Sibir Blackcoat Wolfdog

History

The origin of the wolfdog breed locally known as the Chien-Loup Sibir à robe noire dates back to the early 1600s. The Seelie from the western grasslands and steppes turned their eyes towards the vast forests and heaths of the Lande des Titans inhabited by the Sibir people. More a loose confederation of decentralised tribes and villages than any true unified nations, the Sibir did not see the Seelie as invaders and began to trade with them. Among their interests were the Bankhar dogs, which the Seelie used to guard their sheep.
The Sibir acquired many Bankhar hounds, and eventually, these hounds were crossbreed in a few places - perhaps more accidentally than anything else in many occasions - with the local Easterling Wolf. The resulting off-springs were found to have many desirable qualities for a variety of trappers, hunters and foresters who sought strong and brave animal companions to travel with in the wilderness. Slowly but surely, the origin of these hybrids was recognised and eventually replicated on purpose.
Word eventually traveled back to the Seelie about this new breed that had emerged from the Lande des Titans and after observation, they decided to establish large-scale kennels and formally accept the hybrids as a new, full race of wolfdogs. They have since then been used by the Seelie as dogs of war which serve primarily in the role of patrols and courriers, using their keen senses to detect ambushes, spies or threats and their sense of navigation, smell, great speed and overall intelligence to deliver messages. To a lesser extent, they are also used as mercy dogs to find wounded soldiers on the battlefield and in the attack role.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Sibir Blackcoat is by its nature as a wolfdog hybrid specie a fairly strongly built type of canid. Given the already large size of the parent hound specie, the resulting breed is quite imposing in stature and closely resembles a wolf with black fur. Such a color is not natural in endemic Canis Lupus species however, which makes the Sibir Blackcoat stand out and fairly easy to tell apart from a wild wolf. The underbelly might be white, tan or brown, but all specimens are highly athletic and sport good endurance and stamina.

Biological Traits

An unique characteristic of the Sibir Blackcoat is that it lacks the ability to bark, struggling to do so. It communicates primarily via a mixture of quiet growls, whines, and physical gestures where it may change its posture or directly point using its snout or paws. As a result it is a very quiet, discrete animal, which makes it prized for hunting purposes, though this characteristic also makes its performance suffer in the role of a guard dog where it must physically alert its owner and lead it back to the source of intrusion or threat.

Ecology and Habitats

The Sibir Blackcoat inherits from the Bankhar half of its ancestry the ability to adapt to its environment, as the thickness and length of its fur coat will vary depending on said environment. It is able to live in extremely cold environments, but its resistance to extreme heat is more limited and being transferred rapidly from one to the other will put severe strain on the animal. The Blackcoat will be most at ease in forested areas but will do well in grasslands and plains as well due to its herding dog heritage.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The diet of the Sibir Blackcoat is rather unusual. Owing to the hardy Bankhar half of its ancestry, which is well-suited to steppes and grasslands, it can sustain itself on somewhat smaller amounts of food than a dog of its large size would normally need. However, due to the Easterling wolf other half, a greater proportion of this smaller total must be meat, meaning it is not cheaper to feed. Without this regular intake of meat in its diet, the Sibir Wolfcoat will suffer from malnutrition and sickness and become unable to perform its expected duties. Unless presented with the meat it craves, the breed will tend to naturally hunt small animals in its area which may result in undesirable losses of small livestock such as chicken.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Despite its intimidating appearance and the purpose for which it is breed, the Sibir Blackcoat is not nearly as aggressive as one might think. In fact it will rarely attack humans unless directly trained and ordered to and will generally not pursue encroaching predators if it manages to scare them away. It is however highly protective of what it considers its family and will not back down from a larger predator than itself if its owner or other trusted humans are being threatened.
The Blackcoat is a highly social animal in general, though this ability to socialise is not limited to other of its kind. It can form strong bonds with humans as mentioned above but can also learn to co-exist with other domesticated animals, small or big. However it is important to ensure the wolfdog receives adequate meat in its diet or it will not hesitate to consider smaller animals as a meal rather than playmate. When those needs are met, it is a very playful and energetic animal that makes a good companion for all ages.
It is an intelligent animal, and while it can be trained, the Sibir Blackcoat requires special handling. Repetitive and seemingly pointless tasks will easily bore the animal and make it close down to further training, so it needs to be kept motivated with positive reinforcement in the form of affection or treats. Negative reinforcement is highly unadvised as it may coax a fight-or-flight response in its wolf ancestry, which may result in the animal attacking particularly harsh or abusive trainers outright or simply running away.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Due to its crossing with wolf DNA, the Sibir Blackcoat greatly outclasses average dog breeds in awareness. It primarily hunts by sight and has keen, far-reaching vision both during day and night. Its navigational skills are also far more developed than domestic breeds. The breed is capable of tracking by smell as with many others, but does not specialize in it and will generally resort to sight as its first instinct unless it is being presented a smell or an highly suspicious one is suddenly detected.

Local Name:
Chien-Loup Sibir à robe noir

Scientific Name

Canis Familiaris

Origin/Ancestry

Bankhar Hound / Easterling Wolf

Lifespan

12 - 16 years

Average Height

75 - 85 cm

Average Weight

40 - 55 kg

Average Length

110 - 150 cm

Geographic Distribution

• Achaea