# "American Alsatian" (Dire Wolf Dog) breeders in the UK?



## geordiegaviino (Mar 26, 2010)

Hi I was wondering if there are any breeders in the UK that breed the American Alsatian (Dire wolf dog)?

It is a breed of dog which is being developed in America to resemble the extinct Dire Wolf. 

Been trying to follow the breeds progress online to see if it is being bred in the UK yet but not much information. 

I don't wish to own one (well not for many years as i have two dogs) but I just wanna see if the breeding program has left the United States.


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## Nicky10 (Jan 11, 2010)

I thought there were only a few breeders anyway and I've heard bad things about health testing and temperment in those. Someone on another forum had one that was a couple of generations from an anatolian/pyr mountain dog cross in a breed that's being bred for a friendly stable temperment :001_unsure:


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## geordiegaviino (Mar 26, 2010)

I contacted a breeder in America and she said there was only two but the first puppy was sold for the UK recently but said no Breeders will be in the UK. 

I love the dire wolf and love the idea of a dog being bred for educational reasons aswell as a ideal pet but unless someone starts a safe good breeding program in the UK I doubt I will ever see one in the flesh  lol


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## Nicky10 (Jan 11, 2010)

She's breeding very large dogs from breeds that have problems with hip displasia and last I saw was claiming she didn't need to hip score because you can see bad hips :001_unsure:. It seems she is now hip scoring though.

"This time the crossbred dogs were an Anatolian/Great Pyrenees mix out of purebred lines and a shepherd/malamute mix. She chose these two dogs in order to keep the largeness and enhance the temperament." 

She's breeding for the ultimate family companion yet is breeding in flock guardians :001_unsure: and the dog on that forum was very nervous as apparently were a few of his littermates.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Oh goody just what the world needs another German shepherd/Malamute mix 
with English mastiff thrown in and finally Anatolian shepherd and Pyrenean mountain dog for good measure. All great breeds in their own right. Yet another Wolf alike dog.

The Dire wolf died out in prehistoric times.


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## WeedySeaDragon (Oct 7, 2012)

An utterly ridiculous premise given that nobody can be absolutely sure what the prehistoric dire wolves really looked like.

It seems to be an excuse for breeding purely for an appearance that the originator of the "breed" finds pleasing.

There are already plenty of breeds and crosses which are similar in appearance to the archetypal wolf look. I can't see what this new cross can possibly offer that others don't already.


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## Rafa (Jun 18, 2012)

Could the appeal to the Breeder be that some people will be prepared to pay stupid amounts of money for such a pup?


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## geordiegaviino (Mar 26, 2010)

Thanks for the replies guys

I even contacted a well known wolf-look-a-like dog breeder who basically said to get a domestic dog to resemble a wolf is a hard task never mind trying to get a dog to resemble a dire wolf would be almost impossible without introducing a wolf which would be unadvised. 

in truth I think breeding for the Dire Wolf's bone structure with a wolf look would be a beautiful impressive dog but I just can't see it happening officially in my lifetime. 

I have been looking at Tamaskan's though which have a very good wolf look to them and they are in the UK.

So I might just keep a eye on that breed and see where it is going


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## Nicky10 (Jan 11, 2010)

Tamaskans are stunning have a look at czechoslovakian wolfdogs or whatever they're called now too.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

geordiegaviino said:


> Thanks for the replies guys
> 
> I even contacted a well known wolf-look-a-like dog breeder who basically said to get a domestic dog to resemble a wolf is a hard task never mind trying to get a dog to resemble a dire wolf would be almost impossible without introducing a wolf which would be unadvised.
> 
> ...


Tamaskans are really only the same thing, said to be started with the importation of 4/5 husky type dogs or no deffinate origin as such into the UK and then on mixed with Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes and some GSD in them. I believe now the result is mated Tamaskan to Tamaskan. They are still relatively new certainly no later then the 1980s maybe even the 90s
They are not as yet recognised by any kennel club as a breed as far as I am aware.

Same goes for Northern Inuits, Utonagans, British teimber dogs etc etc. Bascially all the same from the same sort of mixes relatively recent and not recognised by any KC either. The Alaskan Shepherds another Basically GSD and Malamute.

In conjunction to that you have people just breeding various mixes of Alaskan Malamutes, Siberian huskies and GSDs too and just selling them for what they really are cross breeds.

