If a Cub Scout has completed the first grade and has earned the Bobcat Badge, the scout may start earning the Wolf rank. The scout receives a Wolf Scout handbook, Wolf neckerchief, and Wolf neckerchief slide when beginning the Wolf portion of the scouting trail. The scout will also need a blue Cub Scout Uniform. This part of the scouting trail is intended to take one school year, preparing the scout to begin earning the Bear rank after completing second grade.
How to Join:
- Go to BeAScout.org
- Click the 'Cub Scouts' tab.
- Enter your zipcode and click the arrow button.
- Click on a Pack near you to see its contact info so you can call the Pack or your local Council about joining.
- Complete a BSA Youth Application and Health Record and give them to the Cubmaster of the Pack you choose.
Your Wolf den will have opportunities to participate in Pack meetings. Prepare your scouts by having them ready to perform a couple of Skits and lead the pack in some Games. By having a Wolf favorite ready, your scouts will look good, have fun, and increase their confidence through leading the pack.
Tip: Choose 2 skits and games before September and do them at your first den meeting. Don't wait until your Cubmaster calls on you for a skit.
Tip: Many packs award the Wolf badge at their Blue-Gold banquet in February. If you begin your Wolf program in September, this means you have less than 5 months to complete the Wolf requirements. You should plan out what requirements your den will do and make a schedule so everyone knows what is expected. A calendar kept up to date helps families keep track of their scouting commitments.
Wolf Advancement
Wolf Scouts do adventures described in their Wolf handbook that advance them towards their Wolf rank. By completing seven adventures, the Wolf rank is earned.
Wolf Rank Requirements:
- Complete each of the six Wolf required adventures:
- Call of the Wild
- Council Fire
- Duty to God Footsteps
- Howling at the Moon
- Paws on the Path
- Running With the Pack
- In addition to the six required adventures listed previously, complete at least one Wolf elective adventure of your den's or family's choosing from this list: Adventures in Coins, Air of the Wolf, Code of the Wolf, Cubs Who Care, Digging in the Past, Finding Your Way, Germs Alive!, Paws of Skill, Spirit of the Water
- With your parent, guardian, or other caring adult, complete the exercises in the pamphlet entitled How to Protect Your Children From Child Abuse: A Parent's Guide
- Watch the Protect Yourself Rules video for 2nd Grade, Wolf.
(The video is located at https://vimeo.com/325064564 and can be watched on-line or downloaded and viewed off-line.)
OR Earn the Protect Yourself Rules Preview Adventure for Wolf.
Wolf Cub Scouts may also complete either the Protect Yourself Rules or the Yo-Yo Preview Adventure for requirement 2.
If Cub Scouts use the Protect Yourself Rules Adventure in requirement 4, the adventure can not be used as an elective for requirement 2.
Akela is the name given to the Cub Scout's parent or guardian, the caring adult guiding the scout along the Cub Scouting trail. Akela is responsible for acknowledging completion of each adventure requirement by signing and dating the appropriate spot in the Wolf's handbook. There is also a spot for the Wolf Den Leader to sign for each requirement. The Adventure Tracking pages in the back of the Wolf handbook can be used by the Wolf to track progress all in one spot, and some dens use advancement charts or den doodles to publicly display advancement.
A Wolf that has fulfilled all rank requirements still has a lot more adventure waiting. The scout can continue to complete elective adventures with Akela or his den, or at district and council hosted events. Some scouts set a goal to earn the remaining dozen adventure belt loops before moving on to a Bear den.
Wolf Den Leader:
An energetic, organized, and supportive Wolf Den Leader is critical to the success of a Wolf Den. The Den Leader plans the program of activities for the year and makes that plan available to all den parents. The Den Leader should enjoy the outdoors and be a strong advocate for getting youth outside and active.
A well-run Wolf den gives each scout a chance to work on leadership skills in small but meaningful amounts. The Denner position is a great way for individual scouts to practice leadership for a short time. The Den Chief is a Boy Scout that has volunteered to work with a den in order to practice leadership skills and be a role model for younger scouts. The Den Leader is responsible for training and assisting a Den Chief, if the den has been assigned one.
Wolf Den Leader is a registered volunteer BSA position whose responsibilities are:
- Work directly with other den and pack leaders to ensure that their den is an active and successful part of the pack.
- Plan, prepare for, and conduct den meetings with the assistant den leader and den chief.
- Attend pack leaders' meetings.
- Lead the den at the monthly pack meeting and pack activities.
- Ensure the transition of youth in the Wolf den into a Bear den at the end of the year.
- Keep accurate records.
