So, you, Dear Reader, have done your homework, you have read and agreed to the Questionnaire , you know JUST what to expect with your new Companion Wolfdog, you have made the commitment to adjust your life around your Wolfdog's basic needs, you're all set up and rarin' to go. So, where do you go? If you are not "In the Know", how do you GET "In the Know"? Frankly, the majority of reputable Wolfdog breeders don't do much advertising. They rely on word-of-mouth and reputation.

I can't answer that one for you, & from the Net, I would not.  But I CAN tell you, from 18 years of personal experience, what to avoid. There are certain "red flags" which can, taken all in all, give you a fairly reliable sense of the ethics and reputation of a Breeder of Wolfdogs. In this page, I will be including links from reputable breeders and links from other folks' organizations & websites whom I think have done an exemplary job is outlining concerns, experiences, and guidelines.

In my life with Wolfdogs, I have experienced a few "Universal Truths". One is that a well-bred Wolfdog is a joy (yet still a challenge) to share a life with. Another is, Rescuing an animal is a unique and fulfilling experience, fraught with heartache & reward. And another is, a poorly-bred Wolfdog has the potential to be a heartbreak waiting to happen.

In your search for a well-bred Wolfdog puppy, make sure you ask questions of your potential Breeder. Most reputable Wolfdog Breeders are going to want to meet you face to face, eye to eye. They will want to see first hand how you deal with animals, what your mettle is. They are going to want to know that the puppy they have brought into this world is going to be loved.

If I were a Breeder, here is what I would REQUIRE (not ask, mind you, REQUIRE) of a Potential Puppy Parent. After you read my requirements, and my explanations of why I demand them, keep this in mind when you are interviewing a Breeder. If your Breeder doesn't make you want to squirm with the intensity of their questioning, you need to ask yourself why not. Consider it this way: If this were an adoption agency, if this were a human child you were adopting, you would expect to be given the third degree, wouldn't you? The same should be expected of a Breeder, AND for a Rescuer. If you plan on Rescuing a wolfdog, you should expect to have the same kinds of experience & requirements as a Breeder would expect of you, and you should expect the Rescuer to be as ethical and knowledgeable as any Breeder. Regardless of whether this is an Emergency Rescue or not, the same requirements apply. You will still be responsible for this animal for the rest of his or her life, and you NEED to be aware and knowledgeable of what that will entail.

There are a couple folks working on an Educational Seminar-type series which will be sponsored by Indigo Mountain Nature Center which will address some of the issues Rescuers and Transporters need to be aware of. I'll be adding that link here, and on the Contracts page . The information which will be presented will be extremely pertinent to responsible ownership. Please check back.

So.

1) I will want to meet you before you ever give me a deposit on a puppy. I will expect you to fly to my residence, (if you are not within driving distance) and talk to me face to face. Writing e-mails and telephone conversations are a wonderful way of getting to know a person, but there is nothing like that first gut-reaction meet & greet to feel the Truth about a person. I will need that for a Parent of one of my Babies.

2) I will want to see how my animals react to you. I have pretty bullet-proof animals, and I want them to tell me who you are. I trust my animals' judgment.

3) I will expect someone I trust to do a Home Check on you, and I will expect that you will comply with that request. Unless you are in the same state as I, it's a good bet I won't be able to leave my Kidz to come visit you. Therefore, I will need to be assured that my Baby Puppy is going to a good, safe, home.

4) I will expect references up the gazoo, including, but not limited to, your Vet, your Groomer, your Trainer, your Babysitter, and your Landlord, if you have one. I have no interest in how much money you make, what kind of car you drive, or what Country Club you belong to, but I will want to speak with your employer, as well. As I've said before, Wolfdogs are sensitive creatures, and I want to know that you have a stable life, or the ability to give a stable life (even if you are a gypsy *smile*) to one of my Babies.

5) I will expect tons of pictures of your containment, and I will expect a glowing report from my Home Checker. If the containment is found to be inadequate, I will expect you to take suggestions on implementing acceptable improvements to heart.

6) If all the above is acceptable, I will expect you to sign a Contract, and to abide by it, knowing that I will do the same. Here is a link for a couple of good contracts, and a few other forms applicable to the placement of Wolfdogs.
Sales Contracts & Other Forms

7) I expect that there will now be a Relationship between us. You will now be a member of my extended Family, as the Parent of one my Babies. I will expect Grandparental pictures on the growth, development, and landmark moments in my Grandpup's life. I expect you to call me if ever you need advice, and I expect you to know that I will Honor this commitment on my side impeccably.

