to spend a lot of time years ago volunteering at a preserve and giving speeches about their arctic wolves lol. Sorry.

Niraya wrote:

I wasn't disagreeing O.o just making a statement since you didn't clarify really - you just said "regular dog" which by any one persons standard could be different. Going off of that one could assume they're as small as a Siberian and every Siberian is then a wolf (?).

I dunno was just something I thought would be for better clarification. I used to spend a lot of time years ago volunteering at a preserve and giving speeches about their arctic wolves lol. Sorry.

Fair enough I can't argue with wanting to clarify

Koda wrote:

Fair enough I can't argue with wanting to clarify

Just trying to help out the best I can!

I suppose people have a romantic idea of wanting something that has a bit of wild in it, and don't think it through that 'wild' doesn't belong in their house. And then they like the idea of having such a beautiful animal too (although a siberian husky or a malamute is just as beautiful). I don't see a reason to breed wolf-dogs when so many are abandoned by their owners. I can understand someone wanting to adopt a rescue wolf-dog because after all it's a creature in need of a home, and if it's an adult then you have some idea of it's temperament. But you have to know what you are getting into.

There was a nice story a few days ago about veterans helping to rehabilitate rescued wolf-dogs, here.

There were a couple of things about wolves and dogs that I found interesting in John Bradshaw's book which is called Dog Sense in north america ("In Defence of Dogs" elsewhere). One is that although dogs are descended from wolves, the kind of wolf around now is probably not the kind of wolf from which they descended; because wolves have been hunted so much, only the ones that are most fearful of people have survived. The other is that as far as he knows, the north american gray wolf is the only wolf from which dogs did not evolve, i.e. they evolved from other types of wolf in other parts of the world. That means that the wolf part of wolf-dogs here is not necessarily as friendly as the actual wolves that ultimately evolved into dogs. Anyway I found that interesting.

Hayden_69 wrote:

This thread made me do some research on hybrid rescue and this seems like a great group!

http://www.howlingwoods.org/index.html

These dog's are absolutely gorgeous and such a shame people buy/breed them and just throw them away once they figure out how much of a handful they are.

I volunteer with Howling Woods... its a great and educational place to visit if anyone here is in the NJ area

Also, in regards to this thread (sorry I know its a little old) but I would suggest you stay away from wolf husky pups.. I havent heard one good thing about them...but a whole lot of bad. I have heard several times that they are a puppy mill. I can see just by looking at their page that the animals are most likely not the content / percent claimed. Just stuff I have heard though, I have never talked to anyone on there... there are better places to look if you want a well bred wolfdog. Just my opinion.