The Japanese Wolfdog
|
If there's one popular meme and piece of misinformation you'll find on the Shikoku Ken, it's the idea that they're called the "Japanese Wolfdog." This seems to be entirely based on the thought that the Shikoku Ken looks more like a wolf than its relatives and has almost no supporting evidence in scientific articles or historic works and writing that I am able to find.
Shikoku Ken often come in a striking sesame color, and black sesame has been wildly popular in Europe and North America. Many people looking for Shikoku Ken want these very dark sesame or "wolf grey" looking dogs which are not always correct for the breed. |
|
So let's start by getting one thing out of the way: the Shikoku Ken is not a wolfdog. The breed does not owe any recent heritage to the wolf as the wolf has been extinct in Shikoku (and the rest of Honshu) for over 100 years. In fact, the Shikoku Ken that founded the breed looked less like what we associate to be lupine than they do today. The founder Shikoku Ken were often blockier and broader, still very much boar hounds without the refinement for the show ring that the modern Shikoku Ken shows. Refinement which brought on somewhat lupine characteristics.
Despite these traits enthusiasts and casual observers may associate with wolves, there are no wolves documented in Shikoku Ken pedigrees, going back to the 1930s when the breed was standardized. This, plus a learned skill called phenotyping, is generally how wolfdogs are labeled and identified. Well bred wolfdogs worldwide often have pedigrees - the same as purebred dogs - which reflect their breeding. These animals are labeled by their filial generation and their observable content. For example, in addition to my Kishu Ken and Shikoku Ken, I have a lurcher who is also an F-4 wolfdog with no wolf content. This means he is 4 generations removed from the last wolf in his pedigree, but he has no wolf content by genetic test or his phenotype (his phenotype - his physical appearance - is that of a lurcher, a mixed breed sighthound.) Shikoku Ken are over a century's worth of generations away, at minimum, from the last wolf that could have possibly ever been added to their lineage and have no wolf content. Thus, they are not a wolfdog.
There is published scientific evidence to say that all Japanese dogs and Australian Dingo are closer related to the Honshu wolf than other domestic dogs, but in turn, recent genetic study has shown that the Honshu wolf is closer related to all domestic dogs than it is to modern gray wolves. This may be due to the Honshu Wolf being an isolated population of a more ancient wolf than the modern gray wolf.
There is literary and historic evidence to say that once upon a time, boar hunters would stake their hounds out to be bred to wolves... however these stories are almost overwhelmingly attributed to the Kishu Ken, not the Shikoku Ken, and it is the Kishu Ken which has a fantastic origin story that relates the breed directly to the wolves of the Kii peninsula. This doesn't make Kishu Ken wolfdogs, either. Having an oral history and origin mythology that links these dogs to wolves may mean there is a bit of truth in the fantasy, but it doesn't change that these dogs are entirely domesticated hounds, not wolfdogs.
Ultimately, it is mostly harmless for pet owners to attribute the traits they like about their dogs to a fairytale of wolves and wolf-connections, even though it may spread misinformation about the type and temperament and history of the dogs. In the USA, owners should be very aware of the wolfdog legislation in their state, county, and city/town as even purebred, registered dogs have been removed from their homes or threatened with legal action for their association with being related to wolves or wolfdogs. Animal control can and do remove dogs in some areas which are alleged to be wolfdogs.
Real harm can come to the breed when breeders endorse these messages and believe them whole-heartedly as well. This may and can lead to a shift in type and temperament due to subconscious or overt beliefs and expectations about what wolves, rather than Shikoku Ken, should act and be like.
They are not wolfdogs and they have not been wolfdogs since the founding of the breed.
Despite these traits enthusiasts and casual observers may associate with wolves, there are no wolves documented in Shikoku Ken pedigrees, going back to the 1930s when the breed was standardized. This, plus a learned skill called phenotyping, is generally how wolfdogs are labeled and identified. Well bred wolfdogs worldwide often have pedigrees - the same as purebred dogs - which reflect their breeding. These animals are labeled by their filial generation and their observable content. For example, in addition to my Kishu Ken and Shikoku Ken, I have a lurcher who is also an F-4 wolfdog with no wolf content. This means he is 4 generations removed from the last wolf in his pedigree, but he has no wolf content by genetic test or his phenotype (his phenotype - his physical appearance - is that of a lurcher, a mixed breed sighthound.) Shikoku Ken are over a century's worth of generations away, at minimum, from the last wolf that could have possibly ever been added to their lineage and have no wolf content. Thus, they are not a wolfdog.
There is published scientific evidence to say that all Japanese dogs and Australian Dingo are closer related to the Honshu wolf than other domestic dogs, but in turn, recent genetic study has shown that the Honshu wolf is closer related to all domestic dogs than it is to modern gray wolves. This may be due to the Honshu Wolf being an isolated population of a more ancient wolf than the modern gray wolf.
There is literary and historic evidence to say that once upon a time, boar hunters would stake their hounds out to be bred to wolves... however these stories are almost overwhelmingly attributed to the Kishu Ken, not the Shikoku Ken, and it is the Kishu Ken which has a fantastic origin story that relates the breed directly to the wolves of the Kii peninsula. This doesn't make Kishu Ken wolfdogs, either. Having an oral history and origin mythology that links these dogs to wolves may mean there is a bit of truth in the fantasy, but it doesn't change that these dogs are entirely domesticated hounds, not wolfdogs.
Ultimately, it is mostly harmless for pet owners to attribute the traits they like about their dogs to a fairytale of wolves and wolf-connections, even though it may spread misinformation about the type and temperament and history of the dogs. In the USA, owners should be very aware of the wolfdog legislation in their state, county, and city/town as even purebred, registered dogs have been removed from their homes or threatened with legal action for their association with being related to wolves or wolfdogs. Animal control can and do remove dogs in some areas which are alleged to be wolfdogs.
Real harm can come to the breed when breeders endorse these messages and believe them whole-heartedly as well. This may and can lead to a shift in type and temperament due to subconscious or overt beliefs and expectations about what wolves, rather than Shikoku Ken, should act and be like.
They are not wolfdogs and they have not been wolfdogs since the founding of the breed.
References:
- Gojobori, J., Arakawa, N., Xiayire, X., Matsumoto, Y., Matsumura, S., Hongo, H., Ishiguro, N., & Terai, Y. (2021). The Japanese wolf is most closely related to modern dogs and its ancestral genome has been widely inherited by dogs throughout East Eurasia. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.10.463851
- Niemann, J., Gopalakrishnan, S., Yamaguchi, N., Ramos-Madrigal, J., Wales, N., Gilbert, M. T. P., & Sinding, M. H. S. (2021). Extended survival of Pleistocene Siberian wolves into the early 20th century on the island of Honshū. iScience, 24(1), 101904. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2020.101904
- Kato, S. (2022, March 16). The Shikoku is Not a Wolfdog. The Nihon Ken Blog. http://www.nihonken.co/2015/11/the-shikoku-is-not-wolfdog.html
- Knight, J. (2006). Waiting for Wolves in Japan: An Anthropological Study of People-Wildlife Relations (Illustrated ed.). University of Hawaii Press. https://doi.org/10.5038/2162-4593.10.1.8
- Nihon Ken pedigree database. (2011). The Nihon Ken Pedigree Database. Retrieved March 16, 2022, from https://nihonken.pedigreedatabaseonline.com/en/
- City Says Wolf-Dog Has to Go. (2014, February 14). KETV Omaha. Retrieved March 16, 2022, from https://www.ketv.com/article/city-says-wolf-dog-has-to-go/7644590