16 Comments
Sep 4Liked by Heather Wall

While I do understand that there are people who like "exotic" animals, and I have personally worked with some very exotic animals, but my question is, 'why would you want to"? We had, in our structured zoo habitat, a wolf-dog. For nearly a year he was great and then while leash walking with his handler one day turned on him (literally no provocation) and tore him up seriously. Wild animals are just that and were never intended for domestic pets, part bred or not. There are so many beautiful wonderful dogs, many begging for a home I cannot see trying to domesticate a part wild breed.

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I can understand that Barbara. There's a certain fascination with an animal that is wild and belongs in the untamed forest, and perhaps part of the appeal is the thought that this one -- the one you have a relationship with -- has chosen you, and given up its wild freedom to be with you. Perhaps that is the case in some situations. But I would always worry that the wildness is just below the surface, waiting to reveal itself. Since our domesticated dogs really can't fend for themselves and need us humans, I'm with you in preferring them to their wild cousins.

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Sep 4Liked by Heather Wall

years ago i lived out in the wild chaparral of south texas / i could hear the coyotes out there but never saw them / one day i say a 'coyote' by road alone / i thought that was weird / then i saw a 'coyote' following the neighbor's dog home and the neighbor's dog had his tail tucked underneath / obviously uncomfortable / then i saw the 'coyote' sniffing around the hot tub on my porch / i finally realized that it wasn't a coyote and it wasn't a dog - it was a coydog / he looked exactly like a coyote and had a fragrant aroma like i'm told coyotes do / i adopted him and brought him with me when we moved into town / we were soulmates / we had an amazing connection / whenever we were with a group of people he would visit each one and make sure they were ok or he would give them a bump up / i could tell you lots of stories about kio but in short he was the coolest smartest gentlest dog i have ever known

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Wow! So cool to hear from someone with actual experience of a coydog! Fascinating to hear that he was able to connect so closely to humans. As for the tail -- one distinction of coyotes is their tendency to move with tucked tail, different than domesticated dogs and wild wolves. You can see a dog/coyote interaction on the video on this page and definitely see the tucked tail behavior: https://dfwurbanwildlife.com/2024/05/16/featured-article/coyotes-are-dogs/#:~:text=Coyotes%20and%20dogs%20are%20both,scientific%20name%20Canis%20lupus%20familiaris.

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Sep 5Liked by Heather Wall

my impression was that the 'coyote' wanted to join the dog tribe because he didn't have tribe but the dog didn't want him / he had to settle for me

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Sep 5Liked by Heather Wall

a sad addendum to the story / i saw two other coydogs around that time - one road killed and the other also hit by a car but still alive when i arrived / there was a kid there who said it had been crossing the road to be with him / it died by the side of the road while i caressed it and spoke words of comfort

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That takes courage -- thank you for doing that. It is so hard to watch an animal die.

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I lived in Vermont for 20 years and I have seen a few coyote/fox hybrids. More than once I saw the carcass of what looked like an enormous fox hanging from a limb. The locals all referred to this mix as a coy dog. So I was surprised reading your article because I genuinely thought a coy dog was a mix of coyote and fox. Is that possible? Now I’m doubting my memories!😂

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This one has a complicated answer.

There’s two kinds of wolves on the east coast. The gray wolf and the smaller red wolf. The red wolf was pushed nearly to extinction. They share a lot of DNA with foxes - they’re genetic cousins.

Coyotes cant breed with foxes - foxes are prey for coyotes, and they can’t usually produce viable kits. The few that are, tend to be mules. They can’t reproduce themselves.

So those in the northeast aren’t coydogs. They’re a mix of coyotes and the red wolf that’s wandered south from Canada or eastward from the Great Lakes and into the northern appalachias.

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Thanks for that clarification!

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Sep 4Liked by Heather Wall

Love this explanation, thanks! If you are on Instagram, take a look at @arcticfoxdaily - Kim runs a sanctuary and has several wolfdogs, each with their own personality! She also rehabs foxes and raccoons.

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Very cool! I just followed them -- lots of great pics and videos

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Sep 4Liked by Heather Wall

Are there dingo-dog hybrids?

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I can field this one. There sure are. They were used as breed stock for the Aussie Cattle Dog (the blue/red heeler). Most of Aus’ wild dogs are descended, to some extent or another, from dingoes.

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Interesting! That might explain the Aussie Cattle Dog's intelligence -- the ones I've known seem hyper-aware and wound tighter than your average Labrador, for example. Perhaps their divergence from dingoes happened more recently than other dogs' descendance from wolves...

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Interesting question! My guess is yes, but I've not researched it...

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