Can Dogs And Coyotes Breed?

While it is not necessarily common, dogs and coyotes can breed. When this happens it is referred to as a Canid Hybrid. Canid Hybrids are the result of interbreeding between different species of the canine (dog) family. Members of the dog genus Canis which include wolves, Ethiopian wolves, dogs, coyotes, dingoes, and golden jackals cannot interbreed with members of the wider dog family the Canidae, such as South American canids, foxes, raccoon dogs, or African wild dogs, and bat-eared foxes,. If they could interbreed, their offspring would be infertile.

As mentioned earlier however, most members of the genus Canis species such as the domestic dog and coyote can interbreed to produce fertile offspring. Furthermore, when the differences in number and arrangement of chromosomes is too great, hybridization becomes less and less likely. The coyote and dog and a few other hybrids did not branch off until recently, around three to four million years ago, and all have 78 chromosomes arranged in 39 pairs which allows them to hybridize freely and produce offspring.

Legal Implications With Dog Hybrids

Dog hybrids that are kept as pets are usually prohibited in certain jurisdictions, or are classed as wild animals and therefore must be housed in the same way as purebred wolves.

When Dogs And Coyotes Breed

When taking a closer look at the breeding process of dogs and coyotes, it is important to know that there have been two separate terms invented to describe this type of hybrid. These terms are coydog and dogote.

Coydogs

Coydogs are the offspring of a male coyote and a female dog and were once believed to be present in large numbers in Pennsylvania due to declining coyote population and an increasing domestic dog population. Most hybrids were thought to be naturally occurring red or blond color variations of the coyote or were feral dogs. The breeding cycles of dogs and coyotes are not synchronized, which makes interbreeding quite uncommon. Theoretically speaking, if interbreeding had or were to become common, each successive generation of the coyote population would acquire more dog-like traits.

Since coyotes are generally solitary animals by nature, this trait is often carried over to coydog hybrids which can result in problematic and unsociable behavior, rendering them basically unsuitable as pets. It is for this reason that they may be abandoned or allowed to stray and be accepted into the feral dog or coyote population. It has been suggested that if a coyote or dogote is found at a very young age and raised properly, that they can become a pet. However a lot of time, patience and effort is needed in order for this to occur.

Dogotes

A dogote is the result of a male dog and a female coyote mating. There has been one report of a dogote arising from a male German shepherd that mated with a female coyote. Hybrid pups were found after the female coyote was shot. The dogotes as adults closely resembled the German shepherd’s colors.