- Help the den earn the National Den Award.
There are many resources available to help the den leader plan and run a successful, interesting program for the scouts. The Wolf Den Leader Guide is the most important one. It has complete den meeting plans for each adventure and many ideas for activities that promote the purposes of Cub Scouting. This guide takes much of the planning burden off over-extended volunteers.
Tip: Remember that the Cub Scout motto of Do Your Best is central to the program. There is no level of competence or skill required to complete adventures. Putting in personal effort and having fun with fellow scouts is success.
As the Tiger program was completely family oriented, so the Wolf program relies heavily on family involvement. You will see this gradually change with the scout doing more with the den and more individual direction as the scout reaches Webelos and Boy Scouts.
Tip: Many available Awards go unused, especially by Wolf and Bear dens. Learn about additional awards offered to your scouts such as the World Conservation Award and Outdoor Ethics Award and consider working them into your schedule - especially in the spring and summer months.
This information is intended to make wolf cub scout dens more productive and interesting for the scouts. A cub scout at the wolf level needs a lot of activity made up of short, interesting games, projects, and challenges.
Comments: Jan 08, 2013 - Rachael Daley
I just took over as Chair of our Pack and Wolf Den leader... YIKES! This sight has been the most amazing tool ever!! I have encouraged all our Dens to use your site! and the BeltLoop worksheets are awesome for keeping track of who earned what!
Jan 14, 2013 - Elizabeth
Rachael, good luck on pack committee chair AND wolf den leader--that's what I'm doing now! I'm working on #5 tonight, just gathering my list of equipment and then off to the store. Sites like this are great for ideas, it is easy even when you have to plan a meeting last minute.
Jan 14, 2013 - Scouter Paul
Rachel and Elizabeth - On the 2nd page of the BSA Adult Application, under Qualification, it states: No one may register in more than one position in the same unit.
You should not be holding both den leader and committee chair positions.
Jan 25, 2013 - Mike
I am a Den Leader (Wolves) and have a question. Chapters 1, 10, and 12 have activities that that you can choose from. Fro example, Chapter 1 Feast of Skill you must do A-E and then 1 from F-L. My Den did all 12. In Pack Master (Software) there is up/down arrows to tally how many the boys did.
Here is my question: Do I count the first 6 as what they are required and then tally up 6 more (using up/down arrows) for extra credit or do I use the up/down arrows to tally for all 12?
This makes a difference because whatever number you tally gets applied for Arrow Badges.
Thank you,
Jan 25, 2013 - Scouter Paul
Mike - The additional 6 requirements in an Activitity are not used for any advancement. Only "Electives", not "Activities", are used for Arrow Point requirements.
If the software you are using is counting extra Activity requirements towards Arrow Points, that is incorrect for Wolf dens.
Mar 01, 2013 - Scouter Paul
Mike - Please see BSA Guide to Advancement (12MB), especially section 4.1.1.6 �I cut this image of the relevant parts from the 2011 and new 2013 version that was released in July.
It used to say - "Unused parts of achievements that were used for the Wolf or Bear badge may not be counted toward Arrow Points."
But, now it says "Unused Bear badge achievements, or parts of achievements that were used for the Bear badge, may be counted toward Arrow Points."
So, there is no change for Wolfs - still says "only electives may be used to earn Arrow Points."
But, Bears can use extra parts of achievements.
Mar 05, 2013 - Brad
Paul,
Thank you for posting that. I was actually just getting on today to research the same question. I found an online tracking program called CubTrails.com and they are counting the additional achievements as arrow points. I will send them and email (I hope) and try to get them to fix it.
Again, thank you for all of your time and effort you put into Scouting to help the rest of us.
Brad
Mar 13, 2013 - Lindsay
Scouter Paul,
Thank you for posting the BSA Guide to Advancement. I am a first time Wolf Den leader and resources like this website and BSA Guide to Advancement are crucial for staying in accordance to the BSA guide lines.
For any leaders - I had issues with parents not really committing to the Achievement requirements that could be done at home and I really wanted my den to finish together. So I decided to do workshops during the den meetings. I researched what the scout needed to complete the Achievements and I assigned each parent to a workstation where I provided the "tools" for the requirements as well as a written guide to use. Each group would rotate to the next station after 10 to 15 minutes of discussion. This worked beautifully! Not only were the parents involved, the scouts loved it. We were able to complete 4 Achievements during that 1 meeting. By February all my scouts got there Wolf patch TOGETHER! If this helps, use it and don't be afraid to be creative!
