The Prof's Thoughts: Lesson From a Wolf Pack

I love animals, and I especially love dogs! I feel like there is a lot to learn from them. My brothers and I grew up with a German Shepherd named Heidi. She was the best! When it came time for me to get one of my own, I chose a shepherd/husky, and named her Skylar. Within a few years, as I was driving to work, I saw a puppy on the side of the road. Of course, I stopped, grabbed her and the rest was history. She was a German Shepherd, I named Chloe.

It was like having two kids, who fought (even drawing blood at times), cuddled on the bed together, hung out in the yard and cost me A LOT of money over the years. Each had their own personalities and quirks. Skylar had the independence of a husky and Chloe was my shadow and protector that is inbred in shepherds. I had Skylar for 16 and Chloe for 11 years.

I now have a small mutt! named Jack. He is a breed of Terrier and even though I am a big dog person, he has captured my heart. Here are a few things I've learned from my dogs:

They love us unconditionally
They will trust us until we give them reason not to
They have a sense about people and will let us know right away if they like them or not
They are incredibly loyal
They will greet us with extreme excitement even if we left for two minutes
If we yell at them, they forget about it in a minute
They are completely dependent on us

I decided to study wolves today. 4 things we can learn from them:

Teamwork: there is always a boss, steady hunters, caretakers and scouts. Everyone has a role to play. Sometimes the leader will step back and another from the pack will step up to lead in their area of ability. They also embrace new members to their pack.
Play: they will take time to play as a part of their daily routine. It energizes them, stimulates creativity and collegiality.
Loyalty: they are loyal to their pack.
Communication: they had many types of communication. They bark to warn, whimper to show submission, growl to warn of danger or show dominance, and howl to keep the pack together or to locate others from a distance.

I think of a couple of my "packs"; a circle of friends and my work pack. Each pack has a main leader, while others step up at different times. Each has caretakers. Each person has a role, gifts and strengths they bring to the pack. In times of their weaknesses, others step in to support. Each pack likes to have fun and "play"; laughter, celebrating milestones of each other, or just hang out. My packs are loyal. Each pack communicates in different ways; impromptu "meetings", emails, texts, Face Time, pack meetings, or times of prayer together. In some ways we are dependent on each other at times. Sometimes we communicate as packs and other times as individuals within the pack. My work pack is changing some and we will add a new pack member, while losing another. I am sure this will change the dynamics some, however, like a wolf pack, we will embrace the new member and what they bring to the pack.

Think of your packs......and how you can use some of the above characteristics to work better together, relate better, love better, encourage better and grow better within your packs.

I love my packs.