A coydog is a

canid hybrid Canid hybrids are the result of interbreeding between the species of the genus '' Canis''. This often occurs in the wild, and in particular between domestic or feral dogs with wild native canids. Genetic considerations The wolf-like canids are a ...

resulting from a mating between a male coyote and a female

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

. Hybrids of both sexes are fertile and can be successfully bred through four generations. Similarly, a dogote is a hybrid with a dog father and a coyote mother. Such matings occurred long before the

European colonization of the Americas During the Age of Discovery, a large scale European colonization of the Americas took place between about 1492 and 1800. Although the Norse had explored and colonized areas of the North Atlantic, colonizing Greenland and creating a short t ...

, as melanistic coyotes have been shown to have inherited their black pelts from dogs likely brought to North America through the

Bering Land Bridge Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip of ...

12,000 to 14,000 years ago by the ancestors of the

indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

. Coydogs were deliberately bred in Pre-Columbian Mexico, where coyotes were held in high regard. In the city of

Teotihuacan Teotihuacan (Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as t ...

, it was common practice to crossbreed coyotes and Mexican wolves with dogs in order to breed resistant, loyal but temperamental, good guardians.Valadez, R., Rodríguez, B., Manzanilla, L. & Tejeda, S. (2006)
Dog-wolf hybrid biotype reconstruction from the archaeological city of Teotihuacan in prehispanic central Mexico
, in ''Dogs and People in Social, Working, Economic or Symbolic Interaction, ed. L. M. Snyder & E. A. Moore, pp. 121–131, Oxford, England: Oxbow Books (Proceedings of the 9th ICAZ Conference, Durham, England, 2002. Northern Indigenous peoples in Canada were mating coyotes and wolves to their

sled dog A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in harness, most commonly a sled over snow. Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transportation in Arctic areas ...

s in order to produce more resilient animals as late as the early 20th century.Young, S. P.; Jackson, H. H. T. (1978). ''The Clever Coyote''. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 121–124. . The term is sometimes mistakenly used for coywolves, which are common in northeastern North America, whereas true coydogs are only occasionally found in the wild. The Clever Coyote (1951) Coyote dog mating

The Clever Coyote (1951) Coyote dog mating

In captivity, F₁ hybrids tend to be more mischievous and less manageable as pups than dogs, and are less trustworthy in maturity than

wolfdog A wolfdog is a canine produced by the mating of a domestic dog (''Canis familiaris'') with a gray wolf (''Canis lupus''), eastern wolf (''Canis lycaon''), red wolf (''Canis rufus''), or Ethiopian wolf (''Canis simensis'') to produce a hyb ...

s. Hybrids vary in appearance, but generally retain the coyote's adult coat color, dark neonatal coat color, bushy tail with an active supracaudal gland, and white facial mask. F₁ hybrids tend to be intermediate in form between dogs and coyotes, while F₂ hybrids are more varied. Both F₁ and F₂ hybrids resemble their coyote parents in terms of shyness and intrasexual aggression.Fox, M. W. (1978). ''The Dog: Its Domestication and Behavior''. Garland STPM Press. p. 105. . Hybrid play behavior includes the coyote "hip-slam".Fox, M. W. (1978). ''The Dog: Its Domestication and Behavior''. Garland STPM Press. p. 136. . A population of non-albino white coyotes in Newfoundland owe their coloration to a MC1R mutation inherited from

Golden Retriever The Golden Retriever is a Scottish breed of retriever dog of medium size. It is characterised by a gentle and affectionate nature and a striking golden coat. It is commonly kept as a pet and is among the most frequently registered breeds ...

s. Some 15% of 10,000 coyotes taken annually in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

for their coats during the early 1980s may have been coydogs based on cranial measurements. As the coyote population in Illinois at the time was estimated at 20,000–30,000, this would suggest a population of 3,000–4,500 coydogs in the state.Hoffmeister, Donald F. (2002). ''Mammals of Illinois''. University of Illinois Press. pp. 271–272. Of 379 wild canid skulls taken in Ohio from 1982 to 1988, 10 (2.6%) were found to be coydogs. It was noted that "The incidence of coydog hybrids was high only in areas of expanding, widely dispersed coyote populations". In a study of coyote–dog encounters in the wild, hostile and playful encounters were seen in about equal proportions.Boydston, Erin E.; Abelson, Eric S.; Kazanjian, Ari; and Blumstein, Daniel T. (2018
''Canid vs. Canid: Insights into Coyote-Dog Encounters from Social Media''
Human–Wildlife Interactions: Vol. 12 : Iss. 2 , Article 9.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3622157 Dogs Canid hybrids Coyotes Dog types Dog law Dog breeding

See also

References