Quirk
Quirk is a 6 year old mixed breed (according to his DNA test, more than 6 breeds!) He has an endearing expression and a sweet personality. He is pretty shy with people, especially men, but clearly wants to be involved with them. His ideal home would be a quiet and patient single person who would let him snuggle on the bed and go hiking, but would not expect him to be a social butterfly with strangers. He is fine with cats with a proper introduction. Oh, and did we mention the cutest ears? Quirk is neutered and current on vaccinations.
Thomas
Thomas is a border collie/corgi mix. He is about 7 years old. He is a character but probably needs an experienced and firm home as he will push limits when permitted.
Dallas
Dallas is a 8 year old Australian Shepherd/Border Collie/Cattledog mix. He is super affectionate with his owner and likes to sleep under the covers when its cold out. Dallas tends to make questionable decisions in ambiguous situations and needs a handler with a quiet lifestyle and good management skills.
Wrigley
Wrigley is a neutered 11 year old Australian Shepherd with a tail. He's had a tough past and will need a patient person who is willing to accept his quirks. He can be very loving and is a handsome boy. He does have high anxiety and a few behaviors such as pulling on a leash and not tolerating grooming well.
Opie
Opie – DOB August 12, 2014 – Male Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix
Opie came to HeRD from a family in Utah very skinny and heavy with attitude. This was not a good place or time in Opie’s life. He has come a long way from that situation. He has been fostered by HeRD since March 2018. He is currently living with 2 other dogs and 2 cats. Sally, our pyr/BC and he used to get into it when he first came here but they do well now. He and Jim, our BC, do well together primarily due to Jim’s absolute absence of aggression. They will chase the same ball, but defer to the one that got there first.
He loves Frisbee, chukker ball, and rope ball outside and enjoys ‘bumpy’ ball and ‘holey’ ball inside. He will do flying flips when tossed the ball inside – he is very athletic! He sometimes porpoises the ball to make it fly instead of catching it. The balls are his security blanket. If he gets upset he often gets a ball and ‘resets’ himself. He often goes to his corner by himself to decompress. He will set a ball on your chair just before you sit down. This way he gets you to get up to throw it off!
He loves going on hikes with his canine friends and people and does well when meeting other people and dogs on the trails. He has been on a number of pack walks with up to 10 other dogs and does fine – just keep moving. He does not chase horses, cows, or deer. He often accompanies Chris and the other dogs to the volunteer fire department and knows all of the guys, who play ball with him. He is not much of a barker unless there is a strange car/person, or if he wants inside. He will know that there is thunderstorm coming before the weatherman and will bark to come in, or try to escape the fenced area. If he does escape, he hasn’t run off, sticks around. It would be cruel to leave him outside in a thunderstorm. He doesn’t like gunshot or fireworks.
Opie is really smart. He will understand commands before you realize you have given one. I swear he understands conversation. He does not need a shock collar, a loud bang will get him back in no time! Ha ha! He has been through basic obedience and did very well. We feel that he has huge potential.
Opie has calmed down around his meal time. We feed our other dogs first, in a separate area, and then put Opie’s food down. If he does growl, make him back off-sit-wait, put food down, tell him ‘go eat’. His most favorite treats are lamb and cow lungs (send with you).
He has weird quirks. He doesn’t like to be told to ‘take it nicely’ for treats, for some reason that brings out anger in the guy. He may take a treat by grabbing it, but not always. He does not like to have treats from an open hand. Make a game of giving him treats by tossing them for him to catch, he seems to like that. And it keeps him away from your hands! He doesn’t like to be pointed at. He can go from being a petted dog to a growling dog in a second. Don’t pet him while he is lying down anywhere, generally does not like this, and frankly, he doesn’t even like to be looked at or acknowledged when he is lying down. He is allowed on our furniture, bed, anywhere he feels comfortable. You can sense his ‘dark’ moods even if he isn’t growling. He gets real still, his pupils get large. I will talk lightly, hey buddy! When he growls, just leave him alone. He has his dark moods usually in the evening inside of the house. He needs a dark place that you call ‘corner’ so when he does act up, tell him – ‘go to your corner’. Sometimes we distract him by asking him to get his bumpy ball and that diffuses the mood, sometimes.
When Opie is outside, you can brush him, usually. Clipping toenails is at his mood’s discretion. Sometimes good, sometimes not. We have not bathed him but he loves, loves, loves his puppy pools and water that he can flop in, usually after a good round of play. He is not a belly-rub dog, and does not like to be cuddled. You know you have his heart when he comes to you and kisses you on the lips. We have not been super strict with Opie when he jumps up to show excitement or affection because he’s not a cuddly dog, so when he does this he is showing his affection.
Best way to bond with Opie – take him places, play Frisbee and throw the ball. Treat him fairly, no head games with him. He’s been through a lot in his life. This last year has been his best year. Love him for who he is and work with his issues.
Oreo
Oreo is a 5 year old neutered male border collie. Oreo came in with some touch sensitivity, which has greatly improved. He is now a very cuddly boy, but because of this history, we are recommending no homes with children under 13. Oreo likes to fetch and would probably also be a good running buddy. He would do best in a home without cats.
