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BREED: Shepherd/Border Collie mix
GENDER: Male
APPROX. AGE: 1 year old
SIZE: Large
HISTORY: An owner surrendered not able to control Boomer’s reactivity due to not getting Boomer socialized when young. Boomer became fearful and untrusting of people he did not know and began guarding the house without intervention or training from owner.
TEMPERAMENT: Timid and sensitive puppy, nervous of new situations, reacts aggressively if does not have experienced, confident handler. Boomer is a sensitive and timid dog by temperament, and most likely a middle to back of the pack dog, but has been forced to act as the pack leader. He is frightened by anything new, which fills him with constant “anxiety”, and causes him to react to new (otherwise known as “scary”) experiences or people by barking loudly, and lunging towards people if in close proximity.
PERSONALITY: Very sweet and sensitive boy who loves physical activity and to have his mind challenged. He sticks close to his person, is afraid of loud noises, fine around cats so far, has great recall, listens well to commands unless he is in an uncontrollable excitable state. Is very food motivated, loves affection, needs to learn boundaries. He happily eats and sleeps in his crate. He will happily go into his large crate for a nap after a good session of “fetch”.
PETS NEEDS: An experienced Shepherd owner not looking for the usual pet-dog. Boomer is best in a more isolated type Homelife on acreage with someone looking for a guard dog/companion with no children or people walking onto property. He loves his ball and will drop in your lap or feet for hours to entice his person to play. His energy levels quickly escalate and he is always on “alert” which creates anxiety as a pet dog. He needs physical activity daily, a muzzle if around others or if others may appear unexpectedly. A large yard is important to run and fetch a ball. After, he likes to lay down and chew on it or something. He likes to lay around outside in nature. Having another dog as a playmate would be beneficial. This handsome shepherd mix needs a unique home and owner. He was raised with no socialization and is extremely uneasy and fearful around strangers and not trustworthy in a normal pet-household setting. We are not in the position to rehab him due to moving so looking for someone seeking a guard-dog-companion who lives in a remote area. In the past we have had people request dogs to alert them to wildlife and keep them away.
BEST MATCH: Experienced dog owner who has a calm and confident energy who is not afraid to physically control a large reactive dog, and who will be firm with Boomer in order to develop boundaries and rules. He requires a handler who can confidently convey that he will protect Boomer, that new situations are safe, spend time with Boomer showing him new experiences and “desensitizing” him to meeting new people on a daily basis. He will require an owner that will COMMIT to challenging Boomer’s mind everyday, must monitor their own anxiety levels to help .exposing Boomer to new environments and reaffirming that the adopter is the pack leader and will protect Boomer. Best match would be a home with another large dog that loves to run and roughhouse, yet is confident and will put Boomer in his place when he gets too excited or plays too rough. A large yard would be ideal, ability to play fetch or run twice a day, going to mountains, being exposed to new environments and new people on a regular basis. Foster mom will be taking Boomer to a river this week so can update soon.😊 When Boomer arrived at his foster home, he was initially aggressive towards the male in the house. The foster dad stepped forward 3 steps and his energy remained calm but assertive, and Boomer backed down immediately and hid behind the foster mom. The next day, Boomer was the biggest fan of his current foster dad.
FAVORITE THINGS: 100% playing fetch, but is learning to play with other dogs rather than just stealing all the toys. He has latched onto one stuffy since he has been with his foster family, but he eats all others out of anxiety. Boomer would be amazing in any type of fetching activities (frisbee), has great vertical clearance and typically catches a ball after the first bounce.