Pets
Real Lycan Shepherd Information From The Original Breeder | Size, Temperament, Training
There are 190 dog breeds registered in the A.K.C. and 360 listed in the F.C.I. However, these lists do not include all the great mixed breeds that have evolved, such as the Lycan sheepdog.
The Lycan shepherd is a relatively new breed that has become a sensation on the internet after the original breeder Gargoyle Kennels posted several dog videos online.
So, what is a Lycan Shepherd? What is the purpose of the Lycan Shepherd Project? Why has it become so popular? Is it complete or still in the early stages?
And mainly, what types of dogs were used to create such attractive Lycan puppies, and could they be pets? Let’s find out!
Lycan Shepherd
The Lycan Shepherd is a new working breed with a wolf-like appearance, greater brain-to-body size ratio, high intelligence, trainability and problem-solving abilities.
Dogs used as a base for creation are the working line German Shepherd, Blue Bay Shepherd and Malinois. However, it is still under development.
According to Kennels, the breeder with over 30 years of experience with dogs, this shepherd litter currently has three generations.
Before we move forward, let’s watch a fun video of the two Lycan Shepherd generations:
Now the question arises of how and where the stunning Lycan cub was created?
When & Where Was Lycan Shepherd Introduced?
Lycan Shepherd dogs were bred under the ‘Lycan Shepherd Project’ which basically includes three dogs: blue bay shepherd, German shepherd and Malinois.
It is still under development.
However, the breeder aims to develop a wolf-like breed with athletic health and other enhanced traits.
It went viral in early 2017 when a YouTube channel posted a video of a 4-week-old F1 Lycan puppy.
It just shows that it was in the development stages even before that, and was only able to make it to the public in May 2017 via a video:
Gargoyle Kennels, a former zookeeper who successfully developed Renascene Bulldogs, combined the three breeds to produce the Lycan shepherd.
A dog with better and improved temperament, intelligence and health.
He resides in Minnesota, a US state, and this is where Project Lycan Shepherd led the way.
Now you must be thinking that different types of shepherd already existed, so why did he feel the need to create a new offspring? Or what were the aims of the wolf shepherd project?
Let’s find out why in our next section.
Goals of Lycan Shepherd Project
The main objective of the Lycan shepherd project was to develop beautiful wolfhounds with superior insight.
Still, like any other breed development project, it is in trial and error phase.
The main goals behind this project were to create a Lycan Shepherd breed with the following characteristics:
- Athletic Healthy Body: Larger leg structure for a tight and strong physique
- Loyal and Protective: Protective, defensive, reliable and working nature just like a German Shepherd
- High Intelligence: A wolf’s greater brain-to-body ratio and problem-solving ability
According to the breeder, he wanted to produce an active working dog breed, not just a dog with the beautiful appearance of a wolf.
It was clear that he aimed to create a highly trainable puppy with good temperament, good looks, great personality traits and fewer health problems.
He mixed three dog breeds to incorporate all the traits into one shepherd breed. Let’s get to know each one in our next section below.
Breeds Used to Create Wolf German Shepherd
Like other dogs that created the project, the Lycan Shepherd Project used Blue Bay Shepherds, a starting line or base breed, to produce Lycan Shepherd dogs.
As the project progressed, he added two other Belgian Malinois and German Shepherd dogs to the project.
Every breeder is familiar with the disadvantages that can be had when mating a wolf-type dog.
The primary is the ‘wild animal’ strain in their genetic makeup. But the kennels had a clear goal of making such a Lycan wolfhound capable of minimal aggression and rough traits.
He used three different breeds for exactly this purpose:
1. Blue Bay Shepherd
Gargoyle Kennels used the blue bay wolf kurgan as the basis for their new Lycan herder.
The blue shepherd was developed under the project of Vicki Spencer, a Florida-based breeder who introduced the first puppies in March 2011.
He used an American blue laurel shepherd and wolfhounds to obtain a dog with a wolf-like appearance, high intelligence, social and calm temperament.
The same reason the Lycan breeder used the blue laurel shepherd for similar traits in his new breed.
PS: If you’d like to learn more about the wolf-like Blue Bay Shepherd, one of the vital core dogs of the Lycan Shepherd project. Click here
2. German Shepherd (Working-Line Breed)
The second breed he used was a long-haired shepherd with an excellent working ancestry.
And as we all know, German shepherds are undoubtedly one of the most popular and loved dogs in the world due to their devotion, loyalty, intelligence, affection and protective nature.
The main reason why the breeder used such dogs to create the new Lycan Breed.
Note: You can find factual information about a rare Black German Shepherd Dog here.
3. Belgian Malinois
The last dog breed he chose during the breeding process was the Belgian Malinois, a shepherd dog that is often confused with a smaller German Shepherd.
This Belgian Malinois is a striking, muscular and alert dog with intense athletic ability, a higher hunting instinct and energy level.
He is also extremely devoted to pleasing and protecting his favorite people.
All the reasons Kennels would want to incorporate the same abilities into their Lycan Shepherd.
Now the question arises of what the new Lycan dog will look like as it has been bred with three breeds.
Of course the wolf look is a must as we see with different husky type dogs, but what about the leg structure, eyes, fur and other things? Let’s find out!
Appearance of Lycan Shepherd
Although the Lycan shepherd is a relatively new breed of dog, not much is known about its appearance and characteristics outside of the breeder’s channel.
However, the Lycan dog was bred to have a striking wolf appearance, high instinctive ability and good temperament.
Kennels try to mix the wit of the wolf-blue bay, the loyalty of the German Shepherd, and the obedience of the Malinois.
