Herd It Through The Grapevine

Sonoma County, CA - Herding Dog Rescue

KING

The following description is based on information from King's owner, who must find a new home for him:

King is a very friendly, affectionate, and playful, 3 year old Australian Cattle Dog mix. He weighs 35 lbs. and is great with all people, children, other dogs. He is also fine with cats, but likes to play games with them. King likes to rush up to them, stop, and then either just look at them or give them a "woof" before trotting away.

While King is very playful, he is a moderate energy dog. He is a quick learner and eager to please. He has a very easy, go-with-the-flow personality and should transition easily into a new situation. He loves human attention and having his ears scratched. As a typical young dog, he loves toys, running and playing - especially playing ball, and chew toys to keep him busy. Although King does not get out of the yard much in his current home, he loves to go on walks and explore the world. He will pull on leash in his enthusiasm to get out and take his walk. King knows sit and a few commands, and is good at minding you when you want him to do something, but has not had formal obedience training.

His current owner is moving and needs to find King a new home. in his first year of life, he lived inside, and was crate trained. However, due to a change in his person's living situation, King has now been living outside most of the time. He comes inside the house a few times a day during his meal times. King was housebroken when he lived inside, but since he is now outside most of the time, he may need to have his memory refreshed in a new home.

King is a wonderful, happy soul, who needs people who will give him the attention, mental and physical exercise, and affection he needs. At the same time, his new people need to provide him with some training and structure to transition into a new home and as an inside and outside dog, again. He is definitely a gem, who just needs a little dusting off and polishing.

Happy Tails: PEPPER Makes a Home Complete!

Pepper

(ADOPTED!)

Our calm, playful, happy Pepper is doing great in her new home where only a cattle dog would do! When her new Dad saw our posting for Pepper, he printed it out and ran across the house to show his wife that he had found THE one to make their household complete again. They loved her immediately. We are thrilled and excited for Pepper, who will soon be going on a road trip vacation with her new Mom and Dad. They will take their time to enjoy discovering new places together, as they make their way to Montana to meet Mom and Dad's relatives, and Pepper's new cattle dog cousins!

Pepper is about 18 mos. old and is a compact little 40 lb. We believe she is pretty much an Australian Cattle Dog/McNab mix. Whatever she is, this girl is as sweet and friendly as can be. In true cattle dog fashion, Pepper's main focus is on her people. She adores human attention and praise. When her foster mom would tell her she is a good girl, Pepper would beam - her eyes light up, her tail wags, and she will sometimes roll over for a belly rub. She very much wants to please and will rub up against your legs to communicate her affection.

She is also very good and playful with other dogs. Although she is a very quiet girl, when she is playing with other dogs or toys, in her excitement she make happy growling sounds. She is very playful with and follows her foster sister around much of the day. They even drink together from the same bowl. Although she likes to play with toys, she is NOT obsessive about them, but if another dog is playing with something, Pepper will decide to want that toy, too. She is NOT a barker. We have not yet observed her with cats or children.

Pepper catches on very quickly and is extremely smart. She is extremely mindful of anything you tell her to do and very obedient. She seems to be completely housebroken, and learned how to use the dog door in a single day. This dog loves treats! Her foster mom is teaching her to 'sit,' 'wait,' and to come when called. Pepper is also a good car passenger and is learning "load up" to hop into the car. She also walks nicely on leash.

As a herder, she likes to keep tabs on her pack, but again, is not too obsessive about it. She likes to make sure she knows where everyone is and if you leave the room for too long, she will come to find you to be in the same room, but will not get underfoot. When inside, she likes to lay on her bed, content to have your company. Pepper was in heat when we got her from the shelter, and currently a low-moderate energy dog. When she is completely out of her heat, and recovers from spay surgery, her energy level may be different. She also seems to be more of a house dog than an active outdoor dog, although this may also change as Pepper settles in and once is is out of heat.

Pepper would do well as an only dog or with another playful, secure, neutral or submissive dog. When her foster mom is giving the dogs quality time, Pepper is pushy for attention. She will squeeze herself in front of the other dog and try to hog all the attention. She is very cattle dog, in that people and toys are "mine." Pepper is NOT overtly dominant and is NOT aggressive at all about it, she just knows what she wants and tries to insert herself to get it. She needs to learn some manners in this area. As a cattle dog, she will need her people to work on giving her structure and teach her not to hog attention or try steal toys that other dogs have. Because she wants human praise and attention more than anything, we believe that some treat and praise based training could stop this this behavior quickly.

