This puppy almost has it all!

One of the reasons I matched Cookie Monster with Albreta is that there would be NO black-masked puppies in the litter.

There is every other option, but not the black muzzle.

(FYI: A mask refers to the muzzle of a dog.)

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Now, before we get started with our conversation for today, I need to say this…

I am going to be speaking about outward appearance.

And every time I do, someone who disagrees with our work accuses us of only caring about looks.

If you are new around here, you may not know that…

Health and temperament are ALWAYS considered first.

Many breeders say they place health and temperament first, but we actually choose our dogs based on health and temperament before outward appearance, which is why we are not “there” yet.

Okay. Onward with today’s topic.

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If you’ve been around the Dire Wolf Project for a while, you’ll know that I frequently talk about the black mask as having the “at-first-glance” appearance of the German Shepherd Dog.

Our breed is NOT meant to resemble the German Shepherd Dog, nor do we want it to be mistaken for one.

But to many people, that pesky black mask with the silver sable coat color sure does look like a German Shepherd Dog.

And to top it off, the black mask is a dominant trait.

Plus, our breed founder, Lois Schwarz, has been very adamant about striving for deep black skin pigmentation (like on the nose, paw pads, belly, tip of tail, chest, etc).

This is both for health reasons as well as the fact that wild wolves (and many other wild canids) do not show white spotting.

And, in fact, white spotting may very well be genetically linked to domestication.

Many times Lois has shared how important it is to have deep black pigmentation in the breed.

Well, as it happens… a genetic black-masked dog very often shows deep black pigmentation.

Hence why she often chooses puppies with black masks generation after generation.

But in 2022, I finally found the WOLF MASK!

(FYI: Wolf-masked puppies are born with a black muzzle that lightens up within the first few weeks of life, just like wolf puppies.)

It was secretly lurking in the recessive in one particular line for generations.

Many of you may be familiar with the white mask, often associated with the Alaskan Malamute or the Siberian Husky.

Along with the black mask, the white mask has been a prominent feature in our breed for years.

Much to Lois’s consternation.

But the wolf mask was an elusive mystery for years!

So to finally have a litter of puppies predominantly show this trait is a first for the breed.

In fact, six of the eight puppies in the Mountain Peaks litter have the coveted wolf mask trait.

How about that?!

And one particular puppy in this litter shows how quickly the wolf mask lightens up within the first few weeks of life.

(FYI: The other five puppies are dominant black, which causes the wolf mask not to be as obvious in young puppies.)

Actually, this one special puppy, Sierra Nevada (red), has almost every outward appearance trait we desire in the breed.

I just LOVE that about her!

1. wolf mask
2. wolf gray coat color
3. giant size
4. highly slanted eyes
5. thick bone structure
6. long coat
7. no feathering

Plus she’s a fifth generation with an impeccable large breed companion dog temperament.

A-mazing!

The only unwanted outward appearance traits she may have are:

1. excessive white spotting
2. furnishings (long whiskers on the muzzle)

She will be an exceptional looking American Dirus dog as an adult.

I can’t wait to watch her grow!

If you want to take a look at Sierra’s beautiful wolf mask, click the link below to go to her puppy page:

https://direwolfproject.com/pedigree/7485/

P.S. I will be writing out my thoughts on the temperament test results today! Exciting!

P.P.S. The puppies from the Mountain Peaks Litter need another two days before they will be ready for their temperament test and updated pictures. Patience, my friends.

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.