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Is my dog a wolf?

Wolf (left)
Dog (right)

Dr. Robert K Wayne, Canid Evolutionary Biologist and Geneticist at UC-Davis

"The domestic dog is an extremely close relative of the gray wolf, differing from it by at most 0.2% of mtDNA sequence15,22,23.

In comparison, the gray wolf differs from its closest wild relative, the coyote, by about 4% of mitochondrial DNA sequence14. Therefore, the molecular genetic evidence does not support theories that domestic dogs arose from jackal ancestors. Dogs are gray wolves, despite their diversity in size and proportion; the wide variation in their adult morphology probably results from simple changes in developmental rate and timing." From The Molecular Evolution of the Dog Family by Robert K Wayne

"At the molecular level not much changed at all: The DNA makeup of wolves and dogs is almost identical."  National Geographic
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Of Wolves and Dogs

Canid Genetics

Dog/wolf breeding history and genetic diversity

David Mech Books

Wolf to Woof - A Family Portrait - AMAZING!

Some interesting facts about gray wolves and their eating habits

Evolution of the Family Dog

The Wolf by L. David Mech -- a senior research scientist with the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Ol' Shep's Plight: Diet  

Wolf Teeth

© 2007 My Pet Carnivore All rights reserved.