Don't be fooled!
By Jennifer Stoeckl, MAT - Dire Wolf Project CEO, Dec. 23, 2024
Yesterday, I was reminded how much
I love our Dire Wolf Project community.
It’s so peaceful and non-confrontational around here most of the time.
Truth seeps out like a warm hug each Monday - Friday.
Wrapping you in comfort and tranquility.
That’s because we put our heads down and work hard each day to do what we know is right.
We strive hard to bring only light and goodness into the world.
Moving dog breeding from a cesspool of lies and backstabbing to a more transparent and open community of well-informed families.
We never hide behind media hype or falsehoods to sell puppies.
Unfortunately, we are an exception to the rule.
Yesterday, as I was researching for a YouTube project at the Wolf Dog Channel, I was reminded of just how sinister and dark the dog breeding world can be.
Take, for example, the North American Indian Dog (NorthAID).
The all-breed Continental Kennel Club (CKC) registry states: “Contrary to its appearance, the North American Indian Dog (also called the NorthAID) is not a wolf, nor is it a wolf-dog hybrid. Instead, it is a dog breed that was developed beginning in 1986 by breeder Mark Klemperer.”
The article goes on, “…starting with the best wolfdogs already being bred for many generations by others and then began selectively breeding for a very wolf-like physical type combined with the most affectionate, gentle, compliant "happy" character possible.
"The original wolfdogs possessed varying amounts of genetics from several dog breeds, including Alaskan Malamute, Siberian husky, and in some cases, a bit of Great Pyrenees or German Shepherd.”
Are they seriously proposing that even though the NorthAID began its life as a high content wolf dog breed that now… only 38 years later… it has magically turned into a domesticated dog without wild wolf behaviors?
Yet, all the way at the bottom of the page we read, “Note: Many NorthAIDs will only have one estrus cycle per year. Also, some intact male NorthAIDs testicles remain drawn up at a decreased size (not retained) throughout most of the year, descending and expanding only during the breeding season in response to a female that is ready to breed. This should not be confused with cryptorchidism, which is a fault in any breed.”
How many domesticated dog breeds do you know where females only have one estrus cycle per year and male testicles descend during mating season?
Note: There is only one - the primitive Basenji dog breed.
But…
Both traits are integral to the reproductive strategies of wild canids like gray wolves, ensuring the survival of their offspring in harsh and unpredictable natural environments.
Which is exactly what you’d expect from a high content wolf dog breed.
Couple this with the fact that the NorthAID breed founder states…
Did Mark Klemperer just say that Embark DNA tests provide “…misinformation that does not apply to animals from long-term, selective breeding programs such as my own in spite of the fact that the DNA results on such animals will show a ‘wolf percentage’ of anything from 87% to 95+%”? (emphasis added)
Wolf dog breeding facilities all around the United States are going to have a rude awakening after the Cuyahoga County vs. March trial in January 2025.
This trial is destined to set HUGE countrywide legal precedent regarding how to “prove” wolf content in wolf dogs.
The Dire Wolf Project is following these court hearings very closely for that reason.
The question posed to Justice Sweeney from Cuyahoga County in Ohio state (and as a result - to the rest of the country) is:
“What is the definition of
a dog vs. a wolf dog vs. an exotic animal?”
Ohio state law says:
- 100% gray (timber) wolf = exotic animal
- 0-99% gray (timber) wolf = dog
Currently, honorable Judge Sweeney has alluded that only a DNA test with an accompanying genome breakdown will be the deciding factor.
This is DESPITE what breeders claim a wolf dog’s ancestry to be!
If DNA becomes the only way to legally prove wolf dog content after this trial in January, BUYER BEWARE!
If you want a wolf dog in the United States, you better not purchase one without DNA proof or risk your wolf dog’s life… especially if it’s a high-content wolf dog.
The prominent Tennessee wolf dog breeding facility, Frazier Farm Exotics, (which now appears to be permanently closed) sold a high-content wolf dog named Briccs to a Cleveland city resident.
This wolf dog was recently DNA tested by Wisdom Panel (interpreted by IDEXX) as 100% gray wolf!
Regardless of the fact that the owner, DeCardo March, has proof that he purchased a wolf dog from Frazier Farm Exotics.
What is an unsuspecting American citizen to do?
After this life or death trial to determine a three-year-old wolf dog’s fate, you may only have two options left:
- Make sure you have DNA proof that you do indeed own a legal wolf dog in your state/county (and never plan on moving to an illegal state/county).
OR - Don’t buy a wolf dog!
If you do not heed this warning and you are fooled by the wolf dog community’s hype, then you could very well be contributing to the following statistic that unfortunately Briccs may find herself:
90-95% of wolf dogs are euthanized
by the time they are 2 years old!
As Blue Mountain Wolves (a wolf dog sanctuary) stated in February 2024, “Since January 1st of this year, we’ve had 12 people contact us to take in their wolf dogs for one reason or another. I’m sure other sanctuaries have received the same requests or more. This is absolutely heart wrenching for us as we know the majority of these animals will probably be euthanized. PLEASE, don’t get a wolfdog if…
”You have no experience…get a husky or malamute or whatever breed suits your lifestyle.
”You don’t have a proper enclosure to give them what they need to be stimulated and safe. Ie 8’ tall fencing with 3’ dig guard on the ground.”
”You don’t have the time to work with them. They are pack animals and if you’re going to work 5 days a week, 9 hours a day, they are not for you.
”You don’t live in a legal area. There are both state and county levels of legality, so you have to check both.
”You think they’re going to be a guard dog. They are naturally very skittish animals and make horrible guard dogs.
”You haven’t found a vet to work with you BEFORE getting one. Most vets won’t work with wolf dogs.
”You can’t come up with an answer to why you want one that doesn’t involve “well I just think it would be cool to have one”.
”90-95% of wolfdogs are euthanized by the age of 2 and it’s estimated that 150,000 are born every year. Please, please don’t add to this horrible statistic that involves the lives of these beautiful animals.
”I know they are amazing animals, but quite frankly, most people should not have them. They do not act like dogs. They are very different, and are much more challenging animals to have.”
If you would like to contribute to Briccs’ legal fund to help save her life and potentially shape U.S. legal precedent for wolves and wolf dogs, click the link below:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/justice-for-briccs-help-free-an-innocent-wolfdog
If you don’t want to support wolf and wolf dog breeding,
Luckily, you found the Dire Wolf Project!
We DNA test every single puppy born into the Dire Wolf Project, proving (for nearly ten years now) that we have never, nor will we ever, breed in any modern wolf DNA into our dogs.
Every day we get closer and closer to the exact bone and body structure of the extinct, prehistoric dire wolf in a loving family companion dog using ONLY domesticated dog breeds.
Many of our giant dogs look very wolf-like without any worry of legal battles, veterinary discrimination, or wild temperament issues that may cause you (or your dog) undue harm and suffering.
We still have a few puppies looking for forever homes.
Support the Dire Wolf Project and ditch the lies, backstabbing, and heartache that permeates so much of the rest of the dog breeding world.
Click the link below to be taken to a world of enchantment and serenity.
Where puppies bring peace to your life.
https://direwolfdogs.com/dogs-for-sale/puppies/
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P.S. I also posted new pictures of Dublin all grown up. He’ll hopefully be the father of our next litter of puppies scheduled to arrive in February 2025.
Check Dublin out here:
https://direwolfproject.com/pedigree/7429/
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P.P.S. It’s Movie Monday!
This week we’ll look at the special aspects of a pack-oriented dog breed.
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.