The ongoing science of dog evolution

Many of you may know Lois’s mission in 1988 was to bring sustainable dog breeding to the world.

Some people aren’t aware that human eugenics ideas, where certain races or dog breeds are superior and must be isolated and preserved, have wreaked havoc on many innocent lives, especially tail-wagging ones.

Unfortunately, eugenics is still alive and well in dog breeding communities around the world today.

I won’t go into the specifics of the horrendous consequences of ongoing purebred eugenics in this email.

(If you want to learn more, I wrote an entire book on that subject called Dire Wolf Project: Creating an Extraordinary Dog Breed.)

What I do want to address in this email is an unintended consequence of Lois’s dedication to temperament above outward appearance.

Instead of fitting a working dog into our technological age, Lois set out to create a companion dog breed that fit perfectly in our busy, modern lives.

Consistently choosing puppies generation after generation for a calm, mellow temperament above outward appearance created something new.

The domesticated canine has evolved.

Through her unyielding persistence, there is now a dog breed that isn’t “just a dog.”

The American Dirus dog today is a new type of domesticated dog never before experienced.

Let me give you an example.

A year and a half ago, I took a returned puppy named Sedna to the vet.

This puppy was returned to us because she was said to be too nervous and afraid.

Now, I don’t doubt that Sedna did show nervousness and fear just as was described.

In fact, I believe everything happened just as I heard it.

I also want to share that Sedna is not nervous and fearful.

How can those two things be true simultaneously?

1. Sedna showed nervous and fearful behaviors in her original placement.
2. Sedna isn’t a nervous, fearful dog.

The answer lies in the way humans normally train dogs and how this new companion dog breed doesn’t fit into that working dog mold.

It is understandable, though.

Even Lois probably didn’t realize it herself when she first began her work.

But the American Dirus dog bred by the Dire Wolf Project can’t be treated like any ol’ dog out there.

There is something fundamentally different about our dogs.

Yes.

They carry on when they get excited, just like other dog breeds.

It’s true.

They like to run and play, enjoying life to the fullest, just like other dog breeds.

Certainly, they sniff and explore with their noses, just like other dog breeds.

Many things are similar to other dogs because they are still dogs.

Lois did not do the impossible and turn a dog into a completely different species of animal.

What seems to have happened, though, is an evolution in the domestication of the canine.

As a result, the American Dirus dog cannot be treated like “just a dog.”

It might seem to someone, who doesn’t understand, that our dogs are nervous, shy, or fearful.

But these fear-based behaviors happen only when they are taught in a way that doesn’t match their needs.

Each family with whom they are placed must understand that our dogs possess human-like characteristics.

Some owners have described it as “a thinking dog.”

I can hear the critics now, “All dogs think.”

True, but that’s not what is meant when an owner says this.

It might be more accurate to say “a processing dog” or “a problem-solving dog.”

I don’t know.

It is hard to explain.

Lois has shared many times that unless you own one, you can’t know what we are talking about.

And, that’s probably true.

In her original placement, Sedna bucked and pulled and fought the first time she was attached to a leash.

The human became distraught by this and declared that Sedna was perfectly behaved off leash and didn’t require a tether.

The human allowed his emotions to get in the way of teaching Sedna how to work through the difficult situation in which she found herself.

When I placed the slip-lead on Sedna’s neck for the first time since she had returned, she didn’t buck, fight, pull, or carry on violently in any way.

But… I set up the situation.

I did so in such a way to teach Sedna to use her superior intellect to figure out how to solve the problem that attachment presents a dog that has previously been allowed to wander free on its own.

It only took seconds for Sedna to realize when she felt pressure on the leash all she had to do was go against her natural instincts and move herself into the pressure instead of pull against it.

Once she understood how to walk freely without strain on the leash, she responded with a feather’s touch to any leash pressure she felt.

From then on, with only seconds of instruction,

fear, anxiety and stubborn behaviors disappeared.

When we arrived at the vet’s office, I wondered if Sedna would show fear or anxiety in this strange environment where strong smells of sickness and death abound.

There was a moment in which Sedna stood with her head down at the threshold of the entrance.

Knowing how to teach the special American Dirus dog to use its own mind to solve problems, I did not pull or move Sedna in any way.

Instead, I gave her the time she needed to process the new smells and environment in which she found herself.

After a few seconds to think, I coaxed her gently by calling her to me.

Then, she walked in on her own, followed me to a chair, and laid down at my feet!

The other people in the waiting room could not believe Sedna was a puppy.

No barking at other dogs or people.

No running around my feet or sniffing without permission.

No tail tuck or shaking.

Just a calm puppy walking by my side, placing herself in a position where she touched some part of my body when I sat down.

She got up once to check out the heater and experience what it was.

But once she was satisfied, she returned to my side and laid down.

One person wanted to meet her.

He asked politely if he could pet her.

Most of the time I say “No, she’s in training.”

But with Sedna, I wanted to find out just what she would do when meeting a stranger, since I had heard that she bolts away from strangers when they approach.

Sedna did not move her head away, shake in fear, or even sit up to lean more into me.

She didn’t fear-snap, bark, or show any fear behaviors whatsoever.

Instead, she gently licked the stranger’s hand, wagged her tail in slow motion, and allowed him to pet her on the head.

It is now my belief that Sedna bolted from strangers with her tail tucked because she had been allowed to be off leash and not to confront new unfamiliar situations in a controlled environment.

In essence, she was “thrown to the wolves” to fend for herself without any instruction on how to live in her new environment.

Our dogs are sensitive.

This emotional sensitivity is a huge advantage and has been shown to give our dogs an uncanny ability to respond to human emotion, like an empath.

But without the correct teaching on how to help a sensitive dog navigate our human world, it can and does show fear-based behaviors.

It is your responsibility as a new owner to understand this and make sure you have all the tools to prepare for and set-up a teaching environment where your dog can slowly experience new things and grow from them.

Unfortunately, there are no training materials out there in the dog world that specifically teach you how to reach a calm, thinking dog’s brain.

Fully all of the many different types of dog trainers focus on highly motivated, working dog breeds.

They do this because those intense dog breeds look GREAT in training videos.

Even world-renowned dog trainer Michael Ellis has stated that low-motivated dogs are only good as pet dogs.

Well, that’s exactly what we breed!

American Dirus dogs bred by the Dire Wolf Project are not highly motivated by play or food rewards.

And working your butt off to develop motivation in your low-drive companion dog is exhausting!

(Trust me, I’ve tried it many times.) LOL

This is why I am now working on a dog training book/video series that addresses the specific difficulties and challenges that arise with a low-prey, low-motivation, thinking, problem-solving dog like our American Dirus dogs.

It’s called “Canine Culture Shock.”

I’m hoping to complete it by this summer 2025.

IT WON’T BE CHEAP!

This is because I want those of you who buy it to be INVESTED in the program and actually READ and IMPLEMENT the information.

And… it’s not only a book, but also comes with a series of videos to illustrate the information in the book.

You can find out all about the details below:

https://direwolfproject.com/direwolf-publishing/coming-soon1/canine-culture-shock/

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