Adopt a Red Heeler / Australian Cattle Dog/Blue Heeler / Mixed (medium coat)

Shelly is a quirky Cattle Dog/Red Heeler mix. Her personality is very sweet but kind of unusual. She loves people and other dogs but is initially nervous/scared around new ones. She loves to be touched and will whine or bark to get you to touch her, which turns some people off because they think she's acting threatening. In reality, she just loves to talk. She's a chatty Patty. So she has this Yin/Yang sort of thing going on. She would love to cuddle on the couch with you or sleep in bed with you.

She knows the command "belly" to roll over for belly rubs. We taught her this as a calming/coping mechanism and it seems to help. We also taught her "good game" when she's playing with another dog and it's going well (to reassure her that this is a great idea to play with the other dog and the other dog does like this game). She also knows EH-EH as a deterrent when we need to redirect her energy elsewhere. She also knows "outside" to go out into the yard and "house" to come back into the house. And of course she knows "sit". She's very smart, typical of a Cattle Dog. She also has these strong spurts of energy, but they don't last long. We're talking a 10 minute romp around the yard (the command "hah" gets her going and we slap at the air as she passes us to keep her going) and then she's tired, comes in for a drink, and settles down. Shelly would probably love to become a trained trick dog. She needs a job.

She's been with us for years as a long term foster. She loves all of us but we really think she'd like a less hectic home. We are seeking an adopter who's patient and kind, has a fenced yard, and if you have another dog it should be smaller than Shelly. She LOVES small dogs and her best friend here is a 12 lb yorkipoo.

We're recommending an adults only home for Shelly. Not suitable for rental or condo/townhome/twin home situations. Detached home with large yard quite separate from your neighbors is best. Not suitable for farm life because we know she will take off after wildlife and get lost (that's how we ended up with her). 

Shelly will be placed via foster-to-adopt to help her transition and adjust to her new human(s) and to help her human(s) adapt to her personality and needs. Because of her special circumstances, she is available to local adopters in northeastern PA only.

She is middle aged and weighs 42 lb. She loves the outdoors, loves going on walks, and is a somewhat strong leash puller so needs a no-pull harness. She'd make a great hiking companion out in the woods but is not suitable for densely populated areas or dog parks. It's like she picks up on the energy from humans and when there's too many humans around, it overwhelms her. So she's not really great at family party situations. She'd prefer a human who has a pretty calm social life.

She is absurdly well housebroken and has never had an accident as long as she can get out by at least 9 hours. 4 hours is best but she can handle living with someone who works a full time job.

Are you that special kind of someone who likes to take in dogs that have challenges? If so, then please chat us up about Shelly. You need to be a gentle, well-centered, kind, good pack leader kind of human who's had experience with stressed/nervous dogs. She is really sweet and cuddly and bonds strongly to humans, but she's not suitable for the casual adopter. We're on the hunt for that very special someone who has what it takes to help Shelly thrive.

Cats are a strong no for Shelly. She thinks they are fun to chase and terrorize. Our cat who loves dogs will not go near her and we had to put up a strong gate to give him his own separate space in the house away from Shelly.