Not really; technically they're closer to foxes than dogs though but are pretty skittish animals? (and as a sidenote in america was have a species of grey "foxes" that are actually not true foxes but a separate species amusingly closer to the tanuki than to foxes: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_fox )
They are not dogs but primitive canine species most closest related to foxes, but they are not a fox species. Raccoondog (tanuki, mangut, supi in other languages) is so well adapted to it's ecological slot that it hasn't changed much in the past 900 000yrs. There used to be ~5 different species of these creatures in ancient times, but now only this one exists on Earth. (Other ones have been identified from fossils)
@@AU0410 But when they are "cornered", they attack predators several times their own size, and fight fearlessly back with fury much bigger than their size.
@@ぺとりこーる-m4rp Japan is a cold region? Tanuki grow thick fur in the Autumn to survive cold wintertime. In the north of their existential region they hibernate 2-5 months in the winter as their legs are too short to move around in deep snow
They are not. Only the face "mask" looks the same. Under the fur they have s foxlike/dog-like stocky body, short legs with paws similar to fox's and short fluffy tail. Raccoon's body shape and front paws are more like a tree squirrel's than fox's/dog's
