# New designer breed/Russia's secret weapon



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Special Breed is Russia's Secret Weapon Against Terrorism | Life With Dogs

Hybrid Jackal and Husky


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

Thats very interesting! Never would have considered a husky to be a drug sniffer or explosives detection dog much less cross bred with a jackle. 

When i first saw the article i thought it had something to do with the East European Shepherd. Kinda bummed it wasnt but still interesting to know! Cute little buggers too!!!


----------



## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

Interesting! I wouldn't have thought a Husky-Jackal mix would be the the first choice for a working dog, either.

I Googled the topic, and found this:

The *Sulimov Dog* (Russian: _Собакa Сулимова_) is a Russian Jackal-Dog Hybrid originating from an initial hybrid between two Lapponian Herders and two Turkmen golden jackals. T

During the breeding process male jackal pups had to be fostered on a Lapponian Herder bitch in order to imprint the Jackals on dogs. Female Jackals accepted male dogs more easily. The half-bred jackal-dogs were hard to train and were bred back to Huskies to produce quarter-bred hybrids (quadroons). These hybrids were small, agile, trainable and had excellent noses. They were then called Sulimov Dogs after their creator and may one day be registered as a working breed of dog. 
The jackal-dog hybrids were bred together for seven generations to establish the breed. They proved hard to train, so other dogs were bred into the line: a reindeer herding hound, a fox terrier, and a Spitz. the result was an easily trainable dog with a superior sense of smell. There are only about forty of these dogs in existence and they are all property of Aeroflot. They are trained from puppyhood to recognize twelve components of explosives. Unlike more common sniffing dogs, they take the initiative in searching. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulimov_dog#cite_note-2


The most interesting aspect of that information, to me, is the idea that the dog is the one who initiates the searches and not the handler. 

Sheilah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulimov_dog#cite_note-2


----------



## iBaman (Oct 25, 2011)

I had always read that jackals weren't good to use for hybrids..but I guess they sort of covered that with how diluted they made the dogs. very neat, they look so focused!


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

thats interesting that they initiate the search and the handlers just go along. okay actually thats very cool. Guess that just goes to show that with the right idea, you can get a great dog out of the idea of a hybrid. If these dogs are that interested in searching for explosives and drugs, can you imagine how they'd do if they were branched out to search and rescue training? I think they'd be a force to be reckoned with.


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Neither one are known for 'biddability' as far as training goes, I wonder how hard they are to train? 
Size-wise, excellent for a SAR dog, as long as they are obedient enough.


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

yeah i have to admit, the inclusion of the husky in the mixture had me questioning the biddability of the dogs. Huskies and husky mixes on their own can be a huge pain to train and just generally manage IME. Then you have them sniffing out explosives? BUT they did say they start them young so perhaps its how they start them that keeps them interested?


----------



## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Actually they have been around for several years. Sulimov dogs.
I don't believe they are very biddable at all. 

Here is a 2002 article on them.
BBC NEWS | Europe | Russian airline's top dogs fight terror


----------



## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

I've seen this before...very interesting!

I don't think the breed needs to be generally biddable, as long as they get enough biddable individuals to suit their needs. It's not as though they're selling them to the general public.


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

True. They are owned and bred by the company so they serve their purpose.


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I'd assume they'd have to have been around for awhile to establish the "breed" and prove they are worthy of what they were bred to do. Right, on that Paula, but if you don't have much control w/ the dog, then it worthless as far as detection or search...


----------



## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Jane, agreed, but my point is that every dog doesn't need to be biddable. And I'm not sure it is an actual breed (i.e. breeds true).


----------



## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

onyx'girl said:


> Neither one are known for 'biddability' as far as training goes, I wonder how hard they are to train?
> Size-wise, excellent for a SAR dog, as long as they are obedient enough.


It seems that the original incarnations were not very trainable at all, so they introduced new breeds in improve on that aspect. If I am reading it correctly, even after seven generations they were too hard to train? So it was at that point that they breed in more biddable breeds?
Sheilah


----------



## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

I have seen a TV documentary about them and thought it was very interesting. It sounded like the initial generations didn't do well but the more they selected the ones that would work and the ones that did the best job, and bred them based on their ability and willingness to work, the more they started getting what they wanted.

I think, as far as creating a breed goes, this is probably how it should be done. Have a purpose in mind and produce what meets that purpose until you've got a dog like this, that's so driven to search and will initiate the searches. 

It's better than trying to create a specific look, at any rate.


----------



## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I think it is kind of how dog breeding originally got started. The idea of purity and closed studbooks were part of the eugenics movement. But I imagine there is a lot of culling over there too - Even the hunters here who breed crosses say "you work, you eat"


----------

