The Saarloos Wolfdog ( nl, Saarlooswolfhond, german: Saarlooswolfhund) is a wolf-dog

breed A breed is a specific group of 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 several slig ...

originating from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

by the crossing of a

German Shepherd The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for he ...

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 ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

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 (german: Deutscher Schäferhund, nl, Duitse herdershond) 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 ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

. 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 clubs with 150,000 members, and is a member of the F� ...

recognized the breed in 1975. To honour its creator, they named this dog the "Saarloos wolfdog". In 1981, the breed was recognized by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The Fédération cynologique internationale (FCI) (English: International Canine Federation) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. It is based in Thuin, Belgium. History The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices ...

(FCI).

Genetic evidence

In 2015, a DNA study found that the Saarloos wolfdog 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 Saarloos wolfdog 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 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, three-dim ...

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

Czechoslovakian wolfdog The Czechoslovakian Wolfdog ( cz, Československý vlčák, sk, Československý vlčiak, german: Tschechoslowakischer Wolfhund) is a wolf-dog breed that began as an experiment conducted in Czechoslovakia in 1955. After initially breeding ...

11–12%.

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: wolf-grey, red and white. Because the wolf-grey 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 Dutch parent club 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 attributed to the span of survival for a species. It is dis ...

. 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 Wageningen UR; abbreviation: WUR) is a public university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally ...

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 related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...

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 can be a useful ...

program, to increase the breed's

vitality Vitality (, , ) is the capacity to live, grow, or develop. More simply it is the property of having life. The perception of vitality is regarded as a basic psychological drive and, in philosophy, a component to the will to live. As such, peopl ...

fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...

and genetic variation. The Dutch kennel club approved the outcross program in 2012. Two types of outcrosses are used in the outcross program. The first type is the use of so called 'look-alikes', which are dogs that resemble a Saarloos wolfdog, 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 Saarloos wolfdogs must continue alongside the outcross program. As of January 2019, the following outcrosses have been performed: *

White Swiss Shepherd The White Swiss Shepherd Dog or (german: link=no, Weisser Schweizer Schäferhund, it, Pastore Svizzero Bianco) is a Swiss breed of shepherd dog. It descends from North American White Shepherds imported to Switzerland; the White Shepherd itself ...

(currently in the F3) * Siberian Husky (currently in the F2) *

Ibizan Hound The Ibizan Hound ( es, podenco ibicenco, ca, ca eivissenc) 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. Some consider there to be a third type, lo ...

(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 and othe ...

(currently in the F3) * Look-alike

Northern Inuit Dog __NOTOC__ The Northern Inuit Dog, along with its offshoot breed lines the Tamaskan dog, the British Timber dog and the Utonagan, is a breed of dog developed from a 1980s breeding project in the United Kingdom with the objective of producing a dog ...

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

References