Dogs That Should Be Guarding Sheep Are Mating With Wolves Instead
Intimate encounters between dogs and wolves are relatively common in Georgia’s Caucasus Mountains
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/some-dogs-meant-guard-sheep-wolves-are-instead-hybridizing-those-predators-180951122/#VmYTm4ysLOrDTJjP.99
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Dogs That Should Be Guarding Sheep Are Mating With Wolves Instead
Intimate encounters between dogs and wolves are relatively common in Georgia’s Caucasus Mountains
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/some-dogs-meant-guard-sheep-wolves-are-instead-hybridizing-those-predators-180951122/#VmYTm4ysLOrDTJjP.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter
Dogs That Should Be Guarding Sheep Are Mating With Wolves Instead
Intimate encounters between dogs and wolves are relatively common in Georgia’s Caucasus Mountains
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/some-dogs-meant-guard-sheep-wolves-are-instead-hybridizing-those-predators-180951122/#VmYTm4ysLOrDTJjP.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter
n Georgia’s Caucasus Mountains, sheepdogs are befriending the enemy. Instead of guarding their herds from wolves, they are mating with those predators, which could explain instances of increasing aggression from the local wolf community.
In a new study, a team of Georgian researchers genetically analyzed hair, blood or scat samples from 102 wolves, 57 livestock-guarding dogs and nine mongrel dogs. They found that about 10 percent of the animals had a recent relative who was not of their species, and around three percent were first-generation hybrids. They were surprised to find such high numbers for instances of dog-wolf hybridizations. The dogs, it seems, are slacking on the job. “Ironically, their sole function is to protect sheep from wolves or thieves,” the researchers explained in a release. “They guard the herds from wolves, which are common in the areas where they are used, but it appears that they are also consorting with the enemy.”
The researchers wonder if hybridization might have something to do with recent trends of human-wolf conflict in Georgia. Over the past decade or so the instance of wolf attacks on livestock has increased, the team points out, and in several cases wolves have attacked humans. Hybridized animals tend to be less wary of humans, so there could be a connection.
Wolfdog worries are not confined to the Caucasus region. Last month, a man in Connecticut shot a wolfdog after it attacked him in a park. A couple other dogs that were part of the ambush got away. Authorities don’t know whether the animals or wild or are being raised by someone nearby, although genetic tests did reveal the dead canine’s mixed heritage. According to a USDA estimate from around 15 years ago, around 300,000 wolfdogs live in the U.S.—the highest number of any country.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/some-dogs-meant-guard-sheep-wolves-are-instead-hybridizing-those-predators-180951122/#VmYTm4ysLOrDTJjP.99
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Exposing the Big Game 
I’m not a biologist, but it seems to me that these hybridizations occur because 1) Ranchers are not neutering their dogs. Many ranchers think that an intact male will be a better guard dog because they will be more aggressive, but as we see, all it does it distract them from the job they need to focus on. The instinct to mate will almost always be stronger than the instinct to guard their flock.
2) Disruptions of wolf packs and wolf mortalities due to human causes such as hunting, poaching, trapping, car strikes, etc often leave females without suitable mates and dogs become substitutes. A male dog would probably not find any female wolves to mate with if the females were living in stable packs.
But let’s face it, does it really make any difference who is at fault when we all know who will take the blame?