"Breeders of Fine Quality High Content Wolfdogs"

                              This page contains  some basic information on Wolfdogs.
                                            
                
                                                                                            

For More Information on Wolves and Wolfdogs Recommended books to buy & READ! Wolves    By L. David Mech The Wolf    By L. David Mech These books are considered to be the BIBLE among wolf & wolfdog owners!! Do you know what a wolfdog is saying, just by looking at his ears, tail, &/or his face?  You WILL if you read these books! Wolfdogs A-Z     By Nicole Wilde  Behavior, Training & More Living With Wolfdogs   By Nicole Wilde An everyday Guide to a Lifetime Companionship Of Wolves And Men    By Barry Holstun Lopez If you can't find them in your library or bookstore ask if they can get it for you. It is well worth the money! WHAT IS IN YOUR DOG FOOD???? Wolves, Wolfdogs, and Dogs CANNOT Digest Corn or Cereals! What are the  first 3  ingredients in your dog food?  Go check, you may be surprised at what you find! Is there corn, oatmeal,  wheat, rice, oats ? These are cereals! You want to buy a MEAT base food! We at Wolfhaugen Kennels, If you ask a question and we can't answer it for you..... We will find the answer & let you know!! You buy one our wolfdogs , we are an extended part of your family and you ours!! We are here for you 24/7! Just remember the ONLY stupid question was the one YOU DIDN'T ASK!!

On this page you will find information on the following: Percentages-(F1, F2), Breeders Breeding, Containment's, Socialization              What is a Wolfdog ( Wolf Hybrid)? If you breed a pure wolf with a dog, you create a wolfdog.  The type of dog used in each cross must be considered. Because of random genetics inherited from both the dog and the Wolf, the looks and/or behavior can vary. Wolfdogs can be classified into three different groups, depending on the content of genuine amount of wolf content that the animal can possess. These groups are as follows: Low Content, Mid Content, and High Content.  The amount of actual wolf genes carried over to it's offspring can vary, as wolf genetics doesn't follow conventional mathematical methods. I will do my best to help explain this, and answer your questions: *The quoted "wolf %" on paper is NOT a reliable indicator of the amount of wolf in the animal, for a number of reasons. Here is the "marbles" explanation of how "wolf percent" works. Say you have two animals: dad is a pure wolf, mom is a pure dog. On paper, their puppies are 50% wolf, 50% dog.  How it works in reality: assume "black=wolf",  red=dog".  Put 100 black marbles in a fishbowl to represent Dad's genes: 100% wolf genes, so ALL his marbles are black. Put 100 red marbles in another fishbowl to represent Mom's genes. She is all dog, so all 100 of her marbles are red. Now, to create a puppy from their breeding: take 50 marbles at random from Dad, and 50 marbles at random from Mom. In this case, all marbles from Dad will be black, because that's all he has. All marbles from Mom will be red, for the same reason. SO, the puppy will have 50 black marbles/"wolf genes", and 50 red marbles/"dog genes". All puppies in the litter will have this combination. This is the ONLY scenario where "percent" equals "actual wolf content". Now, take one of those puppies (let's call him Timber  :) and breed him to another puppy, from another "pure wolf X pure dog" litter just like his own. We'll call his 50% mate "Cheyenne". On paper, since Timber and Cheyenne are both 50%, their puppies will be 50 + 50 divided by 2, or, "50% wolf". However, in reality, this is what happens: Take Timber's bowl of marbles, 50 red and 50 black. Make another bowl just like it for Cheyenne: 50 red, and 50 black. Now, they are going to create a pup. Randomly (with your eyes closed & no cheating ;) pick out 50 marbles from Timber's bowl, and 50 from Cheyenne's. Put them together in their own bowl, and look at the results. You may have randomly chosen all 50 of Timber's black marbles, and all 50 of Cheyenne's black ones as well, and come up with a pup made of all wolf genes! Not likely, but it is theoretically possible. OR, you could have chosen all the red marbles from both dogs, and produced a pure dog.  Genetically speaking, of course. The most likely scenario is that you will get an assortment of pups, with anywhere from, say, 25 to 75 (?) "wolf" marbles. But, ALL of these pups are "50%" on paper. Obviously, the pup that is made of 75% wolf genes is going to look and act a lot more like a wolf than the one who only got 25% wolf genes...so, the "50%" label is not really accurate anymore. Now, let's take the puppy who got only 25% wolf genes (we'll call him Lobo), and breed him to a puppy just like him from another litter. The "50%-on-paper, 25%-actual-wolf-content" female he breeds to, will be called Wolfie. ON PAPER, since both Lobo and Wolfie are 50%, their puppies are 50% as well. (50 + 50 divided by 2=50.) IN REALITY, take 50 marbles at random from Lobo's bowl, and 50 from Wolfie's. What did you come up with? It is POSSIBLE to take all 25 of each parent's black marbles, and actually get a 50% pup...but, more likely you will take, oh, 5 to 15 of those marbles from each. That makes the resultant puppy 10 to 30% wolf, not 50% like