04/12/2024
Please help this baby find his forever Home!
Please be kind as we have not come to this decision lightly, and it breaks our heart to even be making this post. We are looking for someone to adopt our full blooded Australian Cattle Dog, Sheppard.
Location: Daphne, AL (Baldwin
County)
Name: Sheppard
Age: 1 year and 7 months (Birthday
September 5)
Breed: Australian cattle dog
He has not been altered
Up to date on vaccinations (no other health concerns)
Approx weight 40 lbs
We have had Sheppard since he was 10 weeks old. Overall, he is an amazing dog and family member, but due to some behavioral issues we are looking to rehome.
We have had two incidents in which Sheppard has bit me, once in the upper arm and once in the wrist breaking skin but nothing worse.
Both incidents were during high stress, reactive moments that I believe may just be driven from his natural instinct as a herding dog.
That is not to dismiss biting, as these incidents have resulted in myself having high anxiety and concern for the future with kids/a family.
We have spoken with trainers and behaviorists; however, at this time cannot afford their services. We have compiled the information/tips they have provided along with some vets to continue working with him and training the best we know how.
We are looking to rehome him to someone who knows how to train and handle high strung, confident, working dogs. He is driven and extremely smart. He trains well, but at this time I don't believe we are able to provide him with the structure, mental/physical training, and stability he needs. We are looking for someone to give him a loving home, as we are only trying to do what is best for both him and our quality of life. Once again, we have not come to this decision lightly and it has been extremely emotional. However, at this time we believe it may be what is best.
Sheppard has a very sweet demeanor overall, and besides the two incidents we normally do not have any issues. He is extremely friendly to friends and family members that come to our house (including my husband's 90 year old grandmother). He lives in a home with a cat and they do great together, although he does like to herd him at times (we have been training him not to). He has been around other dogs and has done well, but is reactive to dogs barking on walks. He has been around kids when he was younger, but not recently. Unsure how he would do with young kids at this time. Our vet and sitter have never stated any issues with him either.
He loves to play fetch and push around his herding ball. We provide him with as much physical activity that we can, but with working full time jobs I just don't believe it is as much as he needs.
He was in a 6 week puppy training program when he was younger where he socialized with other dogs and did great. He knows sit, down, off, place, shake, spin, wait, and threshold training. He was crate trained as a puppy, but has been confined to space in our home with gates. Recently we have been trialing short periods of him roaming the house with no issues.
He is fully potty trained.
Leash walking is our biggest area we are continuing to work on. It has improved with recent advice from a vet who provided us with youtube links. He has shown progress with less pulling; however, it seems as if his reactivity on walks is unpredictable at times. Triggers have been cars, dogs barking, some people, and kids on scooters/ bikes. He has done well on many walks before, but one of the incidents I mentioned happened on a walk that just him and I were on.
He does have mild quirks like not liking his paws touched. He also has some food aggression
specifically to the food that is in his bowl.
I love this boy so much; however, there is a fear aspect I am concerned I won't be able to get over which ultimately is not fair to him. Please help us find him the perfect home, so he can thrive.
We will be asking for an adoption fee of $300 which will include all records, papers, dog bed, place bed, treats, food, toys, crates, etc.
This fee is to ensure he goes to someone who truly wants to love him and provide him with the life he deserves. We are continuing to train the best we know how, and to provide him with the resources to be the best version of himself until we can find him his perfect forever home.
Thanks in advance to all those willing to help!
Contact information
Text: 256-318-2483
Email: [email protected]
