General distinctive features of the American Alsatian, who bred the breed, the original and current name of the species, the achievements of breeders in development, work on the breed today.
Common features
The American Alsatian or American alsatian is a large dog very similar to a wolf. In general, the animals are perfectly balanced, but usually longer than the height at the withers. It is a very powerful breed with strong, thick bones. However, this variety should not appear overly bulky or stocky. Rather, she looks muscular and strong. In particular, this species has very large and long limbs. In addition to being quite massive, the external features of the American Alsatian are usually very wolfish.
The eyes range from light brown to yellow and are almond-shaped with a wolf-like appearance. Ears are straight. The tail of this breed is especially similar to that of the "gray brother", long and usually drooping between the legs when the dog is at rest. Its ending is black. The coat of the American Alsatian is of medium length and can be either gold, silver, black sable, or milky. The most attractive color is the silver sable. White or black sable marks are extremely rare.
American Alsatian breeders place great emphasis on the health and behavior of the dog. As a result, any feature of the organism that suggests poor health or unreasonableness is largely noted and excluded from breeding lines.
The American Alsatian is a large companion dog. Breed individuals are extremely loyal to their family members, and recognize children and other pets. The Alsatian remains aloof, but lacks fear and aggressive behavior. Dogs are alert and intelligent, learn extremely quickly and react with lightning speed to the quietest sounds. With the right amount of exercise, American Alsatians are extremely calm and quiet animals, even when left alone for extended periods of time.
Pets will not initiate play unless this behavior is encouraged. This breed tends to have low levels of hunting instinct and physical activity. Dogs have no tendency to bark, whine, dig, or run over fences. American Alsatians react wonderfully to stimuli. They have a strong nervous system. Thunderstorms or gun shots do not bother them at all.
Since Alsatians are extremely attached to their family, they readily choose to stay close to comfortable and cozy homes. These pets love to chat with all pets. Always be a consistent leader in behavior with your dog.
History of origin and purpose of breeding of the American Alsatian
The history of the American Alsatian, or American Alsatian, is almost entirely related to the work of Lois Denny. As a young girl, back in 1969, after being raised by German shepherds, she fell in love with this breed of dog. Since the age of nine, Lois has been closely interested in the biology and nature of living organisms. What kind of activity related to animals, she just did not engage. Of course, Denny was most interested in breeding various animals. What animals did not live with her: dogs, cats, pigeons, guinea pigs, chipmunks, mice, rats, and she successfully bred them. Nevertheless, the girl always really wanted to breed her own, a different breed of canines. Dreams of developing a new kind of dog never left her.
Time passed and Lois Denny grew up. Of course, her future activities were related to animals. As a result, she became a canine instructor, handler, groomer and breeder. Lois excelled in her multifaceted profession. Now, every day, already an adult, young woman, had the opportunity to acquire invaluable skills and experience of working with hundreds of dog breeds and their crosses in such various activities with animals. Becoming a skilled, experienced professional, at the age of thirty, she came up with and wrote a standard for the breed of dogs that she was so eager to develop, with a focus on intelligence, temperament and appearance.
As an accomplished trainer and breeder, Lois Denny obviously wanted her dog to show a very high degree of intelligence and fitness. Also, her skills as a canine instructor indicated that a large number of people who wanted to have a very large, athletic, athletic breed quickly gave up on their dreams. This was because such pets required a lot of effort in training, walking, and adjusting behavior in the home. The appearance of large dogs with strong working qualities, with too high a level of activity. They needed to be kept only in private houses and at the same time, to devote a lot of time to the dogs.
Therefore, Denny came to the conclusion that in the dogs she wanted to create, such qualities are unacceptable. The breeder wished that her "newly minted" had the ideal temperament that would meet all the requirements of a companion dog. The pets had to be affectionate, loving and at the same time, with the needs of low physical exertion and minimal labor. They shouldn't have needed hunting, protection.
The standard of appearance in the selection of the American Alsatian breed
The woman was inspired to create a new animal by her long-standing love for German shepherds and she was impressed by wolf dogs in general. Lois Denny wanted her breed to look very much like a wolf, namely the "dire wolf" species that once existed in the Americas. These "gray brothers" became extinct a long time ago, about sixteen thousand years ago.
"Terrible wolf", known by its scientific name - Canis dirus. This animal was closely related to the gray wolf and the domesticated ancient dog, but was neither their direct progenitor nor descendant. This species of the ancient "gray brother" owes its name to its large size. Dire wolves were significantly larger and slightly slower than the surviving and still existing wolves, and probably specialized in mass hunting for the types of prey that once lived in America.
Since Canis dirus is now extinct, it is impossible to know exactly what appearance they had, although there are two primary theories about this. Some experts believe that these ancient canines evolved in South America and most closely resembled wild dog species from that continent, such as the wolf and hyena. There is an opinion of scientists anthropologists that "dire wolves" developed in the northern part of America and were more similar in appearance to the red wolf, coyote and gray wolf. The Dire Wolf is the most famous discovery from the Rancho La Brea bituminous lake area, located just outside downtown Los Angeles. The remains of this animal were found in this area, among the fossils of extinct prehistoric animals of the Pleistocene period.
Predators such as short-faced bears, American lions, saber-toothed cats, including dire wolf, hunted in the area for large mammals, mammoths, mastodons, giant sloths, western camels, ancient bison, bakers, American horses and llamas. In La Brea, so many dire wolf skeletons have been found that it is now one of the most studied extinct animals. The creature is also very well known in Southern California, where Lois Denny lived, which almost certainly influenced her decision to breed a new breed of dog.
