Watching 60 Minutes with my Great White Wolf

[Ohiogal]

So we are watching 60 Minutes last night when the wolf segment comes on. They are showing a pack of wolves eking out an existence hunting down an elk in Yellowstone Nat'l. Park in about 3 ft. of snow in sub zero temperatures.

I'm like, look, Sophie, there are your ancestors, you are one of their descendants, look, Sophie. Look! Look at the wolves!

She sits there whining because her ball went under the couch......

[riverbendviewgal]

1. It was a good show

Beautiful animals.

[Ohiogal]

4. Yes, indeed

[hlthe2b]

2. Ha! well, my Aussie/Border Collie still peaks her ears when we hear the occasional coyote howl

in the summertime through open windows (or sometimes on tv)... We sometimes see them from a distance and she doesn't seem overly concerned. Interesting, she instinctively gets territorial when she sees most German Shepherds (whose body language frequently triggers a lot of dogs), but was actually almost maternal toward a clearly uncomfortable wolf hybrid we saw being walked on our favorite walking trail.. So, go figure.

[Ohiogal]

3. That's interesting what you said about German Shepherds

My marshmallow Great White Wolf (she is actually a very spoiled Yellow Lab) becomes extremely territorial when she sees the dog from the house next door -- guess what he is -- a German Shepherd - she barks a ferocious growling bark, her hair stands up on her back --- then she turns around and runs away! (our yard is fenced, theirs is not). She usually doesn't pay any attention to animals on TV with the exception of some nature shows that may show a skunk or a beaver or a bear.

[hlthe2b]

5. German Shepherds can be wonderful, but really require intense training to ensure against

their natural tendency toward fear aggression--something that comes through loud and clear via their body language to other dogs. Unfortunately, most are NOT so well trained.

[luvs2sing]

6. Both my beloved border collie..

And our current dog, a flat-coated retriever, react very strongly to boxers. In fact, I would say the only living creatures my border beast did not adore with all his heart were boxers.

[Ohiogal]

7. Wow, I wonder why boxers?

Did they have a bad experience with one?

[TEB]

8. Her and boog could be

A domestic wolf pack to the drive thru

[Ohiogal]

12. Only if it's above 30 degrees out and not snowing

otherwise it's easier to beg from the humans at the breakfast table!

Quenn Sophie would probably send out for Uber Eats since she doesn't like car rides.

[elleng]

9. That's what kids do,

expect their parents not only to care for them, but to watch out for their toys!!!

[Botany]

10. My black lab used to be great and good pals with 3 80% wolf 20% husky mixes

When he first met them I was scared but they became big babies and friends
to me and my lab. The one really big male wolf (150 lbs plus) wasn't really a "pat
pat" type of dog but if he liked you he would just come up and lean on you
and that was it.

Funny, as big as those animals were they were under the command of a woman
who couldn't have been 100 lbs soaking wet. Back in the day when I drove by
their house on the way to the park to walk my lab and if they were out or even
in the house they would catch a smell of my dog and set up howls of we want to
go play. My 90 pound lab was dwarfed by the wolves but one of their favorite
things was to just sleep together in a big pile ... one time I went to get my dog
out of the wolf pile and they growled @ me so I just let him stay with his buddies
for another few hours and picked him up later.

What kind of screwed up person would go and kill a wolf for fun?

[Ohiogal]

11. Great stories!

[Botany]

16. Sadly the wolves are all passed on now and I just lost my lab last Sept..

But I have joy in my heart with the memories. The one really big male
wolf, Lobo, if he was leaning on you and you went to move away before
he was ready would give a little growl and show his canine teeth to
you @ which point I would stay with him a little longer.

BTW what asshole would want to kill a wolf for fun? And I have
hunted for years too. Zinke (Trump) wanted to allow the killing of wolf
pups and grizzly bear cubs in their dens.

BTW just writing this stuff is making me want to go and get another lab today.

[Ohiogal]

19. I have never personally encountered a wolf or wolf hybrid

I guess you take your chances with them. They are magnificent, intelligent, creatures with a lot of wild instincts in them.

Zinke, Sarah Palin, etc. can all go to hell.

[Ohiogal]

20. What kind of asshole kills ANY living creature "for fun"?

Native Americans and ethical hunters only kill what they need to eat. I have read where many Natives say a blessing over the animal for sacrificing its spirit so they can eat.

Despicable assholes like Zinke, Palin, Donnie Jr. make me sick. They are disgusting cowards.

[pazzyanne]

13. "What kind of screwed up person would go and kill a wolf for fun?"

People who have no interest in the natural world and its wonders. People who only appreciate the almighty dollar. People who need to destroy in order to feel good about themselves. People like donald trump, Jr and eric trump. People like those now running the EPA, Department of Interior, and the rest of the trump administration.

