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Posted on 11/26/2025 6:17:00 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Most modern dog breeds have small amounts of wolf ancestry from long after dogs were domesticated, according to a new study.
The wolf DNA isn't left over from when dogs and wolves diverged; instead, it most likely came from interbreeding in the past few thousand years. That wolfish influence may be linked to certain characteristics, such as size and personality traits, in different dog breeds, researchers reported Nov. 24 in the journal PNAS.
"Dogs are our buddies, but apparently wolves have been a big part of shaping them into the companions we know and love today," study co-author Logan Kistler, curator of archaeobotany and archaeogenomics at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., said in a statement.
Wolves and dogs genetically split more than 20,000 years ago. Since then, there has been some gene flow between dogs and wolves, thanks to their genetic compatibility. To measure the extent of intermixing and its effects on both animals, researchers studied the previously published genomes of nearly 2,700 dogs and wolves from the Late Pleistocene (the last ice age) to the present. This group included 146 ancient dogs and wolves, 1,872 modern dogs and about 300 "village dogs" that lived around humans but weren't pets.
At least 264 modern dog breeds have wolf ancestry passed on from mating that occurred an average of 900 dog generations ago, which equates to about 2,600 years ago — long after dogs became domesticated at least 20,000 years ago, the team found. The most wolfish dogs had up to 40% wolf ancestry in their genomes, but most had between zero and 5% wolf ancestry.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
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Our late Chihuahua Coco was all ‘wolf’!...............
I have to constantly remind Tippy the Blue heeler:
“NEVER GO FULL DINGO!”
I’m sorry for your loss. I had a cousin with a wonderful Chihuahua.
Beau’s late mother had a little Chihuahua/Yorki mix, Lily.
She was the SMARTEST dog I’ve ever met, and I’ve had a LOT of smart dogs through the years!
She lived over 20 years!...........
What about Jack Nicholson?
Ever see Les Nessman on WKRP say “Chee Huwa Huwa”????
Yes, that is the problem with Chihuahuas. Especially when my wife somehow accumulated FOUR over last seven years.
The funny thing is they all have different personalities.
They are all related too. The prettiest long haired one is the most psycho. I call her Cujo.
Chee Chee ROD ra GEEZE !
He also called Chi-Chi Rodríguez by the name Cheye Cheye Rod Ree Gwez”...
LOL Yep...You beat me to that one...
Hahahaha that is my absolute favorite graphic on this subject!
Sigh. I so miss the Far Side...Gary Larson looked like he was starting up again recently, but it probably reminded him quickly of why he had stopped-the pressure of having to come up with things on a regular basis!
I love that one.
I have the two gigantic volumes with all his work, I am such a fan.
Looks l8ke a wolf/german sheppard mix
Aleuts and Eskimos had a trick to put more wolf DNA into their working dogs. They would tie a bitch in heat to a tree and male wolves would come running, while keeping a ‘far watch’. When she was pregnant, the litter would be much more wolf like.
Even today, DNA tests of “wolf dogs” are measured in fractions of percents.
Lol my friend juat yesterday sent me a video of l3ss nessman reporting on the turkeys that they dropped from a helicopter lol
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