Wild Card

Our agreement to maintain the number of dogs in the house at three or less had been in place since our oldest dog passed away in May. With Duncan, Baxter and Raleigh our house remains quite active and we've settled into comfortable routine. An innocent walk on NW 23rd changed everything when we met Flynn through a rescue group. One week later we introduced our wild card into the house and suddenly things are much different.

Flynn is a Basenji/Miniature Pinscher that was being fostered by the Born Again Pit Bull Rescue despite his lack of Pit Bull genes. His backstory extends only a few months and begins at a shelter in Los Angeles. With only four hours until he was to be euthanized a call when out for somebody to save this sweet dog. BAPBR, having some room in their program, stepped up to save him. The next couple of months found him being fostered by different families as his tendency to food guard developed and a couple of incidents with Flynn biting.  BAPBR never accepts dogs with a history of biting into their program, but with Flynn already in their custody their objective was to find him a safe home that was willing to patiently work with him. The next step was fostering him with Cecelia Towner of Trusting the Heart Dog Training.  Cecelia not only cares for dogs, she strives to understand their motivations and work with them constructively.  We met with Cecelia and luckily she felt we fit the bill because Gregory was already in love with Flynn minutes after their first meeting. Okay, I was charmed too.

At the age of one Flynn is a typical puppy; he's loving but a little self centered. He's curious and prone to wanting to experience the world using his sense of taste and I find myself removing acorn shells, flowers, rocks and more from his clenched jaws at least five times a day. We're practicing 'Drop' but haven't approached a state of willingly surrendering his dangerous gastronomic treasures. Although he clenches his jaw tightly, we've managed to move well beyond any jaw snapping.

With an incomplete history we're left looking at his guessed genetic background and daily behavior to train him. Although Basenji's are supposed to be hard to train, I've found Flynn to be attentive and a quick learner. His playfulness and tightly coiled energy make him easily distracted. He drives the other dogs crazy with his rambunctious behavior, but they're definitely warming up to him.

Although Flynn is pretty well behaved, he's young and like any young dog he hasn't quite got the hang of living in a household so we're living by a few guidelines:

• If you can't see or hear a young dog, assume he's relieving himself or chewing something. Go investigate.

• If a puppy needs to look for a toy, it's more likely they'll find trouble first. Our floor is littered with tennis balls, previously stuffed animals, bones and rope toys to provide approved distractions and so far we've only lost one sandal.

• Young dogs snoop through anything they can reach; lock the garbage, cupboards with toxic cleaners and consider disposing of razors, q-tips and dental floss in a safer place than the bathroom trash can.

• Train consistently in small sessions, ensuring your dog succeeds in small steps and is rewarded well. We tend to 'Play with a Purpose' rather than just strict training sessions.

• At every change in activity (waking, eating, playing, training) give your dog an opportunity to relieve himself outside.

Flynn is progressing really well and we met with Cecelia again this week for some  (both Cecelia and BAPBR have been very committed in their post adoption follow-up). Although he's a bit of a wild card, with the right attention, training and a lot of affection Flynn is going to fit right in.

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