Boltz – What Happens Next?

Boltz has been showing some strong interest in the pups and has joined Luna in guarding Aidan and Denali from the pups.  Initially we were concerned, but in the last few days, we have witnessed Boltz doing some appeasement behavior towards Aidan.  This behavior includes licking Aidan’s face, submitting to him and approaching with a low head and posture.  It seems the hormonal surge brought some changing  and sometimes conflicting behaviors.  In addition to appeasement behavior, there has been a noticeable increase in Raise Leg Urinations for Boltz indicating a higher confidence level.  Some have voiced some concerns that getting male pups will put more stress on Aidan and the male rank order.  In our experience, the mid-level wolves (and in the case of the male rank order, that would be Boltz) will take a more active role in pup interaction and dominance.  The pups energy and attitude require so much time, that the pack is less focused on the older wolves and more focused on the young.  We witnessed this in 2008 when we brought in Aidan and Denali to join Shadow, Malik, Grizzer and Maya.  Grizzer spent a significant amount of time wrestling, rolling and chasing pups, while Shadow got some relief from Grizzer’s constant testing.  What comes next for Boltz is likely to be a repeat of Grizzer, Aidan and Denali after the 2008 introduction.  This is why we choose the 4-year rotation, by the time the pups are nearing 2 years of age and starting to test for rank, Aidan and Denali will be nearing 10-years of age and will be ready to get a break from exhibit life and join the comforts of retirement.   We weighed the adult wolves today, Boltz is maintaining a good weight at 111 lbs. which is slightly higher than his 2015 weight of 109 lbs.