The Social Behavior Of A Domesticated Pack

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Term Paper Title	The Social Behavior Of A Domesticated Pack
# of Words	2040
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	8.16

     The Social Behavior of a Domesticated Pack

     The intriguing social complexity of a wild wolf pack is not often seen of the
surface of a group of domesticated dogs.  Many times the social behavior is based upon
the dogs accepting the human owners as the leaders of their pack and their is no
competition between the animals themselves.  However in isolated instances you may have
the unique chance to see a group of domestic dogs form a hierarchy, that can be
dangerous to the dogs and to the humans who are supposed to control them. I live with a
hierarchy of such nature, oddly enough there is much to be learned from 15lb Jack Russell
Terriers.

Background Information of a Wolf Pack:
     The basic social unit of wolf populations is the pack, which usually consists of a
mature male and female plus offspring one or more years of age.  Pack size can reach 36,
but usually 2 to 8 individuals are present. Each pack ranges over its own area of land, or
territory--which may vary from 130 to 13,000 sq km (50 to 5,000 sq mi)--and will defend
all or much of this area against intruders.  Members form strong social bonds that promote
internal cohesion.  Order is maintained by a dominance hierarchy. The pack leader, usually
a male, is referred to by behaviorists as the alpha male.  The top-ranking (alpha) female
usually is subordinate to the alpha male but dominant over all other pack members.
When two wolves meet, each shows its relationship to the other by indicating dominance
or submission through facial expression and posture. Additional modes of wolf
communication are howling and other vocalizations and scent marking.  One function of
howling is to communicate position or assemble the pack;  advertisement of territory to
neighbors is probably another.  Scent marking involves deposition of urine or feces on
conspicuous objects along travel routes, usually by dominant wolves.  This behavior
appears to function in territory maintenance and in intrapack communication.
     During the course of each year wolf packs alternate between a stationary phase
from spring through summer and a nomadic phase in autumn and winter. Activities during
the stationary phase involve caring for pups at a den or homesite.  During summer most
movements are toward or away from the pups, and adults often travel and hunt alone.
By autumn pups are capable of traveling extensively with the adults, so until the next
whelping season the pack usually roams as a unit throughout its territory in search of prey....

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