The Link Between the Dog and the Wolf By Jeff Nenadic At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Some social behaviors are retained through generations even though they may not have any purpose. Likewise, the wolf-dog characteristics have remained. It is routine to see dogs urinating and faceting in the manner it does. It is perplexing and distressing for the owners. However, it is the way of the dogs and they themselves might not know why they do so. Their behavior seems to stem from the alpha wolves which urinate with one leg up in the air. Please note only the alpha wolves urinate in this manner while the other wolves of the pack squat. When the alpha wolves urinate, they scatter and deposit urine in small amounts on noticeable places (flower beds). This behavior has no relation to the relieving part but is instead an act of marking territory.

A popular misconception is that wolves mark their territory by urinating (a way to tell others to keep out of their area) only on the perimeter; while actually they mark the entire territory as shown by studies done at Minnesota. They also mark using their scats (feces) at major spots like stumps, trees, garbage bins and empty boxes left on street. The scats are also found at the path near immediate places where their cubs or young ones are left while the older wolves hunt for food.

While urinating or faceting, they leave odor that serves as their distinctive mark of identification. For instance, there are scent glands on both sides of the anus which adds an odor unique to the wolf faceting and thus serves as distinctive scent markers. Moreover, dominating wolves or those higher on the social ranking often scrape the sand after faceting which acts as a further visual marker which can be strengthened with the odor of the paws glands. They make sure that the dirt/leaves scraped do not cover their feces. Many dogs (not all) follow the scraping routine.

It has been noticed that dogs lack the insight to keep large areas tidy while they do the opposite which is to mark the entire areas with urine and scats. Wolves do so to mark the home territories so that the pack members know that they are at home. Thus, urinating with a leg up is not in response to the scent of the other wolfs urine but is more of marker for the wolf. They have the tendency to repeatedly mark their regular paths within their own territories. The odd behavior of checking the scent before urinating has been confirmed by laboratory studies which showed that when dog nasals lining is electrically simulated, the urinary sphincters muscles relax.

Numerous myths relating to the link between dog and wolf exists as seen below:

When wolves bite dogs in full moon, the dogs become wolves. These dogs-turned-wolves can be killed only through a silver bullet. Moreover, if a human is bitten; it becomes a werewolf. Furthermore, at full moon, the wolves must howl and seek the prey in order to bring more werewolves into their pack.

The above sounds hilarious and is a great set-up for Halloween party.

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