ron2
Posted : 12/24/2007 12:10:07 PM
Here's two cents.
An interesting concept as been emergent theory. Packs, for lack of a better word, are comprised of individuals that cooperate to successfully hunt. Sometimes, the canid with the best sense of smell goes on point, to sniff out the prey. But it may be another that is the fastest runner that flushes the prey into an ambush scenario.
Also, according to L. David Mech, who's references are everywhere (just google it) most actual wolf packs are usually families. Alpha is actually parent and refers primarily to breeding rights. So, to assume a group of disparate dogs as one might find in a home forms a pack assumes a relationship of sanguinity that is not possible.
But dogs can and do form alliances and social relationships, sometimes instantly but who is in the lead can be fluid, as it is with the two dogs on my south side, a Coonhound mix and a Scottie. The Coonhound, who is bigger, will mount the Scottie but, at other times, the Scottie will growl and the Coonhound backs off. The will wrestle with the stick. The Scottie si more vocal but the Coonhound is an escape artist.
And just to confuse things even more, the Scottie is male and the Coonhound is female. Yes, the female mounts the male. Granted, many have stated that 2 dogs do not make a pack.
While it may be established that several canid types can form packs there are also canids that do form associations but do not maintain a tight cohesiveness. The coyote can easily operate alone, primarily for scavenging but can cooperate for a hunt. And jackals can be quite solitary.
I think what should be taken into account is the effect of Man. A group of dogs allowed to run free with minimal contact with man may begin to regain some of the wild aspects, as a matter of survival. Animals not smart or fast enough to catch prey die out and reproduce less. As successive generations come along, relying less on humans and more on themselves, the less dog-like they are. It's a reverse of the domestication process. Humans allowed more food and breeding privilege to dogs that did what or looked like what they wanted. And the dogs that listened to Man stood a better chance of survival. So wild dogs and formerly domesticated dogs now running wild are still going to be different than the domesticated breeds because their survival depends on it. And one of the primary concepts in the emergent theory is that the primary purpose of the pack outside of being a family until the cubs become adults is to successfully hunt. Once dogs began to scavenge, ala coyotes, they didn't need as much of the pack cohesion especially if there was direct intervention from Man. But, because Man is a social creature, the social aspects of dogs have been retained, as it turned out to help them survive with man or was picked by Man as a desirable trait to have.