10 things I learned from my mother

Lois Schwarz, the founder of the Dire Wolf Project, is my mother.

Lois, the modern world’s foremost dog breed creator, is mostly retired now from the Dire Wolf Project, but she has a few litters from time to time and keeps tabs on our work.

Although her many gifts have been shared with lots of people around the world…

I regard the gift of teaching me her dog breeding knowledge to be the most significant.

At first, you may read the following list and wonder what some of them have to do with dog breeding.

But I assure you, without these fundamental ideas, the Dire Wolf Project could not be what it is today.

1. God is the author of all life.
2. Natural design is the ideal no matter how brutal it can appear.
3. Stand like a rock for what is true and good, even if you stand alone.
4. Learn from others, but think for yourself.
5. Live life like a warrior. Love all, but watch your back.
6. Make your own way in life.
7. Be a producer, not a taker.
8. Give your whole heart to the world, expecting nothing in return.
9. Life is tough; work harder.
10. Don’t mourn death, for all must die. Instead, immerse yourself in life.

It’s quite amazing to me that many of the above aspects of Lois’s breeding ideology can be attributed to prominent philosophers throughout our human history in different cultures and times, including: Confucius, Seneca the Younger, Ueshiba, Thomas Jefferson, Ayn Rand, and Jesus Christ.

Never having graduated college or holding any fancy degrees, Lois came to know these concepts through the school of hard knocks.

To be sure, Lois didn’t specifically teach these to me.

Instead, I have absorbed them from the open and honest way she lives her life.

Before I opened my heart and mind to truly understand my mother’s unique world, she was completely alone in her mission.

Her family thoughtlessly brands her the black sheep because she can never conform to societal norms.

Dog breed purists and animal activists alike ridicule her for not performing within various breeding expectations.

And yet, day after day, litter after litter, she quietly continues her work.

I am so proud of my mother’s lifelong sacrifice.

I only pray I can represent her mission well and not lose vital components that would otherwise significantly alter her life’s work.

Lois is a pioneering genius.

I merely hope to grow her work into the legacy it deserves to be.

If you want to learn more about Lois Schwarz in her own words, she wrote this article to better acquaint you with what her life was like in the very beginnings of the breed:

https://schwarzdogs.com/schwarz/groomer-lois-schwarz/groomer-lois-schwarz/

Also, it’s Movie Monday!

Today, we’re going to see the puppies playing with one another in order to learn why it’s important to keep puppies together until they are 8 weeks old.

https://youtu.be/43PIUM05PSw

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.