Alsatian Shepalute Discussions

so there are no routine formal tests of the parents before mating?

Tazer-

I do not understand why you are under the impression puppies are culled because they do not conform to the standard in looks or any other aspect. When I talk about culling, I am talking about severe defects affecting the dog's health and quality of life. Although, restricted registration certificates are awarded as well as spay/neuter contracts for the reasons above.

Loki's Mum - if you are referring to each and every dog given x-rays for dysplasia, then the answer is no. Vet. health exams and shots are a routine every year as well as dog registration with the county. When and if there is a dog who exhibits any sign of dysplasia, Lois explores the formal testing. To date, there has been one in the last 15 years, as I mentioned, and both parents were tested and found to have excellent hip and elbow joints.

Mahooli-

In response to having a breed within only 5 generations. Again, AKC only requires 3 generations. These dogs bred true, meaning similar health, temperament, and looks within 5 generations. You may not agree that it can be done, but AKC doesn't agree with you.

all breeding stock should be health tested! just beacuse the dont show signs of hip/elbow/eye/heart ect problems...it does not mean they are not there!

Many of you have also wanted to know why this breed was created. Please refer to the Alsatian Shepalute History Museum website on the page WHY

How does she keep records of matings, when she said herself she doesn't put the dogs together :? She said it's all in the hands of God.........so how on earth does she know who sired which litter :?


Jann
xxx

No dogs have been shown to have hip problems for the last 15 years. You are right, there may come a time when it occurs, such as the one time I've mentioned, even though both parents were excellent in their scores. It happens. However, it is very rare in this breed. That's the reality. You are entitled to your opinion. I'm not here to change you. I have stated the facts.

She places the right bitch with the correct male. (She has four or five generations planned before they happen. This means that she also plans what type of pup she's looking for in the litter to support the breed's future goals.) She also observes her dogs. As you know, a bitch is ready to be bred at anywhere between the 10th and 14th days. She is very aware of their cycles and marks everything down on a calendar for each female. She records the day the females start their heat, approximately when they will be ready to be bred, and each time a male mounts and ties. Of course, no one can be watching every second so she may miss a tied mating a time or two.

Sorry, for that you would need a crystal ball. I know people who have been breeding rare breeds for 40 years or more and they still wait until a potential breeding animal has matured (a year or two) to see if they have the desired traits to enhance or forward the breed. They would also never actually breed from an immature animal.

It was a general question, not aimed at any specific breed. The reason, because it happens, there are people with those kinds of attitudes in breeding. To take a well used example, there are a very small minority of ridgeback breeders, who would seem to advicate culling a pup because it is born without the ridge. In my personal oppinion, if there are those minorities in 1 breed, then they will be in others. Thankfully, these kinds of views are extremely uncommon.

If this is not the case with your breed then I'm glad.

Just wondering, how come there's only one breeder. I'd have thought, with the breed being developed for about 20 years now, that someone else would want to get envolved with developing it further.

just wondering, if i get a german shepherd cross malamute and add some english mastiff somewhere along the line, i would be breeding a cross breed plain and simple, how come someone else can do it, call it a bosh up of all names together and make thousands!!! (i wouldn't even consider breeding by the way!):?

It is the same with any designer crossbreed, because people will buy them. Some people will by them in the knowlege that what they're getting is a crossbreed and will have researched it. But there are an increasingly large number of people buying such mixes with blended names, some will think that what they are getting as an actual breed, or something unique, when infact, it nothing but a good old crossbreed.

However, the alsatian shepalute has been going for about 20 years, so could be conciddered a type or breed, if it is producing a consistant type and temperament in its offspring.

The year 2000 really was the first year that the Alsatian Shepalute was brought to the general public beyond the city in which she lived. It has now been 9 years since that time. Within the the last two years, there have been a total of four people interested in breeding, but nothing has really come of it at the present.

To answer this question... yes, Lois decides which dogs are Champions and which possess Register of Merit. This may seem unorthodox to you, but you must remember that Lois is the only breeder (as well as the founder and creature of the standards) and therefore knows each and every pup. She has health and temperament tested them up until 6-8 weeks of age. She keeps in close contact with the new owners as much as the new owners are able. Most of her waking hours, 7 days a week are these dogs.

(On a side note, Lois gets first pick of the litter, as you can imagine, and so mostly has the best of the best to further the lines.)

So, then, what makes a Champion? It's a little different then AKC, so you'll have to put what you know of that aside for now. Out of all the dogs born, the 1 year old dog and bitch who most closely fit per standard in temperament, health, and looks are put up as that year's Champion. (If, the next year, the same dog is the best out of all the dogs per all criteria, then there is no new Champion awarded) There is one "show" a year, but really each encounter with a dog that Lois has, reports from owners, pictures from owners, and all the information she's collected about that dog help to make her decision. It is not a looks contest. Lois must know information about the temperament and health of the dog before considering it for having such a title.

But, let's put showing aside for now, because the truth is that the vast majority of Alsatian Shepalute owners do not care one bit about showing or being an active member in the club or breeding, etc. Most acquire an Alsatian Shepalute simply for the purpose of having a family pet.

If you have a choice between two dogs: one is a beautiful silver sable with startling yellow eyes, but whines more often and does not like strangers, the other one is a gold sable with brown eyes and one or both ears down, but is quiet within reason, allows all kinds of manipulation from humans and goes up to anyone, the second dog would be picked as the best dog in which to breed. Always. This is why Lois' current rising bitch, Jessie, has both ears down. Her personality and large bone structure outweighed the other females in the litter, whose ears went up.

Closeness to the Dire Wolf, IMO only as I do not breed.
In general, I do not believe the looks of this breed are quite there per standards, meaning, they do not resemble (in looks only) the Dire Wolf to completion as I would wish them to.

As I see it, they resemble the Dire Wolf in the following ways: a deep chest, large round bones, a broad head with ears coming off from the side, wide hips, a height of 26 inches in two of my females (24 1/2 for my older female), a heavy weight (90 pounds for two of my females, the other is 75 pounds), yellow almond shaped eyes in about half the dogs, a short thick neck, sable coloring, a shortened broad muzzle that lightens with age, black 'eyeliner', black tipped tail and ears, and slightly splayed toes.

As I see it, the breed needs to further itself in appearance in the following ways: a shorter tail touching only the hocks, shorter ears, consistently yellow eyes in all dogs, keep all current bone structure, lighter muzzle both under the chin and around the upper lips creating the wolf mask, lighter sable coloring, cream or black sable color options, which have occurred, but VERY rarely and were not bred back into the lines at this time. One was an outcross with a personality that was much more whiny and barky than purebred Alsatian Shepalutes. The cream was sold and neutered as a pet, not sure of the reasoning.

Pictures: I'll have to figure that out first. Let me see what I can do.

how can you have 4-5 generations planned before they happen? you do not know what the progeny will be like?:?

Here's a page detailing my three dogs.

Vallecito Alsatian Shepalutes

Are parent / offspring matings commonplace in this breed? I notice that your youngest bitch is the result of a mother to son mating.

If a breeder knows the dogs, their weaknesses and strengths, for 20 years back, and all the genes that went into that particular dog, then she can plan what she'd like and hope to get from the upcoming litter. If she doesn't get what she hoped, she may have to wait. (She waited three breedings from a particular pair before getting her stud Hero for example.) If she does get what she wants, she's already planned the next litter in hopes of getting her next goal and continuing the goal she's just achieved. It does not mean that she knows for certain she will get what she's planned in each litter, but she can be sure that the genes are there in the dogs she has planned to breed waiting to be put together in the way that will produce what she wants.