Is this a dog print?

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futurerider103

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I was doing some scouting and setting up a tree stand today in Southern Missouri and I found this paw print but look big for a paw to me.

I set up trail camera and my stand about 100 yards away. Hopefully I'll catch whatever it is on camera there's all kinds deer tracks through there as well
 
Yeah, that is a very large canid print.

Being made in soft, wet sand will produce a larger print...so the print looks like it is from a larger animal than it is probably from.

With that said, is your place up near Minnesota, Wisconsin or Michigan? That would be in the size range for wolf which you guys occasionally get moving back in according to... http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/gray-wolf-timber-wolf

Otherwise, it is likely just a great big domestic dog.
 
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Looks canine to me.

I have never studied wolf prints to see if there is a difference in shape of the big pad from domestic canines. I know there seems to be in the pad of a coyote.

Isn't that a smaller old canine track off the front of the big track?
 
Yes the track in front is a smaller canine track.
There were several others this same size but we're all smudged this was the only clear print.
I am not near Mn, Wi or Mi
 
Idk. This did would have to have a long travel because this is out in the middle of nowhere in the woods.
Granted it could be a wild dog but it's definitely not my fiance's grandparents dog
 
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While wolves are rare in southern Missouri, they do seldom roam there from other states. The real size of the track is hard to tell because of the sliding of the paw. Takes one 'ell of a big dog to make a track more than 3 1/2 inches long. Unlike coyotes, there are no real definitive differences between dog and wolf tracks other than size. Then there is those dog/wolf hybrids that are so popular.

With the increase in wolf populations in the surrounding states, and the plentiful deer population in Missouri, I assume it will be only a matter of time before wolves become more common. Like Missouri, wolves were once extirpated in Wisconsin. Wolves repopulated themselves here in Wisconsin to numbers high enough that we now have a season on them again.
 
We had a huge bunch of prints on our Alabama deer lease 10 years ago. We referred to the maker as the "Hound of the Baskervilles" and Hell Dog".
It turned out to be a Great Dane.
 
I have a Great Dane and often see his prints in the sandy road leading from my house. His prints are not as big as my hand but they are considerably larger than any lab or hound we have around.
 
Dog.

If it were a young Wolf, you would have seen the other prints from the rest of the pack.

Wolves are larger than that when they are driven or wander off to make their own pack.
You would know if a pack was operating in your area, Wolves, like Dogs, have to eat.

A grown Alpha will have a running toe spread just a little smaller the size of my Xlrg hands spread out.
 
That's a human hand. Left hand to be exact. This human appears to be camo colored.
The wolf print included for scale makes it appear this is an adult human.

attachment.php
 
Well heck. I spent about a half hour looking for a photo of the footprint I took in the driveway winter of 2013-2014, and couldn't find it.

Then I realized "duh, I have the dog sleeping on the floor 3 feet away from me right now, and a smart phone."

So here's a picture of a couple of ugly hairy feet.

I'm a 10 1/2 shoe size for reference.

SSxeVt2h.jpg
 
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