LEVEL 1 - Student Apprentice | Dire Wolf Project

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of level 1 is for our Dire Wolf Project™ breeders to get to know you and for you to begin the process of getting to know everyone of us and many of your potential future clients. This level has been created to learn all we can about one another and to make sure this is indeed where you want to be.

We want to get to know you in the following ways:

Understand your background and where you’ve come from.
Know about your deeply held and highly valued beliefs regarding dog breeding.
Understand what drives and motivates you to want to breed this particular breed.
Know how to help you through your specific needs to become an elite professional of
your craft.
Know where to challenge you and how to best interact with you to help you grow.

We want to be able to guide you in the following ways:

Guide you through navigating our world and how we interact with one another.
Be able to become comfortable speaking and discussing with us.
Begin to have confidence in your interaction with us.
Build a cohesive level of trust between all parties.
Have security and a sense of immediate accomplishment that you are on the right path, if
you are.
Determine if this is or is not the place for you.
Decide whether you want to pursue this endeavor or not before you get too far into the
program and waste your time with something you will ultimately not wish to complete.

STEPS
Here are the steps you will need to follow in order to complete this stage of your breeder training. Apart from the first application step, these steps are in no particular order and you may complete them in any order you choose. Your breeding mentor has been instructed not to sign off on this level until all other steps listed below have been satisfactorily completed.

▫ Complete the Dire Wolf Project™ Breeder's Application and return it to DireWolf Dogs, Int'l. Keep a copy for your records. Once approved, the president of DireWolf Dogs, Int'l will then assign you a breeding mentor.
▫ Complete the Dire Wolf Project™ Breeder’s Survey and return to your breeding mentor. Keep a copy of this survey for yourself because you will use it to compare to subsequent surveys.
▫ Attend at least a 30 minute online video meeting with your new breeding mentor to learn about one another and begin to develop a working relationship.
▫ Purchase and read “How to Breed Dogs” by Leon F. Whitney (It is important that you physically purchase this book as it is a reference book in which you will need to highlight and refer back to all throughout your career as a Dire Wolf Project™ breeder.)

⁃ Answer the following questions from the book and submit to your Dire Wolf Project™ breeding mentor:

⁃ What is the original copyright date of this book?
⁃ Who is this author? What credentials does he have?
⁃ What does the author say about breeding female dogs on the first heat?

▫ Purchase and read “Dog Breeder’s Professional Secrets” by Sylvia Smart (It is important that you physically purchase this book as it is a reference book in which you will need to highlight and refer to all throughout your career as a Dire Wolf Project™ breeder.)

⁃ Answer the following questions and submit to your Dire Wolf Project™ breeding mentor:

⁃ Who is this author and what credentials does she have?
⁃ Briefly describe the differences regarding how to raise:
- ⁃ a stud dog
- ⁃ a brood bitch
- ⁃ a pet
⁃ What are the necessary features of a well maintained kennel facility?
⁃ Make a list of all of the expenses and potential gross/net income of
breeding and raising one litter of puppies.
⁃ What are the two different types of culling?
⁃ When is it necessary to cull a puppy from a litter? Describe both types of
culling and how to determine when each type of culling will be necessary.
⁃

▫ Read “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
⁃ Answer the following questions and submit to your Dire Wolf Project™ breeding

mentor:

⁃ Which pieces of advice in this book are you best at and worst at? Describe.
⁃ In reading this book, how can you relate it to your work as a dog breeder?
⁃ Do you disagree with anything Dale Carnegie writes? Why?
⁃ In following Dale Carnegie’s advice, would it come naturally to you or not?
Describe.
⁃ Would the world/workforce be better or worse if everyone followed this framework?
Describe.

▫ Purchase and read “The New Art of Breeding Better Dogs” by Kyle Onstott (revised by Philip Onstott)
(It is important that you physically purchase this book as it is a reference book.)

⁃ Answer the following questions and submit to your Dire Wolf Project™ breeding mentor:

⁃ What is the original copyright date of this book?
⁃ Who is this author and what credentials does he have?
⁃ According to this author, what are the benefits and disadvantages of
outcrossing?
⁃ According to this author, what are the benefits and disadvantages of
inbreeding?
⁃ What is the Second Law of Mendel or the Law of Independent Assortment?
⁃ Make a list of the “Things That Are Not True.”
⁃ Describe Miss King’s white rat experiment at the Wistar Institute and what
the outcome was.
⁃ What is the definition of pure?
⁃ According to this author, does like beget like? Briefly explain the reasoning.

