The breed, a Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, is a relatively new one, but examples are found in Estonia, if in modest numbers, an expert said.

Wolfdogs as their name suggests are part wolf, for instance Eurasian wolves, as distinct from Wolfhounds, such as the Irish variety, which – again the clue is in the name – were originally bred for wolf hunting and so are particularly large and powerful.

The Czechoslovakian Wolfdog however is a relatively recently developed breed, created in the 1950s, at a time when Czechoslovakia was a sovereign entity. The more familiar German Shepherd breed was crossed with the Carpathian wolf, a subspecies of the Eurasian wolf, explained University of Tartu doctoral student Kirke Raidmets.

The aim of breeding the dog was to combine the traits of both animals: The wolf's endurance, strength, and keen sense of smell on one hand, and the dog's cooperativeness on the other.

This also accounts for the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog's close resemblance to a full-blooded Eurasian or gray wolf, and perhaps the initial brief alarm on Wednesday as a two-year-old dog named "Nazgul" chased the finishing skiing pair home, albeit only playfully.

The breed has slightly slimmer legs and face than a full-breed wolf and, according to Raidmets, it tends to carry its tail in a somewhat more curved position. But you have to know what you are looking for. "At the same time, if you simply see one, it is very difficult to tell it apart from a wolf," she conceded.

The Czechoslovakian Wolfdog is one of several wolf-like breeds in vogue at the moment, Raidmets continued.

"Among more recent breeds, there is also the Saarloos Wolfdog (originating in the Netherlands and a German Shepherd-Siberian gray wolf cross – ed.) which was developed a little earlier, but likewise by crossing with a wolf. In fact, it looks even more wolf-like than the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog," the expert said.

However, the Saarloos Wolfdog is rarer as a breed and is mainly found in its country of origin and a few other European states.

As for Czechoslovakian Wolfdog numbers in Estonia, these are around a couple of dozen, Raidmets said.

Genetically speaking, other breeds which are also very close to wolves include Alaskan Malamutes and the Russo-European Laika. "The difference is that these breeds are much older, thousands of years already. Wolves have not recently been reintroduced into their bloodlines," Raidmets explained. The recent developments have resulted in the significant proportion of wolf genes which gives the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog its distinctive profile. At the same time, a few decades is enough for the animal to not be referred to as a mongrel or hybrid.

"The Czechoslovakian Wolfdog is definitely not a hybrid. It was crossed long enough ago, and the wolf proportion is about 10–15 percent; the rest is already dog," the doctoral student added. In short, it is an official and well-established breed that is genetically distinct from both the wolf and the German Shepherd.

Nonetheless, there is enough of the wolf still left in the dog in this case for the animal to be challenging to own and, compared with the German Shepherd, the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog is particularly independent – as demonstrated this week at the Winter Olympics.
"It has a pack instinct, although it is not directly aggressive," Raidmets noted.

Intentionally interbreeding dogs and wolves largely illegal

While the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog is a deliberately bred variety, Raidmets says there is nothing unusual about a mixing of wolves and dogs out in the wild either.

Both belong to the Canis genus, for one thing.

This type of natural cross-breeding has even been observed in Estonia, whose wolf population has been growing in recent years.

"In Estonia, wolf–dog hybrids have been found and identified within wolf populations where they have remained co-existing with wolves," she pointed out. However, differences in mating seasons influence mixing between the two species. Wolves tend to mate in February; male dogs are fertile year-round, females are in heat twice a year.

"For admixing to occur, a dog being in heat simply has to coincide with the wolves' mating season," Raidmets said.

Wolves also cannot produce viable offspring with every dog breed: for example, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Chihuahua is already such an old and genetically distinct breed that any offspring may not be healthy or viable.

Based on what she has seen online, Raidmets says wolfdogs are also unofficially bred in the U.S., primarily for their size and appearance. "In some states this is banned, but there is indeed a stress toward crossing with wolves," she says.

To Raidmets' knowledge, while there are no restrictions in Estonia on keeping established wolfdog breeds, intentional cross-breeding with a wild animal is illegal.

"In Estonia, it is not permitted to take a wild animal from the natural environment and start breeding it with your domestic dog. At the same time, wolfdog breeds in and of themselves are permitted," she said.

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