Denali with a H-1,2 Posture

Denali is in a unique position within the pack. He is a true litter mate to Aidan and is subordinate in that relationship. If Denali attempts to show some dominance, Aidan is quick to remind him of his lower rank. Denali will often respond with a drop of the head and a quick submissive paw acknowledging the message. These are calm communications that help define the pack order.  Unfortunately, Denali is also the recipient of redirection aggression that can be expressed when Aidan’s tension increases.   How can wolf care staff tell the difference? We look for the hackles.   Hackles are defined as the ridge of hair that is located on the middle of the back, starting at the neck and extending to the tail. Hackles are not a voluntary response, but are believed to be the influence of the “arrector pili” muscles attached to hair follicles, stimulated by the nervous system, triggered by adrenaline. The flight or fight response can be another description when assessing hackles. Typically the response of hackles is not aggression, but one of fear, insecurity and defensive response to the action of others. In our Ethogram, we code behaviors based on their presence on the neck (H-1), shoulder -mid-back (H-2), rump (H-3) and tail (H-4). A hackle code of H- 1,2.3.4 tells wolf care staff they need to stick around and see what happens next.