Thomas
Thomas is a border collie/corgi mix. He is about 10-11 years old. He is a character but probably needs an experienced and firm home as he will push limits when permitted.
Princess
Princess is a 4 year old Australian Shepherd/Pyrenees mix. She has a gorgeous fluffy tail! Princess may do best in a home with no other dogs as she has some food aggression, but with a little management could be in a home with other dogs as well. 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. This is a girl who wants very much to please and would like to melt your heart with her big puppy-dog eyes. She likes hikes and lots of treats.
Ranger
Ranger is a 6 year old Border Collie/Great Pyrenees/Weimeraner/Saluki mix. He is neutered and weighs about 75-80 lbs. Ranger is a fairly calm dog who loves hanging out with his person and getting rubs. He likes going on leashed hikes and soaking in the sun. Ranger needs a home with no children. Due to socialization issues, Ranger needs a home without too much contact with strangers and proper management.
Luna
Luna is awesome. She's 8 yrs old, prior owners told the shelter she's a heeler/husky/aussie/pit mix. She is higher energy. Big fan of people and loves to cuddle. Will bring me her toys to throw all day. I think she'll be a good candidate for a trail running partner. She ran with my roommate today and did great! (Just 2 miles for a start). She does well with other dogs that she knows and lives with but is reactive when she sees unfamiliar dogs. Crates up super easily and loves to ride in the car. I think she's about 45 pounds. Luna can be obsessive about lights. Luna has been started in agility classes.
Update: Luna had some medical challenges with her tail which resulted in her needing to have her tail amputated. She has adjusted well and you would never know she hadn't had her stump her entire life!
Ms. Peeps
Ms Peeps is a 3 year old mixed breed sweetie. She likes attention and being told how pretty she is! She is a bit shy with new people but steadily gaining confidence.
Rowdy
Rowdy is an almost 3 year old 65lb St. Bernard/Pittie/Heeler mix. He came from a reservation and has survived parvo. Rowdy is a big love bug once he warms up to a person. When he is excited his whole body will wiggle in excitement and he will woo at
you. He can be barky with new people for a few minutes and then becomes a big baby who just wants love. He is reactive to new
dogs, but does currently live with multiple dogs and gets along great with most. He can be possessive of very high value treats
with other dogs such as bones. He has gone through basic obedience, walks decently on lead, is kennel trained, and rides
great in the car. If your looking for a bog baby who just wants to give love and kisses he’s waiting for you.
Dixie
Poca
Cute Poca is about 30 lbs. She is Australian Cattledog, Chihuahua, Aussie, and several other things -- but mostly cute! She is about 2 years old and enjoys hiking and kayaking! She loves to sleep in bed with her person.
Dixie doodle is an almost 2 year old mix breed. She is a Border Collie, Heeler, Aussie, Pittie, English Bulldog, Chow,
German Shepherd, and Dachshund, which is where she gets most of her size. She is a 28lb mini tank with the cutest underbite
ever. She’s always showing off her teefers. Dixie is a grouchy old woman is a puppy’s body. She is very selective on who she loves,
but once she decides you are worthy of her love, you couldn’t lose her is a forest if you wanted to. She is reactive with new people
and new dogs. She is a challenge pup, but once she trusts someone the cutest and goofiest personality pops out and just
melts your heart. She would do best in a quiet home where she can just be a sidekick. She does have basic training and is kennel
trained. If you are willing to work with and love a gremlin, Dixie is waiting for you.
Elko
From Elko's current home: I have an absolutely beautiful, fun loving 5 year old herding mix named Elko. Unfortunately we have come to the heartbreaking decision to find a new home for him.
My husband and I have been his only owners, adopting him at 10 weeks old from Idaho and bringing him home to Bend, Oregon, where he has lived most of his life up until this past fall when we moved to Whitefish, Montana. We had a baby 2.5 years ago and sadly his world has gotten slowly smaller and smaller since then.
From a very early age, puppy class, he has shown reactivity signs toward other dogs. We have gone through numerous trainers with him and have made huge strides, especially with e-collar training the past year. While nothing has happened, we know his signals of when he is uncomfortable in a situation so well that we have never trusted him around our kid, or other kids for that matter. To afford to live in Whitefish we had to downsize homes, which has resulted in Elko having to be by himself in a room while our daughter is up to keep both of them comfortable and safe. This is not the life we want for him and we hope to find someone that will give him the life and attention he deserves.
