Dogs and wolves and foxes - how closely related are they and can they interbreed and communicate?

Question

Dogs and wolves and foxes - how closely related are they and can they interbreed and communicate?

Answer 1

wolves and dogs - very, usually (practicalities such as size notwithstanding), and yes - although domestic dogs are neotenised (they never pass the 'juvenile' level in wolves).  Wolves/dogs and foxes - both canids, not very, and no

Answer 2

Interesting question. I'm sorry I don't know the answer, but I'd take stab at saying certainly dogs and wolves could interbreed canine/lupine, but foxes are rather small... also, not sure of the latin name for foxes!

Answer 3

No 38 chromosomed foxes cannot interbreed with 78 chromosomed dogs

Wolves can and do interbreed with dogs and an entire species of wolf is interbred with coyotes

===========================

Weather

it is customary to credit the source of your information

To not do so is plagiarism and is illegal, dishonest and unethical not to mention kinda pathetic

The source of Weather's discursive plagiarized comment

http://www.nhm.org/exhibitions/dogs/comm...

Answer 4

All three are members of the dog family, Canidae, but whilst dogs and wolves are in the genus Canis, the various species of foxes belong to the genera Vulpes, Alopex, Dusicyon, Otocyon and Urocyon.

Dogs are the descendants of the grey wolf and are very closely related - the two can not only interbreed, but interbreed and produce fertile offspring. They can also interbreed with other members of the genus Canis, such as coyotes and jackals.

Neither dogs nor wolves can interbreed with foxes - the fox genera split off from other canids millions of years ago, and are too different for interbreeding to take place. Certain species of fox can interbreed with each other, however - for example, the red fox and Arctic fox can interbreed.

Answer 5

From my experience with cartoons I can say that dogs are definitely the least smart of the three.  While foxes are cunning it's the wolf that is most devious.  Hope that helps.

Answer 6

Dogs and wolves can interbreed.Not foxes though.

Dogs and wolves are considered different sub-species genetically, and can cross-breed. The results of interbreeding can be very undesirable, and the two type of animals are not really keen to interbreed; if allowed they form separate and rival social groups.

Dogs are basically wolves that don't grow up. Compared to wolf adults, dog adults exhibit a lot of puppy like behaviors, including a willingness to be subservient to humans.

Wolves are absolutely NOT hardwired / genetically programmed to be like dogs -- to keep their puppy like virtues; the traits that make dogs good companions to people.

When dogs and wolves mate the offspring are unreliable; they may make decent pets, but they are just as likely to follow their instincts and be rather wolf-like.

There are lots of Internet resources about the special needs of these animals, if kept as pets.

My uncle had a 50:50 wolf-dog cross who was a good one-man dog for him, but couldn't tolerate children or erratic and unpredictable behavior; she never bothered me but notoriously bit most of my cousins.

Wolves are best kept as wolves, dogs as dogs. Breeding the two gets you the worst of both worlds.

Husky dogs are very often part wolf.

There is a Russian programme to attempt to breed a new breed of tame "fox" from wild foxes; it's an experiment to see how long it might have taken wild woves to become domesticated dogs. The experiment has been going about 50 years and already has produced a very dog-like animal .

You've probably noticed that you use one voice when your dog is digging in the flowers, and another when you're inviting the dog onto the sofa. Other animals, especially mammals and birds, use various tones of voice too. The tendency by different kinds of animals to use certain sounds to express similar messages is known as Morton's rule.

  

According to Morton's rule, growls and other low-pitched sounds are warnings. They say, "Go away!" Whimpers, yelps, and other high-pitched sounds plead, "Pay attention to me," or "Come closer."

The harshness of the sound indicates how much "meaning" or "depth" is behind the sound. An extremely harsh yelp would convey the dog is in significant pain, rather than a mellow yelp which might carry a message of "pay attention."

  

Most dog barks are neither high nor low in pitch but rather a mixture. They start fairly high, then drop in pitch. These send mixed messages: "Go away, come here."

The reason that low-pitched sounds are threatening is probably because larger animals tend to make them. Pitch decreases with body size in mammals simply because vocal cords become longer and must vibrate at lower frequencies. When we hear a deep voice, we think big person and we are usually right

Answer 7

Domestic dogs were originally bred from wolves.  They can interbreed although wild wolves would be more likely to attack anything from outside of their pack.

Foxes are a different species and interbreeding would be unlikely.

Answer 8

Dogs and wolves could interbreed but not naturally since domesticated dogs lack the social skills to become the alpha male or female which are the only individuals in the pack that reproduce in wolf packs.  Dog/wolf interbred litters are man-made.  Foxes could never interbreed with wolves or dogs, completely different species.

Answer 9

Domestic dog and wolf are the same tribe or subfamily, Canini.  There is not much that separates a wolf from a dog.  Some people think that todays dog came from wolfs.  I have serious doubts about that, no wolf has ever been tamed.  There are many wild dog in Asia and Africa which are genetically more close to today's domestic dog.

The foxes are a totally different subfamily or tribe, Vulpini.

The Canini can breed, but not with the foxes.  Same goes for the fox, can breed within it's tribe but not outside of it.

There is still work being done with the genetics of all Canidae.  I would think there maybe be more changes in the taxonomy in the future.  They have already eliminated all the subspecies category.  In fact that term may disappear from taxonomic use.

http://www.lioncrusher.com/family.asp?fa...