The dire wolf disappeared from the earth nearly 10,000 years ago, but its image has never quite left. Muscular, broad-headed, and larger than today’s gray wolves, it captured public imagination long before its appearance in shows like Game of Thrones. In 1988, Lois Schwarz, a dog breeder from southern Oregon, set out to recreate that look under the Dire Wolf Project. Her goal was not to clone, but to breed a dog with the dire wolf’s appearance and the temperament of a calm family companion.

Dogs bred under the Dire Wolf Project are purebred mixes of German shepherds, malamutes, mastiffs, Irish wolfhounds, and similar breeds.

Lois Schwarz’s effort, now known as the Dire Wolf Project, produced a new breed called the “American Alsatian.”

Starting with German shepherds, Alaskan Malamutes, and other large dogs, Schwarz gradually fixed a new breed that she originally called the “North American Shepalute.” (That name reflected its shepherd-plus-malamute origin.) By 2010, the dogs were renamed “American Alsatian” to distance them from their mixed ancestry.

Today, the American Alsatian is presented as a “large breed companion” dog. It looks imposing but is reportedly quiet, intuitive, and well-suited for life indoors.

They typically have gray to brown coats and weigh well over 100 pounds as adults.

The dogs are sold directly by the breeders. Prospective owners typically apply through the breeders’ waiting lists or apply via affiliated kennels.

Split into two breeds, they both follow the same breeding goals of Lois Schwarz.

Lois Schwarz has kept the program in the family from the start. Her elder daughter, Jennifer Stoeckl, joined her as a breeding partner in 2004.

Jennifer helped name the dogs “American Alsatians” and co-bred them for many years, and is now the co-owner of the Dire Wolf Project. She also owns the Dire Wolf Dogs of Vallecito. Her husband, Jay Stoeckl, also became a key breeder in that branch.

In 2022, Schwarz’s younger daughter, Amey Gage (under her kennel name, Kingsley Kennels), formally joined the project to manage the “big dog” breeding alongside her mother.

Lois noted on her website that Amey “is helping me with the BIG dogs” as Lois pivots to a separate fox-like project.

Although the project began unified, in recent years the two branches have acquired different names. Jennifer explains that they now treat the dogs from Jennifer’s Vallecito line as “American Dirus” dogs, while the dogs bred by Lois and Amey remain “American Alsatian”.

She emphasizes this is only a nomenclature change, as genetically and temperamentally, all the dogs share the same ancestry. In her words, “the Dire Wolf Project governs both strains of DireWolf Dog” – American Dirus (Vallecito strain) and American Alsatian (Schwarz family strain).

However, she formally relinquished use of the American Alsatian trademark (held by Lois) and registered “American Dirus” for her line, but both strains follow Schwarz’s original goals

In everyday practice, owners of these dogs often simply call them “DireWolf Dogs.”

Schwarz deliberately avoided using any wolf content, which sets the breed apart from many other “wolf-like” dogs.

Despite its appearance, the American Alsatian is not a wolf-dog hybrid. Schwarz deliberately avoided using any wolf content, even from domesticated wolf-dogs. This choice sets the breed apart from many other “wolf-like” dogs and avoids the behavioral unpredictability associated with actual wolf hybrids.

However, given their name and build, people mistakenly assume them to be wolf hybrids.

Also, the project names and affiliations can be confusing. Both the American Alsatian and American Dirus lines trace back to Schwarz’s program, but they have separate websites and registries.

Due to personal and professional differences with her sister, Jennifer Stoeckl chose to part ways with the American Alsatian name while still upholding the breeding philosophy originally developed by her mother, Lois Schwarz.

On July 5, 2022, she officially ended her use of the American Alsatian trademark. Since then, the Dire Wolf Project has recognized two distinct lines within the same breeding effort.

Jennifer and her husband, Jay Stoeckl, now breed what they call the “American Dirus,” while Lois Schwarz and her daughter Amey Gage continue to work with the original American Alsatian line through Schwarz Dogs.

Major kennel clubs have not recognized the breed, and Schwarz has said flatly that she has no plans to make it an AKC breed

Instead, the dogs are registered through the Schwarz-led Alsatian club, and owners rely on the breeders’ own records

To date, the Schwarz family and breeders have prioritized health and a stable temperament over perfecting the dire-wolf look.

As of 2025, the Dire Wolf Project is still active. Jennifer, Jay, Lois, and Amey all continue to help place pups from their litters with select families. Breeders share updates in newsletters and online forums, and a new generation of Alsatian/Dirus pups is growing up.