it says on his "papers". See how fast this goes downhill? There's a big difference between a 10% wolf and a 50% wolf...and this puppy is only three generations away from a  pure wolf! Most wolfdogs today are many generations away from a pure wolf, and it takes its toll on the amount of actual "wolf" in them. There are many, many "90% wolf"s, some of which are unfortunately being bred, who are almost indistinguishable from a domestic malamute or German shepherd mix. style "font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"> In fact, the number of generations away from a pure wolf that a wolfdog is, will often be a better indicator of how much "wolf" he has than his "percent" will be. The "filial generation", or "F-gen/"F number" of a wolfdog simply means how many generations away from pure wolf he is. If a wolfdog is an "F-1", like Timber in our example above, it means that one parent was a pure wolf. If he is "F-2", like Lobo above, it means that a grandparent was a pure wolf. A first generation animal is probably going to be very wolf like in most respects. If you know both the percentage AND the F-number of an animal, it gives you a better idea of its actual wolf content; however, wolf-to-dog genetics is still basically a crap shoot, and there will be wide variation amongst the pups in any given litter. Lobo in our example above is a "50% F2" wolfdog, but in this case he only inherited 25% wolf genes. One of his brothers may have inherited 75%, and therefore been a much more "wolfy" animal...yet he is still a "50% F2", just like Lobo.  The gap widens with every successive generation. This is what makes the breeding of wolf crosses such a tricky endeavor...it is hard enough to place a wolf cross pup with an appropriately responsible and knowledgeable owner, without being unsure of how "wolfy" the little guy will grow up to be! There is no way to determine the amount of "wolf" in any given animal. DNA testing is underway, of course, but to date it has been unsuccessful. The difference between a wolf and a dog, genetically, is next to nothing. Phenotyping may help to give some idea of wolf content...if an animal looks exactly like a wolf, then you are safe to assume there is some wolf blood present; however, just how much wolf is impossible to declare with any real accuracy. If the animal looks exactly like a domestic dog mix, it is safe to say that the animal is not "mostly wolf"; however, he may be *part* wolf, and there is no test to determine otherwise. At this point in time, most knowledgeable wolfdog owners classify their animals by a scale of "wolf content" rather than by percentages. A "high content" animal is one that, for all practical purposes, looks and acts like a pure wolf. You may find slight differences in temperament and body features (bigger ears, a wider chest or heavier face). A "mid content" animal is one of obvious visible and temperamental wolf content, but who can easily be differentiated from a pure wolf. These animals range in behaviour from "mostly wolf" to "mostly dog", and many folks will describe their animal as upper-mid or lower-mid to denote which end of the "middle-wolf-content" category it falls into, genetically. "Low content" animals are, for the most part, fairly easy to pass off as a dog. They'll likely be taller, lankier, have a very intense look about them, be unusually intelligent, and tend towards a shy, expressive, alert, reactive disposition. Not always, though...low content wolfdogs vary considerably in appearance and temperament. Some act very "wolfy" despite their doggy looks, some are as tractable as domestic dogs. Most folks seem to have low content wolfdogs...which is a good thing, as on average low's make much better "pets" than upper content animals. Any breeder who tells you that a pure wolf or high-content animal makes a great "pet", and "the more wolf, the better", is one to steer clear of...as they either do not have your best interests in mind and are only after $$, or their animals are not the content they have been represented to be. High content animals have their place, but they require a serious commitment and much effort on the part of their owner. So, why does the wolf content "breed out" so quickly? Most 5th, 6th, 8th generation animals are barely (if at all) recognizable as wolf crosses. One would think, if the genetics are random, that there would be as many animals *over* their stated percentage, as beneath it...but it's clear that this is not the case. Most of the reason lies with the wolfdog breeders. The majority of people out there--wolfdog fans included--are so accustomed to Hollywood's version of the wolf that they genuinely have a hard time distinguishing "wolf traits" from "husky or malamute traits". It is not uncommon for *wolfdogs* to be the actors in movies starring wolves, since wolfdogs generally lend themselves better to that sort of work than full wolves do. In addition, there is strong evidence that many of the difficult "wolfy behaviours" are linked to different facets of the "wolfy look"; and selecting the most complacent, easy-to-live-with, well-behaved, outgoing animals as breeding stock tends to diminish the wolfish looks as well. This, after all, is how we got domestic dogs in the first place! Full wolves and high contents are difficult, complicated, and downright naughty