mackenzie – Dec 2, 2001 12:00 AM

Intern Kim Klosterman wrote: "On Sunday morning when Andrea (Lorek Strauss) and I gave Mackenzie her first dose of Cosequin, she was very slow to rise. Afterwards her back hips were really stiff, so much that she kept sitting down and inspecting her hips. Shadow was immediately there giving her a hard time, while Mac walked around slowly with tail tucked and ears back. But, she barked and held her own and eventually (after ~ 10 minutes) Shadow moved away. Shadow never made contact with Mackenzie, just circled her, and followed her around intimidating her." Curator's note: It is very common for lower ranking animals in the pack to watch the higher ranking wolves for a sign of weakness in hopes of gaining rank. This is a strong instinct motivated by survival in the wild that makes wolves in captivity a challenge. We started Mackenzie on Cosequin as a nutritional supplement in hopes of easing some of the stiffness in her joints. (Her April medical exam revealed a clean x-ray of her hips, so there's no specific problem, just the aches and pains of growing old.) It is not uncommon for wolves as well as dogs to begin to show signs of age at this time (Mac will be 9 in April). Actually, 9 years of age would be considered an old wolf in the wild. . We are using a variety of distractions for the yearlings to keep them from focusing on Mackenzie. It seems if the yearlings are bored, they are more inclined to focus on the weaknesses of the adults.