We did our full research on the Lycan wolf shepherd F1, F2, F3 generations and here is what we found:
Coat
- An F1 Lycan shepherd breed, the Luna has soft brown fur with a blackish tint.
- Puukko, an F2 Lycan wolf, has a thick, dense pure black coat.
- Ruka, another F2 Lycan dog, has a beautiful blue coat
- Winter, a 5-6 week old F3 Lycan puppy, has a brownish-greyish coat.
Note: Read detailed research on the rare Azurian husky, a husky-type dog with a wolf-like appearance and blue-grayish coat.
Eyes
Lycan dog herders can have charming blue, brown, black or silver gray eyes. You never know, we may see orange, green or yellow eyes in future generations!
Height
Lycan Shepherds are active, playful, demanding and highly trainable dogs that need an equally energetic and experienced pet owner.
The Lycan Shepherd’s average height ranges from 20 to 35 inches (51cm-89cm) and the average weight can be around 40-80 pounds.
According to the breeder, one of the F2 wolf shepherd dogs was 32 inches tall at 12 months. So it’s still early to tell the exact size range, but one thing is for sure, the Lycan Shepherd will be a giant but beautiful dog.
A user has to say in one of their YouTube videos:
“Lycan Shepherd will go down in history as one of the beautiful giant dogs in existence.”
Size and Weight
The average height and weight of the Lycan dog breed ranges from 40-80 pounds.
As the breeder shares the size of the F2 pooches Ruka, Honey Badger and Kratos weighing 45, 55 and 65 pounds at 5 months.
However, he shared the other Lycan dog Puukko’s size at 115 pounds at 12 months.
This indicates that they are only in their initial stages and may be even greater than this range as they get older or have more generations.
To summarize,
These Lycans are astounded by their thick-dense fur, piercing open eyes, large wolf head and leg structure, long tails, erect and triangular ears.
And not to forget their strong athletic body, which allows them to run with ease even in harsh weather.
Here’s a video of Blue Bay Shepherd Kurgan, German Shepherd Lobo, and Lycan Shepherd Puukko (second generation) hiking with their breeders in the snow near the Mississippi River:
Food Requirement of Lycan Shepherd
According to the original breeder, a B.A.R.F. diet for all wolf shepherd litter (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food).
In simple words, the owner practices raw nutrition and provides his pets with dishes based on completely edible bones, uncooked meat and organs.
But can’t you give Lycan cooked meat or food? She explains that feeding cooked meat will make it harder for the pup to digest the food easily.
Here, wellness veterinarian Dr. Watch Karen Becker’s video on the raw food diet, in which she talks about essential and non-essential foods in general:
Temperament of German Shepherd Wolf
According to the breeder, the temperament of this shepherd dog breed is far from being negative or aggressive. Instead, these gorgeous puppies:
- Friendly
- Playful
- Loyal
- Protective
- Caring
- Affectionate
- Nonaggressive
- Trustworthy
- Social
However, the ideal dog behavior and temperament depends on how well you train them and what kind of environment they need to have to develop such good traits.
Watch this video from Gargoyle Kennels who conducts a temperament test on young Lycan sheepdogs and explains how you can do the same:
How to Train A Lycan Shepherd Puppy
For such a German wolfhound, daily long walks, lots of fun activity time and a few hours of work may be ideal.
Moreover, we can say that the Lycan Shepherd is a highly trainable breed and early socialization techniques can be used to train this puppy.
According to the breeder, the dog used food aggression training in the puppies’ first weeks to make it clear that there is no competition for food between owner and pup.
Another goal was to apply the puppy’s bite force to chew large pieces of food at an early age.
Pro-Tip: If your dog starts acting mean and mean. All you have to do is take them out and play with them.
The one thing you should never do is slap or punish them. Sure, it will stop the wheezing.
But you lose their trust, which may be the exact reason why they react aggressively to you or other people as they get older.
Is Lycan Shepherd Good with Families, Kids, & Pets?
Yeah! As we observed from all the videos, the breeder shared about two generations of shepherd dogs. These Lycan wolfhounds can clearly be seen to be friendly and affectionate with children, pets and families.
Here is a video to prove it:
Common Health Issues
One goal of breeding this sheepdog with a wolf-like appearance was to have a strong body with fewer health problems.
Still, its parent breeds can be expected to have some health issues such as arthritis, Hip or elbow dysplasia.
Does AKC or UKC Recognize or Register the Shepherd Wolf Mix?
No, the American Kennel Club or United Kennel Club does not recognize or register the new Lycan Shepherd breed.
As the Lycan Sheepdog is a relatively new breed of dog and is still in the early stages of its development, it is difficult to say when it will be called an established breed.
In general, it can take at least 40 years when it comes to registration of a dog breed by either of the two clubs. Yeah!
And sometimes even more than that as both have different registration guidelines and standards.
Where Can You Buy a Lycan Shepherd?
If you come across any information about ‘Lycan puppies for sale’ other than from the original breeder, be aware that it is fake or at least not a Lycan Shepherd!
So, how can you get this magnificent wolf shepherd dog?
Strictly speaking, the Lycan Shepherd project is still in its early stages and is by no means complete, according to kennels. Therefore, it is still too early whether he will be able to make the magnificent genre public.
Well, guess what, we’ll all have to wait while watching these calming videos of her puppies:
Bottom Line
To sum it up, once the Lycan Shepherd project is successfully completed it will be of great benefit to all dog lovers as it will have all the qualities we would expect to see in an ideal pet.
Finally, if you want to learn more about different dog breeds or pets in general, be sure to visit the Molooco Pets Category.
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