Fox/Dog hybrid?

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Ben Long

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I've seen a few coy-dogs in my time, but have any of you had experience with dog/fox hybrids? I've a female red fox on my property that looks like a fox in its head, shoulders and midsection, but the coloration goes more brown toward the rear, its tail is about 2/3 the length of a normal fox tail and lacks the white tip. Think it might be a hybrid or perhaps just an unusual color phase? Opinions?
 
Gene sequencing efforts have shown a significant lack of overlap in the genes of the wolf canids (which include dogs) and the fox canids. They say that even hybridization between fox species is extremely rare because of genetic dissimilarities, so I would think the probability of a fox/dog cross would be near zero.

There are color phase red foxes, and from what I've read they become more common the farther north you go. I saw one once that looked very similar to what you describe, though it had a full tail with white tip. It was classic red fox in the front, but the back end was very dark grayish brown. Maybe you have a color phase with some sort of mechanical injury to the tall? I think that might be more likely than a hybrid.
 
Where I used to live south of Denver we had some interesting color-phase foxes. I heard a story that there was a fur farm at some point in the past and a bunch of silver/dark gray foxes escaped and bred with the local population. So we had all red, all black/silver, and a few that were red mixed with black or gray. The black ones were really pretty.
 
Ben Long said:
Hunting Wife, you make a convincing case. Seems like you know more about this issue than I do.
Click to expand...

I'm blessed, or maybe cursed, with a memory that hangs onto scientific articles and useless trivia.:)

I read an article once on a study on domestication conducted in Russia using red foxes. They basically selected individuals that were affectionate, docile, intelligent, and obedient and crossed them over several generations. The really unexpected part was that after several generations, they also exhibited high degrees of unusual coloration and patterns, alternate coat types, floppy ears, and other traits common to domestic dogs. It demonstrated a really broad diversity in those genes that govern physical appearance in red fox.
 
I've seen foxes similar to what you are describing in the central part of Va. Fox hunting is strictly prohibited due to taly ho fox hunting clubs and the money associated with it. Fox "hunting" to them is riding around on your horse in your fancy outfit and drinking wine and talking to the other high society members. Anyway, there's a ton of foxes and some of the clubs actually buy and release them so there is a ton of diversity. I've seen everything from almost white to almost black, and extra hairy to almost short haired. Point being, I think Hunting Wife nailed it.
 
Since we are on the topic of fox genetics, a biologist once told me that many of the foxes in USA (including those in Montana) descend from foxes imported by colonial fox hunters back in the 1700s. George Washington and the like. I've never seen that confirmed anywhere else, but I thought it was interesting. Of course, there are native North American red foxes as well.
 
I had always heard the reds in Va were all english descent. Greys were native. Not sure about reds being native anywhere else. Talt Ho!
 
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