3 Year Old Border Collie Rehoming

2113 Farnsworth Way near Coloma, Carmichael CA

Description

3 year old border collie. I was told that he is also part Kelpie. I got him when he was a year old. The people I got him from had young children and a small dog. High energy, high drive dog. Would do best in a home with experience and/or knowledge of working breeds. He runs for several miles every day next to my bicycle. He requires physical exercise and mental stimulation everyday. Smart, fast learner. Knows basic commands and tricks. Treat and play motivated. Enjoys tug. Likes swimming and will retrieve sticks from water, but does not reliably fetch on land. He likes to play in and chase moving water from the hose too. I think it would be good if an adopter is interested in dog training and maybe doing an online course with him through something like the Denise Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. He might also do well in a home with an acre or two fenced and another medium/large dog to play with. Very affectionate. Loves petting, attention, and play/wrestling. Does well with large and small dogs that he knows, but may have too much energy for many dogs. He is leash reactive on walks when he sees other dogs. He will growl, bark or whine. I manage this behavior by avoiding other dogs that I see on walks when I can and giving him treats whenever he sees other dogs to make a positive association. If an offleash dog runs up to him they just sniff each other without issue and then I continue on, but seeing other dogs while he is leashed that he can't run up to, gets him worked up. He has a high drive to chase animals (especially squirrels) and unreliable recall in areas with distractions. He should be kept on leash or long line when out in public and/or unfenced areas. He is a herding breed with herding instincts. He has potential to be a working/herding dog, but would need evaluation. He exibits stalking, staring, crouching, pausing behavior typical of herding dogs if allowed to walk loose around canada geese. He will eventually chase after them if they take off flying. He likely comes from working lines and seems to have strong herding instincts. If you need to keep deer/rabbits/squirrels out of your orchard, he would be on high alert 24/7. He has nipped, uses his incisors to pinch skin, people and dogs in the past when over excited/aroused. This is a common issue/behavior with herding breed dogs. When I first got him, he nipped my cousins daughter on her side as she got out the swimming pool. He was excited by all of the movement and splashing water as there were a lot of kids running around, swimming and screaming, and he got too excited/into herding mode. He is otherwise good with children, but I would not (I have not since the poole incident) let him run loose when children are running around playing as he could go into herding mode. Not a good dog to let run loose on the beach or at the dog park unless no one else is around. He used to go to the dog park when I first got him and did pretty good with the other dogs, but I stopped going after he nipped a dog on its side. He will still ocassionally nip me on the thigh if he gets too excited while playing tug. It does not break the skin, but feels like a really hard pinch. This is not the reason why I am rehoming him, but whoever adopts him needs to know that he has to be properly managed in certain environments/situations and that he has herding instincts that include using his mouth/teeth to try and move people or other animals if he is in herding mode. Small rehoming fee. I'm more interested in finding the right home that is a good fit for him than in rehoming him right away. I'm happy to answer any questions and provide any additional information.