Coydogs

I have read through all of the posts. Very interesting.

Our family has a dog we inherited from a friend when she moved (she had adopted her from a local shelter). She's about 6 years old and we've had her for about 4 years. When we first got her it took about 6 weeks (and the help of another dog leading the way) for us to be able to let her out to go to the bathroom and for her to actually be comfortable enough to come back inside. Several times she was able to jump our fence and escape, luckily, she would end up jumping back into our backyard because we could have never caught her.

She wouldn't even let us touch her at first. It took a long time to develop trust with her, but now I don't think we could get rid of her if we tried. It's been a long standing joke of ours that she's so skittish. She looks like a coyote (except for the purple tongue which screams chow)she is about 21 inches at the shoulder and weighs about 30 lbs. I think she is really intelligent, although sometimes it's hard to prove because she's so scared of things, i.e. I think she would be great at frisbee catching because she's so fast and can jump, but she's afraid of the darn frisbee (so my husband thinks she's really dumb)! She only learned to bark when around our other dog and she has a high pitched bark. She has a bouncy little trot when she walks and though I haven't taken her out to see what her tracks look like when she runs, she does have that "frown" on the pads of his paws that another person referred to.

We've had an ongoing conversation and search with friends and family who always try to guess what kind of dog she is. After reading these posts, I'm pretty sure that she's at least a little bit coyote. Are there any more defining characteristics that I should look for?

Terre, Yes there is. Most dogs have a spot on their back that stands up when they are upset or frightened. Coydogs have a strip that goes down their entire back from neck to tail. It stands up and may be a little different color, sometimes darker.

Thanks Joey....

I'll definitely look, problem is, after 4 years I've never seen her get upset and "bristle up" like you would most normal dogs. She's literally afraid of everything - tail down between her legs with only the little black tip sticking out! The only time I've ever seen her get upset is with our neighbor's dog (100 lb, 6 month old boxer). He wanted to play so badly and was giving her a slobber bath that she wasn't too keen on. That was the only time I have seen her snarl or stick up for herself at all. She still had tail between legs (very different from most dogs showing aggression) and didn't bristle.

I will keep an eye out for this in the future, though. My husband think's I'm nuts for thinking she's coydog because of her "fear" issues!

" Most dogs have a spot on their back that stands up when
they are upset or frightened. Coydogs have a strip that goes down their
entire back from neck to tail. "

This statement is very misleading. I have seen pure dogs that when upset, raise the hairline along their entire back. MOST of the time, an upset dog only raises the fur on its shoulders, but not always. If the dog is upset enough the fur along its entire back raises.

There is no one trait that can determine if a dog is part coyote. Basic coyote traits can be shyness, no "doggy barking," a small, slimline figure, and agouti fur, but these traits can all be found in dogs as well. A picture would help us out the best. There are several breeds of dog, such as the border colloe or kelpie, that have much more "coyotish-like" traits than other dogs, and mixes of these dogs can sometimes be mistaken for coydogs.

~Seij

Terre,

Sorry if my comment was misleading. To clarify, the stripe that stands up on most dogs when they bristle or get upset, is usually mostly around the neckline. On a coydog, that stripe goes from neck to tail and stands above the rest of his/her hair all the time, not just when they get upset.
I have a male coydog and that stripe stands out at all times and it is very noticeable on photos of him. Not all dogs have that.

Joey

Hi, I have my second coyote/dog cross. The first one was without a doubt a coyote cross since he had the teeth of a coyote. He was the offspring of a pack of dogs that lived on 2nd Mesa in Hopiland. My vet was astounded when he looked at his teeth and refused to vet him. He lived a long life with me and later with a ranching couple where he took fantastic, loving care of their three year old daughter.
Now, I have what I'm just certain is my second coyote cross. He looks exactly like the picture at the top of this article except that his ears are more floppy. He yipps at me in the morning to wake me up and can leap more than five feet into the air from a sitting position. Oddly and sadly enough, tonight when I took him to the local doggie park, the dogs there seemed to know something was different about him and though normally docile and friendly, they ganged up on him and began to attack him. Weird. I would be very happy to have him tested for this biologist's study if she is willing to pay for it.
Sincerely, Simone Ellis