▫ Sign up on the Dire Wolf Project™ Breeder’s Forum at: (If you do not have access to the Internet, you must obtain the ability to utilize the Internet on a daily basis in order to complete this section)

⁃ Identify yourself by posting your first “New Topic” to the “Welcome” forum. Include the following:
- ⁃ Name
- ⁃ Where you live
- ⁃ The types of animals, especially any dogs, you currently own
- ⁃ Why you are interested in breeding American Dirus™ dogs
- ⁃ If you have ever bred any animal(s) before; which types, how many, and
  when; if not, please specify
- ⁃ Share something interesting about yourself so that we can get to know you.
  We are a family and will be working closely together. The more we know about you the better. (Remember: this forum is closed to only certified breeders and potential breeders.)
⁃ Go to the Breeding forum, find the topic named: “Dog Breeders Professional Secrets by Sylvia Smart” and respond to the question listed. This will get you started in being able to learn to find your way around the forum.
⁃ Go to the Breeding forum, find the topic named: “Great Genetics on Coat Color Website.” Read the entire discussion from start to finish. *Notice how the breeder
pursued the topic over time posting multiple thoughts and conclusions each time she came to understand something new. Notice how the breeder changed her thinking from the beginning to the end. This is a perfect example of how in depth we want you to pursue topics you post on this breeder’s forum. At some point, you must be willing to participate in deep, serious, and on-going discussions that shape thinking and move breeders to a better understanding of their craft.
But for now:

⁃ Post a reply to the question this breeder poses at the end of the discussion on page 2 - “What do you think?” Use information from the rest of the discussion to support your answer.

▫ Join Facebook, if you have not already, (If you do not have access to the Internet, you must obtain the ability to utilize the Internet on a daily basis in order to complete this section) then complete the following:

⁃ “friend” Jennifer Stoeckl, who is the group moderator for the American Dirus Owner’s Facebook Group.
⁃ Private message her to let her know that you are interested in joining the American Dirus Owner’s group.
⁃ Once you have been invited, you may unfriend Jennifer if you like and write your first post explaining your recent application to the Dire Wolf Project™ Certified Breeder Program as a student apprentice breeder. Give everyone in the group a little background on who you are, where you reside, and if you have an American Dirus or not (if not... what your plans are for obtaining one?).
Post questions, likes, comments, share articles and/or your thoughts daily on the American Dirus Owner’s group. Let me repeat that... daily! This is very important. Make this a routine so that you will not forget. Set aside a time each day for this part of the program. You will continue this for as long as you are in the program and as long as you are a certified Dire Wolf Project™ breeder. This daily interaction is necessary because:
⁃ We want to see how you interact with others.
⁃ We want to learn about what you like and dislike.
⁃ We want to learn about what you enjoy and focus on.
⁃ By posting your comments, discussions, questions, likes, shares you will
learn from the group and in turn they will learn about you.
⁃ DireWolf Dogs, Int'l may use this information to form your uniquely individualized
breeding apprenticeship program.
⁃ Also, daily interaction with those who own or potentially own American
Dirus™ dogs will help you get to know those involved as well as prepare you for
the very real interactive life of a Dire Wolf Project™ breeder.
⁃ Most of all, have fun. Get to know some of the owners. Find out who is most
involved and in what they are involved. Become an integral part of the community.
They may one day be your customers.
⁃ This task will be ongoing throughout the program; however, in order to complete
this part of Level 1, you must have posted daily for a total of 120 consecutive days. You may miss a day or two, but you must receive prior approval from your breeding mentor if this is the case. If you do not receive prior approval for missed days and/or you skip days more than one day per week, you will need to begin this section again.
⁃ Regular involvement with the American Dirus™ Owner's community will prove that you are willing to put forth the effort to communicate routinely with your clients and associates. Interacting with others is a very important job description of the Dire Wolf Project™ breeder. If it does not come naturally to you, then this will be an area you will need to work on. We can wait. We are not in a hurry and there is no need to push yourself through this part of the program until you are ready. But, you will need to complete this section before moving on to Level 2.