DOG QUESTIONS: Size, Breeds, Heat & Age Expectancy

Hello! I am a brand new, fresh-out-the-oven member, and I have several questions about dog characters! 

A) SIZE

a-1. When listing a dog's size, should it be relative to the size of wolves or the character's breed base? 

• Ex. my character is a french mastiff, and i have her listed as "medium" as she is average height for a female of her breed. however, as she is only 25 inches at the shoulders, she is the size of a tiny wolf. should i change her size rating to reflect that?
  

a-2. There is a listed maximum size a character is allowed to be, but is there a minimum limit too? 

• Ex. i want to join with a 9 inches tall toy poodle. would that be allowed?
  

B) BREEDS

b-1. There are dog breeds that have extreme natural advantages, others severe disadvantages and some are exceedingly rare - are any of them outright prohibited from being played? 

• Ex. i want to join with a kangal dog ((breed with a bite force that far exceeds a wolf's)) a bloodhound ((canine with the strongest sense of smell)) a greyhound ((fastest canine)) a female bulldog ((brachycephalic breed that can only give birth with human assistance)) a cavalier king charles spaniel ((breed with the most hereditary health issues)) or a norwegian ludehund ((rarest and most expensive dog breed)). would any of them be outright barred from joining?
  

C) HEAT 

c-1. The breeding rules on the forum very clearly were made for wolf characters, but what about female dogs, who do not have a mating season but instead go into heat twice a year? 

• Ex. could my female dog character go into heat every six months, like in summer or spring?
  

D) AGE EXPECTANCY 

d-1. Site rules state wolves reach old age at 7-8 years old and live up to 10 years, but what about dogs with much shortet lifespans? Would semi-realism allow them to exceed their age expectancy, or would they turn into elders much earlier? 

• Ex. my character is a french mastiff, a breed which lives 5-8 years on average. would she reach elder status at an earlier age than other characters?
  

I think in regards to breeding season, all canine characters are falling under the same rule so everyone's heat cycles are within the same window of time (which is quite a broad span of time too); while in reality dogs might go through multiple heats, here there is the single window and characters who are afab can have one litter per calendar year regardless of dog/coyote/wolf status.

Hope that answers at least part of your question! Someone else perhaps from the CM team can clarify and answer the others. :)

Howdy! Welcome to WOLF. I'll take a stab at answering your questions, let me know if you need any more clarification or have further questions. <3

A) SIZE
a-1. When listing a dog's size, should it be relative to the size of wolves or the character's breed base?
This is up to player preference; in general most players seem to do it based on their species. 

a-2. There is a listed maximum size a character is allowed to be, but is there a minimum limit too?
There is no minimum as long as it falls within what is realistic for that species/breed. So, no Nanopups - but a 9 inch small dog breed is totally fine.



B) BREEDS
b-1. There are dog breeds that have extreme natural advantages, others severe disadvantages and some are exceedingly rare - are any of them outright prohibited from being played?
Nope! So long as it is an extant wolf species, or extant dog breed, it can be played here.


C) HEAT
c-1. The breeding rules on the forum very clearly were made for wolf characters, but what about female dogs, who do not have a mating season but instead go into heat twice a year?
The breeding rules apply to all played characters regardless of species - this is just to keep the game wolf-centric and fair. Each gestational character is allowed only one litter per year, within our breeding season. 


D) AGE EXPECTANCY
d-1. Site rules state wolves reach old age at 7-8 years old and live up to 10 years, but what about dogs with much shortet lifespans? Would semi-realism allow them to exceed their age expectancy, or would they turn into elders much earlier?
This is totally up to player preference; the CM team doesn't police ages beyond the overall limit (10) specified in the Guidebook. 

Thank you so much for these answers, I think that covers it all :D