Response to Wisconsin Wolf Management Plan
By Stephanie Porter, Ph.D.

I was dismayed when I read the sections about wolf hybrids in the Wisconsin Wolf Management  Plan Draft. I realize that it can be virtually impossible to get accurate information about wolf hybrids, so I hope that I can be of help in increasing the scientific integrity of your draft proposal. I  have a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and have been following the wolf hybrid controversy for many years, gathering much scientific data on wolves, dogs  and wolf hybrids. I hope you will take the time to read my comments regarding specific statements in the proposal  Draft. In addition, I recently spent half a year on the State of Colorado Canine and Feline Hybrid Advisory Committee. The committee was charged with obtaining factual information on wolf hybrids through research and interviews with wolf and dog experts.   I am sending a copy of this report which represents a consensus opinion of about 14 people with wildly divergent views on the subject of wolf hybrids. Because to the lay public the word "hybrid" connotes the sterile progeny of different species, I will refer to wolf hybrids as wolfdogs for the remainder of this letter. 

"A wolf-dog hybrid is the offspring of the mating of a wolf (Canis lupus) with a domestic dog (Canis familiaris)" 

This statement does not represent the most recent view on the relationship between wolves and dogs.  The American Society of Mammalogists have reclassified dogs as a subspecies of Canis lupus (Canis lupus familiaris). Although this does not represent a consensus world view yet, it is the view of the majority of taxonomists in the United States (Wozencraft  1993). In addition, molecular genetic evidence shows that wolves and dogs are the same species, in fact there is no way to distinguish a wolfXdog cross from a dog, even using DNA testing. Vila et. al. (1997) found that some dogs group in a separate evolutionary clade from wolves, however some dogs group along with wolves.  A molecular genetics group in Japan has found contrary evidence that wolves and dogs do not even group into separate clades (Tsuda et. al. 1997). The summary of all of this information is that "Dogs are grey wolves, despite their diversity in size and proportion; the wide variation in their adult morphology probably results from simple changes in developmental rate and timing"  (Wayne 1993).  This also has important implications for your proposed regulation of wolfdog ownership.  There is no way to legally distinguish a wolfdog from any other dog.  Every court case against a wolfdog owner that has been based on establishing identity of the dog as a wolfdog mix has been won by the wolfdog owner (I can provide some of these references if you are interested).  In addition, there are a number of dog breeds that have been fairly recently derived from the wolf (Tundra Shepherd, Czech Wolfdog, Sarloos Wolfhound, other rare breeds).  How will you distinguish these and similar breeds from "wolf hybrids"? 

"Normally these are bred in captivity because wild wolves rarely breed with dogs" 

Although there is only a little evidence that wild wolves have bred with dogs in the United States, this statement is inaccurate.   Wild wolves have bred with dogs in this country (Allen 1979, Hoagland 1993, Mech 1970, Murie 1944) and it is possible that the paucity of observed crossbreeding is due to the long-standing diminished wolf population here.   In Italy there is a huge problem with free ranging dogs cross breeding with wild wolves (Boitani 1982).  In fact there is so much crossbreeding that it is possible most wolves in Italy are in fact wolfXdog mixes (Boitani 1982).  In other countries there is also documentation of wolfXdog crosses occurring in the wild (Bibikov 1982, Mendelssohn 1982). 

"The macho characteristics of the wolf/dog hybrids make them highly desirable to some people but also highly unpredictable" 

This accusation of "unpredictability" is a scare tactic used by the media. I am surprised to see it here, in an official document from a biology department. Dogs, wolfdogs, or wolves are not unpredictable in behavior. I have spoken with a number of professional dog behaviorists that work with wolfdogs. They have seen no clear differences in behavior of wolfdogs from that of other dogs, and I have never heard a behaviorist suggest that a wolfdog is unpredictable. I know hundreds of wolfdog owners and have never once heard one call their animal "unpredictable".  Many dog owners would call their animals unpredictable out of ignorance of dog behavior, this doesn't mean that they actually are unpredictable. The same holds true for wolfdogs, ignorance by owners should not be translated into known "fact". 

