Oddly enough, I came into possession of a Kunming Wolfdog after a wildfire burned through a town near me. The owners surrendered her to a volunteer organization that put her in foster care as a puppy. She went through 2 foster homes and everyone thought she was an almost feral-minded GSD. That was until the original owner found us and asked about her well-being. I told them that I grew up with GSDs that were from working dog, police dog, and show dog lines. The person on the other end of the line grew ‘quiet’ and then told me the truth. They got her from someone that had Chinese Wolfdogs and had a litter of 7 puppies.

Everything ‘clicked’ as I researched their phenotype. Her ears, wedge-shaped head, smaller paws, a ‘gay-tail’ that made me wonder if she was a mix whenever she went into “alert mode.” She stands taller than my standard GSD girl but doesn’t have the same ‘stance’ with more of an upright flat-back and has a really ‘different’ personality. Training had to be broken up into spurts along with strenuous activity. She’s a silent girl who ‘grunts’ more than she barks but when she barks “Holy Mother of God” you’d think it was a GSD on steroids. She is very silent when receiving love and doesn’t whine like every GSD I have ever owned.

Anyhow, Kunming Wolf Dogs are ‘out there’ as you said but no breeders to speak of. Accidental litter and a wildfire was all that it took to give a sweet girl a forever-home in my case. Thank you for writing this article. A lot of it does make sense.