To say we love him like family is an understatement. Elko has lived an incredibly full life thus far and we want him to continue to. He is most joyous when he can be by your side for whatever that day's adventure is. He absolutely loves playing in snow, bounding along forest trails, swimming, playing fetch, and is a star frisbee player. He loves going on car rides, playing with toys, or curling up on the couch for a cuddle. He is loving, loyal, empathetic, and has the silliest personality.
He is completely up to date on all vaccinations, neutered, and is microchipped. He has been used to monthly grooming and daily exercise.
An ideal situation for Elko would be a home without other dogs or kids. We have had success with him getting used to other submissive dogs though. While I’m sure he would thrive somewhere with land, such as a farm or property, he really doesn’t need it, he just needs someone that has the time to give him the attention he deserves. Perfect situation would be an active owner that is looking for an adventure buddy.
Marley
From Marley's current home: Marley's a border collie, blue heeler mix (aged 4) who has been with me since October 2021, a wonderful friend and companion, but things have gotten increasingly difficult for me, my family, and for him over the last year or so. We live in a home now with my wife, our two sons (ages 9 and 7) and we have a new baby on the way, it's starting to make me really nervous that things are going to get even worse and possibly dangerous for us.
When it was just Marley and me, things were okay. We had our routine, we lived in our small apartment together, and I quickly became his person…which was good for a while, but once my now-wife and I started dating, and especially when we moved in together, Marley became extremely overprotective of me—to the point of being aggressive with Kylie (never with the two kids though). He would be constantly “on guard” and try to get between us if she and I ever hugged or sat by each other on the couch. He would perch up outside my home office and he’d freak out if she tried to come down the hall towards me. We installed gates around the house to basically confine him to specific areas and prevent him from getting super protective of spaces in our home (namely, wherever I was at at the time). It helped for a while, but lately, this seems to just increase his anxiety. He never relaxes, constantly paces around and around the house. If I move at all, he jumps up and runs towards me and just overall freaks out. He's already a very hyper-reactive and energetic dog. With the baby on the way, and with us living in a small home, we are getting nervous that not only will his protectiveness over me and his general anxiety get worse, but we’re scared that his reactivity and energy will be harmful to the baby. What if someone knocks on the door and we forgot to close our indoor baby-gate and Marley jumps up and rushes at the door and tramples the baby laying on the floor? What if later on when the baby is starting to learn to walk, Marley blasts passed him and knocks him over, breaking an arm or a leg? What if Marley does not take to the baby when we first bring him home and bites him? All of this is simply adding to the overall baby-coming anxiety. Not only that, but it is just draining my mental energy. There is literally no quiet in our house. Marley paces and paces, his nails and paws clacking and pattering all the time. He will not leave me alone, no matter how much energy I get out of him. He is constantly on-edge, he is very possessive to the point of growling at my wife and jumping at her if she walks towards me. It is just not good and as much as it pains me to say this: I almost think that rehoming him would be the better, safer and more humane option for all of us. Not only would it tamp down on our stress/anxiety at home, but it would also prevent us from having to constantly be worried about Marley interacting with the baby for the next 4-5 years; most importantly, Marley would have more freedom to be a dog…he could have a larger home, with no kids, or maybe even work on a ranch/farm and run and be free to live his doggy life. I am devastated and scared to even be thinking and saying this. And it is just making me feel so depressed, I can’t even bring myself to research the best options or ways to go about even starting this process. I just needed to get all of this off my chest in a safe place.
Marley is an energetic, loyal and intelligent dog. He LOVES to play ball and can participate in fetch ALL DAY if you let him. He gets most excited when he sees you grabbing his leash and loves the outdoors time he gets on walks. While not the most cuddly boy (he loves to give hugs and get belly rubs, but he prefers to lounge and nap on his own space, not snuggling on the couch with you), he DOES sleep very well and is crate-trained. He is not an aggressive or mischievous dog; he can be left alone for 8-10 hours and not tear up the house or ruin the carpet. He loves to be around his "person" and can become protective of them...he enjoys running free and playing with dogs, but does best meeting new animals at a dog park or somewhere he can feel independent and not leashed. He is friendly and excited to meet new people, after the initial hesitation and wariness of course. Introducing new people to him by having them give him treats or play ball with him will be the surest way to his heart. Marley will keep you on your toes because he LOVES life so much, so he is best suited for someone who is active, patient and ready to dedicate a lot of time to having this best boy by your side.
Buster
Buster is a 7 year old mixed breed. He weighs approximately 65-70 lbs. He is a sweet boy who has lived with children in the past and would be a good family dog or do equally well for a single individual or couple. His energy needs are in the moderate range. Buster has good house manners and has been neutered and is up to date on vaccinations. He has been fine with the dogs in the foster home and on walks since coming into foster care, but has a previous history of altercations with strange dogs..