animals, and in general do not have the temperament that most folks are looking for in a "dog". Another reason is based in what we humans often consider attractive. Many a breeder will advertise "blue eyed beauties with striking masks" or "massive parents, over 180 pounds!" None of these are "wolf" features...yet they are things that most people find appealing. A portion of breeders will also misrepresent the wolf content in their animals, either deliberately (to justify an exorbitant asking price) or simply because they are not aware of the animal's actual content. Many will take the breeder's word that Wolfie is a "97% timberwolf"...when in reality, she is more like 97% malamute. Doesn't mean she's not a great dog! But, it's not fair to breed her to another like her, and sell the pups to people as "wolves". There is also the possibility of natural selection coming into play. "Use it or lose it" is a powerful force in nature, and those same forces no longer act upon wolfdog companions. They no longer need many of the features that wolves in the wild do. The same thing that allows for the possibility of genetic problems such as hip displaysia (which wolfdogs should be screened for prior to breeding, though is extremely rare in *wild* wolves), may allow for the loss of some of the "wolfy look" as well. * (Used with permission from Sue Bowers) Here, at Wolfhaugen Kennels, We deal with ONLY high content wolfdogs, with verifiable lineage lines and health guarantees! Wolfdogs can be very destructive at times, so if you get a wolfdog EXPECT that it will chew up and destroy some of your stuff ( and they don't care about the cost of the items they destroy either-  for instance couches, chairs, curtains, etc.. If you don't think you'd be able to put up with some of your possessions being destroyed, maybe you should consider another breed of  canine. Wolfdogs also love to dig dens too!  They  love to chew on bushes and shrubs and dig them up also! BREEDING WOLFDOGS:  Everyone believes that their wolfdog is a beautiful animal. That should NOT be the only criteria considered before breeding. Unless you have a set plan and have chosen your animals carefully, PLEASE DO NOT BREED! Animals that are bred should compliment one another in looks, health, and temperament. The main goal in breeding is, you want the offspring to be better than their parents. Breeders should know the background of any animal considered for breeding to determine if there are any physical or psychological problems within the line.  If you think you will make money breeding wolfdogs- think again! Almost all breeders that breed responsibly will tell you, that they usually do not make enough money to break even. These animals are very high up keep. Unfortunately a large number of wolf dogs in the country are being misrepresented by their quoted percentage. Either by ignorance or intent of the breeder. If you decide to get a wolfdog, be careful who you buy from. Some people will breed wolfy-looking domestic dogs together and will tell buyers that they are wolfdogs. Many dog breeds, particularly Alaskan malamutes, German shepherd dogs, and Siberian huskies, and mixes containing those breed, superficially resemble wolves, so people often claim such mixes are wolfdogs. A lot of breeders tell you they have a 75% to 98% (F-1) Wolfdogs or Wolf Hybrids. So they can charge you more money because they are high percentage Wolfdog. When really they are low Content wolf. You must be careful when buying a high content wolf dog. If the parents are represented as being 75% to 98% (F-1) then here are a few things that will almost guarantee they are NOT: (Red Flag) Either parent looks like a dog or shows strong physical dog like characteristics. The parents have strongly marked mask (such as a raccoon). The female has more than one heat cycle per year. The pups are born between late June and January. The subspecies of wolf represented is extinct or fictitious. The parents are red wolves. Either parent has blue eyes. Either parent has a pink or liver colored nose. The ears of either parent are long and pointed. (Wolves have slightly rounded tips and are heavily furred inside) Either animal walks with its tail curled over its back. The animal has tiny feet. The animal has a short square nose. Either animal is able to produce pups by the time it is a year old. The pups are born with all their markings or solid white (wolves are usually dark brown or even black when born.) The male can produce pups at any time of the year. A true 75% to 98% (F-1) wolfdog should look like a wolf, there should be little if any dog characteristics identifiable in its appearance. SELECTING A BREEDER: Before  making any commitments to any breeder, you should visit their kennel. if that is impossible, ask for references of people that have  been to the facility and call them. If it is possible for you to go to the kennel, it is a good idea to spend time watching the prospective parents of the pup you intend to buy. Even though it is not unusual for both the parents to be nervous around strangers, they should be at ease and friendly towards their owner. Here are a few things that should make you have second thoughts about buying a pup from a particular breeder. The parents are kept on chains. The kennels is nasty and the animals do not look healthy. The breeder refuses