Russian scientists have, for the first time, utilized wolves to assist the country’s police force. The Perm Institute of Internal Affairs has successfully bred two female wolf species with domestic dogs to create a unique breed known as the wolf-dog hybrid.
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Canadian Eskimo Dog (Photo: kennels) |
The new breed possesses the exceptional sense of smell of wolves combined with the loyalty of domestic dogs. The female wolf, Naida, and a German Shepherd named Baron have become the ancestors of this new breed. A pair with the most stable temperament among the wolf-dog puppies has been selected for experiments involving specially designed human-shaped dolls. Currently, Russian scientists are conducting experiments with the third generation of wolf-dogs. There are 8 new dogs at the Perm Institute that carry between 50% to 70% wolf blood.
Every day, these wolf-dogs undergo training with various exercises, yielding very positive results. Vyacheslav Dorofeyev, a trainer at the Perm Institute, states that regular police dogs take about 3 to 4 minutes to track criminal scents during training, while wolf-dogs only require 15 to 20 seconds.
Experts explain that domestic dogs and wolf-dogs employ different strategies to track criminal scents. Domestic dogs often run around the training area, spending considerable time exploring their surroundings. In contrast, wolf-dogs quickly identify their target after just one run through the area and can immediately locate concealed evidence, drugs, or explosives. Trainer Olga Alperina enjoys training wolf-dogs and acknowledges their significant advantages in combating crime. According to Olga, wolf-dogs are eager for police work: “When they enter the training room, their teeth click together in anticipation of the exercise.” Canine specialists note that wolf-dogs have no aggressive intentions when they click their teeth.
Hybridization experiments between domestic dogs and wolves have been conducted for a long time; for instance, the University of Cologne has bred 200 wolf-dogs. However, these hybrids were very timid and fearful of humans, making them unsuitable for specific tasks. Consequently, it was declared that the breeding experiments had failed. Surprisingly, only the Perm Institute of Internal Affairs in Russia has managed to establish a rapport between humans and wolf-dog hybrids!
The female wolf Naida is remarkably friendly towards humans, despite the deep-seated fear of humans ingrained in wolves for centuries. During the breeding process, Naida abandoned her male counterpart and sought out a male domestic dog herself. Thanks to Naida, the wolf-dog puppies were born and quickly became elite police canines.
Another unique experiment involves breeding wild dogs with the Eskimo dog (Husky) currently underway in Russia. Vyacheslav Klimov, the author of this experiment, refers to the new puppy breed as “Shakolaika.” They possess an extremely keen sense of smell and could potentially be used to detect drugs and explosives at airports. However, this experiment has failed because the new puppies are very fearful of humans and anything unusual. As a result, Russian police cannot utilize the “Shakolaika” breed in their operations.
