Tyson 14-348 [1]

Tyson came into RAGOM on Saturday with Annie and Penny from overflowing shelters in Alabama. He is healthy, neutered, weighs about 60 pound, and is less than 2 years old. He doesn’t know his name yet. We had a new theory when we decided to foster Tyson, to see if stray dogs could learn their name faster when the resident dog has the same name. Our theory is not really working – our resident Tyson gets confused when we call for Tyson the foster. He takes treats well and is learning "sit" and "come." He has been eating by hand-feeding. He kept knocking his food dish over with food sprawling all over the floor, so I hold his dish and hand-feed him.

He is pretty nervous about loud noises and sudden movements. He likes to hang out by himself away from the action. He snuggles up to us when hanging out. He really prefers to be outside and lays in the rock landscape which makes me think he was an outdoor dog. His temporary foster from the Tennessee Golden Retriever rescue indicated he was an escape artist, but we have not given him much chance to try. We have a 6’ wood fence which helps to keep the strays from running away. He is learning to play with toys and has found chewing on Nylabones is his favorite. He gets scared when we toss a ball to play catch. It makes me wonder how rough his background was if he is so skittish and nervous. He is super sweet and crawls into our laps whenever he can. Because he doesn’t know how to play with toys or other dogs, he is very mouthy. We are trying to get him stable and comfortable with dogs, toys, and new experiences.

Tyson and Annie will be at the Edina meet-and-greet on Saturday.

Tyson (left) and Annie 14-347