Coydogs are not urban legends. I have a puppy that is 7 months old and she is half coyote half lab. She has many traits of a coyote like her snout, teeth, paws, build and tail. Although, her fur color is weird. It's snow white. Which I believe is rare in labs and coyotes.

hi all-- Simone and Hopi here (posted just one above this one) this is really an interesting discussion. I'd say that we've pretty much clarified that coyotes and domestic dogs do indeed have litters. I agree that a picture gallery would be cool. Maybe we should set up a Yahoo group site. Anyone else interested? Hopi is doing great, loves people, dogs, cats (though very curious) and is very chill for a 11 mo. puppy. He will soon not have to be on leash at all-- which I think is the number one thing one has to try to achieve with hybrid dogs. Give them as much training as you can so that then they can be free. My first coyote was off leash within a month and never once ran away. Hopi doesn't quite know enough about traffic to let him run, but he's close. I have a question: how much do your coyote dogs weigh? Hopi is 22 lbs. (oh and as far as being trustworth, he's fantastic with my neighbor's two year old who swings at him from time to time and pulls his hair if we aren't watching-- he plays with another neighbor (20 yr old) who likes to rough-house and Hopi never ever bites down even if he uses his mouth in play. By the way, I encourage very little of that kind of play of course. I would do the same for any breed of dog.
all the best, animal lovers
simone ellis

Oh trust me. Coyote-dogs DO exist. They're just rare because of breeding times. I have pictures of my coyote-dog in my gallery at deviantart.

Coydogs are very real and not all that rare. There are 2 that live in the wilds behind me: one is crossed with an Australian Shepherd and the other with a Rottweiler. Both owners of these dogs were disturbingly irresponsible letting their uncut males run loose all the time. Both coydogs have bob tails and their progeny have shorter than average tails. Both coydogs are much larger than the average coyote which is quite small. It's easy to spot the difference when the darn critters are in your yard looking for easy pickin's!!!

I have what I believe is a coydog. I adopted him in NC in 2001. His mom and siblings were strays and I adopted him from a no kill shelter there. His mom was a very small shep/chow mix. He was 3 months old and weighed 3 pounds..he was a tan and steel grey color back then..we thought he was a terrier mix. Now he is tall, thin (48 lbs), huge triangle ears. Wary of strangers, extremely skittish and can be snappy when frightened. He runs with the coyote lope I read about (back feet going where the front were). He has a terrible coat since I adopted him, the vet believes from being malnutritioned at birth...he is mostly tan, with some black and gray..long legs, carries his tail at half mast. Long snout and almond shaped eyes. I love him to death with all of his quirks. He "buries" his toys in blankets so he can dig them out. He can run like the wind. I can't say for sure is he is or not but I wouldn't trade him. He gets along well wth my lab mix and my chow mix but has issues with other dogs.

Hello all.

I think I have a little coydog here. Riley & her litter mates were found alone & starving in the outskirts of Lamedeer Montana. The mother dog's owner had left the litter, probably bacause he suspected they were coyote offspring. Riley was the only pup rounded up, because the other pups were too wild to get close to.

She has some of the facial features of a coyote, such as the wild-looking white around her mouth and down her chest. A very whiskery face, largeish ears, a bushy tail, the odd colorings and variations in her fur and her posture, gait and temrament all hint towards "coyote". She's smart, cautious and ever curious. She pounces and digs in her dog run, and she looks just like a coyote trying to catch a mouse.

Her coloring an odd, red-blond, which is actually a naturally occuring (though somewhat rare) color in coyoties. She was born in aprox. March, which I believe would place her as being conceived in late winter, when male coyoties are fertile. The coyote population is strong in the area she was found.

I believe, after viewing all of the evidence, that she is a coydog. I would happily donate some of her DNA for any research studies.

To Jay and Mark, it could be that your canine companions are part fox which would account for their small stature but seemingly exotic appearance and behavior. Also Mark, the description of the vocalization you gave about your dog fits that of a fox. I recommend looking up info on fox and fox/dog interbreeding if you have not yet done so. To Seij, the info I have read about coyotes doesn't make mention of the male being incapable of breeding throughout the year, only that their sperm count is at it's highest peek during the winter months because that is when female coyotes come into season. However, one must take into account the possibility of domestic female dogs in the area coming into season triggering an increase in the testosterone of the male coyote therefore also causing an increase in sperm production and the instinctive desire to mate. ~T~

HI,just wanted to mentioned there has never been any breeding of fox to dog.They both have a
different set of chromosomes.
The dog having 78 and the fox 38.
But they can with of course wolves,Dingo's
coyotes, and Jackals.All have 78.