Mar 13, 2013 - Lindsay
Ideas for the more complicated workshops like Achievement 8-Cooking & Eating. 1 den meeting I split the scouts into groups of 3. I had a parent at each cooking area, breakfast and out door grilling. Table setting area, each scout had to set a table correctly & dish washing area. Once the food was prepared we ate what they cooked while the scouts wrote a meal plan than they washed there dishes.
4f-Visit an important place in your community. On a Saturday we took a day trip. 1st stop, a botanical garden for bird watching (electives). 2nd stop, fire department for a tour. Last our State Capitol. We ate lunch & toured the Capitol.
7-Your Living World. I had samples of recyclables & discussed them, we read & discussed 3 articles about current issues. Lastly we went outside & spread the trash I brought for the scouts to pick up with gloves.
This was a great way for me to see 1st hand that the Achievements were being done. Day trips are a great way for the scouts & parents to bond.
Mar 13, 2013 - Scouter Paul
Lindasy - Thanks for taking the time to share your successful activities!
Scout On
Jul 01, 2013 - Brian L
I have a question regarding the Progress to Ranks emblem and how it relates to displaying temporary badges since they go in the same place, is the cub supposed to remove the progress to rank once he achieves Wolf / Bear ? or is it a choice ? my son was curious (and as one who buys the patches I am curious as well) based on how close he is getting to the World Conservation Award
Jul 02, 2013 - Scouter Paul
@Brian - The Progress Towards Rank device is intended to give frequent recognition to scouts while they work toward their larger rank. It is up to the scout to continue wearing the device or not after rank is achieved.
Since one temporary patch is to be displayed on the right pocket, either a patch or the Progress device should be hung there - not both.
Jul 02, 2013 - Brian L
@Scouter Paul right ... I knew about it being either the Progress Device or the Temporary patch ... I didnt know that it was the Cubs Choice ... thank you for the swift answer
Oct 15, 2013 - Mindy
Scouter Paul-
The adult application may say that we can only be "registered" in one position, but the fact is that in many packs there are only so many parents who get involved. If I didn't wear multiple hats (as others on committee), then we simply wouldn't get everything done. We might be registered as one thing, but our responsibilities span much more than that..... Please don't discourage those parents who are pulling much more than our "fair share" of the weight for the pack. :-(
Oct 15, 2013 - Scouter Paul
@Mindy - I don't mean to be discouraging volunteers, but there are valid reasons for registering an adult in one position. The BSA rules, guidelines, requirements, limitations should be followed to help avoid bigger problems down the road. Those problems could include youth abuse opportunities, financial discrepancies, and dissolution of the unit.
Jan 20, 2014 - Forrest Landon
I m a new cub scout leader and all of the boys in the group are 3rd graders and would be working for their Wolf, But none of these boys have been in cub scouts before, so do they need to go back to the begining or start out on the Wolf program,
Jan 20, 2014 - Scouter Paul
@Forrest - Cub Scouts is age-based. The scouts in your den, if they are 3rd graders, should first earn the Bobcat badge, then Bear, and then Arrow Points. They would not do Tiger or Wolf program elements.
Mar 04, 2014 - Donald Mead
Please can anyone help? I am trying to find the proper version of a chant I remember from my days as a wolf cub many many years ago. It was something like:
Big chief, big chief
Baden Powell, Baden Powell
Dib Dib Dib
Ra Ra Ra
We squatted and stood up with our fingers making a backwards V-sign at the side of our heads - like cubs ears, I suppose.
Does anyone remember this?
Mar 04, 2014 - Yukon Jack
@ Donald Mead. The cheer you mention is actually Canadian in origin. My pack went to a Scouts Canada Cuboree back in April 2012 and they taught it to us. A scout stands in the middle and calls: "Akela, we'll do our best". He then challenges the rest of the circle with the "Dyb dyb dyb" part meaning "Do Your Best" and is responded to with "We'll dob dob dob" meaning "We'll do our best". Good thing we filmed it. But they did the Salute and the "V" sign exactly as you describe.
Middle scout: "Akela, we'll do our best! Dyb dyb dyb!"
Circle of scouts: "We'll dob dob dob!"
*Cub scout salute...'V' sign*
The cubmaster told us he did that cheer in Canada as a cub himself, some 40 years prior. Their area (Scouts Canada has only 20 councils) still uses it, unchanged, throughout western Canada's 3 councils at least. Hope this helps your search.
Mar 04, 2014 - Yukon Jack
@ Donald. Addendum, the Canadian cubs also did the squat during the challenge, then jumped, saluted, gave the reply, and ended with the 'V' sign. So hopefully, what I gave you is exactly as you remember, just a different first line.
