A Howl of Protest

This morning’s howl is not a soft one.

It’s a thunderous, wind-splitting cry carried on the ridgebacks of injustice and irrational policy.

And it deserves your full attention, because it’s not just about one puppy.

It’s about every carefully bred pup whose life depends on logic, science, and the integrity of those entrusted with their care.

Here’s what happened…

One of our Happy Days puppies—sweet Lori Beth—was hoping to take her journey home with All Aboard Pet Transport, a company we thought could safely deliver her to her forever pack.

But our plans hit a wall.

A wall built not with stone or common sense, but with cold insurance policy terms that spit in the face of everything we know about veterinary medicine and responsible dog breeding.

According to their representative, their insurance company requires that any puppy under transport have received:

• TWO full DHPPV vaccines (the 5-in-1 core shot for distemper, adenovirus type 1, adenovirus type 2, parvovirus, and parainfluenza),
  
  
• PLUS at least 12 days of “wait time” after the last vaccine to be accepted for travel.

Let’s do the math.

If a breeder were to meet these conditions, a puppy would have to:

• Get a full 5-in-1 vaccine at 6 weeks of age (while still receiving maternal immunity),
  
  
• Get a second 5-in-1 shot at 8 weeks,
  
  
• Then wait 12 more days—putting the earliest travel at around 10½ weeks.

Here’s the problem:

That is not how responsible breeders—or veterinary immunologists—protect developing immune systems.

Let me say this louder, for the folks in the back:

• Vaccinating a puppy at 6 weeks

with a 5-in-1 DHPPV shot is not standard practice.

It flies in the face of three decades of scientific consensus and two lifetimes of responsible Dire Wolf Project™ breeding experience.

At the Dire Wolf Project, we follow the most widely recommended vaccination schedule in the United States—supported by veterinarians, the AVMA, AAHA, PetMD, Cornell, and just about every vet hospital worth its stethoscope:

• 8 weeks — First DHPPV (5-in-1 core vaccine),
• 12 weeks — Second DHPPV,
• 16 weeks — Final DHPPV.

That is the gold standard.

It is what Lois Schwarz—our breed founder and breeder for over 50 years—has trusted and refined through tens of thousands of hours of hands-on practice.

It is what I have used faithfully across more than 20 years of breeding, training, and raising American Dirus™ dogs.

And it’s the same protocol trusted by thousands of vets across the country.

But according to All Aboard Pet Transport, this isn’t good enough.

Apparently, our carefully developed immune protocols must be replaced by an insurance clause.

Let that sink in.

An insurance adjuster, not a licensed veterinarian, now dictates when a puppy is “safe” to travel (using a vaccination schedule so aggressive, so biologically questionable, that I’ve never once encountered a breeder who follows it.)

I won’t sugarcoat it.

This is not just inconvenient.

It’s dangerous.

It’s forcing breeders into one of three choices:

1. Lie about their vaccination schedule in order to comply,
2. Compromise the health of the puppy to meet an arbitrary policy, or…
3. Delay travel and scramble for alternate options.

I chose the latter.

Because my loyalty is to the health of my pups, not a transport company’s liability clause.

So to All Aboard Pet Transport, I say this:

“You had the chance to work with a breeder who respects science, protects her litters with diligence, and upholds the highest ethical standards in the industry. But instead of honoring that, you demanded she risk the long-term health of her pups for the convenience of your paperwork.”

We’ll take our business elsewhere.

Because we will not alter our vaccine schedule to meet unjust, medically unsound requirements, no matter how polite the voice on the phone.

We’re currently arranging alternate transport for Lori Beth.

There are other ways of honoring the delicate balance of timing, immunity, and young life.

If you ever need help navigating these decisions, we’ll be here.

After all, we’re not just breeders.

We’re the protectors of a rare and gentle line.

And this pack stands by its principles.

Only two puppies remain from the Happy Days litter.

You can find out more about them here:

https://direwolfdogs.com/dogs-for-sale/puppies/

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P.S. Because we have had parvo on our property in the recent past, we do also give all of our puppies a specific vaccine at 6 weeks — NeoPar (a focused parvovirus vaccine with two strains for early protection). This particular vaccine has been uniquely shown through research to override mother’s immunity thereby protecting puppies earlier unlike the one strain modified live parvo virus used in the DHPPV 5-in-1 core vaccine.

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P.P.S. Our Liberty Mutual DireWolf Dogs™ business insurance doesn’t stipulate anywhere near such strict protocols for transporting puppies on the DireWolf Express. Humph.

Jennifer Stoeckl is the co-founder of the Dire Wolf Project, founder of the DireWolf Guardians American Dirus Dog Training Program, and owner/operator of DireWolf Dogs of Vallecito. She lives in the beautiful inland northwest among the Ponderosa pine forests with her pack of American Dirus dogs.