Monday Memories-Learning from Wolves and Pitty Day Post

Sometime in those beginning years when we just had Silver and Alex, my husband and I went on vacation and on the way stopped to meet a woman who had three Grey Wolves. Since Alex was part wolf we wanted to see some of his cousins and what a real wolf was like.

 Alex and Silver

 The first thing I noticed was their size.  Alex was a rather tall and long dog, but I couldn't get over how long the wolves legs were.  These wolves were more the size of an Irish Wolfhound.  In fact, they almost looked like Irish Wolfhound with their shaggy fur and square muzzles.  The woman explained that this was their summer coat and when their winter coat came in they would have the traditional wolf look with their thick mane and bushy fur.    The second thing I noticed was that all three wolves began to furiously marked their territory when we walked up.  And the third thing that stood out was, what was in my opinion a much too small pen for three wolves.  In fact it rather bothered me, knowing how wolves roam and wander.  I don't remember if these wolves were born in captivity or not, though I would suspect so, judging by the way they interacted with the woman.

 A picture of no relevance, except for being a cute pic of Brut about 9 weeks old.

One bit of knowledge that I walked away with from that experience was how to "trade."  The woman told us that one thing you never do with a wolf is take anything away from them, you trade for it.  No matter what it was, food, bone, toy, etc.   And while I didn't have a need for this info with Silver or Alex, when Brut came along several years later, I found it to be a life saver.  Trading with Brut for anything his little heart deemed absolutely his, changed one of the ways I handled his possession nature with respect and care.  I have traded with Brut anything from food, toys, bones or even his fresh caught squirrel.  Which I still find to be a miracle to this day!  I've found that while it works best to trade with a high value treat, once it is practiced enough, even a lower value will work.  Brut learns he is rewarded for giving up his prize and I am able to get whatever he deems of utter importance out of his mouth.  It has been a valuable tool when working with a possessive and protective dog.  At least it worked for us.  Learning from the wolves.

Simple, yet amazing how a tidbit of info can make such a difference in the world of Brut.

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 And for all of our Pitty friends we are dedicating this past post to you and for changing our minds and many like us.  

Has blogging changed your viewpoint?