[Botany]

18. You can see their wildness & intelligence in their eyes / not to mention the beauty in their beings

[pazzyanne]

21. Wolves are my special love in the natural world.

I have spent the last 45 years advocating for them and their return to the wilderness in Minnesota and elsewhere. It brings happiness to my heart to see them growing in numbers after being hunted almost to extinction. Anger is a frequent emotion I experience whenever I hear about the senseless killing of these majestic animals. There are ways we can co-exist with them if we are willing to do so. We can learn a lot about ourselves by studying the wildlife in their natural habitat. Your picture that you shared captured the essence of the wolf. As long as they can be heard in the wilderness, all is right in the world.

Thank you!!!

[Corgigal]

14. Loved it too.

Now I want to go to Yellowstone in the winter.

My great, short legged but pointy ears corgi dog, DNA matches says .0000002 wolf ( not really).
I talk to her and say, are you a wolf? She does this low grumble noise. She's such a bad ass. However, her new love is marshmallows.

[lark]

15. My old half Siberian would howl with the wolves on tv.

He just loved to howl period, we had pack howls, welcome howls, I missed you howls. How I miss our sweet huge old boy, friend to the entire world.

[yardwork]

17. First world problems.

Also experienced by my cats. The catnip mouse went under the closet door.

[Best_man23]

22. Our kittehs watched this

Seems like anytime we watch a program on wolves, dogs, and big cats, they become quite attentive to the action on the TV.

[Heartstrings]

23. Wolves are my "spirit animal"...love them!

That being said, my husband and I "rescued" a wolf/Siberian Husky hybrid from an abandoned barn in the mid 70's. She was about 8 weeks old, the runt of the litter, and grew to "coffee table height", so not all that large. We named her Jessi, and she had beautiful blue eyes and distinctive reddish markings. She loved anything to do with snow and was a champion hole digger! When we took her on walks her pulling on her leash was instinctive and we tried everything to break her of it...no way! Unfortunately we lived in the city, both of us worked, and she became very destructive....chewing kitchen cupboards, baseboards, tearing up carpet, basically trashing the house while we were gone. We tried "classes" for her behavior and she failed miserably. She was not going to adhere to what we humans demanded of her and I believe that was the wolf side of her speaking. We needed to respect that! So not wanting to kennel her 8+ hours a day, in her best interest, we found her a home on a farm on the outskirts of the city and were able to visit her frequently....I missed her howling at the police and fire sirens....well, I missed everything about her.

We can learn a lot from the wolves and their pack mentality. ❤️ 🐺 's!

[Doreen]

27. My spirit animal also!!

I had have always had a love for wolves and German Shepherds. I comment on German Shepherds because they still have the closest DNA to wild wolves of all the domesticated breeds. I had a German shepherd as a service dog once and he was wonderful and very smart.

[shenmue]

24. Arf

[The Mouth]

25. My Rottweiler was the sweetest dog ever. An 'old Soul'

but *EVERY* Jack Russell Terrier, EVER, went right after him. Dozens of times; tiny dog just attacking for zero reason. Two vet visits (and damned right I made the owners of the JRTs pay); there must be something they were bred to guard against that got triggered...

People don't realize that 'little' dogs don't think of themselves as 'little', but BIG dogs often have an inborn restraint related to not attacking puppies (much like a normal human wouldn't smack a little kid who wanted to 'roughouse'); and then some fucking idiot going 'oh look, he's scared of my little dog.

Currently I have a American Bulldog, no shortage of idiots afraid of her since she's a 'pitbull'

[Doreen]

28. It was kind of funny but also embarassing that my huge German Shepherd Dog

was scared of little dogs for a few years in his life. Nothing like watching a supposedly big brave dog running from a little poodle.

[The Mouth]

29. nothing funny at all, IMHO

Your dog was showing the restraint with what he thought was a puppy that you or I would be expected to show with a 2 year old that kicked us in the shins; evolution would frown on your dog, or me, terminating the corporeal existence of a young one for that (to say nothing of society!), but the little dog doesn't think it's a puppy!

I have only utter contempt for people who don't think they need to train their dog just because it's small.

[Doreen]

30. Do not worry, we worked through it.

By the time he was three he was helping me take care of some little dogs while I was doing a dogsitting job. He actually helped one of them not get lost as he was blind and deaf. Yes, I did laugh but that was when it was the first time he did it and clued me in that I needed to work with that. One of the things that I did was take him to the dog park where the park is divided for small dogs and big dogs. I took him in the big dog park and after some time he started to say hello through the fence with the small dogs. Eventually I took him in the small dog section ( explaining it to the small dog owners ) and he did wonderful. Played with them nicely and gently ( it was pretty damn cute. )

[The Mouth]

31. Excellent!

Great job!

[sprinkleeninow]

26. I said the same to our daughter! There's your relatives.

As she snuggled on daddy's lap and then licked the daylights outta mommie's nearby arm. 🐶

She alert barks at falling leaves or if a bug flies by. 😄 With the holiday TV ads and door bells ringing, she always thinks it's ours. We say, no, not our door buzzard! 🤣