The Saarloos Wolfdog (, ) is a

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 ...

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

originating from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

by the crossing of a

German Shepherd The German Shepherd, also known in Britain as an Alsatian, is a German Dog breed, breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various Old German herding dogs, traditional German herding dog ...

with a Siberian grey wolf in 1935. The offspring were then further crossed with German Shepherds.

History

Leendert Saarloos (1884–1969) was a Dutch

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

and dog breeder who believed that the

had become too domesticated and wanted to breed back the more natural properties in order to derive a better working dog. In 1935, he bred a male German Shepherd (, ) to a female

Eurasian grey wolf The Eurasian wolf (''Canis lupus lupus''), also known as the common wolf,Mech, L. David (1981), ''The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species'', University of Minnesota Press, p. 354, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to Euro ...

(''Canis lupus lupus'') from

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. He then bred the offspring back with German Shepherds to derive a dog with one quarter wolf blood. The result was a dog that was not useful as a working dog but as companion that is close to nature. The

Dutch Kennel Club Raad van Beheer op Kynologisch Gebied in Nederland (English: Dutch Kennel Club (DKC)) is the official kennel club of the Netherlands. Founded in 1902, it currently represents around 200 Breed club (dog), breed clubs with 150,000 members, and is a ...

recognized the breed in 1975 as "Saarlooswolfdog", after its creator. In 1981, the breed was recognized by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The (; FCI; ) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs and purebred registries. The FCI is based in Thuin, Belgium and has 98 members and contract partners (one from each country). History The FCI was founded in 1911 un ...

(FCI).

Genetic evidence

In 2015, a DNA study found that the Saarlooswolfdog showed more genetic association with the grey wolf than any other breed, which is in agreement with the documented historical crossbreeding with grey wolves in this breed. In 2016, a major DNA study of domestic dogs found a deep division between the Saarlooswolfdog and all other dogs, highlighting its descent from the crossing of German Shepherds with captive wolves in the 1930s. In 2019, a

genomic Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of molecular biology focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes as well as its hierarchical, ...

study found that the amount of grey wolf ancestry possessed by the Saarlooswolfdog is 18–33% and the

Czechoslovakian wolfdog The Czechoslovakian Wolfdog (, , ) is a breed of wolfdog that began as an experiment conducted in Czechoslovakia in 1955 by colonel Jan Hartl together with known and respected cynologist Dr. Heiri Machat. The breed was known as Czech Wolfdog ( ...

20–30%.

Description

The Saarloos Wolfdog is a strongly built dog whose build, coat and movement is wolf-like. The height is between in males and in females. It weighs up to . It is an athletic dog in build, with medium bone, and a strong and muscular body. It moves lightly on its feet and has an elegant march. Its coat is short and dense, providing good protection from the weather. There are three colours: wolfgrey, forestbrown and white. Because the wolfgrey genes are dominant, this is the most common colour. Genes for white colour are recessive, making this uncommon although this colour is accepted. The Saarloos has wolf-like expressions, as well as a wolf-like head.

Training

This breed needs thorough socialization before the twelfth week of age to ensure prosocial behavior.

Outcross program

The two Dutch parent breed clubs for Saarloos wolfdogs researched possibilities to improve the breed's health by increasing

genetic diversity Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. It ranges widely, from the number of species to differences within species, and can be correlated to the span of survival for a species. It is d ...

. The first meetings with the Dutch kennel club were held in 2010. Following these meetings,

Wageningen University and Research Wageningen University & Research (also known as WUR) is a public university, public research university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally i ...

was asked to investigate the degree of interrelatedness of the population. The research was conducted by quantitative geneticist J.J. Windig and Ir M. Spies-Stoop. This study revealed that the population of Saarloos wolfdogs was very closely related. Without intervention, the degree of

inbreeding Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely genetic distance, related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genet ...

would threaten the breed's survival. The scientists advised a controlled and extensive

outcross Out-crossing or out-breeding is the technique of crossing between different breeds. This is the practice of introducing distantly related genetic material into a breeding line, thereby increasing genetic diversity. Outcrossing in animals Out ...

program, to increase the breed's

vitality Vitality (, , ) is the capacity to live, grow, or develop. Vitality is also the characteristic that distinguishes life, living from non-living things. To experience vitality is regarded as a basic psychological drive and, in philosophy, a comp ...

fertility Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate ...

and genetic variation. The Dutch kennel club approved the outcross programme in 2012. Two types of outcrosses are used in the outcross programme. The first type is the use of so-called 'look-alikes', which are dogs that resemble a Saarlooswolfdog, but that don't have a pedigree or that belong to a breed that isn't recognized by the FCI. The second type is the use of several FCI-recognized breeds. The breeds to be used are chosen by breed club members and agreed upon by majority vote. The procedure for both types of outcrosses is the same. The outcross is performed and the F1 generation is produced. The F1 is evaluated and fully health screened, and the best individuals are chosen to contribute to the next generation. This is done by breeding them back to purebred Saarloos wolfdogs, which produces the F2 generation. The F2 is again evaluated and health tested, and the best individuals are bred back to Saarloos wolfdogs to produce the F3 generation. The offspring of an F3 with a purebred Saarloos wolfdog (F4) will get an official pedigree and be recognized as a purebred. In order to maintain proper breed type, purebred breeding of Saarlooswolfdogs must continue alongside the outcross program. As of January 2019, the following outcrosses have been performed: * White Swiss Shepherd (currently in the F3) *

Siberian Husky The Siberian Husky is a dog breed, breed of medium-sized Working dog, working sled dog. The breed belongs to the Spitz genetic family. It is recognizable by its thickly furred Coat (dog), double coat, erect triangular ears, and distinctive mark ...

(currently in the F2) *

Ibizan Hound The Ibizan Hound (, ) is a lean, agile dog of the hound family. There are two hair types of the breed: smooth and wire. The more commonly seen type is the smooth. Looks The Ibizan Hound is an elegant and agile breed, with an athletic and att ...

(currently in the F2) *

Norwegian Elkhound The Norwegian Elkhound is one of the Northern Spitz-type breeds of dog and is the National Dog of Norway. The Elkhound has served as a hunter, guardian, herder, and defender. It is known for its courage in tracking and hunting elk an ...

(currently in the F3) * Look-alike

Northern Inuit Dog Tamaskan dogs are a dog breed from Finland that have been selectively bred to resemble a wolf or wolfdog. Although their exact origins are uncertain, these mixbreed dogs were primarily arctic breed crosses of Alaskan Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Canadi ...

(currently in the F3) Look-alike outcross updates. https://avls.nl/lookalikes/

References