What would it take to pry these puppies away from me?
By Jennifer Stoeckl, MAT - Dire Wolf Project CEO, Oct. 11, 2024
All week long we’ve been talking about the puppies that are looking for their forever homes.
I’ve told you stories about the most adorable little souls on the planet.
They are all SO FLUFFY!!!!
But yesterday, I received a question from a curious subscriber who would like to know just how much it would take to get me to sell the puppies I am keeping in the breed.
And…
It’s also fun to learn why I would choose that price for that particular puppy.
So, here goes!
- A list of the puppies I’m keeping,
- The price I would accept to allow them to leave the Dire Wolf Project,
- and why I would price them that way.
Let’s start with the beautiful, but busy, Harvest Litter.
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PUMPKIN PATCH
I was initially going to sell him and not keep any puppies from this litter, but his dashing good looks compelled me, and I couldn’t let him go. His temperament is not ideal for the breed, but he is only a second generation, so that is to be expected. He is outgoing and very confident, though, with an appropriate degree of submissiveness. His busy and curious mind could be a double-edged sword, but he doesn’t have any negative temperament flaws, like resource guarding, dominance, reactivity, etc. He is an average size, not a giant, with a thinner overall bone structure. I do have another second generation puppy from this line that is a giant with a calmer inherited temperament, but Pumpkin Patch’s structure is overall better, even if he isn’t a giant in size.
Thinking about it now, the most valuable aspects Pumpkin Patch brings to the breed are high genetic and immune diversity, small firmly erect ears, the coveted wolf mask, bright yellow eyes, and a winning confident attitude about life.
He is worth $10,000 to the breed.
I would be willing to co-own him with the right person who lives within a day’s drive and understands his worth to the breed.
Each co-owner would pay half of his total price above and enter into a separate co-ownership contract.
This co-ownership contract would end when I receive one litter sired by him with at least two live puppies or he turns 3 years old, whichever comes first.
Now let’s move to the high-octane Muscle Car Litter.
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MUSTANG BOSS
This puppy is a giant size with a beautiful head shape and highly slanted eyes. He does NOT have furnishings or feathering, which is wonderful for the future of this line. He does have a white mask, which is both good and not so good. The white mask allows me to physically see the wolf mask in the puppies when I breed him to a female that carries it. But the white mask, itself, is not the ideal for the breed. Mustang Boss is a softy, but he can carry on verbally like his father. It’s not excessive, but it isn’t better than his father, which I would rather see. Most people equate this puppy’s coloring to the wolf, even though it isn’t scientifically accurate. So in the short term it benefits the breed aesthetically until we permeate all of the lines with the true wild canid traits.
The most valuable traits this puppy brings to the breed are:
- giant size
- no feathering
- no furnishing
- great temperament
He isn’t essential to keep in the breed. If I lost his genetics it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but it is great to have a Syrenka son to keep more diversity in the lines as we move forward. Syrenka comes from only one of two females I kept from Mary, so having that line continue in the breed would be a good thing.
I would take $9,000 for him.
Now, let’s look at the Mountain Peaks litter
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MOUNT EVEREST
This puppy is the largest puppy ever born into the Dire Wolf Project. He has an incredible broad head shape with highly slanted eyes and a huge thick frame. His temperament is impeccable. Calm and quiet. Gentle and sweet. Loving and intelligent. This puppy is the best the breed has to offer. The only thing that detracts from perfection is his white coloring. Yes, he looks like an arctic wolf, but its artificially achieved by using the recessive red gene instead of lightening the coat using the graying gene.
The most valuable traits this puppy brings to the breed are:
- giant size
- highly slanted eyes
- broad head structure
- thick frame
- calm demeanor
- quiet
This puppy is essential to move this line forward in the breed. In fact, he is the very future of the breed. He is better than both his father and mother combined. This is what all breeder’s hope to achieve: “breed better than the parents”. It would take a LOT to pry this boy from my hands.
I would take $35,000 for him… if I had to, although I would probably kick myself later.
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MOUNT LINCOLN
This puppy is equivalent to Yeti, but a black male instead of a white female. He has highly slanted eyes with a beautiful long coat without furnishings or feathering. He will look a lot like Yeti as an adult in both body and coat type. We do have Yeti, but she’s bossy and not as submissive, so I like the thought of keeping a puppy with a slightly calmer and more submissve American Dirus dog temperament. Plus, he is going to rival Stanley with that beautiful black wolf gray coat color, which would be great for promotional videos and pictures.
The most valuable traits this puppy brings to the breed are:
- highly slanted eyes
- dominant black coat color
- long hair without feathering or furnishings
- great temperament
- quiet
This puppy is not essential to keep in the breed, but he is highly desirable to add to the breeding population and keep inbreeding down as we move forward from here. I would also have his brother Mount St. Elias, though, so I could sell him if the price were right.
I would be willing to take $9,000 for him.
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MOUNT ST. ELIAS
This puppy is basically a clone of Lincoln, except for a broader head shape, shorter coat, and slightly more muscular in build. He also has a very similar temperament and personality as his brother above, too.
The most valuable traits this puppy brings to the breed are:
- highly slanted eyes
- dominant black coat color
- no feathering
- no furnishings
- great temperament
- quiet
Just as with Lincoln, this puppy is not essential to keep in the breed, but highly desirable for the same reasons above. If I lost Elias’s contribution to the breed, I would feel more inclined to raise Lincoln’s price to keep others from swooping in and paying my stated price for Lincoln, too. But, because I have such a similar puppy in Lincoln, I can be a little more generous with Elias. I have actually opted to co-own this puppy with a close family I know who lives not far from Dire Wolf Project headquarters. They are helping the breed, and at the same time, getting a wonderful dog to be a part of their family. It’s a true win-win for the Dire Wolf Project.
St. Elias is worth $9,000 to the breed.
A co-ownership contract would be similar to the co-ownership for Pumpkin Patch.
If you want to see pictures and read notes of any of these exceptional puppies mentioned above, you can find them on the current and future litters page here:
https://direwolfdogs.com/dogs-for-sale/future-litters/
(I do not expect anyone to pay these prices. In fact, I price them this high precisely because I don’t really want to sell them. But if someone were to come along who couldn’t resist getting the best in the breed, well then, I would seriously have to think twice about it.)
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P.S. Only ONE MORE FAMILY to go before we open puppy sales up to anyone OFF THE WAITING LIST.
Remember it will be on a first come, first served basis, so stay glued to the newsletter to know exactly when that opportunity will open up. It could be any day.
We’re coming down to the wire now. Puppies will leave for their new homes on the DireWolf Express sometime on or very near November 1st.
EXCITING!
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.