HONIAHAKA WOLFALIKES

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 wolf with 

Siberian husky, Alaskan malamute or German shepherd, 

but can be mixed with 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 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 socialize 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 ft 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 dog 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.

They typically lack the 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 ft the dog standards.

You are more apt to see blue eyes or party colored 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. Their 

eyes tend to be rounder and more often brown than the 

deep amber we find in wolves, and the tail will hang 

differently and in some case curl on top of the croup. 

Like the mid content 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 discernible 

wolf features and some recognizable 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 vocalize 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 

socialization to offset shy, fearful or skittish behaviors 

but they are extremely smart, easily trainable and not 

quite as independent as the high content. They can be 

housebroken with some work and can easily live in the 

house but 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 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.