FYI tamaskans are generally low-mid content. There are some tam breeders specifically focusing on producing no content dogs but the content is extremely variable in most of these dogs. Tams, blue bays, bourbon shepherds, etc are all wolfdogs. A tam’s pedigree needs to be studied very carefully if someone is specifically looking for a no content dog, because they are very much considered wolfdogs legally. It doesn’t matter if they have a breed name. They’re a very new and still developing breed with open stud books and they still actively outcross to wolfdogs. I believe the code of ethics allows something like 40% total as a sum between the two parents for breeding. Some litters I’ve seen were Embark tested so the exact breakdown of breeds (and wolf content) was known, but like I said there’s lots of variability. There’s sooooo much outcrossing going on in that breed right now I absolutely would not assume any tam has no content until it is proven. Some tams even got into trouble recently and got wolfdogs (and tams specifically) banned from competing at certain events because they were not behaving well.
I kind of want to address some of the other comments here cuz there’s honestly a lot of misinformation about wolf/wolfdog behavior. I’m not trying to start shit, or say that hurr durr wolf is good pet BUT this kind of sweeping generalization about wolfdogs being unpredictably aggressive and two seconds away from snapping isn’t accurate or helpful. And that matters to me because I just brought home my “wolf-a-like” dog (a CsV), and people will 100% think she’s a wolf, wolfdog, or even a coyote. ffs her breeder had a complaint called on her right before I picked Raava up because she was “mistreating her wolf”...by crating her dog. Yeah. People have no clue what actual wolfdogs or wolves look like. So I get kind of touchy about saying all wolfdogs are dangerous/unstable/vicious because that mentality makes it harder on dogs like Raava, who just look the part. Even husky or malamute mixes get incorrectly labeled as wolfdogs. And it’s the fear of wolves/wolfdogs that leads to banning them, and banning them leads to mislabeled dogs getting seized.
Honesty, the biggest problem with wolfdogs is the variability. Not even of content, but of health and temperament. The people above certainly have some striking examples of backyard bred wolfdogs, and I’ve heard some horror stories myself. Just like any shitty breeder, these byb wolfdogs are bred for the coolness factor and to make money, not for health or temperament. And honestly, a good portion of the byb dogs labeled as a wolfdog have little to no content. So regardless of content, you’ve already got people breeding with no regard for the actual stability of the animal or its suitability as a pet. Strike one. Now add in wolf content and that’s a whole extra mess. But content is not as easy as simple punnett square math from biology class. An F1 wolf x dog is easy; 50%. They get half their genes from the wolf parent, and half their genes from the dog parent. But after that? More complicated. Crossing a 50% wolfdog back to a full wolf does not mean you get 75% wolf content. That’s just the average mathematical calculation! An individual from that pairing could get only “dog genes” from the wolfdog, which would also put them at 50% content thanks to all “wolf genes” from the other parent. So all of that can make it really difficult to predict how a wolfdog will look and behave. Even littermates can have different content levels. Of course there are wolfdog breeders that health test, study pedigrees, and carefully select the dogs that they breed, but there’s also way too many that don’t. So there are all these shitty bybs breeding not only unstable dogs, but adding in unknown amounts of wolf content. Plus a lot of them sell low/no content dogs as high content, which is why you get the dummies who say “I had a 99% pure arctic timber wolf with piercing blue eyes that was the best family pet ever!”
Also it is important to note that actively crossing 100% wolves with dogs is actually quite rare. Even the “a wolf hopped my fence and bred my dog!” stories are usually bs. For one, wolves only come into heat once per year, during their breeding season (late winter). Most dog breeds come into heat twice yearly, and it’s not seasonal like it is with wolves. So they won’t necessarily line up. And also, while their behavior is similar, it’s not completely the same. Wolves are extremely territorial toward other canids and will kill other wolves, coyotes, foxes, or even dogs. So there has to be both behavioral and biological compatibility. Wolves really aren’t taken from the wild to breed to dogs, at least not in any kind of well-known or significant numbers (hunting and habitat loss, however, are huge threats to their survival). Wolfdogs are bred to dogs or other wolfdogs and a captive bred (probably “pet”) wolf is going to be much more accessible than a wild caught wolf. There really is far less active addition of 100% pure wolf than shitty breeders would like their buyers to think (again, that 99% “wolfdog” can be sold for a lot more than a husky/GSD mix) and most wolfdogs are quite a few generations removed from actual wolves. While bybs are doing A LOT wrong, it’s really not this picture of snatching wolves from the wild and making them breed with a dog to get a 50/50 cross.
Wolves are also extremely skittish and neophobic. A cornered wolf is absolutely dangerous, but it is extremely rare for them to actually attack humans. Like, crazy rare. As I said, wolves are extremely territorial toward other canids though. They’re obviously also very predatory toward small animals. But I wouldn’t really call them naturally “aggressive”. Their entire social hierarchy depends on NOT hurting their packmates. The snarling and growling displays that make for good TV are called ritualized aggression. It looks scary but the whole point is to avoid serious conflict and injury, because that’s a good way to die in the wild.
Again, you can’t predict which “wolfy” or which “doggy” traits a wolfdog will get. But in general, wolfdogs tend to be prone to small animal aggression, dog aggression (particularly same-sex aggression), and fear related behavior. Most aggressive behavior is rooted in fear, but fear is also avoidance, flight, wariness of strangers, etc. Wolfdogs actually make horrible guard dogs because they tend to be so skittish and flighty. People think of the “big bad wolf” but they’re honestly quite shy animals. Wolfdogs tend to be mouthy, destructive, and incredible escape artists. They may experience “winter wolf syndrome”, which is a period of naturally increased aggressive behavior that happens during the breeding season for wolves (and may or may not occur in wolfdogs). They are more independent than most dogs and very good at problem solving and getting into trouble. Depending on the content and the behavior, they may also need secure outdoor housing constructed. Veterinary care is really the same as a dog, BUT rabies vaccines provide no LEGAL protection for wolfdogs. That means a bite from a wolfdog is potential rabies exposure and the dog could be seized and euthanized for testing. But in terms of actual medical stuff? We treat them like dogs. Actually one of my favorite patients is a low-mid content wolfdog (yes actual wolfdog) and he’s a gem to work with. My coworker also just recently found out that her husky mix does in fact have wolf content (confirmed through DNA testing) and he does not need any changes to his medical care with that discovery. So many wolfdogs end up abandoned because people don’t do their research and/or get scammed on the behavior/content of their animal and aren’t prepared to handle them. Wolfdogs are not easy animals.
