Adopt a Border Collie / Australian Kelpie (medium coat)

Tiia is a chocolate Border Collie mix, 2 to 3 years old and weighs approximately 44 pounds. She is a very loyal girl, who will bond strongly with her human(s), and is friendly and casual when meeting people.

 

Tiia is an easy natured girl, who is fine with people placing their hands in her bowl or removing toys from her, and being handled. She is not accustomed to being in a crate, and she has no need for one. She is completely housebroken and has never had a accident. Tiia also is great when left freely in the house alone, and has never chewed or destroyed anything.

Tiia is super smart, intensely alert, and needs a job or activities to keep her brain occupied, or she will become restless. She is very attentive with and looks for direction from people. Tiia responds very well to your cues and is always ready to do whatever you are up for. She very food motivated and loves training exercises, as it gives her brain something to do. Playing ball is her favorite thing, but after about an hour of it she will look for other things to do.

For a border collie, Tiia is a moderate energy girl. She has good stamina on long hikes. She is great on the trail and will not bother other dogs or people. However, when she sees squirrels, rabbits, cats, even horses, her prey drive will kick in, and it becomes very difficult to get her attention, to respond to you. This is the reason she should not be in a home with cats, small children, or nervous noisy small dogs. Tiia’s prey drive extends to fast moving things. She rides nicely in a car, and likes to hop in on her own. She does not like people trying to lift her into a vehicle. When in a car, she will ride very quietly, until she sees bicyclists, skateboarders, or other dogs going past. She will bark as they go past outside the car. She is fine with, an NOT reactive to passing cars.

If she has had a good session of hiking, running, playing, or training, Tiia knows how to relax when inside and it is time to chill out. When inside, and all is calm, she is very sweet, with a lovely sensitive, yet easy personality.

In general, Tiia is very casual and good when meeting most dogs, especially medium to large sized dogs, but she is not interested in interacting with them (see above for prey drive and very small dogs). However, when on leash, she can be reactive when passing other dogs on a sidewalk, and will need work on that. Otherwise, Tiia walks fairly well on leash, but may initially pull with excitement and pent up energy, to get going and explore.

Tiia currently is in a situation where there are a lot of triggers and minimal management of animal activities. She has developed barrier aggression as a result of her living situation,  If she is inside and sees another dog on the other side of a barrier (even a glass door), she will begin snarling and barking; but once the door gate is open (barrier removed), she will stop and be fine again. We believe that in a calmer situation to reduce her stress levels, without constant stimulation from small creatures around her, and with people who can provide her with regular exercise, predictable routines and do behavioral work with her, that some of her issues may diminish. Tiia would be a great dog in an adult home, as an only dog, or with a medium-large easy going dog.

If you are interested in meeting Tiia, please begin our pre-adoption approval process by completing our online adoption form, at http://hittgv.org/index.php/adopt. Please email us at [email protected] if you have further questions.