🐺 Whenever anyone other than myself enters the Wolfdog yard - as I’m the only one who’s in with the pack on a daily basis - I’m extremely observant and cautious. Contrary to what some commenters have stated in the past, our Wolfdogs aren’t maneaters who are in a constant state of sizing humans up as prey. 😆 However, they are large canines who demand respect (like any large breed dog, really), they’ve each experienced some level of trauma, pack mentality is a real thing, and some of them have extremely strong temperments and like to push their limits to see how far they can test or assert dominance over people (I don’t want to point any fingers, but, ahem…DAKOTA). Thus, I stay aware and take precautions when needed. Firstly, there are a very limited number of people who can legally enter the yard - per my state license’s regulations. Secondly, whether or not I lock some of the Wolfdogs up depends on 1) if someone has mastered how to act around Dakota to be respected and 2) what we’re doing in there. Even if someone has earned Dakota’s respect, Dakota still gets very suspicious of unusual - especially LOUD and unusual - activity. And when pack leader feels uneasy towards someone, the others get uneasy. Dakota’s suspicion paired with his comfortability around humans could create a potential problem. Unlike our high-content Wolfdogs who are very “wolfy” acting (prefer to avoid conflict) and not confident around humans, mid-content Dakota has those confident, confrontational doggy-like qualities. His go-to move is to quietly come up from behind and give a tiny nip or pull on jeans or a coat with his front teeth. Although it’s kind of adorable and funny, I can also tell by his body language that it means he’s not totally comfortable, which means the situation COULD escalate. For this reason, during times like in this video, I usually lock Dakota up. Now, why is Doji locked up? Well, simply put, Doji just ran in there when I locked Dakota up. 😂 🎥 Our spurt of subzero temps caused the ground to heave by our Wolfdog Yard entrance, which ultimately led to a couple revision projects on the door. (The joys of having outdoor animals in this climate 😅)
#wildlife #rescue #wolfdog #wolf #suspicious #winter #behavior #animals