Do you think my dog has wolf blood in her (DNA testing)

[Pleonasm]

My supposed malamute/golden eyes (75-25%)

Wolf eyes...

My dog again..

She exhibits several signs of characteristic wolf behavior including hypersensitivity to stimulus, is extremely skittish etc

Would you bet she has 5-10% actual wolf blood in her when the results are in?

 

[Pleonasm]

Another thing, other dogs, including american pitbulls, freak out when she gets dominant on them, if a fights break out. I have never seen those breed afraid or back down from anything. I'm talking about at least 3 occasions where these breeds freaked out.

 

[Vanadium 50]

What does "wolf blood" mean? Does your dog share genes with wolves? Certainly. Your dog shares genes with yeast.

 

[Pleonasm]

What does "wolf blood" mean? Does your dog share genes with wolves? Certainly. Your dog shares genes with yeast.

The same wolf blood found in crossings between dogs and wolfes. Are you suggesting wolf blood is undetectable?

 

[Rive]

You might wanna' google up 'wolfdog'. If you think it is 5-10% (third or fourth generation) then it is practically irrelevant, especially for a malamute.
However, expectations based on a DNA test might have a bad impact on your relations with your dog. Unless there are problems (which cannot be corrected by training) such tests are quite meaningless.

 

[Pleonasm]

You might wanna' google up 'wolfdog'. If you think it is 5-10% (third or fourth generation) then it is practically irrelevant, especially for a malamute.
However, expectations based on a DNA test might have a bad impact on your relations with your dog. Unless there are problems (which cannot be corrected by training) such tests are quite meaningless.

It would explain the behavior described. What do you think based on the pictures and gut feeling?

 

[Rive]

What do you think based on the pictures and gut feeling?

I think you are overthinking and overdoing this. Alpha dominance (both for males/females) is not exquisite to wolfs/wolfdogs, it happens to regular dogs as well.
As for the pictures - with dogs (and actually with any other pets) the first thing to learn is to forget (about the fur) and concentrate on behaviour.

Ps.: I have a gut feeling that originally Grumpy was a happy cat

 

[Pleonasm]

I think you are overthinking and overdoing this. Alpha dominance (both for males/females) are not exquisite to wolfs/wolfdogs, it happens to regular dogs as well.
As for the pictures - with dogs (and actually with any other pets) the first thing to learn is to forget (about the fur) and concentrate on behaviour.

I have consulted both Malamute and Golden Retriever breeders. Her hypersensitivity is not typical at all for either one. I want verification that it is indeed a 75-25% mix of Alaskan Malamute and Golden Retriever. I strongly doubt that is the case.

 

[Pleonasm]

I think you are overthinking and overdoing this. Alpha dominance (both for males/females) is not exquisite to wolfs/wolfdogs, it happens to regular dogs as well.
As for the pictures - with dogs (and actually with any other pets) the first thing to learn is to forget (about the fur) and concentrate on behaviour.

It's very rare for a "game" fighting dog breed provoking my dog, to retreat and show genuine fear, left shaking in the grass. The owner started to cry and thought mine was going to kill it.

 

[Rive]

"game" fighting dog

Well, it's actually not popular to have an 'alpha' fighting dog.
And being an 'alpha' is not about muscles or breed... (sorry )

 

[Pleonasm]

Well, it's actually not popular to have an 'alpha' fighting dog.
And being an 'alpha' is not about muscles or breed... (sorry )

Does it sound 100% doggy to you? I can't walk with her in a crowded city with noise. She almost collapses from the stimulus. Even a group of marathon joggers freak her out (lol)

 

[russ_watters]

The same wolf blood found in crossings between dogs and wolfes. Are you suggesting wolf blood is undetectable?

I think the point is that "wolf blood" isn"t a "thing". Where did you get that term? What do you think it means?

Genetically, YOU are about 80% wolf. So what does that tell us?

 

[Nugatory]

Does it sound 100% doggy to you? I can't walk with her in a crowded city with noise. She almost collapses from the stimulus. Even a group of marathon joggers freak her out (lol)

Sounds a lot like our dog, who is a boxer/basset/lab/chow mix by DNA testing.

"100% doggy" covers a very wide range of behaviors. Consider how wide a range of physical characteristics you would accept as 100% dog - from cocker spaniel to Saint Bernard. The span between the behavior you're describing and mellow-mutt behavior isn't any greater.

