Wolfdog.org forum - View Single Post - New to site / Questions on the CW WolfDog and Wolf Hybrid

Dharkwolf · 27-08-2005, 21:41

There seem to be a number of misconceptions which have been introduced into this conversation, and which it would be better to clarify quickly.

First, concerning wolves, there is only one reason why a wolf has ever attacked a man, and that is rabies. There has never been a documented attack of a non-rabid wolf on man. Not a single one. (ref: The Wolf, The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species, by L. David Mech). Wolves are not innately aggressive (if they were they could not maintain their intricate pack structure) and hunting certainly does not make them more aggressive, if anything it shows how cautious they are. (they in fact go to great pains to ensure that they only attack weak animals, for instance wolves only attack roughly 10-12% of the elk which are actually within striking distance during the hunt)

Now about the CSW…

First the CSW is to a wolf-dog cross (which you refer to as hybrids) approximately the same as what a wolf is to a mongrel. In both cases we are talking about the same species (Canis lupus) While the character and physiology of the wolf and his behaviour are set within certain known boundaries those of the mongrel are not – as the effect of the crossed genes cannot be accurately predicted. It is the same for the CSW and the wolf-dog cross, the only difference seems to be that everyone can intuitively grasp that a wolf is not a mongrel, for some reason the fact that the CSW is not a wolf-cross (or hybrid) seems to escape the understanding of many, even some who should really know better.

A final note about why breeding in the US is not happening and will probably not happen for some time. First there is the fact that breeding dogs need to meet certain particular requirements. Not every dog is suitable for breeding. For instance in the countries of origin (Slovakia, Czech Republic) where the criteria for breeding are probably a bit on the strict side (again for a good reason – to maintain the race as a viable race of working dogs) only 10-20% of dogs are actually apt for breeding. Add to that the fact that in order to have a viable population of any animal it is required that you have some 30 breeding couples, (this number varies from animal to animal, but it is roughly the number below which the genetic diversity of large mammals is considered to drop below the level from which they may not be able to recover). The end result of that is that if you wanted to seriously breed wolfdogs in the US you would need to have some 30 breeding couples, and assuming that you carefully selected your dogs, lets say that 50% would be viable for breeding… so you would need to import a sum total of 120 dogs, not 2. (there are ways around this, which include breeding with dogs outside the US, either by travelling there or by the wonders of artificial insemination, though I do not know of a single breeder who has even considered this very costly procedure).

Finally about the CSW: One things which no one has mentioned so far is the fact that you really need to know what you are doing before you can take care of one of these animals, while they do have some admirable traits they are difficult to handle, to say the least. Don’t be fooled by the fact that they are independent, they require an awful amount of attention, or else they will not respect you and you will lose control of your CSW, which can have some unpredictable consequences (though aggressive behaviour towards humans, while possible is relatively rare, aggressive behaviour towards other animals, dogs in particular, is a different story). Because of their particular character many of the techniques which work to educate and socialise most breeds give at best only mixed results with CSW.

Since the only dogs I have ever been into prolonged contact are our CSW (please note: I married into the CSW world, my wife is the one who knows about them and taught me how to live and handle them, for which incidentally I am eternally grateful) I have had never been really able to compare the characters of CSWs to those of other dogs. However, this summer our whole family seemed to be adopted by a friendly German Shepherd. The difference in behaviour between him and our dogs was evident. While at first it was difficult to win the trust and confidence of the German Shepherd, once he gave it to us it was never again put in doubt, the German shepherd followed us whenever we called and was always friendly and welcoming. The CSW on the other hand put you to the test every day, often many times a day, to make sure that you are worthy of leading their pack. Should you fail to pass those tests even once, it can take weeks if not months of hard work to rebuild their confidence in you.

I trust that all this has given you some useful insight into the CSW.

27-08-2005, 21:41	#23
Dharkwolf Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Brussels Posts: 201	There seem to be a number of misconceptions which have been introduced into this conversation, and which it would be better to clarify quickly. First, concerning wolves, there is only one reason why a wolf has ever attacked a man, and that is rabies. There has never been a documented attack of a non-rabid wolf on man. Not a single one. (ref: The Wolf, The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species, by L. David Mech). Wolves are not innately aggressive (if they were they could not maintain their intricate pack structure) and hunting certainly does not make them more aggressive, if anything it shows how cautious they are. (they in fact go to great pains to ensure that they only attack weak animals, for instance wolves only attack roughly 10-12% of the elk which are actually within striking distance during the hunt) Now about the CSW… First the CSW is to a wolf-dog cross (which you refer to as hybrids) approximately the same as what a wolf is to a mongrel. In both cases we are talking about the same species (Canis lupus) While the character and physiology of the wolf and his behaviour are set within certain known boundaries those of the mongrel are not – as the effect of the crossed genes cannot be accurately predicted. It is the same for the CSW and the wolf-dog cross, the only difference seems to be that everyone can intuitively grasp that a wolf is not a mongrel, for some reason the fact that the CSW is not a wolf-cross (or hybrid) seems to escape the understanding of many, even some who should really know better. A final note about why breeding in the US is not happening and will probably not happen for some time. First there is the fact that breeding dogs need to meet certain particular requirements. Not every dog is suitable for breeding. For instance in the countries of origin (Slovakia, Czech Republic) where the criteria for breeding are probably a bit on the strict side (again for a good reason – to maintain the race as a viable race of working dogs) only 10-20% of dogs are actually apt for breeding. Add to that the fact that in order to have a viable population of any animal it is required that you have some 30 breeding couples, (this number varies from animal to animal, but it is roughly the number below which the genetic diversity of large mammals is considered to drop below the level from which they may not be able to recover). The end result of that is that if you wanted to seriously breed wolfdogs in the US you would need to have some 30 breeding couples, and assuming that you carefully selected your dogs, lets say that 50% would be viable for breeding… so you would need to import a sum total of 120 dogs, not 2. (there are ways around this, which include breeding with dogs outside the US, either by travelling there or by the wonders of artificial insemination, though I do not know of a single breeder who has even considered this very costly procedure). Finally about the CSW: One things which no one has mentioned so far is the fact that you really need to know what you are doing before you can take care of one of these animals, while they do have some admirable traits they are difficult to handle, to say the least. Don’t be fooled by the fact that they are independent, they require an awful amount of attention, or else they will not respect you and you will lose control of your CSW, which can have some unpredictable consequences (though aggressive behaviour towards humans, while possible is relatively rare, aggressive behaviour towards other animals, dogs in particular, is a different story). Because of their particular character many of the techniques which work to educate and socialise most breeds give at best only mixed results with CSW. Since the only dogs I have ever been into prolonged contact are our CSW (please note: I married into the CSW world, my wife is the one who knows about them and taught me how to live and handle them, for which incidentally I am eternally grateful) I have had never been really able to compare the characters of CSWs to those of other dogs. However, this summer our whole family seemed to be adopted by a friendly German Shepherd. The difference in behaviour between him and our dogs was evident. While at first it was difficult to win the trust and confidence of the German Shepherd, once he gave it to us it was never again put in doubt, the German shepherd followed us whenever we called and was always friendly and welcoming. The CSW on the other hand put you to the test every day, often many times a day, to make sure that you are worthy of leading their pack. Should you fail to pass those tests even once, it can take weeks if not months of hard work to rebuild their confidence in you. I trust that all this has given you some useful insight into the CSW.