aidan – May 13, 2008 12:00 AM

Behavioral notes for Pup # 2 from the logs in the past 24 hours include:<br><br> 2:56 am – Pup awakes, stands and shakes. Whines, walks to stuffed wolf, lays down, kneads and suckles on wolf. Walks to den box, whines, returns to stuffed wolf, kneads, suckles and sleeps. <br><br>3:10 am – Pup # 2 is very tractable to people and seeks out the crook of human elbow where he returns to sleep. <br> <br>6:15 am – Pup # 2 is also teething with upper canines and incisors coming through. So far, now indication that the lower incisors have emerged.<br> <br>6:40 am – He also is responding to the adult wolves who did a rally outside, and resulted in squeaking sounds from Pup # 2.<br> <br>9:17 am -This pup does a lot of growling in his sleep, and he woke himself up by growling and barking, startled into fear avoidance and solicited comfort from humans.<br><br> I'd like to comment briefly on some of the audio being posted. Prior to the pups full hearing development (18 – 20 days of age), moans are the most common pup sound, and will decline as they get older. Pups moan while nursing, asleep or resting. Researchers suggest that that moans may be a passive consequence of respiration, but that they are also likely to provide a continual signal to the mother in a dark den. The moan doesn't elicit a response from the mother, but an absence of moaning may indicate something is wrong. Whining is higher pitched than moaning, and is often associated with a discomfort or desire, such as the need to feed, be warm, socially interact or escape. Squeaking is usually developed after 15 days of age, and by week 4, is the most common sound in the pups vocalizations.<br><br> The audio you hear is of Pup #2 nursing on the bottle.