I owned a female coyote rescued from her den as a pup. The den was damaged by a farm tractor plowing in the field near some woods. The mother coyote didnt come back so we raised her as a dog in the house with other dogs and cats around.
we also had chickens and she would not bother them.she eventually bred with one of our male dogs that is half german shepard and half chow.she had 7 pups of which all have made good dogs.we still have one coydog female from this litter and she is a really good pet.

i was wondering how you can tell a coydog from a regular dog i mean they look really alike?

I live in a State Forest in West Virginia. We have coyotes all around us. Just last night there was one right across the street in front of my house. My neighbor has a pitt/lab mix dog that is forever having puppies. She has strangely had two litters with a couple of brindle colored pups. I have one that has survived up to 6 months now and she is looking more and more like a coyote...she already acts like one. I spoke with an expert that raises coydogs and she said it's funny she doesn't have the long hair coat. Anyway...she looks and acts like a coyote. She runs like nothing I've ever seen. I take her on horseback rides in the forest with me and eight other dogs. In the woods she looks at me and then turns her head away and leaps through the air like a dear. You can't see her just 10 feet away. She yelps..never barks. She is very timid. She never lets anyone touch her. She will however come to other people for a treat but that is it. She sleeps with me and I've noticed she likes to cuddle up very close to me. I've had her since she was 5 weeks old and I do believe that she is very different. I wish there was a way to know for sure what she is. I know that those ears had to come from something besides a dog. She seems to have the longer paws like a coyote. She sticks her nose straight into the air to smell people when they come in my house. There are so many things she does that sets her apart from the other dogs.

Yes there are coydogs. Back in the early 70's I was stationed with the 101st Airborn at Fort Campbell Kentucky. I was in my early 20's and had trapped since I was 8 or 9. I had already trapped and called and shot coyotes in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. An Army buddy and I were calling fox one night just outside of Fort Campbell. When leaving the field we were calling in we spotted the shine of eyes in the headlights. Figuring it was a fox we tried running it down. About the time we were close enough for a shot, the "fox" that was blinded by the headlights ran into a woven wire fence. This stopped what we thought was a fox and we both saw it was more of a coyote looking critter. You have to remember folks that there were not any coyotes back East in the early 70's. The next day I called the local game warden and asked if it was legal to kill coyotes in Kentucky. He said I could kill all the coyotes in the state that I wanted, but also had some snide remarks about me thinking I'd seen a coyote the night before. That afternoon while setting traps I saw a coydog that was black and tan and marked like a German shepherd. Two days later I trapped the first coyote ever recorded in Kentucky and had three very concerned game and fish people show up at the house for a look-see with no snide remarks, by the way. This coydog was very much coyote looking but had a blockier head and bigger feet. I also trapped three other coydogs from the same area, one being the black and tan one I had seen the day I was set'n traps. One of the four coydogs had short legs that reminded me of beagle looking. All of these animals were coydogs. Back in the early 70's is when the western coyote started their migration east of the Mississippi. Now I hear of stories of 60-80 pound coyotes of various colors back in New York, Pa., Ohio etc. These coyotes definately have domestic dog in them. When the western coyote migrated to the east, they were stressed for mates. Not being many coyotes, they mated with domestic dogs and so they came out various shapes and colors.

This is number two.... number three on the way...

