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What should our name be? (Finalising)

Howling Hills 0.32307692307692 32.3% [ 21 ]
Full Moon 0.18461538461538 18.5% [ 12 ]
Arctic Hills 0.092307692307692 9.2% [ 6 ]
Arctic Moon 0.24615384615385 24.6% [ 16 ]
How about... (Please post!) 0 0.0% [ 0 ]
None of th above! 0.092307692307692 9.2% [ 6 ]
No comment. D: 0.061538461538462 6.2% [ 4 ]
Total Votes:[ 65 ]
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Introduction

So I've got this idea for a B/C shop. You've all probably seen shops like Pembrokeshire, Yarramalong, DC Kennels, Gaia Kennel Club, etc. Well I have an idea for a similar shop, a realistic kennel/breeding/training club based around Wolfdogs. You would buy a Wolfdog as a puppy, raise it, train it, and then try to get trophies and awards for it! If this has intrigued you, then please read through the rest of the posts and give me your oppinions!

We are also currently hunting someone to do a cert for us, possibly with three different backgrounds. I think my favorite cert is at USSR (United Scientific Solutions Royalty), but I'm open to all sorts of things.

Navigation
Introduction
About the Wolfdog
Artwork, Applications and Pricing
Roleplay
Breedings
Terminology
Submitted Applications for Jobs
Affliates
Reserved

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What is a Wolfdog?


A bunch of you are probably asking youself that... And might have been since you've seen the title. Many people think a wolfdog is a Wolfhound, like the Irish Wolfhound... Which couldn't be further from the truth. A wolfdog is more commonly refered to as a "Wolf Hybrid" (which is an improper term*). It's a cross between a Wolf and a Dog, ussually a German Sheperd or a northern breed like a Siberian Husky or an Alaskan Malamute. They are not a registered breed in the united states, but in places like Canada, Czechoslovakia and Sibera they're very popular, and in almost every country BUT the U.S. they are recognised as a registered breed of dog. Many people even use wolfdogs as sled dogs and security dogs. People breed wolves into their lines of working sled dogs for major races like the Iditarod for the additional speed and stamina.
Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs


(*Dogs are merely the domesticated supspecies of wolves. In 1992 the scientific comunity did a mitochondrial study on dogs, and found they they led back to three female wolves in asia and the classification of dogs was changed from "Canis familiaris" to "Canis Lupus familiaris". Technichally every dog has some very distant wolf blood. Since they're so closely related, the term "hybrid" (The cross between two species) is inaccurate.)

The Controversy (and the really boring politics) Surrounding Wolfdogs

Many people think that wolves are livestock killers, kid killers and dog killers. Some of them (very few) are. When a wolf is injured it will sometimes go after easlier prey then the deer, elk, and moose that are typical wolf fair. However, incedents of this are far and few between, and there are far more occurences of horses killing people then wolves and wolfdogs combined.
The fear that many people have of wolves easilly transfers over to wolfdogs. In many states and cities even responsible owners are banned from having them. The truth is that wolfdogs are highly intellegent, shy, gentle animals... Properly bred and raised they hardly have an aggresive bone in their body. They do tend to be aggressive towards small animals such as toy dogs, rabbits, squirrels, mice, etc. They are far from the only dog that has this tendancy. All terriers, sled dogs, most other northern breeds, many shepherds, retrivers and hound dogs also have this trait. Even Daschunds have this trait. Wolfdogs (and all the rest of these dogs) require special training to bring this under control. If this is handled improperly, a dog turns violent and dangerous towards other creatures as well (larger animals, children, vaccum cleaners, cats etc.) and suddenly becomes a problem. Many owners of terriers think it's "cute" when their Pookie growels at the big dog up the street, unaware that Pookie would gladly run over and start ripping that dog to pieces if it could only get off it's leash. When a wolfdog, akita or malamute does it it's terrifying, people complain, and the dogs get banned from the neighborhood and put to sleep.
The other complaint is that wolves are an endangered species. People say that the wolf population is being decresed by people breeding wolves with dogs. (and that wolves could be bred with other wolves to make more wolves). This is also silly, as many breeders in the US and England get their wolves imported from Canada from people who breed wolves privately for just that purpose. In Canada, wolves are not endangered, so it's not taking away from the local subspecies of wolves that we're trying to preserve. The other half of the arguement is based in some truth. People will get a wolfdog for the novelty thinking it'll act like their greyhound, and it doesn't. They don't know how to handle it's aggression, the breeder won't take it back because it's an irresponsible breeder, the animal shelter won't take it because it's a wolfdog, and the owner can't handle it anymore. They release the dog, now too old to learn hunting properly, into the local forests and parks. It attacks campers and picnickers for food. Perhaps it even breeds with the local wolf population, contaminating it with dog genes and traits. Everyone blames the dog and the breed, so it gets put down... But none of them realise it goes all the way back to the breeder. A breeder who sold it to someone who didn't know what they were doing, and then wouldn't take the dog back when things went wrong. As a s result, a dog dies and rules get put in place - not to inforce owner or breeder responsibility - but to restrict ownership of the dogs.

