The difference between dogs and wolves: (aka - why the idea of pack leader is obsolete) Pack animals are born into their nuclear family, where the mother gave birth to her offspring. It goes without saying that humans did not give birth to or breast feed their dogs. Our dogs are all adopted into our extended family. Pack animals have to fight off potential threats both environmental and/or predator and compete for mates. Domesticated dogs rarely ever have to fight off predators, environmental threats or compete for mates. WOLVES live in a pack of up to 42. Wolves are typically territorial and as David Mech states “may migrate hundreds of kilometers between where they raise their pups and where they take those pups in winter to follow their prey.” There is enormous variation in the wolves’ environment. Domesticated DOGS clearly do not migrate these distances nor fit these migration patterns, and do not share these character traits. Male WOLVES participate in the rearing of puppies. The pack must cooperate to provide enough resources for the offspring to survive and consequently generally only the mother and father pack members mate and have puppies. A DOG sire does not participate in the rearing of puppies and dogs have a promiscuous mating system. For a WOLF, hunting is the primary source of food acquisition. DOGS are primarily scavengers and foragers. Wolves hunt in coordinated, cooperative packs. Dogs forage individually and independently. WOLVES have large native roaming areas, are autonomous and have absolute freedom to manage their environment and social relationships. DOGS have been domesticated for tens of thousands of years, have (human) parents, are not autonomous, have limited free space, roaming areas and often do not choose their social relations and environment. Read more at funpawcare/2014/09/17/8-reasons-why-dogs-are-not-pack-animals/#VOGyT18waEXXKbBE.99
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 00:07:45 +0000
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