Is this a wolf track?

[ivarhusa]

I spotted this huge track at the Big Flat Habitat Management Unit along the Snake River. (OK, huge relative to the coyote tracks I see.)  I'll sheepishly admit that my first thought was that this was a bear track, it was so large. (I was corrected on the Hunt Washington Bear forum.) So, I checked a web site, and learned that wolf track can be up to 4 1/2 inches long.  The one I saw was 3 1/2 inches long.  So, domestic dog has to be the leading candidate for making this print, but what do you guys think about the possibility of a wolf in Franklin County?

[TheChad23]

I don't know what it is like for other members but I can't see the image. Maybe you can resize it to 800x600 and repost it?

[Bone_Collector]

Looks like a very larger yote or a domestic dog track. The wolf tracks I have seen are huge and there is no mistaking them, they are huge compared to a coyote. But that's not to say that it could not be a young wolf track but they are usually accompanied by other wolf tracks from the pack that it belongs to.

B_C

[ivarhusa]

I will readily accept that this is likely a domestic dog track. Great Dane! The tracks were larger than my 120# Akita made.

I may be 'off' on this, but the track in my photo seemed very 'round', that is, just as wide as it was long.  I see coyote tracks as a bit longer, fore to aft.  Is this a useful idea?  Are domestic dog tracks more 'round' in over-all profile?

There weren't any tracks of any kind preserved in the mud that day.  It was just too large for a coyote track.  And there were plenty of coyotes in the area. I may get back there with my shotgun (the only weapon permitted there. We found some coyote poop that was glistening fresh.  When we returned a couple hours later, it was visibly older.