Pepper is fully vaccinated, microchipped, heartworm negative, and we will have her spayed when her condition is appropriate to do so.

Happy Tails: SLIM (aka Jack)

Slim (ADOPTED) Our boy, now named "Jack," is doing great at his new quiet home in the country, with an older, mostly cattle dog, brother, "Hank." The two bonded in just a short time. Jack's new mom takes him with her everyday when she visits and feeds her horse. She says Jack is perfectly behaved, except for stealing an occasional morsel of horse dropping. She also discovered that he loves to swim, when she brought the boys to a nearby lake. Jack will paddle after his brother for the tennis ball, and sometimes will swim after it on his own. His new Dad says that Jack is THE sweetest, gentlest soul.

After seven people in the veterinary and rescue fields observed Slim, we all agreed he is a border collie, possibly with some McNab, and hound, possibly blue tick hound or pointer. Whatever his mix, Slim LOVES people! He will make someone the best companion, as he loves and wants the company of people more than anything. When he arrived, we realized that he is just a pup, approximately 6 to 8 months old. He is at that awkward gangly stage, with long legs and a slim torso, currently weighing about 45 lbs.

Slim has a very sweet disposition, with absolutely NO agression in him at all. In a two-dog house, he would be fine as the 'beta' dog, as long as he can get a lot of human attention. He is extremely attentive and responsive to any guidance you give him. He wants the companionship and love of people so much that when getting one on one petting or cuddling, he will cry and whimper with excitement and try to squeeze himself up against you. Slim especially loves men and teenage boys. He adores his foster mom's 17 year old son, wanting to cuddle with and follow him everywhere. When out in public Slim is people obsessed. We wonder if he is still searching for the people who dumped him. He looks at everyone getting out of a car or passing by.

This boy is a moderate energy, go-with-the-flow sort of dog, who is very relaxed and quiet when inside with you. He is fine doing whatever you feel like doing. When outside and time to walk or play, he loves to run and sniff and play. When inside, he's a quiet, cuddle buddy, and a couch potato. Although he does not like going into a crate, once inside he is fine and quiet, and will sleep through the night in one. He has tried to get the cats to play with him at his foster home, but they swatted him several times and he took the hint.

On walks, he pulls towards and wants to meet everyone he sees. He knows the work "walk" and his foster mom is teaching him to 'heel' on leash. Slim also knows 'sit' but somehow only when he thinks you have a treat in your hand. He also seems to be completely housebroken.

In short, this dog is a keeper! He can be whatever you want him to be. He would do best with people who can be with him much of the time, and he would love a teenage boy to follow around.

MABEL

(ADOPTED!) Pretty Mabel is a young adult mixed breed. She has a nice easy-care short coat, and is a great medium size at about 40 lbs. Mabel loves people and is friendly and affectionate with pretty much everyone she meets. She loves cuddling and playing with other dogs. She gets very excited when meeting new dogs. When she is on leash and sees another dog, she'll often jump straight up in the air like a rabbit. Although she loves to play, she is a moderate-energy girl, just very happy and grateful to have been rescued. So much is new to her, and she is drinking it all in.

Mabel is probably a mix of other mixes, but because of her winning personality, and we think there is possibly some border collie/kelpie/mcnab or other herding breed in her, we took her into our rescue. She is such very nice girl, whose sweet personality really impressed a shelter volunteer who begged us to take her even though Mabel isn't mostly any particular herding breed.

It doesn't seem like Mabel had much chance to be a loved pet before coming to rescue. She recently had a litter of puppies too, even though she is just barely older than a puppy herself. The shelter took her puppies and put them up for adoption, but placed Mabel in the back where she needed rescue to get out alive. Now Mabel is in a great foster home where she is learning how to be a well cared-for, happy dog.

She is being crate trained and housebroken. She also gets to go out with a dog walker and a pack of dogs to the park and beach every day. Lucky girl! Mabel enjoys playing with dogs and can get a bit boisterous when she does, but she has never been aggressive. She is doing great with her off leash training, and is extremely eager to please people. Depending on the treats, when training, she can be a little picky and sometimes not motivated by treats.

Mabel would do well in a variety of homes. She's living in the city (San Francisco) now and would be a fine city dog as long as she gets enough exercise and attention. Most of all sweet Mabel wants to belong to someone of her very own! Don't be fooled by her serious expression in these photos, she is a happy girl who doesn't like the Paparazzi cameras.

