I don't remember this conversation coming up before, but if so, can someone find the link and I'll delete this or lock and redirect?

I had a conversation with someone in the bar (I'm a bartender part-time) and he was claiming that Siberian Huskies are genetically the closest to wolves than any other breed. Now, I know that's not true, but I also know that they are on the "Ancient Breed" list with about 13 other breeds who have DNA strands most closely resembling the grey wolf. So... I didn't really know how to refute the person's statement.

We ended up discussing it, but I was definitely not able to articulate myself well and in a search right now, I can't seem to find the information that I'm looking for, so I'd like some help. Does anyone have articles discussing this?

Where he was getting me was that I said huskies looked "wolfish" because they were bred in isolation for so long. He claims that because of that, they are genetically closer to wolves. I couldn't refute that.

Am I wrong? What's the proper scientific argument here?

I'm not sure if this helps you or not. It's not really an article but a chart:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/02/build-a-dog/dog-families-graphic

http://www.wayeh.com/aboutsleddogs/wolves.htm

Here's something I think might help. You're right. The scientific argument would just be how and where the breeds were developed over time. It took hundreds of years to get the differences in appearances in today's dogs. It was all due to selective breeding really. Joe wanted a dog that would fetch things for him so he took two wolves that chased more than others and made pups. Then he moved to a warmer climate where they didn't need thick double coats so as the generations passed, Joe's dogs developed a different coat, (shorter and thinner). Sally wanted a dog to pull her stuff so she took two wolves that were strong and made pups. She stayed in the colder, northern climate. Sally's dogs didn't need to adapt to knew conditions so even after several hundred generations, they kept generally the same appearance as their ancestors. Etc, etc. (Assuming you know this but for future reference of others who might not).

A good way to show someone how breeding plays a role would be to bring up some stuff on Pomeranians. They used to be a lot bigger than they are today. But people wanted them smaller so now if we want to be technical, today's Pomeranians aren't even the same breed of dog as they once were.

The above post is an excellent one (check out that link too!). Definitely check out Robert Wayne's (UCLA) research. He uses DNA sequencing to work out the relationships within the Canidae family and provides evidence that huskies are no more related to a wolf than a chihuahua.

Here's another great read.

http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/99jul/9907dogs2.htm

Mitochondrial DNA is a much more accurate representation of ancestry as it is the DNA just passed down by the mother unlike regular DNA which is a mix of both parents and therefore "diverged" at a much faster rate.

I think I was part of that original conversation. Somewhere in my house I have a book that says that the Siberian Husky is indeed one the of the breeds that remain the least removed from their wild ancestors. Some of the reasons I remember (I'll try to find the book when I have a minute - I believe it was a training book.): The husky has kept the ability to raise its hackles, many huskies have a dark patch of fur at the top base of their tail indicating the location of a gland in wild dogs, also the inability to digest many grains efficiently. I know there were more characteristics in this list, even though the appearance of the husky was not one of the reasons. As a matter of fact, there was a very non-wolf looking dog high in this list as well as I remember, simply because that breed also exhibits many of these wild dog traits.

Believe it or not Shih Tzu are more related to wolves than any other breeds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erZOOhG99yI

Many other breeds not any other. As Beth posted the shiba inu leads that distinction. Heres another link on their ancestral origin.

http://www.terrificpets.com/articles/1028465.asp

Kizmat wrote:

Believe it or not Shih Tzu are more related to wolves than any other breeds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erZOOhG99yI

The Siberian Husky episode of Dogs 101 on Animal Planet stated the husky was closely related to the Shih Tzu which surprised me.