Hey Everyone! : Welcome to RabbitTalk

[Pupcontent]

I'm new to the whole 'raising rabbits' thing. I'm a wolfdog owner, and the costs of providing my low content with a species-appropriate raw diet was racking up. After a good bit of research, I settled on raising meat rabbits, for both him and myself. So, here I am! I have a couple of Jr. does. A black New Zealand, and a New Zealand/Chinchilla cross. But I'm still adding to my starter herd, and on the lookout for a Senior or bred doe. I'm really looking forward to participating in discussions, and learning all I can!

[Marinea]

Welcome!

Your fee for joining is...wolfdog pictures. Please

[Pupcontent]

Lol, this is Orion. He's almost 8 months, and an F4 low content.
Still just a big puppy, and definitely acts like it.

He's just entered his teenage years and has become a holy terror at times. He's so sneaky and persistent, it's amazing.

[MaggieJ]

Orion is beautiful, but oh-so-slender! Will he fill out some as he matures? I'd love to hear more about him.

[Pupcontent]

He naturally has a very lean, tall build. He may fill out a bit as he matures, and his chest will probably drop some, but he will never be as stocky or broad as a husky, due to his ancestry. Both his sire and dam's lines are very leggy He also has a very narrow build, and weighs much less than you'd think for his height, lol. He's all legs. This pic from about 6 months shows what I mean:

He's less destructive than many wolfdogs, but he has separation anxiety when in the car. He's fine if crated at home though, due to early and constant exposure and training. He is very friendly and social with people and dogs, but can be somewhat neophobic about strange things, like someone carrying an inner tube, or wearing a strange hat, despite careful socialization. He's a sweetheart, but can be very mouthy. He listens well, even being in his teenage phase, and I'm able to hike and work off-leash with him with constant training and reinforcement.


He can look pretty different from picture to picture.


But overall, he's a handsome, affectionate boy, who wins the hearts of everyone we meet, it seems. But funnily enough, people ask if he's a coyote more than they ask if he's a wolfdog!

[MaggieJ]

Thanks, Pupcontent! That's very interesting and the pictures are super. You're right that he looks quite different from picture to picture. Do you know what breed of dog was used to create his line?

[Pupcontent]

Yeah, I have lineage back to pure on the sires side, but only 3 gen back on the dam's. His dam is a low/no content (a dog with recent wolf ancestry–her sire was a solid low, dam low/no) who has husky and shepherd. Sire is a low to lower mid with husky and a little bit of malamute. So Orion is predominately husky, with some GSD, and a touch of malamute.

This is his uncle on the sire's side, one of my absolute favorites in his line! <3



Orion didn't get the really pale eyes that run in the sire's line, but his brother, Mingo did!

[MaggieJ]

Cool pictures!

To me, Mingo looks more wolfish than the others. His picture gave me the same pleasant shiver down the back as hearing the coyotes out back at night.

[Pupcontent]

Yeah, it's always fun seeing how different pups in a litter mature, especially lows, in my opinion, because there's so much more variation in colors, structure, coat type, personality, etc.. Mingo definitely has a wolfier face and coloration than Orion, but he has a stockier body and wider chest. Strong masks are pretty prevalent in their line, too. All the pups in their litter (except one dark agouti who I don't have any pics of saved except from around 6 weeks) have masking. His mid content relatives (grandsire, and half aunts and uncles from him) have masking

[Easy Ears]

Www-w-w-w-w-w-wwolf dogggg?!?!?!?
I'VE DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN! I've never heard of this breed! I've heard of people taking wolf pups and raising them but it never really ends well because of their wild instincts but I've never heard of or thought of taming the lines down over time with different breeds! Eeeeek! I've found a new obsession!

[Pupcontent]

American wolfdogs aren't really a breed (but the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog and Saarloos Wolfdog are! They're F5+ so legally considered just dogs). They're crosses of wolfdog/wolfdog, wolfdog/dog, wolf/dog (rarely--very few people actually have pure wolves, and even less breed them to pure dogs. Usually, they'll breed to verified higher content lines to bring the F-gen back down).

People classify them in three groups: low contents (mostly domestic dog, up to 49% wolf), mid contents (about half wolf and half domestic dog, from 50% up to 85-90% wolf), and high contents (mostly wolf, 85/90% and up). But, and F2 low content is going to have more intense wolfy behaviors and looks than an F5 low content--it's kind of tricky, lol!

Wolfdogs don't typically make good pets--most need secure outdoor containment, 8ft+ with dig guards and lean ins. The higher the content and lower the F-gen, the more wolfy the behaviors--destructiveness, difficult to potty train, independent, high prey drive, escape artist tendencies, etc. As an F4 and a low content, Orion has a more mellow temperament. He has a moderate prey drive, instead of high. He's not particularly destructive, but he is horribly sneaky and opportunistic. If he had access to my rabbits, I'm sure he's find a way to bust their cages open to get them

Here are wolfdogs of low, mid, and high contents. A high content should look like a wolf.


A high, Shango, next to a low, Neeka.


And another of those two!


But, a wolfdog, even a high content, is much easier to handle than a pure wolf. A wolfdog isn't a wild animal, but they are an exotic one. That's why many zoos, educational centers, ambassadors, animal actors, etc. are mid and high content wolfdogs. Not actually wolves.

[Rabbitdog]

Wow! Cool information. Enjoyed learning more about them. Gorgeous pics! Best wishes on your rabbit escapades. What part of the world are you in?

[Pupcontent]

I'm in the pacific northwest