Bottom line: Wolfdogs are no more dangerous then a German Shephers or a Malamute (both very common breeds of dogs) no matter what your brother's uncle's aunt says. They ARE shy, independant intellegent animals with alot of beaauty and strength. They do NOT take away from local wolf populations except in the occurance that an irresposibly owned male breeds with a wild female wolf (since a female dog breeding with a male doesn't hinder the male dog from breeding with other wolves.) Proper laws would fix this, however there are very few states that implement them.

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Artwork and Pricing


There will be a number of sets of lines, each with 3-4 stages. Wolf/High Content lines, German Shepherd/Low content GSD lines, Malamute/Low content Malamute lines, Mid Content Wolfdog lines, and champion lines.

Pricing will be 5K for each dog. Championship lines are earned through roleplay. Breeding will be done VERY differently in this shop. Scroll down a couple posts for information on how it works.

Wolfdog Puppy (U/C)
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Mid-stage Malamute-Low Content (Good 'ol finished artwork..... Sorta.)
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Adult Female High Content (U/C)
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These lines are a bit outdated (though the poses will remain the same) and quality is currently undergoing massive improvements. bear with us, please!

I don't have my all my examples anywhere near ready yet... But here are a couple examples from the all the age groups, fully colored. biggrin As always, stealing will result in the brutal and violent kidnaping, torture, and removal of your private parts before you are realeased back unto the world! Thankies!

If you wanna make us a cert, we would love you forever! Feel free to use the images above for it, but note that they will be reduced to 75 percent of their current size.

Certist Application Form
[color=blue][size=12][b]I am an appliaction for certing![/b][/size][/color]
[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Examples:[/b]
[b]What ideas do you have for ours?[/b]
[b]One background or three?:[/b]


I need my files in a .PSD, .XCF or .PNG format.
Cert should be around 400X400px, but can go larger or smaller depending on need.
Cert should fit Gaia sig rules, under 500X500px and 100KB.

Pay will be 30K and a fully-growing custom low-content wolfdog that you DON'T have to roleplay. (It won't get championship lines without roleplay, though.) I might pay more if you don't mind a payment plan, and I'll offer you another pet from Drums of the Serengeti also. (See the affiliates section.)

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Roleplay


In the spirit of Wolfdogs, who are pack-bound and require significant amounts of attention and training, roleplaying your wolfdog will be required except in the case of bribes or expensive customs. At least five paragraphs of at least five scentances each is required per week either in the form of a journal entry or roleplay. If these requirements are not met for two weeks, a warning will be issued. If they are not met for a month or so, your dog will be re-homed with someone who will roleplay it. There will be a flat rate of 1.5K refund for any dog rehomed (Even if you spent 10K on it) as return payment for the adult stage. Growing dogs won't be rehomed, but if they are not roleplayed during their growth, they will be rehomed upon the day they turn adult.

There are several ways to roleplay your dog, depending on the exact genetics of your dog. There are two lines, the German Shepherd line and the Malamute Line. All dogs, regardless of lines may be roleplayed through the following ways:

Show Dog
Agility Dog
Companion Dog

GSD Lines can also be roleplayed for the following:

Search and Rescue/Tracking
Security Dog/Guard Dog

Malamute lines can also be roleplayed for the following:

Sled Dog
Draft Dog

Mixes may participate in all of the above. Mixes can be obtained through event breedings only. Malamute and GSD line wolfdogs rarely cross for genetic reasons.

