Your dog is a cousin of the beautiful wolf. Maybe you knew that already. Many things dogs do are similar to behaviors we see in wolves. Knowing some of these things can help us to understand out pets better.

Like humans, dogs and wolves have families. For wolves and dogs, these families are called packs. In these packs there is always a leader and several followers. When a dog lives in your house, your family becomes his family, or 'pack'.

It is important that you let your dog know who the leader is. If he doesn't know, he will try to become the leader. When this happens, a dog may appear pushy and disobedient. By teaching the dog obedience and keeping him occupied, he will realize that a human is the leader and he will follow, instead of lead.

When wolves hunt, they find food. The animals in the pack often fight over the food, pulling at it to be sure to get their fair share. Our pet dogs continue the same pulling and tugging behavior when they play tug-o-war games.

Like the wolf, a dog has a very strong sense of smell. He uses his nose to identify everything he comes in contact with. He can find his way using his nose. He can recognize people with his nose. He can even tell if animals or people are relaxed or afraid using that perceptive nose of his. Search and rescue dogs help find people in disasters by using their keen sense of smell. It is much stronger than ours.

Like its wolf relatives, dogs sometimes howl and bark when they are left alone. It is a way for them to communicate with other dogs.

Does your dog ever dig, dig, dig at the carpet in your house? Instinct is a behavior, ability or tendency that your dog is born with. Your dog is using instinct to make himself a bed. Your dog's ancestors had to dig up a nice soft area in the dirt to sleep in. Now your dog still thinks he is making a bed for himself.

You can use your dog's instinct to have fun with him. Some activities take advantage of a dog's natural abilities or instinct. Herding, search and rescue, sledding, tracking, field trials, and hiking all allow your dog to use his instinct to have fun.