Wolves are native to North America, Greenland, Europe and Asia.
Wolf hybrids result when wolves interbreed with other species of canines (usually dogs or coyotes). Wolves are sometimes crossed with domestic dogs to produce hybrid wolf-dogs. Wolves and domestic dogs diverged about 14, 000 years ago, but hybrids between domestic dogs and wolves are usually completely fertile and can continue to breed through generations.
Wolf-dogs
The Alaskan malamute, like a wolf, seldom barks.
Wolves and dogs are interbred for exotic pets as well as working animals. Wolf-dogs have an extremely keen sense of smell and are useful tracking animals. Wolf-dogs can have a widely varied appearance, and their form depends on the parents. Several attempts have been made to produce reliable breeds of hybrid wolf-dogs. Breeds such as the German shepherd and Alaskan malamute have been obtained from crossing domestic dogs with wolves.
Wolf and Domestic Dog Hybrids
In Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, breeders crossed German shepherds with Eurasian wolves to produce an animal with the trainability of a German shepherd but the physical characteristics of a wolf. The result is the Czechoslovakian wolfdog, recognized by several national dog societies. The American Kennel Club has recognized the Czechoslovakian wolfdog or vlcak as foundation stock since 2001. The vlcak is colored silver-gray, yellow-gray or gray. In the 1930s, a Dutch breeder crossed wolves with German shepherds to produce the Sarloos wolfhound. Attempts to use this breed as a service dog have met with limited success.
Wolf-Coyote Hybrids
Coyotes are smaller than wolves, but they commonly interbreed.
The red wolf, native to the southwestern United States, sometimes interbreeds with coyotes. This occurs when there is limited mate selection for the two species. It may be that the red wolf is itself a hybrid between wolves and coyotes and not itself a unique subspecies. While adult wolves can reach a weight of 150 pounds or more, adult coyotes are usually under 50 pounds. Hybrid wolf-coyotes are usually intermediate in size between the two parents. Coyotes often invade areas where wolves have been eliminated.
Eurasian Wolves
The Eurasian wolf is related to the North American gray wolf.
The Eurasian wolf is considered a subspecies of the North American gray wolf. It is somewhat smaller and exists throughout Northern Europe and Asia. There is some concern that small populations of the Eurasian wolf have hybridized with domestic dogs. This has hampered conservation efforts to reintroduce wild wolves to Germany, where dog hybrids appeared in the introduced wolf population. Genetic and behavioral differences between purebred wolves and wolf-dog hybrids are considered to make the hybrids less likely to survive and reproduce in the wild.
Differences
Wolves have four toes and no dewclaw on their hind feet.
Wolves may have developed their black coats from inbreeding with domestic dogs. A sign of the purity of wolves is the complete absence of hind leg dewclaws. Dew claws are the vestigial fifth toe on the hind legs that domestic dogs possess. Pure wolves have only four toes on their hind feet. Wolves and wolf hybrids typically do not bark, or have difficulty barking. Wolves communicate through gutteral growls and howling.
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