There are many differences between Man’s best friend: The domestic Dog and their wild cousins: the Wolf, but there are also many similarities.
Here are some of the similarities…
1.) Their method of locomotion (or the way they move), which is called digitrade. It means that their movement is a way of life that depends on swift, silent motion.
2.) Like Dogs (as well as every other member of the canid family), the Wolf has 42 teeth. The difference is the Wolf’s four canine teeth are much longer, often measuring 2 1/2 inches from root to tip.
3.) Both animals also have keen senses of smell and hearing. They are also forced to pant in order to keep cool.
Despite the similarities there are also a variety of differences…
1.) The way Wolves run is different from that of Dogs. Also, their highly structured social system is very different from that of a Dog.
2.) Wolves only breed once a year, whereas a dog can breed up to two times in a single year.
3.) Wolves are generally bigger and more intelligent than dogs. They are certainly more aware of their evironment, and respond to other animals and humans differently. Wolves do not bond with humans as readily as Dogs do. They have a complex pack structure that Dogs don’t, even if they go feral and form packs. Wolves constantly test other pack members for dominance, while dogs generally accept whatever hierarchal structure they live in.
4.) Dogs can be trained while Volves cannot (with possible rare exceptions on both sides).
5.)In a Wolf pack only the Alphas lift their legs to pee while all of the other pack members squat (even the Alpha female will lift her leg though she might not do it all the time). The Alphas also prevent the other pack members from breeding and when pups are born the entire pack pitches in to raise them.
5.) BIG DIFFERENCE: In the USA, most dog breeds are legal to own in most places, while Wolves are considered wild animals and therefore inherently dangerous (and in some places even endangered) and are either illegal to own or require special liscensing or other requirements that goes beyond the means of the average pet owner.
Note: Dogs and Wolves can interbreed, but Wolf hybrids have awful reputations that are completely justified (this is not the animals’ fault, but the fault of the people who breed and sell them). It’s the animals, the uninformed buyers, and the victims who end up paying the price. If the wolf traits breed true as they so often do, the animal will end up more wolf than dog and they are just as unsuitable to pet life as full blooded Wolves are (or any other wild animal for that matter). The damages caused by Wolf hybrids have resulted in some places outlawing them completely while others have made severe penalties for the damages that Wolf hybrids can cause.
THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE OF ALL IS…..DOGS MAKE GOOD PETS AND WOLVE’S DON’T!!!!!