Update: Finn is good with kids and housetraining

Today Finn met my neighbor's 7 year old son and 11 year old daughter (Griffin and Zoey).  These are great kids, who are well mannered and calm around dogs.  Finn was initially very concerned that he was going to be taken away from me, and got that worried look on his face, but after some reassurance his tail came up and he was willing to follow the kids around on the lawn (on leash).  They were very sweet with him and he soon looked like he was going to doze off as Zoey was gently petting him.  It was dusk or I would have videotaped it-- maybe we can do it again this weekend so you can see it yourself.

Finn is an incredibly sweet and loving dog.  We're recommending that he not go to a home with kids under 7, simply because he's small enough that they might try to pick him up and dogs that are elongated in the spine (like Corgis and Dachshunds) need to be lifted kind of carefully to prevent back problems.  (For example, we don't just grab them across the middle and lift, which would place a lot of pressure on the center of that elongated spine, we lift from the front and back together, keeping the spine straight and supported).  But from what I'm seeing, well mannered kids 7 and above would be no problem. Obviously, kids over 7 who are not well mannered around dogs would not be a good fit, and a child under 7 who is exceptional about taking direction and being gentle could be an exception to our rule.  So he's sweet and gentle, and needs kids who are, too.  For example, at this point in his "getting to know us" I think it would upset him and shut him down if we were to try to play roughly with him.  (We're gentle with him, and he seems incredibly grateful for that-- though there is no evidence that he's been physically abused). A few weeks from now, once he knows us and trusts us, he may not consider that kind of play to be impolite but right now it would be very confusing and scary to him.

His housetraining is still in its early stages, and he is never out of his crate without being closely supervised, and we take him out very frequently.  So it's not surprising that he has not had any accidents at all in the house.  If he's in his crate and he needs to go, he'll yip and let us know.  So things are working well so far on that front.

I introduced him tonight to target training with a target stick, and videotaped the whole thing for you, and then accidentally deleted it from my camera while trying to free up more space on the memory stick!  Darn it!  I'll try to get his session tomorrow, though, since it's still very new to him. 

Finn's getting comfortable

Finn is loving it here, and has asked to be allowed to sleep in the bedroom with the rest of the group.  He is polite about being in the crate, but wants at least someone there with him.  So we moved his crate into the bedroom and he was as happy as a clam.

He's also eating kibble now, quite enthusiastically.  We think his tummy may have been a bit off, what with the neutering and the stress of being relocated a few times. 

This morning I spent a few minutes with him teaching him his name (when I say his name, he should make eye contact with me).  He got it very quickly. 

I would describe his personality as cheerful, bright, sweet, and polite.  My Borzoi is trying to engage him in play but he doesn't seem to know what to do-- toys baffle him.  He politely puts his paws on my legs asking to be held, and was happy to be gently scooped into my lap.  He's hungry for contact. 

He continues to be an absolute delight.  It stuns me that dogs like this get abandoned and euthanized every day.  Thank God for rescue groups like St. Anthony's Canine Rescue.  We saved a real gem here. 

Finnegan on 8/24/10 after a bath

Finnegan's Great Adventure Begins

Thanks to the skills of Arleen Rooney, founder of St. Anthony's Canine Rescue, a team of 4 women sprung into action to get Finnegan out of the Baldwin Hills shelter last week. He was neutered and delivered on 8/22/10 to his foster home in Palos Verdes. I'm Diane, his foster mom. (Photos below were taken at the shelter last week).

He arrived underweight, with a dull thin coat. He has clearly been stray for some time, and has expressed a dislike of dog kibble but is happy eating Natural Balance semi-moist dog food (cut into small cubes). His spirits are high and he has been cautious and polite but very sociable. He is very sweet and wants to play with my other dogs. He needs a bath rather badly, but we're waiting a few days until his neutering stitches heal.

The only glitch we've had is we discovered he knows how to shimmy up the side of an ex-pen and get out. He climbs up it like a ladder (did I mention that he is very smart?). My husband Dennis had left him in the ex-pen (not crated) for a few minutes while he went inside, and when he came back out Dennis was shocked to discover Finn walking up the driveway looking for everyone. As Finn went over the top of the 3.5 foot ex-pen and fell down the other side, he cried out once in pain (which is what made my husband come out again so quickly). He seems fine (and we hope his neutering stitches are all OK- we did put him on the table and examined him) but we will not let this happen again. At the moment he is crated in the shade in the same area where my dogs lay during the day, so he can be with the group but cannot escape. Once he's a bit more healed and we're sure he doesn't have kennel cough we'll give him more backyard freedom. But for now, we're keeping him safely crated with frequent potty and water breaks.

He walks nicely on a leash and is nonreactive when other dogs go by (even when those other dogs ARE reactive to him).

He is adorably cute, and extremely sweet, and photos and video will come soon. Stay tuned!