Today Maya is 51 days old. Maya has been particularly interested in the new chew toys presented to the pups today. She has been playing tug of war with her littermates, chewing on it as well as running after it. During the 3:00 pm program Maya and Nyssa were repeatedly displaying aggressive interactions with one another. It was a great opportunity for the audience to see these intense aggressive interactions which wolves display while competing for food resources. When the pups went outside Maya and Nyssa continued to compete for posession of a beaver carcass. Maya and her littermates slept through most of the evening hours following an exciting day of romping on the beaver carcass and playing in the outside puppy for two hours.
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Today Maya is 57 days old. Because of the warm weather, Maya was not very active today. She was occupied while she was awake with a deer ear.
Today Grizzer is 71 days old. He did well in the programs, playing with Maya and chewing on ice. He put up no protest when being taken out of the pen at the end of the program. He also seemed more affectionate towards both staff and nannies in general. Upon returning to the pup pen he dug up some cached food and ate it.
Today Maya is 71 days old. She did well during the programs, either chewing on deer hide or playing with Grizzer. When she fell asleep during one of the programs she didn't object to being moved by a nanny. Lately she has needed some prodding before she wants to eat, and has been caching a considerable amount of her food.
Today Grizz is 52 days old. He has been showing increasing aggressive behaviors towards staff and nannies when he does not want to be handled. When he was put in a submisive posture, Maya came and dominated him. Grizzer's behavior indicates that he wants to be outdoors. He will whine and attempt to climb on the gate when he wants to go out. When taken out to the outdoor pup pen today, he ran around, explored, and greeted the arctics vigorously. During the Pup 101 program at 11:00a.m., Grizz did well and was kept occupied by a beaver tail. He chewed on the beaver tail for the entirety of the program. Grizz's appetite was very good at his 2:00p.m. feeding; he consumed 1 cup of food within a matter of minutes. Grizz exhibited the first incident of food caching behavior. He took a piece of venison mix from his feeding bowl and ran around the outdoor pup pen with it in his mouth. When he was out of sight of Maya & Nyssa, he cached the venison mix in a small depression and covered it over with dirt, using his nose and paws.
Today Nyssa is 45 days old. Nyssa has been much more active and dominant over her packmates. She is observed frequently running, stalking, and pouncing on Grizzer and Maya. She often initiates dominance interactions by biting and standing over them. She has also exhibited predatory head-shaking behaviors with toys, food, and her packmates. Nyssa spent most of the morning in the outdoor pup pen. She ran around, explored, and greeted the arctics vigorously. Nyssa did well in the 11:00a.m. program and chewed on a pig ear. During the afternoon program, Nyssa was anxious and wanted to get out. She chewed pig ear for a few minutes and then went to the gate to try to get out. Nyssa's appetite was very good today; she was very hungry and consumed her food in a matter of minutes. She continues to be very gentle and affectionate with staff and nannies.
Nyssa is 39 days old today. Nyssa has been doing very well during programs. During the program she occupies her time with social interactions with her littermates, playing with toys and sleeping. When she was brought to the outside pup pen following the afternoon program she did lots of romping around. She also greeted the arctics with play bows and a wagging tail. Also, while she is in the outside puppy pen she spends a great deal of time chasing Maya and Grizz. Nyssa's mobility isn't quite as tuned as Grizz and Maya, but she makes up for it with determination. She is very gentle when greeting the staff, but very aggressive when interacting with her littermates.
Nyssa is 40 days old today. Her coordination is improving daily, as well as her stamina. Her facial features are taking on more wolf characteristics, with the elongation of her muzzle. Nyssa is doing well during the Pup 101 programs and is occupied with various stimulus items such as a rubber Kong (a dog toy) stuffed with ground venison, pig ears, and beaver tails & feet. Nyssa's attempts to dominate Grizz and Maya have increased in frequency and intensity. During many of these attempts she will stand over Grizz and/or Maya. She is very vocal in her displeasure when they try to dominate her. Nyssa has been seeking them out to initiate dominance attempts. When in the outdoor pup pen, she greets the arctics with play bows and a wagging tail. She has been seeking out the den to crawl into and will fall asleep in it. Though Nyssa has been aggressive with Grizz and Maya, she is very gentle with staff and nannies and greets them enthusiastically. Nyssa is still receiving the bottle in addition to weaning formula during mealtimes.
Maya is 52 days old today. Maya still initiates dominance interactions over her packmates. With staff and nannies, however, she has become much more affectionate, sometimes seeking out their laps to sit on. She will also seek out staff and/or nannies to sleep next to. The staff and nannies recently started playing classical
ature music in the indoor pup pen in the wolf lab. Maya seems to respond to the music, as she frequently falls asleep when it is playing. Today Nyssa urinated near the entrance gate, then Maya went there, sniffed and urinated on top of it. This is one of the heirarchical behaviors that is developing between the puppies. Pups spent much of the morning in the outdoor pup pen. Maya ran around, explored, and greeted the arctics vigorously with a wagging tail and flat ears. Maya was kept occupied during the 11:00a.m. program with a beaver tail. During the afternoon program, Maya was anxious and was whining & climbing on the gate to get out. She was not easily distracted with stimulus items. Maya's appetite continues to be very good; she consumed her venison mix in a matter of minutes.
Today Grizzer is 53 days old. In the morning he started becoming anxious and wanted to be outside. Outside, Grizzer greeted arctics vigorously and then went to explore the dogloo dog house in the overnight outdoor kennel. Grizzer did well througout most of the 11 am program, then became anxious near the end and climbed on top of the log and tried to jump on the fence. He has been actively seeking a way out of the pup kennel during the programs and has learned how to jump from the log to the fence. Grizzer was anxious throughout 1 pm program. This time, he was not easily distracted and also he was very aware of the people and audience movement. He was panting it may have been too hot in the auditorium. Upon his return to the outdoor enclosure, he immediately ran to the pool and splashed water around. His appetite has been increasing, he gobbled down his portion and the left overs from Maya's. During the 3 pm program, he was anxious and he could not really be distracted by anything. He did a lot of pacing, but no whining or howling. He seemed to be a little warm as well.
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