"The "predatory behaviors" of wild predators like the grey wolf have been lost in domestic dogs" 

It is debatable whether the predatory behaviors of wolves have been exceedingly diminished in dogs.  I have heard numerous opinions about this on both sides of the argument from wolf and dog behaviorists, but have not seen a scientific study published on this subject.   All dog behavior is wolf behavior, although most dog breeds have had some of the wolf behaviors either accentuated or diminished.  A recent paper suggests that dogs that are more wolf-like in phenotype are also more wolf-like in behavior, to the extent that Siberian Huskies have every "wolf" behavior the researchers measured (Goodwin et. al. 1997). 

It is absolutely NOT TRUE that dogs have lost predatory behaviors.   There are a number medical articles describing the hunting and consumption of human beings by dogs (Borchelt et. al. 1983, Kneafsey and Condon 1995).  Dogs are especially dangerous when they form packs, even a friendly family animal can become a predator when in a pack (Borchelt et. al. 1983).  In addition feral  and stray dogs revert to "wild" behaviors easily, including hunting behaviors (Boitani and Ciucci 1995).  Finally there is no clear evidence that most dog (or wolfdog) attacks on people are motivated by predation.   Most behaviorists believe these attacks are due to social miscues between humans (mostly children) and canines.  Furthermore I have collected a large number of newspaper articles describing predation by dogs on domestic and wild animals. Dogs are clearly predators, some breeds more than others, and they are not different from wolfdogs in this regard. 

"Attacks, maulings, dismemberments and deaths caused by wolf/dog hybrids have received national media attention.  Four children are known to have been killed by hybrids between 1981 and 1988." 

Although I agree with the fact that  these attacks receive national attention, this statement is misleading.  It implies that wolfdogs attack more than other types of dogs.  There are over 4.5 million dog bites per year alone in this country.   Well over half a million of these are considered severe attacks (Voelker 1997)!  This is not to say that dogs are inherently dangerous, however, as the vast majority of dogs do not commit such offenses.   Virtually every attack is due to a failure of the animal's owner to provide proper socialization, training, or confinement of the dog, either through ignorance or criminal intent. Attacks, even fatalities, are certainly not unique to wolfdogs.  Fatal attack numbers have been published in peer-reviewed medical journals (Sacks et. al. 1996, Sacks et. al. 1989, MMWR 1997).  Death by dog attack is rare, there are an average of 20 deaths due to dog attacks per year in the US.  In looking at these numbers it is very important to remember several problems with them.  First there is no "test" to tell if a dog is a Rottweiler cross or a Husky or a wolfdog, thus the numbers of deaths attributed to each breed could be inaccurate.  Also it is not known how many individuals of each breed exist in the US.   Finally these numbers are included for qualitative reasons only, to demonstrate that fatalities are certainly not unique to wolfdogs: 

Breeds involved in dog bite-related fatalities 1979-1996:

"Unfortunately for the animals and the reputation of wild wolves, many overwhelmed hybrid owners resort to "setting their wolf free" when they cannot find a suitable home for them." 

Is there any  information proving that  wolfdog owners are especially prone to this irresponsible behavior?  In other words, do a higher percentage of wolfdog owners set their animals "free", than do dog owners?  I have never seen any evidence to suggest this. 

"There have been eleven cases of free-roaming wolf/dog hybrids in Wisconsin between 1989 and 1996" 

This statement is only meaningful if you compare it with the number of cases of other types of dogs free-roaming in Wisconsin.    If Wisconsin is anything like Colorado, the number of wolfdogs running at large is dwarfed by the number of other dog breeds running at large.  Since there is no evidence that wolfdogs cause more of any types of damage than other dogs,  how significant is this number of wolfdogs?   In fact it seems that with over 400,000 wolfdogs in this country, 11 wolfdogs running free in Wisconsin over the course of 7 years is amazingly small. 

