Post by muskyhusky on Oct 18, 2008 18:38:18 GMT -6
*Sometime between 20,000 and 100,000 years ago, a few wolves began scavenging around human encampments. Since that first association, humans have exerted great selective pressure (some consciously, some not) for canines that are less skittish, territorial, predatory and aggressive than wolves. Research has determined that the hormonal systems of canines with these traits (i.e. dogs) are different from those of wild canids. Those hormonal differences cause profound differences in behavior; they result in an animal that never really behaves like a mature canine. In a nutshell, a dog is a wolf in arrested development; they act very much like adolescent wolves their whole lives. An adolescent wolf is playful, adaptable, and able to form bonds with other species, takes directions readily, and is far less territorial and predatory than an adult wolf-all traits that make dogs such delightful companions. As an adolescent wolf's hormonal system reaches maturity (between 18 months and three years), it begins to exhibit all those normal adult behaviors that make wolves so difficult to deal with in captivity.
So, while many taxonomists recognize the dog as a subspecies of the wolf and the genetics of the two are quite similar, it is a misconception that these facts prove the wolf and the dog are the same animal. When hybrid breeders and enthusiasts argue that wolves and dogs are essentially the same because they share so much common genetic material, stop to consider this: ninety-eight and four-tenths percent (98.4%) of the genetic material in humans and chimpanzees is identical, yet our behaviors are radically different. Certainly no one would promote crossbreeding humans and chimpanzees as a way to create an animal that is "the best of both worlds."
Genetically high-percentage hybrids may be physically and behaviorally indistinguishable from a wolf. The smaller the percentage of wolf genetics in a hybrid, the more dog-like its appearance and behavior will be.
Ancestry vs Genetics
The wolf is the ancestor of all dog breeds that exist today. Wolves and dogs are very similar genetically, but the seemingly insignificant differences in their genetic structure create hormonal changes that result in vastly different behaviors.
Ancestry and genetics are not the same thing. While you can easily determine the ancestry of an animal (provided you know the parents' ancestry), it's impossible to determine the genetic makeup of offspring that result from breeding hybrids.
When a pure wolf breeds with a pure dog, each pup is genetically 50% wolf and 50% dog. At this point, ancestrally speaking, they're also 50/50. Pups receive half of their genetic composition from each parent, but whether they receive the dog half, the wolf half, or a combination is indeterminable. Each parent passes on thousands of genes. While a pup's genetic makeup is unlikely to be to be one extreme or the other, it may fall anywhere between 100% dog and 100% wolf. For this reason, it's grossly inaccurate for anyone to claim that their animal, in a genetic sense, is 63.5% wolf. Here's the bottom line: Any time you breed a hybrid to another canine, you're playing genetic roulette.
No test exists that can reveal the genetic makeup of a hybrid puppy. And remember, it's genetics, not ancestry that determines adult personality and behavior.
Environmental Influence
Environmental conditioning can modify any animal's innate behavior. A properly raised and socialized animal living in an interesting environment will be easier to handle than one that spends its days at the end of a chain. However, just as it is ludicrous to think that a cow raised like a tiger would grow up to act like a tiger, it is ludicrous (and more dangerous) to think compassion, tender love and empathetic nurturing can subvert wolfish behaviors that have evolved over millions of years. Hybrid owners may successfully raise and enjoy one hybrid, only to find that the next hybrid they acquire acts like a wolf, despite the similarities in how the two animals were raised. The difference lies in the genetics of the two animals: The first was primarily dog, the second primarily wolf.
So, while many taxonomists recognize the dog as a subspecies of the wolf and the genetics of the two are quite similar, it is a misconception that these facts prove the wolf and the dog are the same animal. When hybrid breeders and enthusiasts argue that wolves and dogs are essentially the same because they share so much common genetic material, stop to consider this: ninety-eight and four-tenths percent (98.4%) of the genetic material in humans and chimpanzees is identical, yet our behaviors are radically different. Certainly no one would promote crossbreeding humans and chimpanzees as a way to create an animal that is "the best of both worlds."
Genetically high-percentage hybrids may be physically and behaviorally indistinguishable from a wolf. The smaller the percentage of wolf genetics in a hybrid, the more dog-like its appearance and behavior will be.
Ancestry vs Genetics
The wolf is the ancestor of all dog breeds that exist today. Wolves and dogs are very similar genetically, but the seemingly insignificant differences in their genetic structure create hormonal changes that result in vastly different behaviors.
Ancestry and genetics are not the same thing. While you can easily determine the ancestry of an animal (provided you know the parents' ancestry), it's impossible to determine the genetic makeup of offspring that result from breeding hybrids.
When a pure wolf breeds with a pure dog, each pup is genetically 50% wolf and 50% dog. At this point, ancestrally speaking, they're also 50/50. Pups receive half of their genetic composition from each parent, but whether they receive the dog half, the wolf half, or a combination is indeterminable. Each parent passes on thousands of genes. While a pup's genetic makeup is unlikely to be to be one extreme or the other, it may fall anywhere between 100% dog and 100% wolf. For this reason, it's grossly inaccurate for anyone to claim that their animal, in a genetic sense, is 63.5% wolf. Here's the bottom line: Any time you breed a hybrid to another canine, you're playing genetic roulette.
No test exists that can reveal the genetic makeup of a hybrid puppy. And remember, it's genetics, not ancestry that determines adult personality and behavior.
Environmental Influence
Environmental conditioning can modify any animal's innate behavior. A properly raised and socialized animal living in an interesting environment will be easier to handle than one that spends its days at the end of a chain. However, just as it is ludicrous to think that a cow raised like a tiger would grow up to act like a tiger, it is ludicrous (and more dangerous) to think compassion, tender love and empathetic nurturing can subvert wolfish behaviors that have evolved over millions of years. Hybrid owners may successfully raise and enjoy one hybrid, only to find that the next hybrid they acquire acts like a wolf, despite the similarities in how the two animals were raised. The difference lies in the genetics of the two animals: The first was primarily dog, the second primarily wolf.