Roleplay will not be all "Oh look I'm going to walk the dog" or some such. The wolfdogs can speak to eachother. If you can roleplay wolfdogs language through body language like real wolves use to communicate, then kudos (and possible rewards) to you, but if not it's fine if they just talk. They can ONLY talk to other canines, NOT to people, cats or anything else. In fact, the focus of the roleplay is around the wolfdogs so people shouldn't really come into it that much at all. So if you think you're going to spend the whole time roleplaying with yourself between dog and master, think again. This place is going to be MUCH different and MUCH more complex then that.

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Breeding
The birds and the B's of breeding your Wolfdog


Breeding in this shop is going to be a little different. In the Wolfdog world, taking two random wolfdogs and breeding them to make pups just because you can is a BIG no-no. You don't want to end up overwhelmed and trying to leave your wolfdogs to a shelter that won't take them, do you? Therefore, you need to estabish the following before you can breed:

Do you have people who would buy/adopt your pups if you don't want to keep them all? (If you keep them all then they MUST be roleplayed seperately, even if you end up with eight or more!) Are the people who want them people who will roleplay them? Do you have two wolfdogs who are of compatible lineage? Have they roleplayed enough to have a relationship? Are your wolfdogs of a non-violent temperment? If the people you adopt them out to don't keep up with them are you willing to take up their roleplay until YOU re-home them with someone who will? If you can't keep up with these requirements not only the pups, but likely the parents will be re-homed after a few warnings.... Are you willing to accept those consquences?

If you answered no to any of those questions, then you shouldn't breed your wolfdogs. If you answered yes to all of them (and have thought about it for a while) then you can breed. Breeding is 12K (to furthur reduce the number of people with un-homed/roleplayed dogs) and will normally produce between 2 and 8 puppies. The number and genders will be randomised, and there are ways through roleplay and items to raise or lower those numbers. You'll recieve them as the earliest stage you can EVER get a Wolfdog (which is one reserved for breeding only) that is basically a blanket with front paws, head and tail sticking out. They are under their mother's care for a minimum of one week (and can be roleplayed as a group, but will require at least one roleplay post before they can grow) while you sort out which pup goes to whom. After you send us names and usernames for each pup, we'll certy them and PM them to their owners, at which point the responsibility of roleplaying them goes to those people.

If you want to do something even MORE different (and this is something I am only considering, not finalising), after a certain amount of roleplay and ownership of a certain number of wolfdogs you can start your own breeding line for a rather large fee and an application. I'll draw you your own breeding line's set of line art and shading templates for you to color and a cert that is an alternate on the main shop's. You'll be able to have your own sub-shop as part of this one, and you'll not be allowed custom slots (since you are only combining dogs of your ownership) save for "I wish I could have the offspring of X two dogs", and even then you've got to follow the rule of nature an "breed" your dogs.

If anyone has any oppinions on any of this... Well, I'd love to hear 'em. The first part is here to stay (although I may alter it a bit). The sub-shop bit... Maybe, maybe not. We'll see.

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Terminology
Words for a Wolfdog's life


Low Content - A dog with minimal Wolf genes in it's mixture. Looks and behaves much like a shy dog. Commonly the offspring of a dog and a mid-content.
Mid Content - A medium blend of wolf and dog genes. Contains many of the traits of both. (Almost never a 50/50 mix for genetic reasons.) Commonly the offspring of a high content and a low content.
High Content - A Wolf with minimal dog genes. Behaves and looks much like a domesticated wolf. Not reccommended for beginners. Commonly the offspring of a mid content and a wolf.

F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, etc. - The number of generations away from being a "Feral" animal. F1 is a wolf taken from the woods. F2 is that wolf's offspring. F3 is the offspring of two F2 wolves. F4 is the offspring of two F3 wolves. And so on. Also used in the breeding of hybrid cats.

GSD - German Shepherd Dog
Northern Breeds - Any dog bred for northern climates. Includes (but is not limited to) Samoyeds, Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Chow-Chows and Akitas.

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Certist Applications


Colorists have been decided and hired! Now we need a cert!

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Want to affiliate with us? Put our banner in your shop, and drop us a PM! :3 We'd be happy to add you!

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Staff


Nyowpotopop
Owner, colorist, lineartist, templater, thread manager

Navywolf
Lineartist, Guest colorist

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