So everyone knows that Kristina and I are animal lovers. We took Wrigley, very sadly, back to the pound after giving up on him ever getting along with Alexis. So we were planning on waiting on getting another dog for at least a month. We had already decided to get a German Shepherd that will go to work with me when we get the new liquor store going. So we casually have been keeping up with the ads in the paper and online. 
We came across an ad that sparked our interest on a 13 week old German Shepherd male who had his shots and was partially housebroken. We contacted the owners after discovering that at least five of our friends were connected to the owner in various ways. We then heard the story behind why this 13 week old pup was needing a home.
Hincapie’s owner had just found out that she is pregnant, so she wouldn’t be able to give Hincapie the attention that he needs. We quickly decided that we would be a perfect fit, pending some tests.
Our vet showed us what is known as the pinch test. You pinch the dogs toe and see what its first reaction is. If the dog bites then it will not be good with small children. I totally underestimated the force that it would take to hurt Hincapie.You really have to hurt him so that you get a true reaction, and after what Wrigley was like we weren’t taking any chances, especially with a big dog. At 7 weeks old he was already a bustling 7.7 lbs. He did react favorably to the pinch test, showing that if Alexis were to fall on him or sneak up on him then she wouldn’t make him bite out of reflex. 
The second test didn’t go as well, it was the Piper test. Piper has always wanted to be “top dog” and Hincapie is without question the bigger, and stronger of the two. Lets face it Piper is at a breed disadvantage. She didn’t attack, as we expected, and neither did he. Piper just ran to the end of the leash to get as far away as possible.
Piper has started to accept Hincapie as family. She is nervous about him, but is showing improvement. She will adjust, just a lot of changes going on.
We have spent the day getting the chores done and working with Hincapie. We noticed right off that he loved Alexis, but that he didn’t know how to play with her without hurting her. He was puppy nipping at her, and everything else as well as jumping up on us. So we took him to Petsmart and worked with a trainer up there. She showed him how to interact with Alexis, and how she should interact with him as well as how we should go about teaching Hincapie. By the time we were finished, Kristina and I were comfortable with teaching both Hincapie and Alexis how to fit in their roles in our family. Hincapie has had no further nipping, or jumping since the trainer session, which was free by the way.
After dealing with the trainer, and coming home for dinner, Kristina and I took our whole family to the walking trail, because lets face it a German Shepherd needs lots of exercise. We absolutely tired out Hincapie, and he is now resting comfortably in his new home. We plan on getting him into training within the next two weeks, and the free training session at Petsmart may have been enough to get me to Conway for training.
We just finished his AKC registration. We are planning on working Hincapie into doing agility stuff, just as soon as we finish his obedience training. We know how massively important it is to have a big dog properly trained. It is not only a convenience and control issue, but a safety one that we wouldn’t fail to address with Alexis being as young as she is. We want to train him to be the best family dog he can be, while getting all the benefits of his breed.
Here is a shot of Hincapie Varnell resting at his perch in front of the door. Our new protector.
Welcome to the family, Hincapie! What a sweet dog you are!