Adventures with Finn

Finn is our year and a half old Brittany and this is his personality...I am at home today and all morning he has sat in the front two rooms frantically pressing his face to the windows, pawing, and dashing from room to room. What is causing this behavior? A squirrel playing in the front yard that is paying him no attention. He has access to an entire backyard where he can run and chase all the critters he likes, but he'd rather watch this one he can't get to. Finn is intense and not easily distracted.



If you have not met Finn, he is a high energy spaz - but so much fun. He has been very difficult to train and raise. All of our friends with dogs kept encouraging us to give him about a year and a half to grow up, get the puppy out, and he would be so much better. I never really believed it when they said this, but it is starting to be true.

Finn was the cutest holy terror you have ever seen as a puppy. He'd drive you crazy because he knew what he was supposed to do, he just didn't have the control to do it. He knew to use the bathroom outside and was perfectly capable, but for the first 6 months he would sometimes decide he's rather use the carpet. He was also impossible to wear out and craved attention - we could not get anything done. If his energy was not satisfied, he would destroy things; things like shoes, wallets, cell phones, cash, etc. I think if I tried to talley up the monetary value of the things we've lost or had to replace because of Finn, I would just cry.



He would drive us insane. I can't tell you how many times Blake threatened to get rid of him; but he knew I would never allow this. Finn loved to find something he wasn't supposed to have and take off in a sprint. His favorite were socks, underwear, and dryer sheets. My best strategy was to trap him in the bedroom and stand in the middle of the bed. Even with me in this position he would run circles around the room, jumping on and off the bed for sometimes 10 minutes before I could catch him. He loved this game.

He is getting better though. Yesterday Blake and I could not recall the last time he destroyed something just for the fun of it and he does not pester as much. He has recently earned more unmonitored access around the house, more than just one room and the backyard. And yesterday was the biggest test. We went to the grocery store and left the doggy door open for Finn instead of locking him outside. He kind of failed - he found something to snack on and ripped apart a package of pop tarts, but this shouldn't have been in his reach, and I know it could have been a lot worse.

We are enjoying our "maturing puppy" and would not give him up for anything in the world.