Cottonwoodz Genn Greymane x Wolves USA Cassiopeia
95% High Content Litter Expected: April 2025
Puppies from this litter will be Embarked prior to going to their new homes. We expect the litter to average 95% Gray Wolf, based on the Embarks of the parents, Genn and Cassie. This litter will be whelped and raised inside our home. Puppies will be bottle fed and raised using Puppy Culture methods, which include Early Neurological Stimulation, intensive socialization, and an introduction to early training concepts for each puppy.
Our dams are dewormed before and during pregnancy, and the litter and nursing dam are dewormed every 2 weeks to prevent internal parasites. Our puppies receive age-appropriate vaccinations from our veterinarian, as well as a fecal test and full body evaluation and Health Certificate from our veterinarian prior to each puppy going to their new homes.
Our puppies are sent home with a puppy package that includes (but is not limited to): fully-signed ownership contract; all vet records for the puppy; pedigree; copies of parents’ OFA health tests; a new collar, harness, and leash; brand new hard plastic travel crate; blanket; toys; treats; potty bags; cleaning supplies for the trip home; food and water bowls.
Non-breeding puppies from this litter are priced at $4,000.00 USD. Deposits are only accepted AFTER a fully completed application has been submitted AND the applicant has passed our interview process and signed our Deposit Contract. Please click the button below to be redirected to our Application Form to begin this process:
Meet the Parents…
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Cottonwoodz Genn Greymane "Genn"
Born April 8, 2020
92.7% High Content
OFA: Hips Good, Elbows Normal, Patellas Normal, Cardiac Auscultation Normal/Clear (June 2022), CAER Normal with Breeder Note (July 2022)
Embark: Clear
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Wolves USA Cassiopeia
Born April 21, 2018
95%+ High Content
OFA: Hips Good, Elbows Normal, Patellas Normal, Cardiac Auscultation Normal/Clear, CAER Normal (July 2020)
Embark: Clear
What we expect from this litter…
We feel that Cassie and Genn are both wonderful examples of High Content Wolfdogs who represent the temperament, correct conformation, and “breed” type that we would like to see more of within the high content wolfdog population. We believe that they will complement each other very nicely in many ways.
Conformation can vary, sometimes rather significantly, between different subspecies of pure wolves. Since high content wolfdogs are almost always a blend of multiple different wolf subspecies, in addition to the influence from their dog ancestors, there is quite a lot of variation to be found in the conformation of different lines of high content wolfdogs. Despite being descended from separate lines of high content wolfdogs, with very different wolf subspecies used in each line, we feel that Cassie and Genn are a very nicely matched pair and that their puppies will have very similar conformation to their parents. In terms of size, Cassie and Genn are both a little on the smaller side for high contents. We estimate their offspring will range around 27 to 29 inches in height and roughly 60 to 85 lbs., depending on height and sex.
In terms of temperament, our goal is to produce high content wolfdogs who can do much more than just stay in a pen their whole lives. We expect that our puppies and their owners will lead active lifestyles. Both Cassie and Genn come from lines that are known for their more social and confident nature - especially Genn, from the Cottonwoodz line! Cassie and Genn make new friends everywhere they go. We put a LOT of work into properly socializing both Cassie and Genn as youngsters, but a large part of their success as adults also comes from good genetics, in addition to consistency with training. Genn, in particular, absolutely loves to learn new things and is very eager to participate in his regular training sessions. He picks up new commands and tricks very quickly with little repetition. Cassie is a little less patient with training compared to Genn, so we have to keep things more physically engaging for her. She likes to learn things that allow her to move around, such as learning to move to a marked position from a distance, finding new scents, fetching tossed toys, etc. We expect that Genn’s love for learning and more low-key, calm personality will help to temper Cassie’s more get-up-and-go personality. Our goal with this litter is to hopefully produce puppies who enjoy training and learning, with hopefully a little calmer personality than Cassie, but who are still excited to participate in physically stimulating activities like hiking, swimming, scent work, etc.
Homes who want to participate in recreational dog sports and activities which are open to wolfdogs are going to be a big priority for us. It’s very important to us that our puppies are able to lead rich, fulfilling lives.
Possible Puppy Colors…
Genn’s coat color genetics are E/E KB/ky at/at
Cassie’s coat color genetics are E/E KB/ky aw/at
It is important to note that, although ‘at’ stands for Black & Tan and usually indicates that a dog will be colored like a Doberman Pinscher or Rottweiler, there appears to be some kind of undiscovered wild-type gene that is pretty much identical in expression to Agouti Wild “wolf grey” coloration. The computer doesn’t know what else to label it as, so this wild-type mystery gene gets lumped in with ‘at.’