Although my post may have appeared to be a bit derogatory and sniffy, you can likely see why now. There are so many wolf look alikes and so many names
cropping up, its actually getting difficult to keep track of.

Apart from Alaskan Malamutes, Siberian Huskies, Green land dogs, Canadian Eskimos and also the Sarloos wolf hound and Czechoslovakian wolf dog none of them are recognised by official kennel clubs, in fact although the last two are recognised by some KCs in other countries Im not altogether sure as yet if the UK KC recognise them as yet still although I could be wrong and they have now.


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## Nicky10 (Jan 11, 2010)

Czechoslovakian wolfdogs are fci I think but not UK kc reg. Not sure there's enough in the country to be registered yet.


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## Nicky10 (Jan 11, 2010)

This is the original dire wolf dog kennel's website note the hip scoring is rubbish and no one but her can read x-rays apparently 
American Alsatian Hip and Elbow Dysplasia


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

There's more to owning a 'wolfy' looking dog than just looks, a lot of the Northern breeds are hard work as well, & most of these unrecognised wolf-a-likes seem to be favoured by BYBs as a way to make money.

Far too many people seem to want these dogs for the attention they get for owning them, rather than ensuring they can provide a suitable lifestyle for the dogs.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Nicky10 said:


> This is the original dire wolf dog kennel's website note the hip scoring is rubbish and no one but her can read x-rays apparently
> American Alsatian Hip and Elbow Dysplasia


But she can tell by looking apparently and how they move

This is the problem with a lot of these so called breeds, how can you develop a breed when you don't now what your starting with as regards health in the first place? Any future off spring is only as good as what come before.


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## Nicky10 (Jan 11, 2010)

Sled dog hotel said:


> But she can tell by looking apparently and how they move
> 
> This is the problem with a lot of these so called breeds, how can you develop a breed when you don't now what your starting with as regards health in the first place? Any future off spring is only as good as what come before.


And hasn't had any hip displasia in 15 years and only one case of elbow displasia and no eye problems :001_unsure:. Or so she claims on the health page. If you're using the breeds she is and you're breeding as close as she is then you have to know the health status of the dogs you're using.


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## ClaireandDaisy (Jul 4, 2010)

While I am used to posts from those who quite fancy the idea of striding through the wild tundra between Wigan and Berkshire with their deeply mystical Wolf companion padding on huge and silent paws beside them I am new to this concept of prehistoric re-enactment. 
One assumes that this is a desire to really get back to basics? Would one be required to wear animal skins and converse in grunts (certain people living near me have a head start on this btw) 
I am sure those wishing to resurrect this Pleistocene creature will also wish to feed the animal properly to ensure it`s continued health? This might, however get a bit smelly because this animal was actually a scavenger. So a few ripe carasses would be needed to make stone age fido feel right at home. Mmmm, nice!


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## JenKyzer (Jun 25, 2013)

Hopefully before you get another dog you will of helped out your GSD - http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-training-behaviour/354387-help-dog-aggression.html - Good luck with finding a trainer to help you. Hopefully their training and help will put some knowledge under your belt for these more 'wolfy' dogs which are probably ( i assume ) harder work to own, if that's the route your planning to go down. I wish you the best of luck anyway  .


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## Smalldogs (Sep 11, 2012)

I would have thought we don't actually know what a dire wolf really looked like - only its fossilised bones. Presumably the "modern dire wolf" image is based on CGI in computer games and films?


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

geordiegaviino said:


> ...[do] any breeders in the UK... breed the American Alsatian (Dire wolf dog)?
> 
> [This] breed... is being developed in America to resemble the extinct Dire Wolf.
> ...





Nicky10 said:


> ...I've heard bad things about health testing & temperament...
> 
> Someone on another forum had one, [a few] generations [out] from an Anatolian x Pyr mountain dog,
> in a breed that's being bred for a friendly stable temperament?... :001_unsure:


Livestock-guardians are at best, barely-tolerant of nonfamily, & some are very problematic with other dogs,
can be predatory with cats or other small pets, etc.

There's a whole behavioral-suite that comes along with the classic LGD type:
deep suspicion of strangers, untrusting, nocturnal barking at noises-off, they "guard" any area they can see
[does the living-room window overlook the street?... Guess what, they OWN it, along with the neighbor's
yard that they can see from the kitchen, & the park that's visible from the 2nd-floor bedrooms.  ]

A dog who spends the entire night, from dark to daylight, prowling door to window to door to window,
listening intently for sounds of movement or voices, with a big authoritative bark in response, is not a
fun neighbor - or for that matter, a fun housemate for most pet-owners.