After leaving Kentucky I moved to Washington state and years later ended up in Wyoming, which, by the way, is the best state in the Union!! I lived on a ranch 11 miles from Atlantic City, Wyoming. I made a goal that I would live for three years without a vehicle so in the summer I'd go by horseback and in the winter I'd go by sled team. I had heard a rumor that an Indian on the Shoshoni Res had bred an Airdale to a coyote. I finally got the guy tracked down and the rumor was true. He had raised a bitch coyote from a pup. He tried breeding this bitch to a wild caught penned dog coyote. Be'n so, the wild caught dog was under too much stress from be'n penned he wouldn't breed the bitch so the guy put the bitch coyote in a kennel with his male Airdale. The Airdale got the job done. I only got to see two of the off spring, one of which he gave me. She was a bitch that was kind of a grizzly color. She very much moved and acted like a coyote with the almond shaped yellow eyes. Her coat also was soft to the touch like a coyote's and not the stiffer hair of an Airdale. Her tail had been bobbed so I couldn't tell about her tail set. Her sister was a very pretty colored typical coyote grey and soft. She carried herself like a coyote with the coyote tail set but she had the Airdale whiskers. Everything about this coydog looked and acted like a coyote except the whiskers. I tried running my Airdale cross with my huskies but it didn't work. She was way too much of a fighter and just never fit in. I don't know if the fighting came from the coyote side or the Airdale side. She was never very personable and had a mind of her own. I bred her to one of my male huskies. Her pups were very coyote like and they were always kind of stand offish. I bred one of these pups to a male husky so ended up with pups that were 1/8 coyote. Only one of these pups was personable like a husky, the other three would just as soon be left to themselves, but all four being only 1/8 coyote still showed heavy coyote traits including the almond shaped eyes and the way they carried themselves. If you think about it this makes a lot of sense. Coyotes have linebred themselves for thousands of years and any domestic dog breed doesn't come close to being bred as long as the coyotes so the coyote genes would naturally be stronger. I believe that 99.9 percent of the coyotes back east have atleast some domestic dog genes in them, but are getting more of the dog genes bred out of them by the year.

Any comments are welcome, even from the bunny huggers!!

Pete

To those of you with coydog websites, more power to you!!!

Hey Pete. I had 2 Husky's and both of them were more like a wolf than any breed I've owned. They are very smart dogs and can survive on their own in the wild. It sure would be nice to have a mix of Husky and Coyote. I bet that makes a beautiful dog. I need at least 8 dogs all the time to keep bear, big cats, coyotes and theives away from my Horse Stable at night. I bet my coydog (if that's what she is) will not be protective like my other dogs are. Can you tell me a bit more about your dogs personalities? I just think my dog will be more of the type of dog that will run if there is danger and will be dangerous if she is backed to the wall.

Pete...go to this site:
http://www.winkflash.com/PHOTO/signin.aspx
(type in casey123 for the password)
Look at the dog photo. This is Shara the coydog I've been talking about. She's 5 months old there. I've got more recent pictures of her at 8 months. I'll put them out there soon. Keep in touch. You seem intelligent and interesting.

Hey Rose, Pete here, I've been type'n for ever and I submitted it and it didn't send,, SHUCKS!!!!! If you want you can e me at wyolog@yahoo or you can go to our website and e me that way. Thanks Rose!! Pete

i can be honest and say that they are real i had a coy dog i happend to catch a coyote in a trap when she was young. after she got used to the family and looked at us as her family (my mom 2 sisterand i)any way the coyote and my lab end up mateing when the family went on vacation got rid of all the pups but one rocky and he was by fare the best dog i had. a lil bit shy and protective of me i had him for a year and a half intill me and a buddy got into a wrestling match and he tried going for my friends throat i had to put him down

That's very interesting. Recently my dog has been accused of killing a puppy. It's hard for me to believe that she went out and killed someone's puppy. I have 2 cats that she is around all the time and the neighbors 2 puppies come in my house with her at night. She does act wild in many ways though and if she has this type of behavior it isn't at home. Everyone is telling me that my dog would never do that and that she is afraid of other dogs and runs away from them. She's very shy and afraid of everyone. She even runs away from me lately when I ask her to come to me. I've been working with her but it really takes time to train a wild animal and I'm thinking that the least little thing could cause her to react with her instincts instead of what she has been taught by me so far. It's as though I'm going to have to continue her training much longer than a normal dog requires to keep her from acting on instincts. The man that accused her of killing his dog as a den of coyotes not far from where he lives. Also, 2 brindle pitt bulls not far away. I'm just hoping it wasn't my dog that killed his puppy. I even have a rabbit in my house to teach her not to chase and kill. My 2 dogs that were accused come into my home with a rabbit running around and they sleep with a cat. But I'm wondering that if they are going out into the woods and hunting, if they really do change and go after other animals like prey.

I'm glad I found these posts and know there are other people with coydogs out there.

