9781422274965

pups are old enough to travel and hunt with the pack. The most important reason for a pack is hunting. Canines are not fast enough to outrun some prey, so they have joined together so they can circle the prey and then attack. After the kill, the leader eats first, fol- lowed by other members of the pack in their hierarchical order. Older canines unable to get their own food are given food by other members of the pack, and the leader may even take food to his mate while she is rais- ing the pups in the den. Pups are fed by the mother as well as by other adults in the group. They lick food from the adults’ lips or eat what the adults have regurgitated for them. After eating the pack rests awhile and

PACK BEHAVIOR One of the things all canines have in common is their instinctive behavior as pack animals. A pack is a group of animals that live together all dependent on one another for protection, companionship, mates, babysitters for the young, and hunting companions. Each pack has a leader, the most dom- inant male, and other members of the pack are followers. Some of the followers rank higher than others, but none are as esteemed as the leader. The leader is probably the only male to mate, usually with the most dominant female. When they have pups, the female becomes the leader of the pack until the

The Irish wolfhound was used by the ancient Celts for hunting wolves and was later brought to Ireland by the Romans. It is still used for hunting stags, wild boar, wolves, and coyotes and can kill a person by grabbing him or her by the throat.

One theory about the weimaraner is that it is the fruit of crossings overseen by Grand Duke Karl August of Weimar between a regular pointer and a certain yellow pointer.

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