BLITZ

Blitz (ADOPTED) is a red cattle dog mix, about a year old, and weighs about 30 lbs. Blitz is very sweet and loves to cuddle. In true cattle dog fashion, more than anything, he is looking to bond with his own person/people. He is very mindful of when you tell him something and will immediately do what you tell him. He is as loyal as they come and will never go far from you or from his home.

Blitz is great with other dogs, and loves to play with both people and dogs, and would be very happy in a home with another dog to play with. He is a moderate energy level dog, who is a super loving, happy, fun and silly guy. He loves toys and balls, and enjoys playing fetch with balls and frisbees. He will bring toys to you to invite you to play. Blitz is a bit of a talker. He will grunt and groan when he is tired and resting or when he is trying to tell you he wants something.

He is completely housebroken, and currently in a house with cats and doing well with them. He rides very well in a car, and is learning to walk nicely on leash. Blitz would be a great agility or sport dog. He is extremely attentive and eager to please - especially if you have treats! He is crate trained and knows several commands such as: sit, down, spin, drop, tug, turn, and come.

Since Blitz is mostly cattle dog/heeler, he needs people experienced with dogs, who can give him structure and clear direction. He is a little fearful when some strangers enter his home and will want to run to the door and bark. He needs people who can make him understand that he is safe and that it is not his job to sound the "intruder alert." He is very responsive when you tell him to stop and will come right back to you. As with other young cattle dogs, his people need to give him plenty of one-on-one time, and work with him to give him guidance to learn what is appropriate and how to channel his desire for a purpose and to keep his very quick brain occupied. His desire to please, treat motivation, and both mental and physical quickness are the reasons we believe he would be a great agility or other sport dog. He can be a bit 'mouthy' and sometimes tries to communicate using his mouth. For this reason, he may not do well in a home with small children.

HAPPY TAILS: Pumpkin Finds a Loving Home

(ADOPTED) Here is Pumpkin with her new Mom Mene! Her knee surgery went well and in the meantime she found herself a very loving new family, with a stay at home mom who adores her and two pre-teens who have stopped sitting on the furniture so they can be on the floor with Pumpkin. The kids are very gentle and dedicated in helping to care for Pumpkin in her recovery. She is also now enjoying her own home cooked food and treats! Much love and wishes for a wonderful life, gentle Pumpkin!

Pumpkin is on the small side for a cattle dog. She is a well fed 30 lbs. and approximately 2-3 years old. She is a super sweet, quiet girl who adores human attention and petting and it grateful for any attention and kindness. This girl is extremely smart and it is clear that Pumpkin wants nothing more than the security and companionship of having her own people to follow around.

Pumpkin was picked up as a stray wearing a filthy collar that was so tight that after a long struggle to remove it left an indentation in her neck. When the collar was finally removed, Pumpkin just sat with a surprised look at her savior. When the volunteer then began to pet Pumpkin, the dog bowed her head and quietly crawled into her lap.

We believe that this is a clue as to why Pumpkin is spooked when other dogs come up to sniff at her. She is fine in the same yard or space as other dogs, as long as they don't literally get "in her face" to come nose to nose with her. She will stay a comfortable distance from other dogs and is NOT dog aggressive. She appears to be afraid when they pursue her so would probably be best suited for a one dog household.

HAPPY TAILS: Buddy Finds a Forever Home

Buddy (ADOPTED!) is a red cattle dog and American Staffordshire terrier cross, between 10 mos. to a year old, and weighs approximately 45 lbs. He is a very sweet, happy, friendly, loveable guy. He loves everyone - all people and is extremely friendly and playful with other dogs. Buddy is full grown, but has the personality of a puppy. He has an excellent temperament, and is in the process of learning manners. He very much wants to please, is extremely smart, and tries very hard to do what you want if he understands. Buddy has learned to heel and walk calmly on leash in just two days. His foster is also crate training him, and he will sit quietly when in his crate. He loves to go on walks, loves to play, loves to hang out with you,...in short, he will go with the flow and is happy to do whatever you want.

Buddy would do well in a household with another friendly dog, since he loves to play with other dogs. He is still all paws right now, and teenie fragile dogs may not be suitable for him to play with. For this same reason, Buddy may not be good in a house with small children. Although he loves everyone, in his zeal to play and romp, he could knock them over. Buddy is extremely interested in cats, and would certainly chase them.