A friend brought me what she thought was a Husky pup from a kill shelter in TN. Right from the start she was different. She looked up and all around when leaving the house, was clean and the easiest to housebreak. As she grew the difference from my other dogs became very evident. She never smelled like a dog even when wet. And her fur was always clean. Her first year I went away for a couple of weeks and she blew her coat and looked rough like wild coyote's do. But after that she adjusted to my occasional leaving. Maybe because she was socialized young she liked almost everybody but was cautious with strangers when she didn't know them. Tasha was the best "dog" I've ever had. I raise dairy goats and she would help clean the new babies and watch over them, never chased her cat or chickens. But she would wait at the woodchuck hole for hours if necessary while the other dogs got bored. She hunted mice and other birds and grazed in the raspberry patch. She would wait in my truck all day just to be with me. Everyone who saw her thought she was a coyote and more times than I can count people stopped to let me know there was a coyote in the field near my goats. She howled and yipped and loved to have a group howl though the other dogs couldn't carry the tune very well she forgave them. Tasha was about 35 lbs and her coat was a golden color with some darker hairs and her tail was bushy and black tipped. There is a wild coyote male down the road that is colored almost like her. I haven't had a problem with wild coyote's bothering my herd ever since Tasha confronted them and established that this was her territory. She was very protective of her extended family. Unfortunately she died too young. May be I was one of the lucky ones. As good as she was if I ever come across another female coydog puppy you can be sure that it would make a home here.

I have a coydog now and have had others in the past. I find it odd that anyone suggests they don't exist. It is very common for male coyotes to come into small towns in Canada to check out the female dogs in heat. People catch them "in the act" sometimes and the right amount of time later there are puppies who are quite different from regular dogs. Go figure.

Anyway, my coy is a darling. She is different from a regular dog in so many ways. She was born on a reservation and, supposedly, her mom is half German Shepherd and half coyote while her father was pure coyote.

I'm not sure I believe this, however, as she is a a beautiful red color. She does have a head something like a German Shepherd and a very big bark rather than a coyote yip. Anyway, you can see her on youtube.com if you like. Just search: coyote dreaming or click on the URL with this message or cut and paste: http://youtube.com/watch?v=4JV23j1qRgE.

In my experience (I've had three coys and one seemingly pure coyote), they are a mixed bag. One was so independent that she utterly refused to be fed and traveled around town like she owned the place. The dog catcher tried repeatedly to catch her but she simply outsmarted the poor guy time and again. Another was a great dog, no problems, and no real sign of her coyote heritage except she was very smart and worked with the "pure" coyote to hassle the daylights out of bears. The "pure" coyote was way too high strung and did not make a good pet.

Our present dog is pretty much perfect. She is so smart she even watches television (mind you, she finds people shows boring but will watch almost anything with dogs or, preferably, wolves and coyotes in it. I don't think she would be as interested in a regular tv but we have a projector (not a projection tv, btw) that she seems able to see clearly.

Anyway, I don't know what the biologist referred to earlier can be thinking. There ought to be some scientific way to prove whether or not coydogs exist but I doubt she would be able to convince country people who have seen dozens or even hundreds of them.

Another supposed legend is that scorpions sting themselves when they are frightened. I saw this for myself, once, so there's no doubt in my mind. Our son had caught a scorpion and incarcerated it. We watched it sting itself, fall over "dead" (we thought) and then revive an hour or so later.

Maybe it's a matter of scientists needing to get out more!

Hello, I am cindy and I have a sweet wolf/sherpard dog! White male about 6 years old.

☻

I own a coydog and a DNA test to prove it... She is beautiful and very skittish of strangers and other dogs..

I rescued a dog from a wild dog shelter in CO.
He's one of the greatest dogs I've owned. At the time I didn't think of the fact he could be a coyote mix. But he matches all the coyote mix traits.

Hi Mike,
I see no coyote,but I do see possible pitbull
due to the shape of the head.
Or maybe even Akita
Nice looking dog tho.

Mishka, low content coydog for adoption:
http://www.wolfdogrescue.net/adopt/mishka/mishka.html

"Mishka is a coydog. This precious girl will need someone special with experience and secure containment. Mishka is a little shy but definitely not afraid of people. She is hard to get ahold of but once you have gotten her, she will walk fine on her leash. She is not house-broken and has had no obedience training."

Also, in regards to the original original post, the Sundance coydogs are genuine coydogs. While matings of coyotes and dogs in the wild is rare, breeding the two in captivity is nothing special.

