Wolfdog hybrid

A wolfdog hybrid (also known as: wolf mixes, wolf crosses, wolf-dogs, wolf dogs, wolf hybrids, hybrid wolves, or simply hybrids) is the result of a crossbreeding (whether intended or unintended) between a domestic dog and a full-blooded wolf.

Wolfdogs are generally divided into three separate ”subgroups”:

I. Low-content wolfdogs (1% to 50%) (Long bodies, short, stubby legs, curly tails, pointy sharp-edged ears, precaudal spots - no glands, rarely possess any significant wolf-like features, appearance and behavior are strongly influenced by the domestic dog heritage)
II. Mid-content wolfdogs (51% to 75%) (Eyes and face are more lupine compared to low-contents, can have double dewclaws, behavior is slightly wolf-like, markings on face very usual, wolf-like coat pattern, well-furred ears, straight or curly tails, longer muzzles, larger paws, bark like a dog - may howl, can move like a wolf, more visible and prominent wolf-like features than is found in low-contents)
III. High-content wolfdogs (76% to 99%) (Go into season once a year, extremely wolf-like behavior, well-faded and appropriately blended facial markings, can howl like a wolf, a working precaudal gland and dewclaws, born with blue eyes and dark coats like wolves, move like wolves, round ears, straight tails, slanted eyes, high prey drive, must be extremely well trained and socialized, sheds the same way as a wolf)


I. Movement
Wolves, wolfdogs and dogs do not share the same mechanical motion when it comes to running and trotting. The body shape and the proportion of the limbs differ significantly: a wolf's hind legs swing in the same line as its front legs whilst a dog places its hind legs between its front legs. A wolf and a wolfdog paces, a dog trots. Wolves run on their toes with their heels raised up from the ground. It is called digitigrade movement. Wolves and extremely high-content wolfdogs (90-99%) also have their elbows turned inward and their feet turned outward - an anatomical advance which enables them to travel faster and keep their stamina as intact and preserved as possible when chasing after prey.

II. Ears
Dogs tend to have "sharp" and triangular ears which are covered in short, fine fur. Wolves and high-content wolfdogs have well-furred erect ears rounded at the tip. In low and mid-content wolfdogs, the lining of the ear and its shape is typically pointier and larger.

III. Eye Shape & Color
A dog's eye color is not always an indication of potential wolf heritage because many breeds produce orange and yellow eyes. If the color is unusually deep or bright, a dog may have wolf in it, but the combination of the color of the eye and its shape is a far better indication than the color alone. Whereas a dog has round eyes, wolves and wolfdogs have slanted eyes shaped like an almond. Wolves and high-content hybrids are not bi-eyed (heterochromic) and they seldom have green or blue eyes.

Both wolf and wolf hybrid puppies are born with limpid blue eyes but the color gradually lightens and reduces to gold, brown, ocher, amber, orange, or yellow. The eyes shift color approximately between the ages of 8 and 16 weeks, but can also occur earlier, at 6 to 10 weeks of age.

There is also some differences in a wolf's and a dog's facial expressions – dogs do not or cannot look up, or look straight ahead with their heads lowered like wolves and high-content wolfdogs do. A wolf or a wolfdog can have its muzzle touching the ground and it can look up or straight ahead of what's in front of it. This is because wolves' eye sockets allow more movement to have the ability to do this.

IV. Fur Color & Coat Pattern
Wolves and wolf hybrids have an unbroken and cryptic fur pattern, whereas dogs can be multicolored and come in an extensive variety of different colors and markings. Wolfdogs are born with a very dark fur which, as they mature, either stays darkly or semi-darkly colored or then shifts into a light gray, pale or light brown, yellowish-gray or grayish-brown. White wolfdogs - including hybrids with Arctic heritage - are also born with dark pelages. The coat color on white and Arctic wolfdogs starts to lighten instead of darkening.

Low, and particularly mid-content wolfdogs typically have lightly colored masks and other slight facial markings.

Fur color transitions begin their permanent shifting in the pups' development around the age of 8 to 9 months, and the fur may continue changing up until 2 years of age (5 years on Arctic wolfdogs).


The Saarloos Wolfdog

-> crossing a German Shepherd Dog male to a female European Wolf

The Czechoslovakian Wolfdog

-> crossing of a German Shepherd Dog with a Eurasian wolf


The Lupo Italiano

-> crossing a wild wolf from Northern Lazio with a German Shepherd Dog

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There are many other hybrids obtained crossing german shepherd dogs/huskies with wolves (gray, arctic...). Wolfdogs can have almost any fur and eye colors. (http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/images24/ArcticWolfSiberianHuskyHybridWhiteFangDog2.jpg)

NOTE: The character you rp with can also be a hybrid.

Sources: WolfQuest, Wikipedia