Based on the parents’ genetics, the following puppy coat color combinations are possible:
100% chance of E/E normal extension on the E Locus
75% chance of black phase coat color (KB/KB or KB/ky)
50% chance of aw/at on the A Locus
50% chance of at/at on the A Locus
25% chance of non-black, “wolf grey” coat color (ky/ky)
50% chance of aw/at on the A Locus
50% chance of at/at on the A Locus
Dominant Black (KB/_) puppies are expected to show some degree of agouti banding on their guard hairs. This is essentially “leakage” of the A Locus through the overlay of dominant black pigment. Both Genn and Cassie are black with clearly visible agouti banding on their guard hairs. Their puppies will almost certainly have this trait, as well. We do not expect any puppies to have a “solid black” coat color with no signs of agouti banding.
Both Cassie and Genn are slowly phasing to white with each passing year. Their black puppies are expected to phase, as well. Several of Cassie and Genn’s “wolf grey” relatives have also shown signs of phasing to a lighter grey/white with age, so it’s possible that, if any “wolf grey” colored puppies are born, they could phase lighter with age, too.
If you would like to learn more about dog coat color genetics, click the button below to link to the Dog Coat Colour Genetics website, where they have every known locus and gene explained in easy to understand descriptions, accompanied by multiple visual examples.
Please be aware…
We are just as excited as our buyers are to find out how many boys and girls will be born, and what coat colors and markings they’ll have! Ultimately, we cannot guarantee what sexes, coat colors, or markings will be born.
We assign puppies to their homes based on each puppy’s individual personality and how we expect them to fit in with each of our buyers. Every family is different, and so is every puppy! While making our assignments, we do our very best to adhere to the preferences for sex and coat color expressed by each buyer compared to the puppies that are born, but we cannot guarantee that a puppy with the exact sex and/or coat color each buyer prefers will be available or match well with them. Buyers who are flexible on their puppy’s sex and coat color are highly appreciated!
If a buyer indicates on their application form that they are NOT flexible on sex and/or coat color and it turns out there isn’t a puppy with the right personality that also matches the buyer’s sex/color preferences, the buyer will NOT receive a refund of their Deposit if they choose to back out from the litter they signed up for. However, they are welcome to apply their Deposit to an alternative litter from us, instead.
Regarding Hormones…
As high contents with around 95% Grey Wolf, these puppies will have an identical breeding season to pure wolves once they sexually mature. This means they will only be fertile during a specific period of time each year, between the months of late January through late March/early April. Outside of these months, wolves and high content wolfdogs are not fertile and cannot reproduce. Females will not ovulate, and the testes for males actually physically shrink to roughly the size of small grapes, since no sperm is being produced at that time.
The breeding season for wolves and high content wolfdogs brings with it a massive surge of sex hormones (over 2,000% increase in testosterone for males!) to stimulate ovulation and trigger the start of spermatogenesis for the season (the production of sperm). This hormonal influx also triggers very intense instinctual resource guarding and breeding behaviors of courtship and strong bonding between mates. It is very common and normal for seasonally fertile animals to experience sometimes significant mood shifts and become much more easily overstimulated in the months leading up to, during, and for a short period after their breeding season. Expect them to display more intense resource guarding of things they consider important, like food, water, territory/pen space, their chosen mate, and even their favorite people. As the breeding season comes to an end and their sex hormone levels decrease, their behavior gradually returns to “normal” for the rest of the year.
It is very important for owners of high content wolfdogs to understand that this seasonal moodiness and intensified behavior can quickly escalate to reactivity and aggression if the animal and its needs are mismanaged during this time. It is imperative to be aware of and respect the animal’s needs and behaviors during this time of the year. Owners must educate and prepare themselves on how to handle a large, hormonal animal during the breeding season. Knowing safe handling procedures, how to recognize, prevent, and de-escalate tense situations, having secure containment, respecting the animal’s emotions and needs during this time, and finding ways to keep interactions between the owner and high content wolfdog positive, will go a LONG way towards maintaining the bond of trust and respect between high content and owner.
Spaying and neutering outside of breeding season typically will drastically reduce the intensity of the hormonal and behavioral shift in adult animals during the breeding season. However, it may not eliminate seasonal moodiness/aggression entirely. There are quite a lot of spayed and neutered high content wolfdogs who will still display a marked shift in behavior and reactivity during the breeding season.
