Adopt a Australian Cattle Dog/Blue Heeler (short coat)

Here’s Lola!  We just rescued this very sweet, people-loving, 15 month old, 29 lb. bundle of energy!  She is a happy, busy girl, hungry for more experiences. She’s a hugger! More than anything she wants her own people. She likes to levitate her front paws up onto people, so she can be closer to you, and flash her big smile at you or give a few kisses.

Since a small puppy, she lived her life in a backyard without much training or exposure to any animals or people outside of her adopters, so everything is new to her. When we took her from the shelter, Lola was so excited to see and sniff new places. She’d make a great running or hiking buddy!  Our first stop for a bath was the pet store, which was a wonderful world of friendly people, treats, and toys that she didn’t want to leave. Walking down the block, she found green grass to roll in and could have stayed there for an hour enjoying the lawn. When it was time to leave, she didn’t want to go into the crate and at first barked her objections. However, once the car got going, the scenery began changing, and she was comforted by hearing two people chatting, she quietly looked out the window the entire way back.

Lola has quite a bit of herding instinct, and not having met many other animals, her first impulse when meeting other dogs and animals, is to herd and control their movements. The people who surrendered her thought they had a Labrador retriever, and surrendered her for herding the children. She needs managed socialization with other dogs…and human guidance to teach her manners, social skills, and how to channel her herding instinct, and play without herding.  Lola is super smart, has a fantastically happy nature, and is very attentive and responsive to people.  She is like a kid who has never heard the word No, and gets into everything. With a cattle dog mind of her own, she needs someone who can and will consistently spend time with her and guide her into a more civilized behavior style.  Her people must be cattle dog savvy, show confident leadership, and be perceived to be her pack leader(s); if not, she will continue to do what she wants and feel she is the little princess. The good news is that she is still very young and a sponge for more knowledge and experiences.  She is a confident and curious dog, who is up for anything her people want to do. She welcomes going to new places and meeting new people. Lola will train easily, as she watches her people very closely and responds very well to praise and treats.

We believe that Lola is potty trained to go outside, and even on command (“go potty”).  She does not have experience on leash walks and thinks having a leash on her is a game of tug. We are working on this. As a typical willful cattle dog, she will bark to let you know if she is very unhappy with a situation. We believe that Lola would do best as an only dog, due to her desire to pester and be bossy about controlling the movements of other dogs. With work and a patient balanced dog, she may be fine with another dog. This same thing goes for cats and small children. She will want to chase and round them up or control their active activity. Lola would be fantastic in an all adult home, with experience and time to work with her and be her close companion(a). She adores human love and attention. Having some livestock for her to herd, would be a dream for Lola.  

We will update this description as we learn more about Lola, and as her training progresses.  If you may be interested in adopting or even fostering Lola, or have questions, please call us at (707) 583-9583.  We will also ask you to please complete our online adoption or fostering form, as a first step in our adoption and foster processes.  Click her for the form:  Adoption:  http://hittgv.org/index.php/adopt   Fostering:  http://hittgv.org/index.php/foster