What is a Canis Panther?

 There are 2 Official Registries that have Canis Panthers listed in them, neither is a National or International Registry that clubs or owners would hold in any particular regard. No Registry was used by Scorpio, only after his brother Tim and ROAK took over the breed was Registration of any kind sought.

The first is the Dog Registry of America (DRA) and this is the Registry used by ROAK and Tim Jones since the late 90s. This is the Original Bloodline and it's only direct offshoot Bloodline. Coming out of Chicago.

The second is American Dog Federation (ADF) However, these dogs are not related to the dogs bred by Scorpio, Tim, ROAK or any other Canis Panther breeder whose dogs originate in Chicago.  Instead a breeder in California made up their own mix, shown by DNA testing of multiple dogs obtained from multiple breeding pairs to be made of Doberman, Dog De Bordeaux, Cane Corso and sometimes Rottweiler, then contacted the ADF and registered the dogs as "Canis Panthers". This was approximately 2010-2015. Most Canis Panther Breeders will not recognize these dogs as Canis Panthers because they share no lineage with the original version created 35-40 years earlier and they used different breeds to create it. 

Hermit Acres also maintains a Canis Panther Registry for dog owned or created by Hermit Acres K9 as well as collaborative breeders. 

Doberman Pinscher, Great Dane, Labrador, American Pitbull Terrier and/or American Staffordshire Terrier. Most Canis Panthers have American Pitbull Terrier rather than American Staffordshire Terrier due to a change made by the creator to keep size in check back in the 80s-90s, but some still show small amounts of AmStaff in them.

  Although the Canis Panther is considered relatively healthy there are a few things we watch closely for due to the Foundation Breeds individual health concerns. Primarily we watch for von Willebrand Disease (vWD) and Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) as these are major concerns in the Doberman Breed and are still carried by many Canis Panthers. In addition we watch for Bloat due to their size and of course you want to watch the hips and elbows due to size as well. Health testing breeding dogs is paramount to the future success of the breed due to the high risk the Foundation Breeds bring to the table.

It is not recommended to expect your CP to stand it's ground beyond a "threat display" without having properly trained the dog first. It is simply not fair to the dog to expect it to have a skill you never taught it to have. The breed in naturally wary and will likely be a deterrent through intimidation but no dog should be expected to stand up for a real fight without having been trained to have the confidence and understanding to handle that kind of scenario. 

Canis Panthers are actually very trainable dogs that are eager to please their owner. Even first time owners can handle a well bred Canis Panther, just be sure to account for their size and be prepared to handle separation anxiety as the CP prefers to be where you are at all times. Crate Training is highly recommended. Be sure to take into account the amount of socialization you expose your dog too. CP are wary of strangers and that includes strange animals if they have not been socialized.

The Canis Panther currently comes in Sable (tan/fawn/buckskin), Black, Seal (Black with a tint of dark brown), Blue, Tan Point, Blue Tan Point and Hidden Tan Point (Black dog with faint dark brown tan point markings). We expect to see Brindle arrive in the breed due to outcrossing efforts of various new breeders.

 Size of the Canis Panther will vary by Breeder. Typically 25 inches is about as short as they get at the shoulder and 33 inches is the tallest recorded currently. They can range from 70 pounds to 130+ pounds depending on the Breeder and how much you feed them. It is recommended to avoid breeders that push size over health/function as this will lead to size specific health risks. Any breeder that starts the conversation by telling you the weight of their dogs has the wrong priorities.

Real Canis Panthers will always have Dobermann, Great Dane and PitBull in them.  Usually they will have some Lab in them.  If these breeds are missing, it's not a Canis Panther.  If these breeds are present and a small percentage of an outside breed is present, the pup is probably an outcross and is mostly Canis Panther.

For many people the answer to this is "because they are a working dog". The idea being that a tail or large floppy ears are easier for a person or animal to grab onto and thus puts the dog at greater risk. We take this with a grain of salt considering German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois are used in confrontational work and have very large ears and long tails. We dock and crop all our dogs because it is Breed Standard and because a large dog with a tail becomes a problem around the house as they knock things off tables and such. 

 In short...yes they shed. That said, the hair is very fine and short. The breed would be considered easy to moderate on grooming needs.

As is the case with ALL dogs....some of this will depend on how they are raised. It is not recommended to keep an in-tact CP with other in-tact dogs due to some Same Sex Aggression being seen on a limited basis in the breed. That said, if well socialized they do just as well with other dogs as any other breed would. Train early and often to avoid resource guarding issues if the dog will be kept loose with other dogs.

If you can afford it, raw feeding is the best way to go. Many people do a combination of high quality kibble with raw feed to lower the cost. Owners have reported improved gas with raw feeding, however, feeding kibble is fine too but it needs to be a high quality kibble.

We feel this goes for all dogs... but this is going to greatly depend on how they are socialized and trained from a young age. It is also important to know the bloodline as some are more nervy than others. Our recommendation here is to do your homework and research the breeders beyond a simple Google search. If you have small animals and kids you will need to make sure your pup is in training early and often and that the kids are taught how to respect a dog. Just because it's a big dog does not make it a toy or jungle gym. They are not the kind of dog you let your toddler dance on (none are...but you get the point).

This is a sensitive topic to many people in the Canis Panther Community. The Klaus Bloodline has produced many successful Service Dogs. That said, this bloodline is the only one that has done so successfully and many breeders will argue that it is "not the purpose of the breed". If this is your intended purpose for a Canis Panther be prepared to wait for the right pup as the breeder should be extremely careful about which pup is assigned to a home that needs a Service Dog. If you inquire about a Canis Panther for Service Work and the breeder has one ready to go I would be concerned!

Currently there is a breeder in Sweden and a breeder in the UK.  The breeder in Sweden goes by Swedish Panthers online and the UK goes by Canis Panthers in Europe.   

Outcrossing is a practice that has been used in breeding from the beginning. This generally means you take a dog from outside your line or breed and inject it into your breeding pool to attain some kind of trait that dog has or to gain genetic diversity. After that, breeding usually continues along the line. Hermit Acres K9 does this only with the original Foundation Breeds but some breeders are using breeds that were never part of the CP for outcrossing as well.