What tracks are these?

So you got there but no dog could?

You just don't get it. There is no difference between a dog and a wolf track. Thanks for trying.
 
9mms2k said:
So you got there but no dog could?
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On his own, near impossible where we were. And since we were the only human traffic in the area. It's a good bet on what it was. But maybe where you are from you're used to seeing family dogs wandering the middle of nowhere. But thanks for trying.
 
Depending on where the OP is out walking, the track is either a wolf or a large domesticated dog.

Definitely not a cat or anything else; the pics are pretty good and the trachs are pretty clean. Not much room for error here, I think.
 
9mms2k said:
So besides your own assumption, what is the difference between a dog and wolf track?
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Wolves front feet will be in line with their hind field whereas a dog will be wider in the front (generally). Other than general size and stride (depending of course on dog/animal size), not much.
 
drache said:
Wolves front feet will be in line with their hind field whereas a dog will be wider in the front (generally). Other than general size and stride (depending of course on dog/animal size), not much.
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Bingo. You have no idea if that is a wolf or a dog, only that it's a K9.

Next up, drach tells us the colour of a mans skin from nothing but a picture of his boot prints on the Internet.

You should apply for man tracker.
 
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9mms2k said:
Bingo. You have no idea if that is a wolf or a dog, only that it's a K9.
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Yes we assumed based upon other factors. Lack of civilization (homes) anywhere within 80km in any direction. Lack of any signs of any other human activity (no human prints or horseshoe prints). Tracks came out of the brush, followed ours for about 10 feet then back into the brush on the opposite side. The fact that we had seen wolves in the exact area for the past two years before that.

So yeah it could have been a domesticated dog if a dog was by itself in the middle of nowhere. Sure. I'll give you that.
 
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Classic canine, looks like a dog to me, toes aren't overly pointed like the Wolf tracks I hunt. Could be a small wolf, or large coyote.

leonk05 said:
Looks like a big wolf. found similar tracks following deer this past season and am convinced its a wolf..
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Big Wolf is a whole different ballgame I'm afraid.

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'Boo said:
Not much other than size. If you look at the whole "trail" it becomes easier as a wolf's front and rear footprint will be inline while a dog's will usually be off-set. Also, a dog will typically meander while on the move while a wolf is more likely to move in a relatively straight line.

As mentioned tracks in melted snow usually appear much larger than they really are.
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Good points, Wolves indeed travel very directly as they usually know the territory and need to conserve energy, dogs are much more curious and travel circuitously.

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'Boo said:
Not much other than size. If you look at the whole "trail" it becomes easier as a wolf's front and rear footprint will be inline while a dog's will usually be off-set. Also, a dog will typically meander while on the move while a wolf is more likely to move in a relatively straight line
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I have a large GSP dog,walking her front feet are off set, but her back feet stay inline. Don't know about wolfs but my dogs front pads are bigger and wider spaced than the back pads.
 
canadaman30 said:
I have a large GSP dog,walking her front feet are off set, but her back feet stay inline. Don't know about wolfs but my dogs front pads are bigger and wider spaced than the back pads.
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Domestic dogs generally have a wider chest than rear end so the front paws are wider than the back. A wolf is generally the same width between the front paws as between the rear paws. That's what Boo was talking about.
 
Thanks for all the advice. Our neighbourhood is in a fairly rural area and we do have all sorts of wlidlife close by. I don't know of any neighbours in the immediate area with a large dog, but I guess that could be a possibility. Their were also no accompanying human tracks, just this single set which seemed to head in a relativly true and striaght line, and also seemed to follow nearby deer tracks.
Their are coyote tracks everywhere, and nonne that I've seen look anywhere near this large, but again I'm just guessing.

Totally unrelated, but maybe some of you will appreciate this. I snapped this in my front yard looking across the street Christmas Day.

 
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