Is a wolf a shi tzu's closest relative?

Answer 1

This isn't true. It was said on Dogs 101 that Shih Tzus are the most closely related to wolves because they were the oldest and first to be bred. There is absolutely nothing to confirm this. Other asian dogs, like Chow Chow, Shar Pei, Akita Inu, Shiba Inu, etc. were all bred at around the same time (Not precisely, but close). We don't have enough information to know which came first. And then you have dogs like Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, etc. who retained the characteristics of wolves because of the conditions they were bred for. So, if you mean the oldest dogs, any of those asian breeds work. But, in genetic similarity, Shih Tzus are in no way the closest. There are many, many studies comparing wolf DNA to the DNA of different breeds.

A study by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle of dog DNA finds six breeds most closely related to the dog's wolf-like ancestors.

The study, appearing in Friday's edition of Science, found the Siberian husky, the Afghan hound, Africa's basenji, China's chow chow, Japan's akita, and Egypt's saluki most closely related to the ancient breed and may indicate dogs developed in Asia and then migrated with nomadic humans to other areas.

The analysis involved the study of DNA for 85 common breeds, gathered

""The first major finding was that the different breeds are quite genetically distinct," said Kruglyak. "The dogs of a particular breed are much more similar to one another than they are to dogs of different breeds."

"The researchers said they were surprised that the cluster containing the more ancient breeds of Asian and African origin included such a diversity of breeds-such as the Basenji, Saluki, Afghan, Lhasa Apso, Pekingese, Sharpei, Shih Tzu, Akita, Alaskan Malamute, Siberian Husky and Samoyed. All of these breeds showed the closest genetic relationship to the wolf ancestors of dogs, said the researchers."

Another interesting study I have read compares which dogs behave more like a wolf and compares the level of paedomorphosis (that is retaining juvenile features. For example, floppy ears are typical of a juvenile wolf). The results are surprising. Although it should be noted, it is a very limited number of breeds and a small study. Certainly not conclusive but food for thought.

It concluded the Siberian Husky, Golden retriever and German Shepherd are closest to the wolf, in that order.

Paedomorphosis affects agonistic visual signals of domestic dogs

I also saw a National Geographic study that said Alaskan Malamutes are the most genetically similar to wolves. It was a graph though, so I can't put it here.

But all of these have to do with genetics, and how much they kept the wolf genes. Not which was the first to come from wolves.

Answer 2

Shih tzus are closest to the wolf of all other dog breeds. I know shocking isn't it

Answer 3

ALL domestic dogs are a subspecies of the wolf. Canis lupus familiaris.

Answer 4

A wolve is a shi tzu closest relative