After much consideration, Lois Denny decided that intelligence, temperament and health should be the most important aspects of her dog and that they should be honed above all else. The final appearance can only be considered after its breed has presented other desired characteristics.
Breeds used in the recreation of the American Alsatian
Although Lois wanted to breed a wolfdog, she decided that no wolves or wolf hybrids would be involved in her breeding project due to their unstable and aggressive temperaments. She also concluded that she would not use any breed that has recently been infested with wolf blood, such as the Czech wolfdog or the Sarlos dog.
Denny felt it necessary to focus her efforts on two of the most famous breeds with aboriginal roots without the recent infusion of wolves, the Alaskan Malamute and the German Shepherd. By the end of 1987, plans had been developed for a project called Dire Wolf for a new canine species. Lois Denny carefully selected a small number of dogs to begin work on her program.
Primary breed name of the American Alsatian
A small number of dogs from American Kennels (AKC), registered German Shepherds from show lines were selected, as well as several German Shepherds from Canada, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as two purebred Alaskan Malamutes. The first litter was born from an Alaskan Malamute named "Buddy" and a German shepherd dog "Swanni" on February 4, 1988, in Oxnard, California. Lois named the resulting dogs the "North American Shepalut."
Lois Denny, who eventually married and changed her name to Lois Schwartz, bred her lines of Malamutes and Sheepdogs for ten years. Although performance improvements were made, Schwartz felt that her dogs were still too much like German dogs. The woman then took some carefully selected dogs with the best temperaments and crossed them with a fawn English Mastiff named Brite Stars Willow. This dog presented the large bone structure and massive head of the English Mastiff in the North American Shepaloo.
For several generations to come, Lois Schwartz chose those dogs that had only the most courageous and stable temperaments, as well as those that were distinguished by their silence for several generations. By 2002, the lines with the most correct and desirable characteristics were installed. In 2004, a decision was made in the interests of the breed to change the name of the Shepalut, because it was believed that this name implies crossbreeding, and not purebred dogs. The name "Alsatian Chapalut" was chosen as a temporary name.
In 2006, two new dogs entered the breeding lines. One of them was a cross between a Pyrenean mountain dog and an Anatolian shepherd dog, and the other was obtained from a cross between a German shepherd and an Alaskan malamute. These canines were selected for their size and temperament.
Change of the breed name of the American Alsatian
In 2010, the name of the variety was officially changed to American Alsatian. This is due to the fact that "Alsatian" (another name for the German Shepherd, popularized during the Second World War) means a dog like wolves, and the word "American" makes it different from this estate and indicates the country where the breed was bred.
Achievements of breeders in the development and fame of the American Alsatian
Now, already five generations of American Alsatians are removed from the last outcross (mating of completely different lines without any common ancestors). Now this species is selected for character, intelligence and appearance. In recent years, the Irish wolfhound has also entered several American Alsatian lineages.
Lois Schwartz's passion and dedication, along with the high quality of the dogs she has created, have attracted many other hobbyists and breeders to the American Alsatian. These new fans continued to work towards Schwartz's goals and were immensely helpful in her endeavors. At the very beginning of the history of the American Alsatian, in 1987, the National American Breeders Association (NAABA) was founded (although it had a different name). Eventually, the National American Alsatian Club (NAAC) was created to promote and protect the species.
NAABA is currently in charge of the Dire Wolf project. Health, temperament and intelligence have always been considered extremely important to the American Alsatian breed. As a result, breeding for a close resemblance to dire wolf faded into the background, although this is the ultimate goal of NAABA and NAAC. As the character, mind and health of the American Alsatian begin to stabilize, it is hoped that work will soon begin to standardize the species' external data.
Perhaps additional outcrosses will be made, as well as selection of breeding dogs based in part on external criteria. However, NAABA and NAAC note that conformation data will never take precedence over other breed traits, and any physical changes made to the breed will not compromise traits, health and intelligence.
Since there are two main theories about what these dogs looked like, Project Dire Wolf discussed whether the breed should resemble North American or South American dogs, or two varieties that are similar. It appears that the project will currently focus on North American dogs such as the "gray wolf" as much of the world, especially the United States, is more familiar with these animals.
The purpose of breeding the American Alsatian
There has been some criticism of the development of the American Alsatian. The scientific community claims that the "dire wolf" (Canis dirus) is completely extinct and therefore cannot be revived. In fact, the Dire Wolf project never claimed to revive this animal as a species, but only to select a domestic dog that resembles it in appearance. Some people believe that enough dog breeds already exist and that there is no need to develop any others.
American Alsatian breeders stated that there were no large canine breeds developed solely for communication. Others have argued that it is not profitable to breed any additional large dogs, as many of them end up in shelters. American Alsatian breeders respond to this criticism by stating that the whole purpose of breed development is to create a large breed that does not exhibit pronounced working behavior, which is why so many other large breeds arrive at shelters. There are also those who oppose any targeted canine breeding and even keeping dogs as pets.
Work on the American Alsatian breed today
American Alsatian breeders are currently working to increase breed numbers in a slow and responsible manner to maintain overall quality and appearance. The obtained individuals are few, but the number of fans of this variety is growing steadily. The American Alsatian is not currently recognized on any of the numerous breed registries. NAAC and NAABA show little interest in this species. The American Alsatian has been bred exclusively as a companion animal, and this is where the future of the species lies. Since this breed remains quite rare, its ultimate future has yet to be decided.
