# Can a half-fox dog be had? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 26, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-half-fox-dog-be-had/318761 "2005-08-26T17:42:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-half-fox-dog-be-had/318761/1 "2005-08-26T17:42:50Z")
I’ve read and heard about half-wolf dogs. I wonder if a dog could also be cross-bred with a fox? Has this ever been done? If it was to be done, what would the demeanor of the resulting animal be like? Would it be untamable, or could it be trained if it were raised from a very young age? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-half-fox-dog-be-had/318761/2 "2005-08-26T17:51:33Z")
Not likely. Read [this recent thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=331677) for more info. Dogs and foxes are in different genera and are fairly distant genetically. There was an experiment not long ago to breed foxes for domesticaction, and it produced some surprising results-- many dog like features (eg, floppy ears) appeared along with the behaviors that were being selected for (eg, docility). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-half-fox-dog-be-had/318761/3 "2005-08-26T18:07:52Z")
As well as [this other thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=331785) from just yesterday. > [@Colibri](#): > > No. As far as l know, all species in the genus Canis (wolves, coyotes, jackals, and domestic dogs) are able to produce fertile hybrids. I have never heard of any of them producing hybrids with foxes (Vulpes and others), which are relatively distantly related within the same family. > > It is well established now that the only wild species that has provided any genes to the domestic dog is the Gray or Timber Wolf Canis lupus. It was formerly proposed that there might have been some cross-breeding with jackals involved, but that has been disproved. There certainly hasn’t ever been any crossing with foxes. What’s with the sudden interest among the TM in strange canid cross-breeding experiments? Usually the question is about apes and humans. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-half-fox-dog-be-had/318761/4 "2005-08-26T18:40:17Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > What’s with the sudden interest among the TM in strange canid cross-breeding experiments? Usually the question is about apes and humans. These threads do seem to come in bunches, and this must be Let’s Create a Wild Canid Cross-breed month. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-half-fox-dog-be-had/318761/5 "2005-08-26T19:14:23Z")
[Behavioral Genetics and Animal Science](http://www.grandin.com/references/genetics.html) [EARLY CANID DOMESTICATION: THE FARM FOX EXPERIMENT](http://reactor-core.org/taming-foxes.html) [An Experiment on Fox Domestication and Debatable Issues of Evolution of the Dog](http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maik/ruge/2004/00000040/00000006/00492987)