Buster needs a 6 foot fence. He would also benefit some some basic training such as recall training.
From Winchester's current home: Winchester is a 9 year old male Australian/American shepherd mix.
Winchester was acquired by my husband as a puppy and we have had him his entire life. He has always grown up with another dog, his brother Remington (not litter or genetically related) is a year older than Winchester. About 6 years ago when I met my husband, I had a dog at the time and we then became a dog house of 3 and have been that way since. While Winchester can live with and does ok around other dogs, he may do best in a home as the only dog. Winchester tries to dominate Remington (steals toys from him, gets jealous when Remi gets attention, urinates on/next to Remi as if to mark on top of his marking, etc.) and competes to be the alpha with our other dog Luna (although her being female has helped this, the dog I had when I met my husband was a male and there was more tension between him and Winchester than exists currently between Luna and Winchester). He has not been around cats, but does chase them in the yard when stays come through so he may do best in a cat-free home. Winchester has been to a dog kennel a couple times when we traveled and the kennel's feedback was that he did well around other dogs and really enjoys play time.
Winchester is amazing at fetch! He gets hyper-focused on the toy/ball and is pretty good at tracking it down after it's been thrown. Best part is, he brings the toy/ball back to you! He doesn't seem overly protective of toys, but he will steal toys from his dog-siblings; he doesn't show aggression when a known human takes a toy from him (same with food, he is not aggressive or protective). He does ok on a leash, pulls a little but otherwise does well. He does well on car rides; at first he is anxious but will quickly calm down and eventually just sleep on the floor. Once the vehicle stops, he will stand up and be alert to changes but otherwise he does great. We have taken him on road trips down to Arizona a couple times (a 15 hour drive) and he has done great. Winchester does have quite a bit of anxiety, and was previously on medication for this but he was recently weaned off in hopes of trying a different medication since he was becoming unresponsive to it. Winchester often paces and pants, and anytime something moves or makes a sound he has to stand up and struggles to "chill", even routine day-to-day. Aside from the anxiety, he does have a bit of prey drive and likes to chase bunnies or cats that may come across the yard. He will also dig at the fence line if something is on the other side of it, like our neighbor's dogs. When people come over to our home, he barks a lot for several minutes and eventually calms down. The other two dogs don't bark much at all. Even when we come home, Winchester will bark (just not as intensely compared to a "stranger" or less frequent visitor coming into the home). He will jump up and lean up on you, but he is not forceful enough to knock you down or throw you off balance (I think it's more or a greeting or inspection-like inquiry); if you tell him down he will respond eventually. He does know some commands like sit and come, but is more stubborn when it comes to stay, lay down, or go (away); you may have to repeat yourself several times for him to listen to those commands. He's decently food-motivated but can sometimes be picky/selective. Normally he eats dry kibble and free-feeds. He does shed moderately, noticeably more than Remi (who is a purebred Aussie) and Luna (purebred French Bulldog); we think the shedding may be due to Winchester being a mixed breed. We did a DNA test on him years ago to see what his composition is. I have included the report below, but he is majority Aussie/American Shepherd.
Overall Winchester is a decent dog. The reason we are looking to rehome him is because my husband and I are struggling to trust him around our 1-year old daughter. As she becomes more involved in her world (and the dogs), he makes us nervous concerning potential aggression. When our daughter reaches out for him and pets him, or tries to lean up against him, most of the time he just tries to get out of her way and get away from her. But we have seen several instances where he will turn towards her, snarl and growl. The reason my husband and I are concerned that this could be a problem is because Winchester has tried to nip and bite at me when I have groomed him and he has bitten someone once before (a family member came to our home, the dog was between the doorway and my husband, and we think Winchester was acting protective of my husband). Winchester's anxiety has made it so that we don't feel confident we could take the dog to a groomer, so he has always been groomed at home by us. Winchester does not like to stay still during grooming and pants excessively. In the times he has attempted to nip me during grooming, I think it's from stress and anxiety due to being told to stand still and such for extended periods of time. My husband struggles with grooming as well, but Winchester has not shown attempts to nip at him during grooming. Nonetheless, we don't feel we can trust Winchester around our child alone/unsupervised, and I am currently pregnant and we are expecting baby #2 in July. We are also working on a couple of extensive home improvement projects (renovating a bathroom, then part of our living room, and eventually finishing our basement), which also adds additional stress to his environment. Given the changing dynamic of our household, we feel it may be best for Winchster to find a new home. We don't know how Winchester would do in a home with older children (say maybe 10 years old), and our current child is his only experience with a child to date.
Winchester
