Study Names Dogs With The Most (And Least) Wolf DNA

If I told you a recent study showed that a majority of modern dog species have wolf DNA, you’d probably mutter something along the lines of “shocker: fork found in kitchen”.

Except that the research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that just two-thirds of modern dogs have detectable wolf DNA – and it is likely not an ancient remnant from their wilder ancestor, from which they separated tens of thousands of years ago.

Instead, it seems that the gene may have come from more recent interbreeding between dogs and wolves.

In fact, the study reads, “Ancient [dog] genomes from the Roman era… show no evidence of wolf ancestry… nor has wolf ancestry been detected in ancient dogs in the Arctic or the pre-colonial America”.

Still, study co-author Logan Kistler, a curator of archaeobotany and archaeogenomics at the National Museum of Natural History, told AFP this doesn’t mean “wolves are coming into your house and mixing it up with your pet dog”.

In a statement, the study’s lead author, Audrey Lin, said: “Modern dogs, especially pet dogs, can seem so removed from wolves, which are often demonised.

“But there are some characteristics that may have come from wolves that we greatly value in dogs today and that we choose to keep in their lineage.”

Some characteristics often linked to high-wolf DNA breeds, the study reads, include:

• Suspicious of strangers
• Independant
• Dignified
• Alert
• Loyal
• Territorial,

While lower-wolf DNA breeds were more associated with being:

• Easier to train
• Eager to please
• Courageous
• Lively
• Affectionate.

Traits like obedience, intelligence, being good with children, dedication, calmness, and cheerfulness seemed evenly distributed among both groups.

This study stressed, though, that these associations, which came from kennel clubs, could not definitely be linked to wolf genes themselves.

This research found that Czechoslovakian and Saarloos wolfdogs have the most detectable wolf DNA (up to 40%).

The great Anglo-French tricolour hound had an impressively high percentage for a “breed” dog – 4.7-5.7% – while Shiloh shepherds have 2.7%.

The Tamaskan, bred in the UK in the ’80s, has 3.7% wolf ancestry. Even chihuahuas have 0.2%, which, Lin joked, likely “makes sense” to their owners.

Surprisingly, bigger breeds like St Bernards have zero wolf DNA. The same goes for the Neapolitan mastiff and bullmastiff.

In general, detectable wolf ancestry is higher for bigger dogs and dogs bred for certain jobs, like Arctic sled dogs, “pariah” dogs, and hunting dogs.

But on average, terriers, gundogs, and scent hounds have lower wolf DNA.

As Kistler shared in a statement: “Dogs are our buddies, but apparently wolves have been a big part of shaping them into the companions we know and love today.”