I think he might have Akita or Pit or both in him.
But because where I got him and his odd traits being part Coyote would make a lot of sense.

long neck.
oval paw print.
impossible to housebreak.
perfect teeth.
extra thick tail fur.
massive prey drive.
thick dark fur ridge from head to tail.
dug two large dens in my back yard.
won't play with toys.
rarely barks.
curls up in a ball to sleep.
and a big sweet lover boy.

All those traits are also dog ones.

I have owned over 20 dogs myself plus my friends and family all have many dogs. This is the first one to dig a den. I hope he's not a coyote mix. Maybe someday soon the dog DNA tests will include coyote and wolf markers.

Feral dogs have been known to dig dens. Husky's will also dig "dens". I remember on the terrificpets forum there was a topic (few years ago now) where people were talking about their dogs digging dens. It does happen.

FW:

Thank you for contacting Mars Veterinary.

The Wisdom Panel

Alot of dogs will dig dens. I have a Rottweiler, Corgi, and two german shepherds that all dig dens. (The corgi is just copying the "real" dogs. -LOL

Dogs hunting or killing proves nothing. Read any book of the settlers in new england or the west. They did not use dog food, they left the dog's provision up to himself. Both my shepherds will hunt rabbit or squirrell. (I feed them everyday too.)
A dog "going for your friends throat" proves nothing either. Any good protective dog will do that if it thinks you are in trouble.

Folks, your dog "acting" like a coyote doesn't prove or suggest anything. With all due respect, the people who claim to have taken wild coyote home and "tamed" them are misguided at best.

There may be real "coy-dogs" but nobody has provided any evidence. "My uncle Jake saw one" is not worthy of debate.

To the person who responded that there was not evidence of coydogs,here is my friends site.
http://www.coydog.us/
These are absolutely real.
Beautiful animals....

I agree for the most part with antferny's post. Most if not all dogs will display at least some behavioral traits with wolves and coyotes.

However, there ARE genuine coydogs in existence (albeit VERY few). The two are able to produce offspring together, and all that is needed to get a coydog is a coyote and a dog who get along. Finding the coyote is the only real hard part. You can't exactly just go out and buy one at the local pet store. And even if you could, adult coyotes are very hard animals to keep. The vast majority of coydogs out there are not actually coydogs.
The coydog.us site hosts pictures of genuine coydogs, and their breeder is one of only three or four I have ever known to produce real coydogs.

So "I own a coydog and a DNA test to prove it" isn't proof? Gee, maybe we should all shut up unless we are willing to prove stuff to you. LOL

Just like mountain gorillas and giraffes (once considered imaginary) some people already know including people who have watched coyotes trot through, mate with dogs, and a few months later, had puppies arrive that look and act quite different than most dogs. Good enough for us humble folk.

Btw, nobody cares if you consider it proved or not.

Why is it that so many people with half an education are such pretentious asses?

A friend of mine has what he says is a coyote and chihuahua mix, he refers to as a "Chiyote." -- he's not putting me on, but I wonder if this is possible. "Harvey," is a wonderful pet -- my friend is in construction, and takes Harvey to most of his jobs. I've always wondered about Harvey, as he is a little bigger and huskier than a chihuahua, but the operative word there is "little." -- I would expect a Chiyote (or however it might be spelled) to be more in the 20 to 30 pound range. Any help out there? R. T., Capitola, CA

In regard to dogs digging dens, I have an AKC golden retriever and her mom dug a den in their backyard!

I live in the hills of eastern ky,and i have what,
i call a male german sheperd,whom has all the
markings,and actions of the many coyotes i have
watched over the years here in the mountains. he has a hard time controling his urge to prey upon my cat. I have no idea why people find it so hard to believe coyote and dogs do not mix.

Your GSD sounds like he is the color "sable" which is a normal color for German shepherds to have (though not as common as most other colors). Also, GSD's are notorious for having strong prey drive if they are not raised with cats.

I happen to know that coyote will mate with other dogs. I own a coyote/sheppard mix. I love her dearly and she is very well behaved. She came from the reservation. So believe it!

does anyone know of anybody raising coydogs around the dallas,tx area. I have been told that the recent dog that I have rescued is really a coydog, after they examined her teeth and remarked about her coloring and body structure. She looks like a cross between a german shephard and coyote features and other folks have remarked about this and I would like to know how to really determine if she is or isn't. thanks