Mountainside Mutts Book Club (October) Review:
Thinking Like A Wolf (Lessons from the Yellowstone Packs) by Rick McIntyre
Mountainside Mutts Book Club Review Rating: 🦴🦴🦴🦴
I’ll be honest—I groaned aloud when this title was suggested by one of our book club members. As a force-free dog trainer, I spend a lot of time countering outdated ideas that continue to circulate online. Too often, “trainers” justify harsh methods by referring to a decades-old study on captive, unrelated wolves. Even the author of that study, Dr. David Mech, has long since distanced himself from the conclusions that sparked the whole “alpha dominance” myth.
Yes, dogs share DNA with the gray wolf—but just as we share DNA with apes, that doesn’t make us monkeys. Pet dogs are not wolves, and training them as if they were is both misguided and unfair.
It was with that skepticism that I reluctantly opened Thinking Like a Wolf. Within a few pages, though, I was completely drawn in. This wasn’t another “show your dog who’s boss” manifesto. Instead, it was a compassionate, deeply observant ode to wolves and their world. McIntyre’s lifelong devotion to studying these animals is clear from the first chapter—but what really hooked me was his reflection on page 8:
“The two species on earth that are most similar in social behavior are wolves and humans.”
That line made me sit up straight. I had to learn more.
Over the next 200-plus pages, McIntyre introduces us to the many packs that have called Yellowstone home since the reintroduction of Canis lupus in 1995. For those who might not know, wolves were hunted to near extinction in the U.S. before being reintroduced to the park—a controversial decision at the time, but one that has since had extraordinary effects on the ecosystem. The “trophic cascade” that followed—the return of balance through prey control, vegetation regrowth, and biodiversity—has to be seen to be believed. (If you’ve never seen this YouTube clip: How Wolves Change Rivers, watch it now!)
As a group, we agreed that the subject matter was fascinating, though McIntyre’s writing style left us divided. Personally, I struggled to stay engaged with the endless references to numbered wolves (Wolf 906, Wolf 302, and so on). Scientists avoid naming their study subjects to prevent anthropomorphism—but as a reader, I found myself craving those emotional connections. Much of the book reads like field notes, which lends authenticity but occasionally makes for dry reading.
That said, the moments when McIntyre steps away from pure observation—the reflections, the history, the stories of how he came to do this work—were captivating. I wanted more of that. And I’d love to hear more about current conservation efforts for the Yellowstone wolves today.
One theme that stood out for all of us was the wolves’ extraordinary cooperation. Their survival depends on teamwork and adaptability—less about dominance and more about family. McIntyre writes:
“In the end, I saw that wolf families are similar to human families in many ways, especially large ones.”
There are squabbles and power shifts, yes, but wolves are not perpetually battling for “alpha” status. Some are content to follow rather than lead. The real lesson, perhaps, is that strength lies in unity and in recognizing that roles within a family—or a pack—can change fluidly over time.
One member noted (with some irritation) that McIntyre focuses more on the males than the females, even though it’s often the females quietly running the show. A fair point, and one we hope he explores more deeply in future works.
Our only real disappointment was that the title promised more practical insight into how we might “think like a wolf.” In truth, the book’s central message isn’t about mimicking wolves, but understanding that their success—like ours—depends on cooperation, empathy, and adaptability. Wolves, it turns out, may think more like us than the other way around.
In the end, we liked the book far more than we disliked the style. And as one member quipped during our discussion:
“Maybe for the next one, he could team up with a ghostwriter?”
Next Up:
Do you live in Rutland, Vermont and love books about nature? Our book club meets approximately every 6 weeks. What unites our members is a love for the animals and the natural world around us. Come join us.
Mountainside Mutts Book Club  selection (Dec) is: The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year We’ll meet at 6pm on 17 December  2025. We’d love to have you join the discussion. You can even join via Zoom. Find us on the Book Clubs App or email: als@mountainsidemutts.com for further information.