We do not allow our puppies to be spayed or neutered until after they turn 18 months of age, because they need those sex hormones to properly regulate the growth and development of their bones and joints. This means that, if you wanted to spay/neuter a pet-only puppy from this litter, the puppy would only go through one breeding season. It is rare for a high content wolfdog to be sexually mature during their first winter and most owners typically don’t see much of a behavior shift during their high content puppy’s first winter.
Although this litter most likely would not reach sexual maturity until their 2nd or 3rd winter, puppy buyers should still be well educated on respectful and safe handling protocols for high content wolfdogs during their breeding season. Non-confrontational handling and finding fun, creative ways to keep your interactions positive with a seasonally hormonal wolfdog will go a long way towards strengthening your bond of mutual respect and trust, as well as help to avoid potentially damaging your relationship with them during the rest of the year.
Is “Winter Wolf Syndrome” even real?
The short answer is: For the most part, No. It’s absolutely normal for seasonally reproducing species to become, in general, grouchier and more reactive than usual during their breeding season.
Being grouchy and more reactive during breeding season is NOT the same as a wolf or high content wolfdog with mental/emotional trauma or legitimate behavioral abnormalities who is fully committed to attempting to severely maim or kill anyone/anything that upsets them during breeding months. That type of behavior is very rare and is not normal.
The long answer: “Winter Wolf Syndrome (WWS)” is a made-up concept. It is not a medical or scientific term in any way. The term originated with the story of a pure wolf named Two Feathers, way back when owning pure wolves was largely legal in the USA about 30-40 years ago. This wolf was a VERY confident, pushy animal, even outside of breeding season. Once he sexually matured and became even more assertive and grouchy during breeding season, his owners severely mishandled and mismanaged him out of frustration and anger, even going so far as to shout at him and hit the fence. This antagonization only made matters worse, quickly resulting in an animal who would charge and attack the fence with lethal intentions towards his owners and other humans. His owners’ mismanagement of their animal ultimately destroyed Two Feathers’ trust in his owners and other humans and created an animal who was legitimately dangerous to interact with. His siblings, who were raised and treated with the respect they needed and deserved, never had this issue and were well known for their good temperaments.
The online wolfdog community has been using the term “Winter Wolf Syndrome” as a kind of buzzword for years to (mistakenly) refer to any wolfdog - of any content - who seems to become even slightly grouchy during the breeding season. Winter Wolf Syndrome really only refers to high contents or pure wolves who:
Seasonally reproduce and experience a massive surge of sex hormones during breeding season;
Are extremely confident, pushy/rude animals who are not afraid to use intimidation or force to get what they want even during non-breeding months;
Have emotional/mental trauma or serious behavioral abnormalities which result in the animal becoming extremely overly-reactive during breeding season;
Become so agitated and reactive during winter months that they resort to attempting to severely maim or kill anyone/anything that upsets them.
Additional Info:
This litter is eligible for homes within the continental USA only. If you are located internationally and would like to purchase a puppy from us, please review our other planned litters to see which one(s) are eligible for international placement. The legality of wolfdog ownership for every applicant will be verified during the application process.
NO breeding rights will be given for any puppies unless they are being Co-Owned by us, with us as the Breeder retaining final right of refusal on all breeding choices. Please contact us directly for more information about our Co-Ownership program.
All puppies from this litter, unless Co-Owned as breeding prospects, will be required to be spayed/neutered between the ages of 18 months to 3 years, to allow for full maturation before desexing. Ovary-Sparing Spay/Vasectomy is permitted prior to 18 months of age in order to prevent reproduction while keeping the sex hormones intact for proper growth regulation. Our Pet Only Purchase Contract includes substantial monetary damages for all live puppies which are whelped or sired by our puppies placed in Pet Only homes, regardless of whether the breeding was on-purpose or accidental. Please review our Contracts page for more information. We promote responsible containment and ethical breeding practices only, and consider this a very serious matter.
Must have reinforced yard fencing at least 8 feet tall, with effective dig and jump prevention, and an outdoor, wolfdog-proof containment (minimum of 150 sqft) is required to be completed with photo and video proof BEFORE an application can be approved and a puppy reserved. If you need tips on how to build wolfdog-proof containment, or how to reinforce your existing fencing, please contact us and we are happy to provide advice and photo examples.
Must have experience with verified (Embarked) mid content wolfdogs or higher OR have extensive experience with primitive dog breeds.
Apply for this litter
If you would like to apply for a puppy from Genn and Cassie’s planned April 2025 litter, you can click the button below to be redirected to our Application Form. Please be as detailed as possible when filling this out, because this application is how we begin to get to know you and it helps us decide if you are a good fit for a puppy from this litter.
If you have any questions, you are welcome to contact us at wolfdogsoftheebonblade@gmail.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.