<P> Admixture between domestic dogs and other subspecies of gray wolves are the most common wolfdogs since dogs and gray wolves are considered the same species, are genetically very close, and have shared vast portions of their ranges for millennia . Such admixture in the wild have been detected in many populations scattered throughout Europe and North America, usually occurring in areas where wolf populations have declined from human impacts and persecutions . At the same time, wolfdogs are also often bred in captivity for various purposes . Admixture of dogs and two other North American wolf species have also occurred historically in the wild, although it is often difficult for biologists to discriminate the dog genes in the eastern timber and red wolves from the gray wolf genes also present in these wolf species due to their historical overlaps with North American gray wolves as well as with coyotes, both of which have introgressed into the eastern timber and red wolf gene pools . At the same time, because many isolated populations of the three wolf species in North America have also mixed with coyotes in the wild, it has been speculated by some biologists that some of the coywolf hybrids in the northeastern third of the continent may also have both coydogs and wolfdogs in their gene pool . Hybrids between dogs and Ethiopian wolves discovered in the Ethiopian Highlands likely originated from past interactions between free - roaming feral dogs and Ethiopian wolves living in isolated areas . </P> <P> The term "wolfdog" is preferred by most of the animals' proponents and breeders because the domestic dog was taxonomically recategorized in 1993 as a subspecies of Canis lupus . Recognized wolfdog breeds by FCI are the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog and the Saarloos Wolfdog . </P> <P> One of the issues that many researchers and wolfdog communities are faced with is identifying wolfdogs from pure dogs and gray wolf subspecies . The most common method used by various wolfdog communities is phenotyping, a method that involves observing the animal's physical features . This method is often favoured for many in determining the degree of wolf and northern spitz - type dog that is in a wolfdog . However, a lot of criticisms have been made by opponents within some communities who tend to point out that phenotyping cannot always determine the wolf - contents accurately . Another challenge involves determining exactly the domestic breeds and wolf subspecies involved in the admixture due to the fact that dogs are known to come in various breeds while gray wolves in turn come in various subspecies with many different regional ecotypes hence have different physical features depending on the subspecies used in the breeding . Although wolves are often mixed with spitz types such as Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, and German Shepherds, admixture between wolves with non-Spitz type dogs such as Poodles, Pit bulls, and Great Pyrenees also exist, the latter wolfdogs often having less lupine features . </P> <P> A 1982 study of canine skulls from Wyoming dating back 10,000 years ago identified some that match the morphology of wolfdogs . This study was rebutted as not providing convincing evidence four years later . Fossil evidence in Europe points to their use in hunting mammoths . </P>

Is a german shepherd considered a wolf hybrid