Nyssa is 83 days old today. She did well in Morning with Pups program. She wanted to greet the crowd and spent time eating beaver tail and playing with Maya. She made play bows and grabbed the blanket and shook her head. After dinner, Nyssa was the target of some aggression by Grizzer and Maya and frequently submitted. She sat out several chases. She also ran into the dogloo and stood her ground.
Nyssa is 88 days old today. Her food consumption has helped her growth. She hit 35.5 lbs today which is our target for pup introduction. We finally got a weight on him, they've all been a bit active to sit still long enough for the weighing process. We looked in the wolf logs from the summer of 2000, at 97 days, Shadow was 37 lbs and Malik was 36. So, Nyssa is 9 days younger and nearly the same weight.
Today Nyssa is 85 days old. Since she was a week younger than her packmates, the whole nanny staff always pampered her a little more than Maya and Grizzer. Now that she is so used to that, that we call her "Princess Nyssa", and she expect us to treat her as such. We like to thank nanny Morganne McCallum for Nyssa's fan. As you can see, it comes very handy in hot days like today!
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.
Today Nyssa is 42 days old. When music has been playing, she has appeared interested, with her ears perking up. When she is taken out to the outdoor pup pen, she greeted the artics vigorously with lots of tail wagging and play bowing. Nyssa has been initiating dominance with both Nyssa and Grizzer. She will run after them and pounce on them during their interactions, and will also grab the scruff of their necks and exhibit head-shaking behavior. She is very vocal when her packmates try to dominate her. Nyssa is still having some anxiety during programs and paws the gate to get out. Her stamina and mobility improve daily.
Nyssa is 44 days old today. Nyssa has been very protective of the new toy which was given to the pups today. Despite the efforts of Grizz and Maya to steal the toy away from her, Nyssa has protected her toy with aggressive growls and biting. While Nyssa was outside chewing on a beaver carcass she vigorously defended her portion from Maya. Nyssa quickly settled down and fell asleep in the outside puppy pen. When the pups were brought back into the wolf lab she again defended a deer ear from her littermates with just as much intensity as she showed earlier on the beaver carcass. Nyssa's personality remains that of being aggressive with her littermates which is exactly what she needs to successfully compete with them. She also remains very gentle with the wolf care staff, often greeting them with intense facial licking.
Nyssa is 47 days old. Nyssa showed great curiousity in the puppy pen. She actively stalked and dominated Grizzer and Maya. She showed no fear of the new water tank in the puppy pen, and actually ate a piece of venison off the edge of the tank. She was very fearful of the weedeater. Nyssa exhibited food guarding behavior by growling when Grizzer came near her bowl. Nyssa's facial features are taking on wolf characteristics with elongation of her muzzle.
Today Nyssa is 48 days old. Nyssa remains to be a very aggressive pup with her littermates. When she interacts with them she is often the aggressor. To date Nyssa has yet to high stress levels during pup programs. She is readily able to distract herself by either interacting with her littermates or playing with the various chew toys staff provides. When Nyssa greets her human caretakers she often runs up to the them with a wagging tail and gives them a facial licking while rolling over on her belly. This type of a greeting which Nyssa displays is an ideal social greeting with wolf care staff. Nyssa is the most responsive to the nurturing whines of Malik and Shadow. When the two arctic wolves come over to the puppy pen fence Nyssa runs over to greet them with lots of enthusiasm. Today, however, the weather was a little warm and humid so Nyssa spent most of her time outside sleeping on the cool soil under a balsm tree.
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