Domesticated foxes

[sholio]

I'd read about this before, but never thought to look them up on Youtube. Basically, a Russian researcher deliberately bred silver foxes for tameness (so they would be easier to harvest for fur). What he discovered, unexpectedly, is that as the foxes grew more tame, they also started to exhibit a whole bunch of dog characteristics along with the tameness -- floppy ears, spotted coats, barking, wagging, and generally acting like dogs.

And the video of them ... my first reaction was OH GOD FREAKY, because they have fox bodies and fox tails, but they move just like dogs, with the wagging and bouncing. And my second reaction was SO CUTE! WANT!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enrLSfxTqZ0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzTcmE-pMLU

(ETA: Apparently they do sell them as pets. Now I really want one!)

Comments

[leenys.livejournal.com]

OMG!!!! MUST. . .HAVE. . .NOW!!!!!!!!!

Shortly after Daniel was born, he, hubby and I lived in an apartment, and the lady below us had a wolf. I'm talking the real deal here. He would let me pet him, but I had to be careful taking the baby past him, and people from other buildings had to be especially cautious if the wolf was outside. Gorgeous thing, but still with a streak of wildness. She was finally evicted because she refused to get rid of him and he posed a very real threat. Huge thing, too, larger than a husky. Absolutely beautiful.

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I'm not sure about someone keeping a wolf in an apartment building -- that seems like a terrible idea! From what I've heard, though, actual full-blooded wolves make decent pets as long as the owner is responsible, understands their limitations and doesn't have small children. It's only the wolf-dog hybrids that are unstable and dangerous; as long as one is aware of the predatory nature of the original wolf, they are supposed to be fairly responsive to living with humans.

[leenys.livejournal.com]

For all I know, this one could have been a mix. She insisted it was full-blooded, and I don't know enough to say it was or wasn't. It sure looked full-blooded. But she wasn't quite stable in her head, so those two were a scary combination indeed!

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and I guess there's the big problem with wolves and wolf-hybrids (as well as pit bulls, pet tigers and submachineguns) ... people who are fascinated enough with them to actually spend their money on them are very often kind of unstable in various ways ...