Do not underestimate the effect of early training/socialization either. A dog that is not exposed to a high-stimulus environment from an early age is unlikely to adjust happily to such an environment as an adult.

 

[Pleonasm]

I think the point is that "wolf blood" isn"t a "thing". Where did you get that term? What do you think it means?

Genetically, YOU are about 80% wolf. So what does that tell us?

Is wolf blood relatively recent in the family tree detectable or not?

 

[Pleonasm]

Do not underestimate the effect of early training/socialization either. A dog that is not exposed to a high-stimulus environment from an early age is unlikely to adjust happily to such an environment as an adult.

Do you think I would ask these questions if that was the case? I keep asking myself each time I make threads, why people by default assume complete idiocy. I mean really. Common now.

 

[Pleonasm]

Let's hypothesize for argument sake that I cross a purebred dog with a pure grey wolf, then conduct a DNA test. Would this test confirm the direct 50% wolf line blood or not?

 

[russ_watters]

Is wolf blood relatively recent in the family tree detectable or not?

Again: what do you think "wolf blood" means?

 

[Pleonasm]

Again: what do you think "wolf blood" means?

A recent crossing between a wolf and a dog.

 

[russ_watters]

Let's hypothesize for argument sake that I cross a purebred dog with a pure grey wolf, then conduct a DNA test. Would this test confirm the direct 50% wolf line blood or not?

So by "wolf blood" you really mean recent cross breeding. So could you please stop using the unscientific term "wolf blood"?

The answer, though, is probably yes: a DNA test could probably identify a recent cross-breeeding in the ancestors.

 

[Pleonasm]

So by "wolf blood" you really mean DNA overlap. Great. So could you please stop using the unscientific term "wolf blood"?

The answer, though, is probably yes: a DNA test could probably identify a recent cross-breeeding in the ancestors.

And just for fun sake, what would you guess is the case here going by the pictures and the description given? Do you think there is a recent crossbreeding at play here? If you had a gun to your head, what would you guess?

 

[Pleonasm]

The answer, though, is probably yes: a DNA test could probably identify a recent cross-breeeding in the ancestors.

Why only probably?

 

[Pleonasm]

So by "wolf blood" you really mean recent cross breeding. So could you please stop using the unscientific term "wolf blood"?

.

Which scientific term do you propose I use instead? The DNA structure of a given animal is constituted by blood.

 

[russ_watters]

And just for fun sake, what would you guess is the case here going by the pictures and the description given? Do you think there is a recent crossbreeding at play here? If you had a gun to your head, what would you guess?

I'm not a "dog person", but I would guess no. Some dogs are hyper and/or don't obey/play well with others. An ex of mine has a Boston terrier that gave such a hyper response to the slightest stimulus that she occasionally fainted! Apparently, that's just their "thing".

 

[russ_watters]

Which scientific term do you propose I use instead?

Recent cross-breeding or ancestry.

The DNA structure of a given animal is constituted by blood.

That sentence really doesn't make sense. DNA is the genetic coding in your cells. It has nothing, specifically, to do with blood.

I think there is a colloquial usage of similar terms like "bloodline" that is used in fiction media ("he has king's blood") to describe associations on a family tree. I'm not sure if it was actually used historically or what people who used it thought it meant.

All living things are literally relatives of each other and a lot of potentially interesting, yet unscientific and largely meaningless things can be said about the associations. E.G. if you are willing to go back enough generations, you could say everyone has "king's blood" and "wolf's blood" and "yeast's blood" even though yeast doesn't have blood.

 

[Pleonasm]

Recent cross-breeding or ancestry.

Is there recent cross-breeeding in my dog? Why not: is there recent wolf DNA in my dog?

 

[russ_watters]

Is there recent cross-breeeding in my dog? Why not: is there recent wolf DNA in my dog?

Because DNA doesn't change much, so there is no way to know how recent/old a segment of DNA is. But you can estimate based on percent similarity overall.

If you flip the second one over it makes more sense: "was wolf DNA recently added to my dog's ancestry?" But then DNA is kind of redundant: "does my dog have any recent wolf ancestry?"

 

[Pleonasm]

Because DNA doesn't change much, so there is no way to know how recent/old a segment of DNA is. But you can estimate based on percent similarity overall.