Nicky10 said:


> She's breeding very large dogs from breeds that have problems with hip displasia, & last I saw, [claimed]
> she "didn't need to hip score, because you can see bad hips". :001_unsure: It seems she's now hip scoring, though.
> 
> "This time the crossbred dogs were an Anatolian x Great Pyr [from] purebred lines, & a GSD x Malamute.
> ...


Hips, knees & elbows should ALL be radiographed & scored in every foundation sire or dam;
known traits will only go DOWNHILL from the founder's genes, so every dog, M or F, should be impeccable.

temperament is crucial, & any timidity is highly-heritable; timid dogs are actually WORSE than confident,
Bolshy, opinionated dogs who are willing to bite - because THEY SIGNAL their intent before acting.

Scared dogs often go from scared to bite, period.


Sled dog hotel said:


> Oh, goody - just what the world needs, another GSD / Malamute mix, with English Mastiff thrown in,
> & finally Anatolian Shepherd & Pyrenean mountain-dog for good measure. All great breeds in their own right.
> Yet another Wolf-alike dog.
> 
> The Dire wolf died out in prehistoric times.


Not sure if the OP realizes that the prehistoric Dire Wolf stood 5-ft at the shoulder, & would make
a modern Dane, who stands 7-ft tall on their hind-legs, look small. A Dire Wolf was the size of a horse,
with canine-teeth at least as long as my index finger. :lol: Sounds appealing, huh?


WeedySeaDragon said:


> An utterly ridiculous premise, given nobody can be absolutely sure what the prehistoric dire wolves
> really looked like.
> 
> It seems to be an excuse [to breed] purely for an appearance that the originator of the "breed" finds pleasing.
> ...





Sled dog hotel said:


> Tamaskans are really only the same thing, said to be started with... 4 or 5 husky-type dogs, & then mixed with
> Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes & some GSD... I believe now the result is mated Tamaskan to Tamaskan.
> They're still relatively new, certainly no [longer-established] than the 1980s, maybe even the '90s.
> They're not as yet recognised by any kennel club as a breed, as far as I am aware.
> ...





simplysardonic said:


> There's more to owning a 'wolfy' looking dog than just looks, a lot of the Northern breeds are hard work
> as well, & most of these unrecognised wolf-a-likes seem to be favoured by BYBs as a way to make money.
> 
> Far too many people seem to want these dogs for the attention they get for owning them, rather than ensuring
> they can provide a suitable lifestyle for the dogs.


I think it would be the perfect reason to half-bury a water-buffalo, hippo, or elephant carcass in the yard,
& let "my pet dire-wolf" snack their way thru it, over the next week or 2... or 3. :blushing: 

The bouquet downwind might get some disapproving comments, but nothing's too much for my little darling...
.
.


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## Nicky10 (Jan 11, 2010)

And she's breeding for basically big teddy bear dogs out of german shepherds including working lines, malamute, and flock guardians :001_unsure:. She'd be better off using newfoundlands or something. 

The claims of no hip problems have to be false surely with the breeds she's using. But I suppose if she's not hip scoring the dogs may just mask it well.


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## Howl (Apr 10, 2012)

Not keen on the game of throne links when I googled this creature... hmm


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)




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## Nicky10 (Jan 11, 2010)

They always had them in game of thrones as the pets of the children of one of the families. But they are not tame and only respond to the owners, savage to anyone else.


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## foxy81 (Jan 19, 2010)

on a MUCH lighter note, i think my dog is very wolf like........or was that grandma like? its one or the other but pure gsd...lol


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## Apollo2012 (Jun 10, 2013)

Never heard of American Alsatians but don't particularly look like any kind of wolf to me. I've only ever seen the dogs that played dire wolves in the first game of thrones series and they're Inuit dogs and I have to say the one I've met is huge and very friendly and the lady that owns her has just got another Inuit puppy after a 3 year wait.

Off to look at dire wolves silly me thinking they were just a made up animal in game of thrones


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## Dingle (Aug 29, 2008)

Hasn't the op considered an Ovcharka aka Caucasian Shepheard 

A friend of mine has one and wow, what a huge molosser of a dog.


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