Hey Woofa’s,

No I’m not talking about the Wolf Pack in Twilight……..although they were pretty yummy!!!!

In last week’s blog post, ‘Where Does My Dog Come From‘, we established that it’s highly likely Dogs descended from Wolves.

Over millions of years and different geographical locations we’re aware they came from four different types of Wolves.

In our endeavour to understand our Dogs today it’s only natural that we trace their ancestor’s and their behaviour back to the Wolf Pack.

By Understanding the Wolf Pack and how the dynamics work, we will be a step closer in knowing how our dog’s use this basic instinct.

WOLF PACK HIERARCHY!

1. Pack Leader
2. Pack Leader’s mate
3. Submissive Followers

In order for a pack to survive it needs a leader.  This is a no brainer.   This leader needs to show desirable qualities to the pack to prove they can keep them safe.

Qualities such as – strength, ability, energy, intelligence, assertiveness, confidence etc

As humans, we have packs all around us.  They are known as families, sports teams, corporations, governments, schools any form of group is a pack.  Our Pack Leaders are, parents, CEO’s, Principal’s, Prime Ministers/President’s, Coaches etc.

The Wolf Pack Leader is born, he doesn’t go to school to learn how to become the leader.  His testosterone, his dominance and his ability to lead the Pack make him the viable choice.

The Pack Leader also chooses a strong female to mate with because together they will make tough offspring.  They generally mate once a year and are mates for life.

All packs have rules and boundaries to abide by or utter chaos will reign.

The Wolf Pack is no different, the Leader’s role is to keep the pack safe, fed, rested, watered, give them fun time and to keep them strong as a group.

The Submissive Followers make up the pack, they put their entire trust in the Pack Leader to keep the pack safe and cared for.  The Pack Leader keeps them in line and the pack in order.

Submission is shown by rolling on their side or back for the Pack Leader, or licking his mouth like a pup would do.

The Pack Leader can be challenged if one of the Followers (or a rouge Wolf) feels the Pack Leader is no longer strong enough for the role.  This usually involves a fight challenge generally to the death or until one gives up.

QUALITIES OF A PACK LEADER!

Let me ask you this,  would you willingly follow a leader who was aggressive, high energy, all over the place and full of themselves?

Or someone who asserted authority and confidence in a calm way?  Someone who made rational decisions based on the wellbeing of the pack?

I know who I’d follow!

It’s no different to the submissive followers in the Wolf Pack.   They are not going to follow and be submissive to a Leader who could potentially lead them to danger.  The Followers are looking for one who is capable of taking care of the whole pack.

Think of someone who you would willingly follow and trust with your well being, someone who could get you through anything – they are a Pack Leader.

HOW DOES THIS WORK WITH OUR DOGS NOW?

Dogs today are domesticated, they’re right up in our lives and in our homes.

This doesn’t mean that the Pack Mentality has left them though!

If you have one dog, then the people become the Pack.  The Pack Leader doesn’t necessarily have to be a dominant male either.  The Pack Leader is someone that the dog trusts completely with their life.

The person who feeds them, cares for them, gives them play time, keeps them safe etc   However this person is also calm and assertive.

Everyone else in the family become the Pack Mates.  Your dog may go to everyone in the family, but there’s one person that stands apart from the others that the dog listens to more.

The nurturer of the family will also be seen in the role as the Pack Leader’s Mate, where your dog may go to for care and hugs, i.e the mother figure role.

If there are other dogs in the Pack, then amongst themselves they will sort out who is Pack Leader of the Dogs.  Generally, it’s the elder dominant dog, because they have been around the longest.

NOTE: dominant dog doesn’t mean aggressive dog, it just means they’re the boss in a calm but assertive way.

Example!

You know when you were a kid and all your parents had to do was give you ‘the look’ and you knew if you kept doing what you were doing you were in trouble.  They didn’t need to yell and scream, this is what I mean by dominant, calm and assertive leadership!

Dogs are the same, the Pack Leader doesn’t have to fight every other dog, they assert their leadership with body language.

EG:  When I got Billy as a pup Isabel was 10 years old, she was always the dominant dog.  Even when Billy grew bigger and stood over her, all she had to do was give two barks and Billy would roll over on his back and show submission.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Even though our dogs are domesticated, they still have the basic instincts of the Wolf Pack.

By Understanding the Wolf Pack we can learn to understand how our dogs use this Basic Instinct.

Billy and I would love to hear your views on Understanding The Wolf Pack in the comments below.

Stay tuned for next weeks post that will go in depth about HOW THE WOLF PACK COMMUNICATE!

CHEERS