grizzer – Mar 12, 2010 12:00 AM

Grizzer is so conditioned to drop to the ground when Shadow shows dominance that it appears he will never leave his second ranking status. After Shadow lost a deer leg possession to Denali, Grizzer received some redirected aggression. Grizzer dropped and rolled before Shadow even made contact, and he continued to drop and roll in front of Shadow as Shadow walked away. Then, Grizzer went to staff and continued to do the same behavior. The most interesting thing about this behavior is the lack of reaction from Denali. Usually, when a higher ranking wolf is made vulnerable, the next in line is close to watch and take advantage of the submissive behavior. Denali doesn't show any interest in taking advantage of Grizzer in this state, maybe it's because he would need to be close to Shadow in a dominant posture, and that's not worth the risk.