How much would I price the puppies we are keeping?

Gamera at 3 weeks

It’s like you guys can read my mind or something. HA!

Here’s a super timely question I received from an active Dire Wolf Project Inner Circle email subscriber.

“You mention on your website that you also include a price for the puppies that you want to keep. Is this not the case for this litter?”

Perfect timing!

I was going to write about this very topic for today’s email.

Mind readers! I tell ya.

I bet you are all curious what I would price the puppies I am keeping from the Monster Movie Litter IF I were going to sell them.

The truth is… there is always a price.

You might not LIKE the price, but there is always some top number that would allow me to part with a puppy I otherwise don’t want to let go.

Remember, as I mentioned in yesterday’s email, I breed for the benefit of improving the breed first.

After all, if I don’t have the puppies to move on in the breed, the breed doesn’t continue to develop.

Instead, it remains stagnant or stationary.

No longer moving toward the ultimate goals.

So, I don’t WANT to sell the puppies I have chosen to keep in the breed.

Selling them means I have to repeat the litter to get another chance at the exact trait combinations I need to move the breed forward.

And there is a chance I may not get that particular combination of traits again, even with a rebreeding.

So, to sell the puppies I want to keep to improve the breed means a significant loss of time for me… not to mention the real potential of not ever getting the same great combination of traits ever again in the future.

One bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, so to speak.

So, when I think about placing a price on the puppies that remain in the breed to help improve the lines, I consider them each individually, based on their unique characteristics and how easy it would be to replace the genetic loss.

Let’s look at the two pups I will keep from the Monster Movie litter one at a time.

Gamera (red)

As I mentioned in a recent email, Gamera has 6 out of 7 outward appearance traits we are looking for. The ONLY outward appearance trait she lacks is a silver coloring. (She is a gold color, instead.) However, I know that she carries the silver color in the recessive, so breeding her will still produce silvers. I can forego that beautiful silver coloring at this time to keep the combination of all the other outward appearance traits she possesses:

1. highly slanted eyes
2. low white spotting
3. medium coat; no feathering
4. giant size
5. large, broad head
6. wolf mask

Her temperament score was significantly higher on the second standardized inherited temperament assessment, but observational data tells a slightly different story. She is, indeed, very submissive and willing, just as the test reveals. She is also highly intelligent and a big thinker. She is a dog that wants to find out what you are doing; be a part of the action. She is the boldest puppy in the litter and loves people. She may show a more willing attitude, which some would translate into energy. I don’t believe they are the same thing, but it may appear that way because she wants to be a part of things. She has a certain “jump-to-it-ness” that lends itself to a shining bright light of inquisitiveness. She is also the boss of the litter. She knows what she wants and plays with whom she wants. She doesn’t wait for the others to give her direction, but goes out and gets what she desires. This is an leadership personality.

She can also be vocal at times. She voices her frustration, just like her sister Ghidorah (pink). Not quite as much as her sister, but the tendency is there. Her father, Cookie Monster, too, shows this tendency. It isn’t excessive, but more than our other dogs who do not vocalize their excitement when its time to eat.

Because I know all of this about her, I know I will have to match her with a male that has an even, mellow, quiet temperament with a silver coloring to counter her specific flaws.

But still, she brings a happy attitude with a loving disposition in a beautiful giant size.

If I were to sell her, I would ask $8,000.

I have both of the parents (Cookie Monster/Jesse), who produced two excellent litters already. I suppose I could be persuaded to match these two parents one more time for a chance at a quieter silver puppy with all of her other great features.

It sets me back some in time, but the money would benefit the breed in other ways. We would reinvest it back into the Dire Wolf Project to make lives even better for more people.

Creature (brown)

This puppy is perfect in temperament for the American Dirus dog. I know he received an 8.5 on his formal standardized 3 week old temperament test, but that was because he pumped his legs slightly and had a dramatic head flinch when touched on the head in an unfamiliar location, but that is because he is a sensitive soul. He is not as overtly confident as his bolder sister, Gamera, but what he lacks in confidence he completely makes up for with a sense of calm consistency. This puppy is chill and rock solid in his even-temper. He isn’t bothered by the other puppies pushing, playing, or moving around him. He just goes about his business, not a care about anything. He is highly alert and knows what is going on around him, he just doesn’t care. He is extremely quiet, as well. Never complaining or carrying on. When he plays, it is slow and measured. This puppy rivals Triton, Essex, Vlad, Shiloh (fka: Monstro), Aslan, Zorro, and so many other wonderful males we have had the privilege of knowing at the Dire Wolf Project. His chill, even temperament is THE reason I would like to keep this puppy in the lines. More of this puppy’s calm, loving attitude would benefit the breed immensely.

Also, Creature is a silver wolf sable male with a long coat, a wolf mask, and NO feathering or white spotting. This is the ideal for a DireWolf Dog. The ONLY thing he lacks is overall size. If he were a giant size, you couldn’t pry him from my arms for under $1,000,000. But, since he isn’t a giant, I will have to place him at a much more reasonable $30,000.

And if I think about it too much, I might convince myself that even that price is too low.

The reason I wasn’t as excited about him last week when we talked then was because I wasn’t sure he held the wolf mask and his personality was still developing. With his now consistent super chill attitude AND the long silver coat with a wolf mask, that makes him quite the amazing puppy to watch coming up in the breed.

Now, listen.

There are only two days left to let me know you want to go active for this litter.

After that, we will close the waiting list to any further activity for this litter.

Reply to this email to let me know you want to go active, otherwise, I will skip you for this litter.

If you are not yet on our waiting list and want to go active, you must be approved for puppy adoption and place your $600 non-refundable deposit down to get on the waiting list.

Start here:

https://direwolfproject.com/puppy-application/

Here’s the link to the litter page to see pictures of Gamera and Creature.

https://direwolfdogs.com/litters/64/

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.

Gamera at 3 weeks

Creature at 3 weeks

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