American Alsatian

Lois Denny, later to become Lois Schwarz, began to develop a dog breeding program in 1987 known as the Dire Wolf Program in order to develop a new breed of domestic dog that both resembled the wild look of the extinct Dire Wolf and had the proper temperament to make it an ideal companion animal. While the look of the Dire Wolf was the eventual goal for this breed, no wolves or wolf crosses were used in it’s development due to their less stable temperaments and she instead began crossing German Shepherds and Malamutes that were chosen specifically for intelligence, stability, and a tendency not to bark, later crossing the best of these dogs with a fawn colored English Mastiff to increase the overall size of the canine, resulting in a dog that was originally referred to as a Shepalute, or Alsatian Shepalute. By 2002 dogs that exhibited the proper temperament were breeding true and in 2006 a Great Pyrenees/Anatolian Shepherd selected for it’s size and and temperament was added into the mix as well. In 2010, the name was changed from the Alsatian Shepalute to the American Alsatian partially to avoid the implication that this is a “designer dog.” The American Alsatian has been increasing in popularity and newer breeders are continuing to work towards the goals originally outlined by Lois and have helped to improve the breed. Although no efforts have been made to add the breed to any multiple breed registries, slow and consistent progress has been made in efforts to perfect this new breed of dog.