Live Science ^ | November 26, 2025 | Skyler Ware Posted on 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 . TOPICS: Pets/Animals; Science; Society KEYWORDS: dna; dogs; pets; wolf “Czechoslovakian wolfdogs and Saarloos wolfdogs had the highest degree of wolf ancestry compared to other dog breeds.” 1 posted on by Diana in Wisconsin Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by.
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Most modern dogs have wolf DNA from relatively recent interbreeding. Here’s which breeds are the most and least ‘wolfish.’