Verkin
Verkin is a 6 year old Australian Shepherd. He is curretnly about 47 lbs. He will need an experienced home, but is a lovely, snuggly boy. He has plenty of energy, but can also have an off-switch. Verkin is not a candidate for a home that has children under the age of 12. Verkin tends to bother the kitties, so needs a home with no cats. He would do fabulously as an only dog or in a home with the right personality of dogs.
Princess
Princess is a 1.5 year old Australian Shepherd mix. She has a gorgeous fluffy tail! Princess needs a home with no other dogs or cats. She will need to continue her obedience training and manners in her new home. She is nervous with new people, but very lovey when she warms up to someone.
Pixie
Pups
These three pups are about 3-4 months old and probably German shepherd mix, heavy on the mix part.
Pixie the chihuahua mix.
Dora
From Dora's current home: We have had Dora for the last five years. She was about 4 months old when she came to us.
Dora has many very lovely qualities. She's very nurturing and always keeps an eye on her pack to make sure they are all cared for. She's been excellent with children (we have a two year old daughter), and she's very loving toward all her people.
The issue we are having is that she started attacking our other female terrier/chihuahua mix shortly before our daughter was born. We have been keeping the dogs separated for the last 3 years. In that time, Dora has lived peacefully with as many as 4 male dogs, all of various breeds, sizes, and ages. While on walks around our neighborhood, Dora is not aggressive when encountering other dogs. In fact, she prefers to avoid other dogs that she meets when we're out and about. She is crate trained, does very well on a leash, and has had some basic obedience training. She has never been exposed to cats so we don't know how she would do with them. She is up to date on all shots, has no known health issues, and just had a dental at the end of February. We think she would do very well in a home as an only dog or with male dogs only.
Harry is a 4 month old great pyrenees mix puppy.
Haley
McLeod
Finley
Haley is a 6 year old Black and White Australian Shepherd mix.
McLeod is a neutered male 6 year old Black and White Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix. He leans towards the aussie in his personality and is probably one of the nicest dogs in rescue right now. He loves to cuddle and sleep on the bed. He would be fine with dogs, cats or children with mild supervision (all dogs should be supervised when with small children). He loves to swim in his wading pool and go for hikes in the wilderness.
LaVerne
LaVerne is a 4 month old great pyrenees mix puppy.
Finley is a 3 year old neutered male Australian Shepherd/Border Collie type mix. He is a fun guy who likes hiking. He does not care for crates, kids, cats, or too much pressure. He loves sleeping on the bed, lots of attention, frisbees and fetch. In a relaxed, active home he will excell and show off his funny disposition.
Harriet
Holly is a 4 month old Great Pyrenees mix.
Diego
Remy
From Remy's current home: Remy is a 4-year-old neutered male Cattle Dog. Remy is becoming nervous around our 20-month-old son. He has thus far tolerated our 2 children (20 months and 8 weeks) very well, however he should not go to a home with children. As a Cattle Dog Remy can be mouthy/nippy and we want to prevent any unfortunate circumstances from happening with our kids. We’ve had to keep them separated all the time and Remy is unhappy not being near us.
Remy has had a few bite incidents. He has nipped a child on the ear before and broke the skin, and he has bitten my brother in law (who was breaking up Remy from a dog fight).
Remy is iffy with strangers. We typically put him in our bedroom or outside when someone new comes over. He has nipped at people’s heels before (usually men). He’s typically good with strangers that just ignore him or with people who are dog people. Anybody new that shows signs of nervousness around him makes him uncomfortable and he will either bark at them or nip at their heels.
Remy does not have experience with cats. When we see cats while out on a walk he lunges and wants to run after them. If you tell him to “leave it” before he gets to that point then he is ok. Remy’s behavior around other dogs is inconsistent. If we see other dogs while out on a walk, he doesn’t pay them any mind (unless they are super high energy and out of control). If we encounter an off-leash dog who runs up to us Remy will act aggressively. He has lived with a Boxer and Australian Shepherd. He tends to be dominant/controlling. We have boarded him in doggie daycare where he was around many dogs and he was fine according to the staff. At dog parks he will get into fights (my husband said it’s because I was around). He is capable of making doggie friends with dogs he sees frequently and often has play dates with my friends Pekingese. I don’t think he will ever be ok around puppies or other super high energy dogs.
Remy is very loving and affectionate with us and follows us around all day long. He has gone on many adventures hiking and backpacking and loves to swim and will jump right into the water. He also loves to play fetch, specifically with a tennis ball. He is not high energy and is ok lounging around the house. He just wants to be with you and is game for anything if he’s with his people whether on adventures or being a couch potato.
He is very obedient and I have spent a lot of time training him. He is highly intelligent and loves learning new tricks and training. We did puppy training and basic obedience training at Terroux Dog training. We had Remy evaluated for aggression and did a number of training sessions at Front Range k9 academy (where they told us he was not aggressive and that he is just being a cattle dog). He knows all basic obedience commands like: sit, down, sit-stay, down-stay, stand-stay, release (only when he makes eye contact), come, roll over, speak, paw (left and right), touch (with nose), leave it (with food and/or other encounters). Remy and I also took an agility course at Team Spirit Agility and he absolutely loved it (He is probably rusty with that). He is crate trained but it's been awhile since we've used it. He is potty trained (has accidents rarely).
He is current on all vaccinations and we can provide all documents. I wish to find a home with calm adults that are familiar with the breed and have the time and space to spend with him.
Harry