May 07, 2014 - Shell
I am a bear den leader. I have a boy who started as a wolf and now is a bear but didn't earn his bobcat until now as a bear. He wants to know if he can still finish his wolf achievements to earn the wolf rank.
May 07, 2014 - Scouter Paul
@Shell - No, Cub Scouts work on their current program. They do not go back and complete programs for younger scouts.
May 09, 2014 - Veronica
I am the Committee Chair of our Pack. We have 3 Bears who have all the components but 1 for the Conservation Badge. Can they finish this over the summer or do they need to finish this by the time school lets out for the summer?
Thank you.
May 09, 2014 - Scouter Paul
@Veronica - They should complete the requirements before the end of your Pack's program year. That is usually end of school year or beginning of school year, but it shouldn't be arbitrarily be moved around as needed for completion of awards. If they don't complete the requirements as Bears, they can do them as Webelos.
Jul 01, 2014 - claire Smith
Elective 5b requires the boy to make and fly a paper bag kite. I cannot find any stores still carrying paper bags. Any ideas for a suitable substitute?
Jul 02, 2014 - Scouter Paul
@claire - Since it's just paper, you can make one out of pretty much any paper. Brown wrapping paper works just fine with a little tape.
Sep 20, 2014 - Debbie
I wish I had found this website last year when I was a brand new Tiger Cub Den Leader and had no clue what to do. I was pretty much thrown into it with just the handbook as my guide. Needless to say I spent hundreds of hours searching the internet for any and all ideas that I could find. Which is why I am quite surprised that I never came across this website and wish that I had. Out of all of the sites I have found and used this site by far out does the rest. From what I have seen so far I am very impressed with the better quality and the wide variety of content this site has. I will most definitely be using it for all my scouting needs as a Wolf Den Leader this year. So thanks in advance for all the help.
Jan 19, 2015 - Jessica Mettler
In this post you mention awarding the Wolf rank at the Blue and Gold Banquet. Our Blue & G is 2/22/15. Our Den leaders and i were really hoping every scout would earn their rank badge by then. Our meetings and at home plans were aimed at this Pack goal. I realize we are supposed to give awards as they earn them, but no one has earned their rank badge yet. However, most are very close. I am sure most will easily earn theirs in time for the B & G. (For example, 12 out of 14 wolves are on track.) In your opinion, how much should we as Pack & Den leaders warn the less-motivated parents that "most of the other boys except your son will be getting a badge" unless you hurry up and do these requirements with him? My tiger leader says we should try to clearly explain this to parents and encourage them. She said "if i was that parent - i would feel like crap as a parent" seeing 7 out of 8 boys get a badge". What should we do?
Jan 20, 2015 - Scouter Paul
@Jessica - I'd tell the scout parents that there is less than 1 month left for their son to complete the Wolf rank requirements, and tell them where they can check to see what requirements are not yet complete. That is normally in the scout's handbook, but maybe you track it differently.
May 03, 2015 - Robin
You mentioned having a weekend camp out at one of the scout's cabin. I thought
Wolf dens could not have camp outs as a den. Was this considered family
camping? If so what makes the two different? I ask because looking at the new
requirements we have to go camping and I was trying to figure out how to make this
work for our den.
May 03, 2015 - Scouter Paul
@Robin - Saying we had a "campout" is misleading. We stayed in
a heated house and there was no camping involved.
According to the strict interpretation of the upcoming camping
requirements, Packs will be required to offer overnight camping
in order for scouts to earn ranks. The <I>only</I> exception,
written in the requirements, is if the Pack's chartered
organization does not allow Cub Scout camping.
For Tigers, Wolves, and Bears, they must attend a Pack campout -
their den can't go camping alone. It's not too early to bring
this up to your Pack's adult leaders so planning of campouts can
start.
May 12, 2015 - Heather
I have a question. My son has just started with a wolf den about 2 weeks ago because one of the
den leaders in my area told me he wouldn't start until he was eight years old so I didn't really look
into it until now. And come to find out he could have been participating all school year. Needless to
say he's a little bummed that he missed so much but still wants to earn his wolf. Is this still possible
for him? He has joined a different pack but the den leader isn't very helpful, should he just start
working on the wolf requirements by himself over the summer using the new book? Or skip it all
together and start with bear?
May 13, 2015 - Scouter Paul
@Heather - If your Pack starts the next program year in June, then
it sounds like he should wait a couple weeks and start in a Bear
den.
If the Pack runs the same dens through the summer, and starts the
next program year in September when school starts, then he could
do Wolf advancement until then. But, that activity should be done
with his den, not all alone with a parent.
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