Anglo Wulfdog Standard

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Anglo Wulfdog Standard (to aim for)

General Appearance
That of a North American Tundra Wolf.

Characteristics
Large, powerful dog of imposing appearance. Long legged with a thickly coated body.

Temperament
Friendly, intelligent and biddable. May be reserved with strangers until they get to know them. Not overly shy. Should not display any signs of aggression.

Head and Skull
When viewed from above skull is relatively narrow in comparison to size of dog. The apparent broadness of the head is caused by the fur ruff in mature specimens. Muzzle is of a moderate width, neither too broad nor too narrow and tapering to nose. Muzzle length slightly less than length of stop to occiput. Slight stop but not overly pronounced. Jaw muscles are powerful but not over developed. Nose pigment is black in all colours.

Eyes
Oblique set of almond shape, of medium size appropriate to the facial features of the dog. Colour ranges from amber through to yellow.

Ears
Small, erect and thickly furred. Rounded tips. Distance between ears when alert only slightly more than the distance between the eyes.

Mouth
Jaws strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Lips should be tight.

Neck
Thick and muscular of moderate length with a crest of longer hair which is more pronounced in mature specimens. No excessive dewlap or throatiness.

Forequarters
Slightly sloping shoulders of moderate length. Good shoulder angulation and elbows close to the body turning neither in nor out. Chest narrow and of reasonable depth but no lower than point of elbows. Legs are straight and relatively long in comparison to size of animal.

Body
Length from chest to rump slightly longer than height from withers to ground. Back straight with a slightly sloping croup to tail. Back muscular and kept level when on the move.

Hindquarters
Muscular and slightly rounded at rump. Legs straight when viewed from behind, good turn of stifle with second thigh. Moderate angulation allowing for powerful drive when on the move. Hocks well let down. Cow or Sickle hocks undesirable. Pasterns should be straight and no longer than a 3rd of the total length of the hind leg. Dew claws not to be removed, except for medical reasons, if present are undesirable.

Feet
Feet are large in comparison to size of animal. Front feet larger than hind. Tight but not excessively arched and thickly padded allowing for spread of weight. Toes are webbed and thickly furred between pads. Flat or hare feet undesirable. Nails black.

Tail
Low set and thickly furred. When on the move tail can be raised in a gentle curve. May be dropped when the dog is relaxed. Never curled over the back.

Gait/Movement
Free, loping gait covering the ground.

Coat
Thick double coat with dense soft undercoat and coarse guard hairs. Guard hairs longer over shoulders and spine. Pronounced ruff around face in mature specimens. Coat less dense and flatter in the summer months after the spring moult. No excessive feathering on backs of legs or thighs.

Colour
Wolf Sable ranging from pale cream undercoat through to all shades of fawn, apricot and red, must have pronounced sabling with a pale throat and underbelly. Face in the sables can be lighter down the sides of the muzzle and extending under the eyes and cheeks. May extend to rings around the eyes. No obvious chest patches or pronounced eyebrows.
Black ranging from all black through smoke and charcoal due to paler undercoat.
White ranging from pure white through to pale cream.

Red ranging from deep copper to light apricot with darker red sabling.
Pigment should be black in all colours with the exception of solid reds which should be brown pigment.

Size
Height at the shoulder 66cm – 76cm (26 – 30ins) males are larger than females.

Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

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"Dream" - Sansorrella Dream the Dream

"Dream" and "Breeze"

Anglo Wulfdog Origins

Breeding Programme began 2009

The name Anglo Wulfdog was chosen as 'Anglo' denotes the English origins and 'Wulfdog' is formed from the Anglo Saxon spelling of wolf - 'Wulf'. Thereby 'Wulfdog' gives the impression of 'Wolfdog' in the same way that our dogs give the impression of being wolves, but aren't.

Breed Ancestry:

Anglo Wulfdogs have been created through more than 10 years of careful, selective breeding and continue to be improved as the breed develops. The best Northern Inuit foundation bitches were crossed with health tested Alaskan Malamutes - proven to be clear of genetic diseases - to give improved coat, bone and substance. Saarloos Wolfdogs were also included in the early crosses to enhance the wolfish appearance and nature. The best offspring were then selected to be crossed with Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs for added intelligence and trainability and Czechoslovakian Wolfdog x American Wolf hybrids to reinforce the wolfish appearance. This mix has ultimately given us a dog with an authentic wolfish appearance that makes a loyal family companion.

All Anglo Wulfdog breeders use only pedigrees known to be true from first hand knowledge of the dogs themselves. DNA profiling of all breeding stock and micro chipping litters ensures accurate, honest and irrefutable records for the future. All breeding dogs are hip scored and "Embark" tested, not only for genetic breed make-up but for over 160 genetic diseases.

Although we now have a wide gene pool available we would outcross again in the future if the co-efficiency of inbreeding (COI) ever went above 6.25%, as breeding for health and temperament is of paramount importance.

"Breeze" - Sansorrella Windsong

"Roam" - Sansorrella Trail Blazer

Profile:

The Anglo Wulfdogs we have today retain many of the characteristics of the Northern breeds of dog that were used as the foundation of the breed but have also inherited many traits from their wolf ancestors, including the wolf's natural reserve and shyness.

Anglo Wulfdogs are not suitable for novices as they can be very demanding, especially in the early months; they need experienced owners who are confident leaders they can learn to trust. Ownership is a partnership, a bond of mutual respect. Family members are their pack. The Anglo Wulfdog is a very affectionate dog with their own family but can be aloof or even wary of strangers. They fit in well with our modern day lifestyle as a loyal pet and are capable of competing successfully in obedience, agility etc. with perseverance and patient training. Where the Anglo Wulfdog has not proved a success is as a guard dog, due to their timidity and wariness.

