HONIAHAKA NORTHERN INUIT DOGS

A Wolfdog, also known as a ‘wolf hybrid’, is simply a 

dog that has wolf in its family history. While it is 

widely understood that all dog breeds have 

descended from the wolf, a Wolfdog has pure wolf 

recently in its background, such as a parent or great 

grandparent (whereas your family dog may have to 

go back hundreds of generations to pure wolf).

Today’s Wolfdogs are not the result of a wild wolf bred 

with a domestic dog (generally). They are the result of 

dozens or more generations of Wolfdogs bred with 

Wolfdogs.

There is no breed standard. Wolfdogs, are wolf mixed 

with another breed, or several breeds of dog. There

are however a few breeds “in development”, for 

example the Blue Bay Shepherd, Timber Shepherd, 

Nordic Timber and Berger Mahigan, Some are more 

known, some less known, but they do each have their 

own standard.

Usually, the Wolfdog is a combination of wolf with 

Siberian husky, Alaskan malamute or German 

shepherd, but can be mixed with many other breeds as 

well.

Wolfdogs will behave like wolf and the breed of dog 

they are mixed with. The wolf part tends to be shy 

with strangers, cautious, curious, intelligent, playful, 

watchful and energetic. They can also be stubborn, 

loving, independent, nervous and aloof.

The low content Wolfdog is the perfect starter animal 

for those wanting to venture into Wolfdog ownership.

They make better companion animals and are easier

to manage, easier to socialise and train, and most 

importantly they are more forgiving than mid or high 

contents. You can make a mistake and not have to 

live with the consequences for the rest of the dog’s life.

These animals are much more adaptable to urban 

living and easily fit into an active outdoor lifestyle with 

you. 

They usually love to go for car rides or long hikes with 

their owners but can be equally happy at the park 

or sitting at the local coffee shop with you. At home 

they tend to be less destructive, and less likely to 

dismantle the furniture, but that's not always the case.

They typically lack the very high prey drive seen in 

highs and are generally better with smaller pets and 

children, although no large breed dog should be trusted 100%. 

They behave like a super smart dog and look more 

like a northern breed dog with some slight 

modifications that don’t quite fit the dog standards.

You are more likely  to see blue eyes or bi coloured 

eyes, tall thin ears that lack a lot of fur. Their coat will 

feel and look more like the dog in the mix with less of 

the bushiness and a lot less ruff around the head, 

unless they are a long coat.

Their eyes seem to be rounder and a lot more often are 

brown rather than the almond shaped deep amber we 

find in wolves, and the tail will hang differently and in 

some case curl on top of the croup. 

They will go into heat at any time of year and often 

have 2 cycles a year. 

We see a lot of the lows born Aug-Nov and again in Mar-June.

You will find the largest range of looks and behaviors 

in the mid content wolfdog category. 

Animals on the higher end of the mid scale will have 

easily noticeable  wolf features and some 

recognisable dog traits that will keep it from being 

bumped up into the High Content category. 

It will demonstrate a bit more intensity and 

sensitivity in its behaviors, yet not to the extreme 

that is seen in a high content.

The mid content will have some wolfier traits, but 

takes on an equal portion of the characteristics of the 

northern breed dogs that usually make up the mix. 

Their behaviors are also a bit watered down as 

compared to the high content.

Typically you will see more of a dog-like pattern to 

their coat, slightly taller and pointier ears with a bit 

less fur. 

The body may resemble more of a blocky style than 

the sleek look we find in a wolf. The shoulder and 

hips may also carry more of a look of the malamute, 

shepherd or husky. They can vocalise like a dog or a 

wolf and there breeding cycle can be anytime of the 

year and can happen more than once per year.

Like the High Content these animals require heavy 

socialisation to offset shy, fearful or skittish behaviors 

but they are extremely smart, easily trainable and not 

quite as independent as the high content. Just like the 

high content they will show some fear to new people 

and strangers, men being the most common for them 

to fear, you should always wait until they approach 

you and never approach them, as this can cause 

them to become fearful of the situation and want to 

flee. They can be housebroken with some work and 

can easily live in the house but constant supervision 

is required. 

Outdoor containment is a must to let them get their 

exercise.

There is no one breed standard for the wolfdog so 

depending on the animals in the mix you will see a 

wide variety of physical traits. However, the high 

content should display a large number of wolf-like 

traits. An extremely high content will be almost 

indistinguishable from a pure while those on the lower 

end of the high content spectrum may display some 

slightly doggie features and possibly some watered 

down behavioral characteristics.

It is hard to pinpoint specific behavior characteristics 

of a high content because each animal is an 

individual. 

Canine behavior is canine behavior, but the reactions 

and the intensity of the behavior is what make a high 

content wolfdog much different to work with. As a 

general rule a high content will follow many of the 

traits we find in pure wolves that have helped them 

survive in the wild. They are typically very sensitive to 

their environment. They come across very stubborn 

and aloof with a lack of a willingness to please that 

we see in domesticated dogs. They can be very shy 

and fearful of anything new or different. They can be 

very fearful of new people and it is advised not to 

approach one, sit and wait until they decide to 

approach you or not.

They are very direct animals with strong will and the 

full predatory motor pattern.

These wolfdogs are so intelligent that they must have 

a lot of stimulation to keep them from boredom and 

the inevitable destruction that follows. They are very 

affectionate and bond strongly to their family. They 

love attention on their terms but prefer to live 

outdoors as they mature rather than sharing the 

house with you. 

Contrary to myths, they can be trained but you must 

find the right methods to entice them to want to 

please you. 

You just have to do a lot of trial and error to find it and 

once you do remember to train in short periods to 

avoid boredom. They can excel in learning basic 

manners, but obtaining 100% recall will aggravate the 

most patient owner. A high content wolfdog should be 

owned by very experienced people with the proper 

containment, a thorough understanding of canine 

body language and of canine behavior. 

These animals are not for everyone!

Example theoretical wolf content, parent 1~8% 

wolf 

+ parent 2 ~16% wolf would be= 24% combined.  

24/2=12% theoretical wolf content of offspring.

However, nature is never this exact, but 

more random. 

A pup can be as high as 24%, or as low as 0% 

depending on which genes they get. We tend to 

explain this using something called the “marble 

effect”, where different coloured marbles represent 

the wolf/dog content.  This also illustrate that all pups 

in a litter can have different content, depending on 

which marbles nature decide to pick from the bowl 

that represent the combined DNA (here marbles) from 

the parents.