When I first adopted my bboy, he was so timid and scared of people that he just lit up with delighted tail wags everytime there was another dog - any dog. As he's grown more confident with people, he's grown more dominant in his relationship with my bgirl and, unfortunately, other dogs. In particular, we like to go walking down at the beach in the evenings, when there are up to 20 other dogs (an ever-changing population) milling about with their owners. My boy immediately gets along with about half of them, but the other half, watch out. The initial greeting is a sniff and a tail wag, but within 30 seconds my boy will start growling and trying to start a fight to assert his dominance. I'm nearly positive that this is what he's trying to do, because as soon as the other dog shows submissive body language, the growling stops and they start to play. He does the same thing with a few dogs at the dog park, both of which situations have unfortunately led me to stop taking him to either place. We do still have a weekly play-date with another male basenji, and interestingly enough both males let my female dominate them in this situation. I understand that dominance shows are a natural part of doggy socialization and that as soon as they "work it out" the dogs would be friends, but I can't have him growling and fighting with every dog at the beach or dog park while they figure out who's boss. Not only that, but unless they see the same dog over and over again, they seem to forget who was boss last time and have to re-work it out every time they see each other. Needless to say, this plan is just not feasible for either of these two group-doggie situations. I really just want to get my dogs some healthy socialization time – any thoughts on how we might overcome this?

He does have papers, from the ACA. I'm not sure who the sire and the dam are on the papers, because Oatie is not with me (I'm in NJ and he's in DC).

Hey everyone!! Thanks so much for all of your replies – this is a tough situation, but I am so pleased that we've had several people step up to offer assistance and homes. As it stands now, we have tentative plans to fly Oatmeal out to a breeder in Texas, who can work with him on his behavioral issues until he is either adoptable through BRAT, or the breeder might just keep him herself. Either way, she says she would never put a dog to sleep, so it seems that his life is spared. Now we just have to organize transport, and I'm trying to get his owners to pay for the flight, because they do love him and feel terrible about giving him up.

To answer Tanza's question, he is unfortunately a pet store dog, which we all know means he likely came from a puppy mill. So as to his breeding, who knows?

He absolutely could! Are you thinking of adopting him?

Oatmeal is a gorgeous 3 year old neutered male red and white basenji, current on all his shots and in excellent health. He has been to obedience school and follows basic commands, does a few tricks, and is crate trained. However, his family unfortunately didn't understand much about basenjis and used an electric fence to contain him in the yard even while neighborhood kids taunted him, and didn't socialize him much with other dogs outside the home. Consequently, Oatmeal has become aggressive, particularly with food and children, and when outside his comfort zone. His family gave him up a week ago due to their own medical constraints, and he is currently in a very tenuous foster situation. Unfortunately BRAT is not able to take him due to his aggressive tendencies, and will have to euthanize him this weekend (8/9)if a home or a behaviorist to work with him (Washington, DC area) is not found.

Please, please help this boy! He deserves better than what he's gotten in life – it's not his fault that he doesn't know how to trust people, and when he tries to be a good doggie he just curls up in your lap and snuggles. If you know of anyone who can take him, or know of a behaviorist who might evaluate him for free to determine whether he should not be PTS, please PLEASE let me know immediately! Oatmeal's life depends on it.