Luck of the Irish Litter

Birth Date: March 19, 2024

Dam

Dreamer - Vallecito's Dreamer

Sire

Chisel - Vallecito's Chisel

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Puppies

Clover (Kya) - Vallecito's Four Leaf Clover

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Sex: Female
Collar: Light Blue

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Delaney (Xena) - Vallecito's Delaney Dark Challenger

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Sex: Female
Collar: Purple

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Dublin - Vallecito's Black Pool

Keeping

Sex: Male
Collar: Blue

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Lucky (Pete) - Vallecito's Lucky Charms

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Sex: Male
Collar: Orange

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Patrick - Vallecito's Sir Patrick

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Sex: Male
Collar: Green

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About the Litter

It's too crowded!!

Puppies Last Walk/ Dire Wolf Express

Puppies first time in the forest.

Why puppies need littermates/ Canine Culture

How to teach Puppies to go Down Steps

5 DireWolf Puppies Move into Their New Home

Learn all about 4-week-old puppies

Delany gets stuck for attention

Delaney & Patrick play fighting @ 3 weeks old

One week old puppies with their momma Dreamer

One day old puppies with momma Dreamer

One Day Old

Sláinte!

May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks.
May your heart be as light as a song.
May each day bring you bright, happy hours
That stay with you all the year long.

The Luck of the Irish litter is bound to bring you good fortune!

This is SECOND GENERATION (F2) litter. These puppies will be two generations away from the breed's most recent crossbreed: a 50/50 Lab/Shepherd cross named Opal (see pedigree below).

APPEARANCE

Puppies are expected to be giant in size! When full grown, we expect males from this litter to stand 30-31 inches tall at the shoulders and weigh around 130 - 135 lbs.

All puppies will have the following coat color possibilities:

1. 50% dominant black
2. 50% silver
3. 25% liver dilute
4. 50% solid coloring (no white spotting)
5. 100% yellow eye color
6. no furnishings (long hair on the muzzle)
7. no feathering (long hair behind the ears/legs and between toes)
8. 100% high seasonal shedding
9. 50% heavy muscling
10. 50% black mask
11. 50% wolf mask
12. 100% wolf gray (agouti) coat pattern
13. likely erect ears
14. likely drop tail with slight saber
15. short coat w/ thick undercoat, some shorter than others
16. some highly slanted eyes should be seen
17. giant size (weight range: 110-135 lbs; height range: 28-31 inches)

INHERITED TEMPERAMENT

This litter will show a higher diversity in genetically inherited temperament compared to higher generations. For this reason, it is difficult to predict exactly what temperament combinations we will see in this litter. But I can make some general predictions based on what I know of the parents and ancestry.

Some of the puppies will have a tendency to bark easily, especially at strangers. For this reason, puppies in this category will be good at alerting to strange activity in the area.

Some puppies will be hard-headed. Some would call this stubborn. It can appear that way, but it's more of a dopey confusion that causes the resistance. It is not dominance. The resistant nature of the Lab's ancestry is not from a place of malice, but instead, hesitancy due to uncertainty. With a giant size, puppies showing this resistance will need a consistent, firm-yet-kind training technique. Owners should be aware of this and train accordingly.

Some puppies will have a soft mouth, like their Lab ancestry, and be very gentle when biting down or holding. They may also have a natural tendency to pick up and carry items - such as toys.

Some puppies will have more energy than our typical American Dirus dogs. The exercise requirement for puppies from this litter is increased slightly because of this. We recommend 50-60 minutes of vigorous exercise per day as an adult.

This litter may also see some puppies with a higher prey drive. This means some may more easily chase rabbits, cats, birds, squirrels, etc. If you have cats in the home and are interested in a puppy from this litter, please share that with us before moving forward, so that we can help you choose a puppy with a lower prey drive.

Some puppies may lack confidence or be outright shy of strangers. These puppies will require socialization training to increase their overall confidence. Puppies of this reserved nature will be highly devoted to their family. They will be introverted and not prone to wander or roam. If you have a large group of extended family/friends or need a more outgoing dog for another reason and are interested in a puppy from this litter, please make sure to let us know so that we can steer you to the right puppy. We will note any puppies in this category.

Some puppies will be more inherently confident. I must choose the most genetically confident puppies in this litter to move on into the generations. This is my number one priority in this particular litter. I will be carefully scrutinizing the puppies for this particular trait as they grow.

All puppies will be submissive and willing to learn. They will thrive with positive reinforcement training techniques, although the more hard-headed ones will require some pressure and consistency in training, as noted above. Each puppy will be highly intelligent, some may be manipulators and be able to problem-solve to get what they want.

Dreamer shows a very unique, but inherited, submissive response that you should be aware of in case the puppy you choose from this litter should also display this tendency. Whenever she is responding in a submissive manner to a request from an authority, she will crinkle her nose and show her teeth. This is NOT dominance or malicious intent. Instead, it is a very specific form a submissive response where she is acknowledging/accepting her lower rank. It is almost an apologetic behavior. Not very many dogs do this, so it is more rare to see this in the dog world. It comes from Dreamer's great-grandmother on her father's side, a purebred white Alaskan Malamute named Elwin. Some puppies may show this response. If so, I would love to know about it to help understand how it is inherited.

In order to go on to the next generation, I MUST choose puppies from this match that show a quiet, calm, and confident temperament with a low prey drive. Therefore, temperament will be THE most important determining factor in the puppies from this litter. The puppies that remain for sale will, therefore, lack some temperament flaw according to our breed standards. (If they didn't, I would keep them myself.) Please make sure you are aware of what that is before you choose a puppy from this litter.

Second generation puppies have more inherited temperament traits from their recent cross ancestry. That's just the way inherited genetics works.

This litter is essential for the future of the Dire Wolf Project, and we are thrilled it has finally arrived. Because of this, I will keep the best puppies in temperament from this litter, regardless of outward appearance - quite possibly more than one or two if temperaments warrant.

HEALTH

This litter is highly diverse with a 4.29% coefficient of inbreeding (COI) on a 5-generation pedigree. This litter also shows a high level of pedigree diversity with a 93.3% unique ancestry in the first 4 generations. This reflects a higher anticipated immune diversity, where the puppies will be able to easily withstand challenges to their immune system, such as colds, allergies, viruses, etc. Longevity is also predicted to be higher due to the lack of inbreeding deficiency associated with a higher genetic diversity.

Both parents have been DNA tested CLEAR of over 250+ genetic canine diseases through Embark, the most accurate and comprehensive DNA test for dogs on the market. This includes clear of Degenerative Myelopathy (DM), genetic hypothyroidism, Progressive Retinal Atrophy, and many more.

A highly progressive form of bone cancer affected Dreamer's great-grandfather on her father's side. He passed on at 8 years old due to complications of this disease. This dog will now be four generations away from the puppies from this litter with a completely unrelated cross dog as the sire. We anticipate that cancer rates will be extremely low due to the increased genetic diversity within the puppies from this litter. However, we are currently monitoring this line for further cancer activity. Due to the longer length of disease onset, data is limited at this time. We share this health information here so you can be aware of the genetic health component we have seen within this line.

No other known health issues have been reported from either parent or their lineage at this time, including hypothyroidism, the most prominent health issue within the dogs bred by the Dire Wolf Project.

Pedigree