A Poodle may not exhibit some of the instinctive social behaviors of wolves, probably because a domesticated dog lives in a completely different environment than a wild wolf.

The opportunity to express certain instinctive wolf behaviors simply doesn’t come up for a Poodle.

However, the behavior of feral dogs living in the wild or under primitive conditions is also different from that of their wild wolf ancestors.

Erik Zimen conducted a behavioral study where a pack of wolves and a pack of poodles were raised under similar conditions.

The wolves were allowed to run free inside an enclosed area, while the poodles were allowed to roam the remainder of the property freely.

The study identified 362 distinct wolf behaviors, including stretching, yawning, howling and tail wagging, among others.

The Poodle group expressed almost 2/3 of those behaviors, essentially unchanged from the corresponding wolf behaviors.

Another 23% were displayed by the Poodles but in a substantially modified form, and roughly 13% of the wolf behaviors were not exhibited by any Poodle.

Zimen observed that the Poodles that exhibited the modified wolf behaviors seemed somewhat playful or inept when doing so; compared to the wolves, the Poodles seemed to lack a certain seriousness of purpose.

Zimen’s Poodles, much like Raymond Coppinger’s village dogs, were unable to hunt large prey.

Although Zimen’s Poodles were enthusiastic about chasing their “prey” (blowing leaves, bicycle riders, birds and so on) it was clear they were doing so in play, much like wolf pups playing.

Wolves display a large number of ear movements, tail positions, body postures and facial expressions. Poodle behavior is not nearly as expressive as that of wolves.

Many typical wolf expressions were either simplified or absent altogether in Poodles.

For example, the snarling, lip curling and teeth-baring that a wolf typically displays when in a defensive or aggressive situation were significantly simplified and subdued in Poodles.

This difference between wolf and Poodle behavior can probably be attributed to the fact that Poodles are less easily annoyed, less fearful and less aggressive than wolves. An invasion of personal space doesn’t seem to bother a Poodle as much.

Beginning around four weeks of age, wolf pups start sleeping separately from each other.

Their behavior approximates that of adult wolves by the time they reach four to six months of age, and only rarely do they sleep in close contact with another wolf.

Poodle pups, on the other hand, continue to sleep together when they’re up to eight months of age or even older.

Adult Poodles sleep together about one-third of the time, even when the temperature is hot and there is no reason to sleep together to conserve body heat.

Research on Poodle-wolf hybrids (“puwos”) indicates dogs may have more easygoing temperaments than wolves for more than one reason.

A study by Zimen involved breeding puwos to other puwos. The offspring exhibited a mixture of behaviors – some were confident and gentle but emotionally distant, while others were a bit fearful about approaching people but affectionate when they did come near.

Zimen has suggested that an enhanced capacity for socialization and bonding may be inherited separately from a reduced flight instinct.

Both characteristics however, were necessary for wolves to evolve into domesticated dogs.

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Article written by:

Edie MacKenzie