"Wildlife biologists also worry about escaped or released wolf/dog hybrids interbreeding with wild wolves--diluting their gene pool" 

First, since wolves and dogs are the same species and are identical in over 99.8% of their DNA sequences (Wayne 1993), the idea of genome pollution needs to be critically examined.  Is this a real danger?  The vast majority of the DNA is identical between wolves and dogs.  Dogs are really just mutant wolves.  Also, two wolf biologists that testified at the State of Colorado Canine and Feline Hybrid Advisory Committee meetings did not think that even if wild wolves bred with dogs or wolfdogs there would be noticeable damage to the wolf gene pool (Dr. Ray Pierotti, University of  Kansas and Dr. Erich Klinghammer, Wolf Park).   Their reasoning is that even in the few cases where crossbreeding might occur, any traits that are detrimental to survival will be selected against. 

In addition there is the question of whether wolfdogs have a greater chance of breeding with wild wolves than free ranging dogs.   There is field observation data that suggests even a strange pure wolf will not be tolerated in the territory of a pack (Mech 1970), much less a dog or wolfdog.  I have seen no evidence that  even hints that wolfdogs have a higher chance of crossbreeding with wild wolves than dogs, particularly northern breed dogs or other large dogs.   If you have such evidence please include it in this section of your recommendations since it is highly relevant. 

"Twenty-five other states presently regulate the possession of these animals..." 

The Colorado assistant state veterinarian (Dr. Keith Roehr) did an informal phone survey of several states that regulate wolfdogs during the progression of the advisory committee meetings.  He spoke with the actual administering department in each case.   In virtually every state, the administration of these regulations was problematic.  Essentially the regulations are impossible to administer due to identification problems and many states are considering retracting their regulations.  In fact, in 1991 Tennessee overturned their law prohibiting wolfdog ownership and recently Oregon has de-regulated the wolfdog, both due to the problems in administering the regulations fairly.  When breed-specific regulations are challenged in court, they are often found to be unconstitutional  (Burt 1997, Marmer 1984). 

"Possession of wolf/dog hybrids also needs to be regulated due to their potential impact on wild, free-ranging wolves" 

Again, I believe the critical issue in regulating something, is being able to unambiguously identify it.   Since there is no genetic test for "wolfdog" and since every identification case brought against wolfdog owners has been won by the owner, one is left with the question of how to practically regulate these animals.    The reality is that if regulations are imposed on the public, the wolfdog owners will go underground. Since identification is problematic, prosecution of owners will result in expensive court cases for the state. Additionally, forcing wolfdog owners underground will exacerbate potential problems as owners will have less access to veterinary care and training advice.   Also, who will be administering the regulations?    What will happen when an animal gets misidentified?  A recent misidentification of a husky as a wolfdog in Texas resulted in an expensive settlement in favor of the dog's owners. 

 In every one of the issues discussed above the central question is, "is a wolfdog more likely to commit the inappropriate behavior  than a dog?"   Since there has never been any scientific evidence published or presented that suggests wolfdogs are more problematic in any of the areas above, one wonders why they are being singled out in this draft report.   Dogs can be dangerous, they can kill people, they can kill livestock, they can kill wild animals, they can cross breed with wild wolves, and they ARE wolves genetically.   They are not so far from their wild ancestors as the Wisconsin report suggests and I hope you will reconsider your recommendation to treat wolfdogs as separate from other dogs in your final report.   A responsible dog owner will raise a good dog, be it wolfdog, Pitbull or Rottwieler.  An irresponsible dog owner can turn a Golden Retriever into a killer.  Dog laws in our country should address the behavior of individual dogs, not the perceived behavior of specific breeds, because it is bad owners that create bad dogs.  Please feel free to contact me if you have further questions or require more documentation on any of these subjects. 