Anglo Wulfdogs are independent, strong willed but intelligent dogs that are trainable. Owners need to be committed, patient and have a good sense of humour. Training must be started young, be consistent and reward based, making it fun for the dog as well as the owner. They will quickly get bored with endless repetition so training sessions should be kept short and varied. These dogs need far more socialisation than any other breed of dog and this will have been started with the breeder and should be continued as soon as they go to their new homes. You get out of a wolfdog what you put into it. With confident handling they can be reliably obedience trained, safely let off lead and be a dog you can be proud of.

They have an incredible sense of smell and have the potential to provide future services such as Search and Rescue dogs. A handful of dogs have qualified as P.A.T. dogs. Several Anglo Wulfdogs have passed the KC Good Citizen Award scheme, achieving Bronze, Silver and Gold standard for their proud owners.

These dogs have an extremely high prey drive and should always be supervised around other domestic pets, livestock and wildlife. People do keep them successfully in households with cats but it is recommended that they never be left alone in the same room - no matter how well they appear to get on in the owner's presence.

They are not a dog that can be left alone while you are at work, this can lead to a very distressed dog and destructive behaviour. They have a very strong pack instinct and it cannot be over emphasised that they need constant company, human or canine. They can be taught to be left for an hour or so if this is started from the beginning.

They make great family members and like to be included in everything the family does. They love children and are happy to play games or just cuddle up on the sofa. However, they do have a tendency to play with small children in the same way they play with their own siblings and may nip or mouth them if allowed to become over excited, they are also very boisterous and could easily knock over a small child so they should always be supervised around small children (as should all dogs). Those that are privileged to own an Anglo Wulfdog, or more, know how loving and caring these dogs truly are.

"Dream"

The Anglo Wulfdog in general is a faithful companion and bonds very closely with their family. You never forget that smile; they have a wonderfully expressive face and really do ‘smile’. They require a medium level of exercise, which should be restricted to just 5 minutes a day for every 4 weeks of life until fully grown to avoid damage to developing bones, joints and muscles. When almost fully grown exercise can be increased to build stamina and muscle gradually. They are very agile and athletic dogs. They are also very intelligent and need mental stimulation as much as physical exercise - a bored wolfdog is a destructive wolfdog!

"Soul"

Anglo Wulfdogs are larger than a Siberian husky and most German Shepherds, with dense double coats ranging in colour from white through to black and reds, with grey being the most common. They have sable coats. They can have a ‘mask’ but colour change should be subtle. They moult twice a year; the heaviest being the spring moult but good brushing keeps this under control. They tend to lose condition when they have a big moult but soon gain weight again with careful feeding.

Most Anglo Wulfdogs do not tolerate cereal based complete dogs foods very well and as a whole they do best on BARF diets. (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food)

They are very pack orientated and love the companionship of other dogs and very rarely argue, usually submitting when challenged. However, some entire males can show dominance and even aggression towards other males, as with most breeds. Some entire females can become feisty and argumentative with other females when they are hormonal before a season. Anglo Wulfdogs don't tolerate small yappy dogs very well and some will react to collie type dogs because of the "collie stare", which they interpret as bad manners or a threat. They are very good at communicating through body language but can have difficulty reading solid black dogs since these don't have facial markings with which to express their intentions. They play very rough and any companion dog should be of a suitable size and fitness to cope with their boisterous play.

Anglo Wulfdogs play rough

"Dream" and younger sister "Grace"

IMPORTANT:

Anglo Wulfdogs are unique but by no means perfect, requiring a special type of owner who is experienced and fully committed to their dogs. It must always be remembered that these are NOT German Shepherds and will not behave like one. You will not get the instant obedience that you might expect from a GSD, as these dogs will very often weigh up the pros and cons before deciding whether or not it is 'worth' doing what you want. They have a "What's in it for me?" attitude.

Behaviour and temperament of individual dogs will be shaped as much by Nurture as Nature. Handling, training and socialisation affects how a dog will behave. As with every breed there are always exceptions to the rule. There are dogs who will guard their territory, some are more independent and aloof than others. Not all will submit when challenged; as they are predominantly a pack animal there will always be those with Alpha tendencies.

"Breeze"

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"Grace" - Sansorrella Saving Grace - 4 months

NOTE:

Breeders participating in the Anglo Wulfdog breeding programme have been concerned for some time by the recurring health and temperament issues arising in wolf 'lookalike' type dogs as a consequence of chronic inbreeding, especially in the Northern Inuit dogs which reached a genetic bottleneck many years ago. Advice was taken from leading genetics experts and a programme devised to ensure a healthier, more viable wolfdog breed in the future.

There has been a lot of conjecture and debate as to whether Northern Inuit dogs ever had any wolf content. Recent advances in the science of DNA has enabled me to test the DNA of all my own dogs, thereby confirming my opinion that there was very little wolf content in the breed. At least one on my Northern Inuit lines had no wolf content whatsoever until I introduced it very recently. One of my lines had a trace, which shows I originally had 6% wolf in that line about 15 years ago. All my original Northern Inuits came from the same breeder who helped create that breed. When I was breeding Northern Inuits I used a number of different stud dogs and have now been able to trace the generations back genetically to one wolf that contributed to some Northern Inuit dogs through early Olderhill lines. I have increased the wolf content of Anglo Wulfdogs significantly through the addition of established European and American wolfdog breeds. However, under DEFRA classification they remain a sufficient number of generations away from the wolf to NOT need a DWA Licence .

"Ruby" - Sansorrella Lady in Red

"I'm working for the creation. I refuse to take part in it's destruction"
Leon Shanandoah - Iroquois

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Click link to find out more about the breeding programme

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