This gives you a brief idea of what to expect from a reputable Wolfdog Breeder. Following are some things you should not expect from a Reputable Wolfdog Breeder, or at the very least, make sure you receive an adequate explanation :

1) Refusal to show the Parents, or the premises. Reputable breeders are proud of their animals, and their temperament, and should have no problems showing them off to perspective Puppy Parents.

2) Claiming critically endangered subspecies of wolf in the Pedigree without solid verification. These include: (but are not limited to) Red Wolf (Canis rufus) , Arctic Wolf (Canis Lupus Arctos) , Black Russian Wolf (non-existent unless it's a new cocktail), Buffalo Wolf (Not to be confused with the Great Plains Wolf (Canis Lupus Nubilus) ), Eastern Timber Wolf (Canis lupus lycaon) and Mexican Grey Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) 
A wee bit more on this subject Here : Creative Heritage Claims

Here's a couple of good pages on the subspecies of wolf, and which ones are considered to be extinct, or critically endangered. This one uses the old taxonomic references of subspecies, but is still generally accurate. Wolf Country Taxonomy. This one, International Wolf Center, uses Nowak's new reclassification. The website, The Behavior, Evolution & Ecology of Wolves is one of the most comprehensive available. (This site is authored by Jessie Zgurski. The site has moved, but I have been having alot of difficulties getting it to load up for me, so I have linked the old address)

If anyone tries to sell you a Wolfdog with any of the above-mentioned subspecies listed as parental contributors, make sure they can produce verification of the lineage. Some of these subspecies are so critically endangered that it defies any logic to assume that a verified individual somehow was:
a) trapped in the wild (some of which are considered extinct in the wild.) 
OR
b) reached private hands from a breeding center or zoo to enter a breeding program where the wolf would be bred with a dog to reach other private individuals. Thus diluting the gene pool for the wolf subspecies.
What are the odds? Extreme enough to expect irrefutable proof.

3) Has out-of-season puppies and claims high content. Wolfdogs can be born at any time of the year, depending on their content. Low & Mid-content wolfdogs can cycle and birth similar to dogs. But high content wolfdogs generally follow a pure wolf's cycles, and birth in the early Spring. If an alleged high content animal births out of season, it may be as a result of a high F-Content (See this page for more information on Content) However, according to Dr. Ray Pierotti's research, after 4 generations removed from the pure wolf, the animal should be considered a dog as in Canis Lupus Familiaris. (Dr. Pierotti is a Professor of Evolutionary Ecology in the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Kansas. His area of research is the study of hybridization in monogamous vertebrates, including the dog family Canidae which are the most consistently monogamous group of mammals. He also studies the evolution of behavior and anatomy of hybrids and how these relate to their ancestral forms. He studies how the process of domestication affects the evolution of mammals. He has published more than 60 papers on these topics, and has given numerous talks before both scientific and lay groups concerning his research, including the US Dept of Agriculture Rabies information group. He has served as an expert witness on behavior and classification in dog cases in both the US and Canada. )

4) Has more than two or three litters per year (and that is really a high number, in my opinion, considering how much work it is to properly raise and socialize a wolfdog puppy is)

5) Has several litters running together in the same pen without identifying collars or harnesses.

6) The breeder informs you the parents were rescues. This is just not done. Rescued animals usually have no verifiable lineage available. They may be carriers of a genetic weakness, traumatized by their rescue experience (which has a direct link to the health of the puppies), or come from a questionable line of wolfdogs (for example, Triple D animals have a reputation for aggression) A Reputable wolfdog breeder will not breed rescued animals, no matter how beautiful the animal is.

7) The breeder informs you that one of the parents of your proposed puppy is unhandleable, aggressive, or unsocialized. Stress has a genetic link which can be passed at birth, often in the form of coccidia, guardia, or demodectic mange . Since stress is often expressed via diarrhea, the puppies often fall victim to these diseases.

These are by no means the entire list of Red Flags you need to be aware of when determining whom you will buy a puppy from, but it's a good start. For more reading, try the following webpages.

This is another very informative site educating about what to avoid in choosing a Breeder.

The Following websites are very educational
I have them Bookmarked!!

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