Thank you, 

Dr. Stephanie Porter
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics

June 15, 1998 

Wisconsin Wolf Management Plan address:
Wolf Plan
PO Box 4001
Eau Claire, WI 54702

References Cited 

Allen, D. L. 1979.  Wolves of Minong Isle Royale’s Wild Community. p. 468. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, MI.

Bibikov, D. I. 1982  Wolf ecology and management in the USSR. in Wolves of the World: Perspectives of Behavior, Ecology and Conservation, pp. 120-133.  F. H. Harrington and P. C. Paquet (eds.).  Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ.

Boitani, L.  1982.  Wolf management in intensively used areas of Italy.  in Wolves of the World: Perspectives of Behavior, Ecology and Conservation, pp. 158-172.  F. H. Harrington and P. C. Paquet (eds.).  Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ.

Borchelt, P. L., Lockwood, R., Beck, A. M., and Voith, V. L.  1983.  Attacks by packs of dogs involving predation on human beings.  Public Health Rep.  98: 57-66. 

Boitani, L and Ciucci, P.  1995 Comparative social ecology of feral dogs and wolves.  Ethology, Ecol. and Evol. 7:49-72. 

Burt, M. R. 1997. Canine legislation: Can dogs get a fair shake in court?  JAVMA 210:1139-42. 

Goodwin, D., Bradshaw, J. W. S., and Wiskens, S. M. 1997. Paedomorphosis affects agonistic visual signals of domestic dogs.  Anim. Behav.  53:297-304. 

Hoagland, E.  1993.  Lament of the red wolf. p. 53  In Out Among the Wolves, John. A. Murray (ed.) Alaska Northwest Books, Anchorage, AK. 

Kneafsey, B. and Condon, K. C. 1995.  Severe dog-bite injuries, introducing the concept of the pack  attack: a literature review of seven case reports.  Injury 26:37-41. 

Marmer, L.  1984. The new breed of municipal dog control laws: Are they constitutional? Cincinatti Law Rev. 53: 1067-81. 

Mech, D. L. 1970 The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species.  University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN. 

Menhelssohn, H. 1982.  Wolves in Israel.   in Wolves of the World: Perspectives of Behavior, Ecology and Conservation, pp. 173-195.  F. H. Harrington and P. C. Paquet (eds.).  Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ. 

MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports) 1997.  Dog-bite related fatalities-United States, 1995-96. 46:467. 

Murie, A.  1944  The Wolves of Mt. McKinley.  pp. 17-28 University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA. 

Sacks, J. J., Lockwood, R., Hornreich, J., Sattin, R. W. 1996   Fatal dog attacks, 1989-1994.   Pediatrics 97:891-895. 

Sacks, J. J., Sattin, R. W., and Bonzo, S. E. 1989.  Dog bite-related fatalities from 1979 through 1988. JAMA  262:1489-1492. 

Tsuda, K., Kikkawa, Y., Yonekawa, H., and Tanabe, Y.  1997.  Extensive interbreeding occurred among multiple matriarchal ancestors during the domestication of dogs: Evidence from inter- and intraspecies polymorphisms in the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA between  dogs and wolves.  Genes. Genet. Syst.  72:229-38. 

Vila, C., Savolainen, P, Maldonado, J. E., Amorim, I. R., Rice, J. E., Honeycutt, R. L., Crandall, K. A., Lundeberg, J, and Wayne, R. K. 1997.  Multiple and ancient origins of the domestic dog. Science 276:1687-89. 

Voelker, R.  1997.  Dog bites recognized as public health problem,  JAMA 277:278-280. 

Wayne, R. K. 1993.  Molecular evolution of the dog family. Trends in Genetics 9:218-24.  

Wozencraft, W. C. 1993. in  Mammal Species of the World, a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, pp. 280-281. Wilson, D. E. and Reeder, D. M. (editors)   2nd edition.  Smithsonian Institution Press in Association with American Society of Mammalogists.  Washington, DC.