If you flip the second one over it makes more sense: "was wolf DNA recently added to my dog's ancestry?" But then DNA is kind of redundant: "does my dog have any recent wolf ancestry?"

But again, why do you say that a DNA test would probably identify an offspring from a timber wolf and a dog? How could it not, if it's that recent?

 

[russ_watters]

But again, why do you say that a DNA test would probably identify an offspring from a timber wolf and a dog?

I think - though am not certain - that because the DNA you get from your parents both overlaps and is not exactly a 50/50 split, it gets harder and harder to identify specific ancestors the further back you go.

...[google]... Yeah:

From Ancestry.com:

Enough DNA is shared with closer relatives that genealogical relationships can be determined with a higher degree of accuracy based on DNA, but because we don’t necessarily inherit DNA from ancestors in the precise percentages one might expect (25% from each grandparent, 12.5% from each great-grandparent, and so forth), and because our genealogical cousins don’t receive exactly the same DNA as we do from our common ancestors, determining exact relationships via DNA becomes less feasible the more distant the genealogical relationship is. Percentages of DNA shared between relatives at the 4th cousin level and beyond may signify any number of distant relationships, but the genealogical relationships are unlikely to be closer than six degrees from the test taker.

https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/DNA-Match-Relationships#viewing

...and of course, for that level of accuracy is possible from testing the actual family members.

 

[Pleonasm]

I think - though am not certain - that because the DNA you get from your parents both overlaps and is not exactly a 50/50 split, it gets harder and harder to identify specific ancestors the further back you go.

...[google]... Yeah:

From Ancestry.com:

https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/DNA-Match-Relationships#viewing

...and of course, for that level of accuracy is possible from testing the actual family members.

Wouldn't this then likely exclude the findings I'm looking for? The crossbreeding that I suspected took place was perhaps third or forth generation. And yes, I 100% believe this can affect/be expressed in a later dogs behavior, far-fetched as it might seem. Crappy if my theory is unfalsifiable...

 

[Pleonasm]

Or proposition, I should say. It isn't much of a theory to propose that a wolf and a dog mated.

 

[Pleonasm]

I'm not a "dog person", but I would guess no. Some dogs are hyper and/or don't obey/play well with others. An ex of mine has a Boston terrier that gave such a hyper response to the slightest stimulus that she occasionally fainted! Apparently, that's just their "thing".

I guess it would also be a pure probability concideration. Even though the seller in this case was shady and could have gotten her parents from anybody (no documentation) it is still most likely that these breeders used dogs only for simplicity sake.

 

[Rive]

Does it sound 100% doggy to you? I can't walk with her in a crowded city with noise. She almost collapses from the stimulus. Even a group of marathon joggers freak her out (lol)

It might not match your expectations, but still within the range of 'dog'.

Wolf//dog crossbreeds are rare, but due the prestige of the 'wolf' part they do have a publicity.
Inbreeding is an everyday practice, with a big silence around it.
Trauma is just not really recognized as 'valid' for dogs.

So, unless you are from an area where both wild wolfs and dogs living close to the wild are frequent, I would cry (in order of probability):
- inbreeding
- some early trauma
- bad luck
- unknown
- more unknown
- wolf

Anyway, when/if you have result please let us know.

 

[Pleonasm]

It might not match your expectations, but still within the range of 'dog'.

Wolf//dog crossbreeds are rare, but due the prestige of the 'wolf' part they do have a publicity.
Inbreeding is an everyday practice, with a big silence around it.
Trauma is just not really recognized as 'valid' for dogs.

So, unless you are from an area where both wild wolfs and dogs living close to the wild are frequent, I would cry (in order of probability):
- inbreeding
- some early trauma
- bad luck
- unknown
- more unknown
- wolf

Anyway, when/if you have result please let us know.

The breeder lives out in the country. Here's momma who recently was put to sleep.

 

[Pleonasm]

We are based in a Sweden but the malamute mother and the mixed breed father (50/50 mal/golden) are both foreign.

 

[Pleonasm]

I have a question relevant to this discussion. If it's hard to distinguish wolf DNA from dogs, how in the world do they genetically distinguish different dog breeds from each other?

Leaving aside appearence. Let's pretend we are alla empirically blind for the sake of it and can only evaluate DNA structures