Amazing video footage of a pack of wolves working as a team to hunt a moose calf in the Denali National Park and Perserve in Alaska. Warning! Video content is not meant for all eyes.

As you watch, you may notice that some of the wolves have radio collars. That's because the park has been collecting GPS data since 1986 (National Park Service, 2009) to determine wolf territories, ranges, pack size, etc. Make no mistake, these are not captive wolves as there is a huge difference between captive and wild wolf packs (more on that later...).

To date, the National Park Service reports that there are 12 to 18 wolf packs in the Denali park, each consisting of the breeding male and female and their offspring. Each pack's territory ranges from 200 to 800 miles. After pups are born, the pack can hunt day and night sometimes traveling ten hours a day to find sustenance.

I don't know about your dogs but my shih tzu has no predatory behavior what so ever. Really! I think he'd starve before looking at a critter in that way. My sheltie has been known to chase squirrels, geese, sheep, and deer but gives up once the prey is out of sight. Truth be told, I don't think she sees them as food. She just likes to chase things!

I have heard of dogs working together to take down prey but I doubt it is anything like what you see in the video. This is just another example of how domestication has watered down any wolf-like characteristics that may have once existed in dogs. And thank goodness for that! I'm exhausted trying to meet the needs of my dogs. Imagine what a wolf or wolf-hybrid would require! No way, not interested.

References

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Report (2009). Vital Signs Monitoring of Wolf (Canis lupus) Distribution and Abundance in Denali National Park and Preserve, Central Alaska Network. Natural Resource Program Center

U.S. Department of the Interior Report. Park Wise: Your Alaska National Parks eClassroom

Related Posts

Do dogs view humans as members of the pack? Part 1: PLAY

Do dogs view humans as members of the pack? Part 2: SOCIAL DOMINANCE IN WOLF PACKS

More Differences Between Dog-Dog vs. Dog-Human Play

Can Playing Tug-of-War Make a Dog Dominant? A Scientific Study Dispels the Myth

I'm a little late getting this out but last week was just so busy! I posted one to two posts a day and experimented with ways to further diversify my blog. Whatever I'm doing, it must be working as the number of visits to my site is up 119%. Thank you so much for reading!

First off, I gave Cricket a haircut. As you can see, he needed it! Professional groomers and hairstylists, please be kind. I make no claims of being an actual groomer. Even with all the unevenness, I think I give an okay puppy cut.

My favorite part is the tuft of hair on top. If you swirl is just right, it looks like a Hershey's Kiss. Just in time for Valentine's Day! ;)

I found this "No Dogs Allowed" sign outside a restaurant. I love how the dog is stylized. Even though I want to take my dogs with me everywhere I go, I agree, dogs shouldn't be inside restaurants.

Speaking of dogs outside restaurants, Saturday Jeremy and I met up with the in-laws to eat lunch at Johnny's Bistro on Main in historic Ellicott City, MD. Turns out the walking mall is a great place to go dog watching. I observed the behavior of three dogs: a pit puppy, adult french bulldog, and older australian shepherd. All took the potential stressor of crowded streets without problem. I was impressed!

Later the fam and I headed into Fox Run Antiques where I saw the cutest 11 week old french bulldog soaking up the attention of several tens of people (not all at once of course). The owner was great. She held her puppy and controlled the interactions. Without even realizing it, she made sure her puppy had good experiences with people. All I have to say is, "you go girl!" "Way to socialize that pup!"

Seeing pups off to a good start and finding these awesome pineapple bowls made my day.

Finally, last week I posted my nerdy analysis of this amazing comic by fellow bloggers Cuddles and Rage.

Yesterday Jeremy and I spent all day working with them on some ideas for collaborating. I'm super excited! Not only are they awesome people, but I'm working my way into the blogging community. I can't wait to see what our combined creativity, talent, and expertise come up with. As another example of their work, check out their book on Etsy.

See you soon!

Just in time for Valentine's day! Here's a cute idea using adorable vintage dog stamps from Just Something I Made. Print out PDFs of the sheets of stamps and make anything you like. I picture this little guy filled with chocolates.

Here's my thought, print to cotton and add adorable elbow patches to jazz up an old sweater.

See you soon!

I've read this blog post several times and I love it more every time I do. The Bark behaviorist, Karen London, PhD, CAAB, starts out by describing the ideal dog for trainers to bring to puppy class to let fearful pups have a good experience with an adult dog. She explains how this is a tall order requiring an emotionally and socially stable dog. As an example, she gives a play-by-play analysis of a video of a 6-mth old boxer pup greeting a herd of cows. The dog and owner are amazing! As you can see from the photo, the cows are huge; I get nervous just watching! What if the cows had spooked and stampeded right over them!?! Anyways, that didn't happen and it is an excellent example of what a confident, stable animal looks like. It's so rare that we see these types of animals, I think we forget!

Check it out for yourself!

Love this comic by my pals over at Cuddles and Rage.

Warning! I'm about to get real nerdy. Given that this blog is about the lifestyle and science behind owning a pet, I feel it necessary to say that I'm not convinced pets are cognitive. As much fun as it is to anthropomorphize (I do it all the time with my pets!), it's highly unlikely that they have an internal dialogue of thought or memory.

Instead, their emotions and behavior are triggered by things in the environment. Take the dog in the comic anxiously sitting at the door for his owner to come home. For these dogs the jingling of keys, act of putting on a coat, and owner leaving through the door predict hours of isolation without their primary attachment figure, which triggers anxiety, resulting in a number of behaviors including whining, drooling, barking, destruction, elimination, and so on.

In contrast, kitty is looking for something to do. Maybe, she waits until her owners are away to avoid ineffective punishers like shooing, yelling, and physical removal that occur when they are present. Who knows!

Either way, I love this comic. It's cute and creative and fits this blog perfectly. I hope it put a smile on your face!

See you soon!

It's been one heck of a month, well actually half of a month. I started blogging again mid-way through after taking a 5 month break to do some soul searching and find inspiration. Now that I have it, I've decided to diversify my site to reach more people. Just like any new behavior, it takes time to shape it to perfection, so thanks for bearing with me through the highs and lows. Here are my favorite posts from January.

Pics: Instagrams: 1/21/12 to 1/28/12 / First Snow of Winter! / Getting Sentimental All of a Sudden... / Early Morning Run / Evil Eye / Welcome Distraction / Bird's Nest Alert! BTW I'm Not Talking About Someone's Hair Here! / I'm Back!

Video: Borzoi Play / How to Apply a Calming Cap

Training: What Makes a Name / Forget the Bowl! / One of Life's Biggest Dog Issues Solved! / How to Apply a Calming Cap

My first D.I.Y. project! See I told you I'm diversifying! DIY: Non-Slip Calming Cap

So I'm a little heavy on pics and light on content. Still shaping my behavior and finding my blogging voice. All-in-all, I didn't do too bad. Hope you enjoyed January as much as I did!

See you soon!