to give references. The breeder will not allow you to see the parents. The breeder does not ask you about YOUR containment or previous experience. The breeder tells you that they make good guard dogs. The pups look unhealthy (pot bellied with protruding hip bones, watery dull lifeless eyes. BREEDERS RESPONSIBILITY: A breeder should accurately represent their animal to all potential buyers. A breeder should make sure potential buyers are qualified to own a wolf dog. A breeder should disclose any unusual or hard to manage behaviors found in their line. A breeder should guarantee the health of their animals. A breeder should not produce more pups than they can responsibly place. The breeder should always be available to the buyer. In other words, it is your responsibility as a breeder to equip the new owner with all the  information that is needed to be a successful and responsible owner. if that means being available for the life of that animal should the buyers have questions, then you are obligated to do so. CONTAINMENT: Proper facilities means a minimum of an enclosure with at least 8 foot chain link fence that is at least 20x20 with dig out wire, and hot wire for top. We have 2"x4" welded wire put down on the ground and hog ringed together, and stapled to the oak 2x4's. They are NOT digging out! So in other words you don't live in an apartment. Wolfdogs absolutely cannot be allowed to run loose. They can travel 20 miles in a single night, and while they can be obedience trained, many do NOT come reliably off leash in an open area. While many wolfdogs are successfully raised in households with other small pets, they have a strong prey drive and many may attack small animals not raised in their pack. Should they get into trouble while running loose, you will be held responsible, and the animal will usually pay with it's life on a first offense. Wolfdogs (northern breeds in general) are escape artists that often jump over, dig under and break through ordinary wood fences. Proper containment is a MUST! A WOLFDOG SHOULD NEVER BE KEPT ON A CHAIN AS A PRIMARY SOURCE OF CONTAINMENT. A chained canine can become territorial and therefore dangerous. Wolves are shy by nature and will usually run or hide when given a chance.However, when chained they are unable to flee and will have no recourse but to bite or attack if cornered. Each year, a large number of dog attacks are related to chained animals. Animal behaviorist, Doug Kirk states the "Dogs are more likely  to cause injury to an intruder when chained than when not chained. " All animals have a flight zone and fight zone." These are two concentric circles that surround all creatures humans included. When the intruder approaches the first defense mechanism of a dog is for the dog to run away (the flight zone  triggers this). If the dog cannot flee and the intruder comes closer, entering the fight zone, the the dog will turn and defend through aggressive means. The best way to prevent death and injury from dogs is to not chain them. We all agree that the social purposes we need to keep control of our dogs, either on leash when we are present, or in a kennel or fenced enclosure. But, chaining a dog sets up a situation that increases the danger to an intruder. The answer is to educate people both owners and non owners. SOCIALIZATION: Wolves are naturally shy, cautious creatures, and to be sure that a wolfdog is not afraid of people when it grows up, an owner must spend plenty of time each day socializing his/her new pup. When properly socialized these animals can be extremely loving and social. Your best friend. They form strong bonds and are dedicated animals and become part of the family. How successful one is with socialization will be determined by several factors. Many wolfdogs have a natural (or inherited) tendency to be shy. Timing of socialization to people, places, and other animals during the critical phases of a pup's development will often determine how social the pup will be once it reaches maturity. Not only is it necessary to socialize WOLFDOG to different individuals but different  places as well. By the  time a pup is several months old, it may begin to exhibit shyness to new places and individuals. Some wolfdogs owners recommend that anyone wishing to raise and socialize a wolfdog pup take some time off work so they can spend their time with the puppy. Many wolfdog owners or breeders (especially those who have high content animals) bottle feed their animals starting when they are about 10 days old to ensure that their animal will be comfortable around people. COST: Can you afford to take care of a large canine for the next ten to fifteen years? Food, toys, and veterinary care will cost you several hundred dollars a year. Be sure you can afford it before you bring home that pup. Also make sure you be able to keep the animal for the rest of its life- animals are not disposable. Wolfdogs often become very attached to their owners, which makes adjusting to a new home extremely difficult for them. We do not claim to be experts on wolf dogs, but after a few years of researching these animals and our own experiences with owning them. We believe this information to be very good for the average wolfdog owner of higher content wolfdogs.

                                     

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