Are some dogs more closely related to wolves than others?

Question

For example a German Shepherd or Husky looks more like a wolf than a Pug or West Highland Terrier

Answer 1

Despite their looks Siberian Huskies and other nordic breeds are no more closely related to wolves than pugs and chihuahuas. Huskies have been a completely domesticated breed for centuries, they just were never selectively bred for looks.



The German Shepherd has had some wolf supposedly injected into the gene pool from time to time, but I don't know if this is true or not. If it was done, it was almost certainly to combat inbreeding or genetic health issues with fresh blood which could just as easily be done with other domesticated breeds with far better temperaments than wolves.



The only dogs I'm aware of that are closely related to wolves are the Czech and Saarloos wolfdogs. Both were created in the last 50 years or so from breeding programs with captive wolves, hybrids, and domestic dogs. The dogs are now 100% domesticated and have not been bred with wolves in ages, but they would definitely be the closest domestic dog breeds to wolves.



[Add] Take the things you read on the internet with a grain of salt. I believe it is true the GSD was bred with wolves, but I do not believe huskies or malamutes were. "There are accounts" doesn't mean it really happened, it only means somebody thought their husky looked like a wolfdog so they advertised their badly bred pups as wolfdogs.

Answer 2

Some dogs that have had recent wolf blood added to them is:

the Saarloos wolfhound,

Czechoslovakian wolfdog,

and the German shepherd (don't believe me? Look here: http://www.asuperiorgsd.com/wolf-dog.html).



"The original German Shepherd studbook, Zuchtbuch fur Deutche Schaferhunde (SZ), shows several pure wolves were used to "create" the breed and this was less than 100 years ago! Similar events can be uncovered for Alaskan Malamutes, Siberian Huskies, Belgian Shepherd types, and many rarer-breed "dogs". German Shepherds were recently the MOST POPULAR KC breed. Imagine that -- a 'wolfdog' is the most popular working/companion dog! "



Apparently, so has Alaskan Malamutes,

Siberian huskies,

Belgian Shepherd type-dogs,

and others. c;

Answer 3

All three are members of the dog family, Canidae, but whilst dogs and wolves are in the genus Canis, the various species of foxes belong to the genera Vulpes, Alopex, Dusicyon, Otocyon and Urocyon. Dogs are the descendants of the grey wolf and are very closely related - the two can not only interbreed, but interbreed and produce fertile offspring. They can also interbreed with other members of the genus Canis, such as coyotes and jackals. Neither dogs nor wolves can interbreed with foxes - the fox genera split off from other canids millions of years ago, and are too different for interbreeding to take place. Certain species of fox can interbreed with each other, however - for example, the red fox and Arctic fox can interbreed.

Answer 4

Not really. All dog breeds are domisticated, and have been bred for so long that none of them are more genetically related than others.



Some dogs are bred to live and work in climates similar to that which the wolf lives in, so those breeds are naturally more alike in appearance and personality.

Answer 5

"dogs more closely related to wolves than others?" I did a yahoo search using the same words you did.



http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=dogs%20more%20closely%20related%20to%20wolves%20than%20others?



Google would have brought up the same pages. Use the search engines, they can take you place we that we can't. There is no way I could have told you all that stuff, there just isn't room on this site.



Husky

Answer 6

Yes many breeds are related to the wolves some more closely then others but it has basically nothing to do with looks.For example the shih tzu ( a small long hair breed that is prim and proper is very closely related) it has more to do with the way they act.

try this:

http://www.dog-names.org.uk/history-evolution-dogs.htm

Answer 7

Yes you are correct my friend see think of it this way. When you first breed two animals it has a dominant gene. When you continue to breed with this pattern the dogs become less closer to the dominate gene. Make sense!