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My name is Aero!

Posted over 7 years ago

My basic info

Breed
Border Collie
Color
White - with Brown or Chocolate
Age
Young
Size
Med. 26-60 lbs (12-27 kg) (when grown)
Weight
Sex
Female
Pet ID
PDR264

My details

Alert icon Not good with kids
Checkmark in teal circle Good with dogs
Alert icon Not good with cats
Checkmark in teal circle Shots current
Checkmark in teal circle Spayed / Neutered
Checkmark in teal circle Housetrained

My story

Here's what the humans have to say about me:

This beauty is Aero!! Aero was named after the chocolate bar because of the speckles all over her coat that look like bubbles. She is a Border Collie, and is a spayed female, about 9 months old. She is white with tan markings and ticking (speckles or bubbles). She is about 17.5 kg (38 lbs).

She was found at the side of a road, abandoned by her owners. She was a very shy, nervous dog when she first arrived. You would never have known that she was a puppy. She was too busy being afraid of the world and the people in it that she didn’t have time to play and explore. The layers of fear have been peeling away as her confidence builds. She is now a full blown mischievous teenage puppy, but she is still a nervous Nellie at times and needs work. We have been making sure to get her out to different places and have been taking her to obedience school for socialization as well and she is coming along really well. She will need a family or person that will continue her socialization to ensure that she matures into a confident dog.

Border collies are very intelligent working dogs that need to be active both physically and mentally. She needs to be in a home where she will have lots of interaction with you, get lots of exercise and have lots to do. She is not a suitable dog for a first time dog owner that is not experienced in dog training/handling. Aero will require someone who is capable at being a confident leader and will continue her obedience training to a top level. She would be a fantastic agility dog. At a minimum, she needs several long, fast paced walks a day. She also needs a big fenced back yard to play and race around in to burn off some of that energy… after all, she is still a puppy. She is well suited to going for runs with you. We will be looking for active, outdoorsy type people for our beautiful Aero. She LOVES wooded walks through the trails and will be a great hiking companion. And she will certainly be a great training partner for anyone that runs.

She is super smart and very trainable. She sits beautifully. She knows how to do a down and wait. She is pretty good on leash, but needs a gentle leader for that extra little control when she sees birds or a fascinating furry creature. Going for a walk is one of the best things in her life. She dances around in anticipation, talking away with excitement. She’s not a big fan of the gentle leader but is coming to understand that it leads to great adventures. Once you’re out on the street, the real adventure begins – for both of you. Your walk will be punctuated by a few games of tug the leash (she has an amazing technique to simulate tugging with a powerful foe), pick up the stick, chase the leaf bouncing by, snow plowing, splashing through puddles, and chasing birds. She’s much better now when she encounters strangers. She is still getting used to strangers and takes time to get accustomed to new people. Most of the time she prances by them, but sometimes she watches them very carefully and only occasionally does she get nervous and anxious. She’s more nervous when it’s dark and things are harder to see. But with every walk she gets better and she will continue to gain confidence and learn that people aren’t going to hurt her. We do a lot of rewarding her with treats for being calm around strangers and this works well with her. Garbage days have her doing little fear dances around very threatening garbage cans and recycle bins. She’s good about investigating those scary things and addressing her fear head on though. She can’t be trusted off-leash. You are far less interesting than other creatures that need to be chased or visited.

Aero does bark when someone comes to the door or she hears something unusual but she is not a nuisance barker. Strangers coming into her home are still a bit scary, but she is willing to accept them if they give her treats. She now accepts new people quickly (with bribes!) She still needs work but she is worlds apart from the quivering mass of terrified Border Collie we pulled from the pound. And she will only get better with continued work from her adopters.

Like all Border Collies, she is a busy girl. She spends most of her day playing with her toys. She needs a lot of toys; otherwise, she gets bored and a bored Aero tends to get into trouble. She loves to chew. Her sharp teeth make mincemeat of soft toys, sticks, foliage. Yes, she likes to chew leaves or the entire plant. She also likes to dig in planters in the house. If you’re a gardener, she will prune things whether you want it done or not. She needs supervision in the home as she can certainly get into mischief if left unattended. And she needs a lot of exercise to burn off the energy a young Border Collie has. A tired dog is a good dog as the saying goes and is certainly the case with Aero. She does need to be crated when you’re not around to prevent her from getting into trouble and chewing something she shouldn’t.

When she gets bored with being inside, she will come to you then walk away looking over her shoulder to make sure you are watching her. If you aren’t, she’ll whine to get your attention and walk a couple of feet then stop and beckon you to let her outside. She does the same thing when she needs to do her business. She is very good at communicating with her people and getting her point across. She loves being outside even in the cold. She chews sticks/saplings, she likes to burrow and dig for treasures, races the neighbouring dogs along the fence. She is happy outside by herself. She’s pretty good about coming inside when you want her in though.

She gets along with our dog and the neighbouring dogs, but is sometimes nervous around dogs on walks. She wouldn’t be good with a senior dog that isn’t up for a good rough play session. Aero likes to run and wrestle and play with a trusted dog friend. She is a dominant female dog, so she probably should could only be with another dog that is easy going and submissive. She and her foster dog sister are great friends but it took a few weeks to build that relationship. You will have to supervise her with a doggy roommate for several weeks until they get used to each other and accept you as the uber-dog. She is not a dog suitable for dog parks as she needs a gradual introduction to dog friends, but she certainly can and should socialize with well- mannered dog buddies.

She enjoys being chased and then chasing, ending the chase in a wrestling session. She could spend hours playing tug or fetch or chewing on something. She is a big fan of balls, ropes, rubber bones, hard chew toys, sticks, logs. The sofa is her playground. Most of her toys can be found on the sofa. She roots through to find the one she wants, then entertains herself by tossing it around or tries to get us involved by bringing it to us or her doggie roommate. She makes a great game of digging her toys out when they disappear in between the cushions on the sofa.

We are looking for an adult home for Aero or one with kids over 14yrs old age as she is still nervous at times around people and she doesn’t like a lot of activity in the home. Young children and their noises and movements would be too scary for her. She can also be possessive of highly prized toys, treats and chews. We are working with her on this and her adoptive family will need to understand that she is a dog that obviously did not have any niceties or toys in her previous home so when she gets something now she is initially protective of it. She may try and steal toys or nice soft cushy blankets and will not want to give them up. We are using a barter system with her and will trade off a prized item for a tasty treat so she is rewarded for giving up her treasures. We also save some of her favourite toys and chews for crate time where she can enjoy them in peace.

When Aero comes in from outside, her first priority is having a drink. Wiping her feet is not part of her plan. She does not have patience to stand still to have her paws dried. You have to turn it into a face rub, which you can then extend into a body rub that allows you to sneak in a paw wipe. Asking her to lie down makes wiping her paws easier.

She sometimes leaves her food, which is a bit of a challenge if there is another dog in the house. Aero is not a big eater and is not a dog that will eat you out of house and home. Her skinny physique is partially due to her days of disinterest in her food and partially to her activity level. For treats she does enjoy banana, cantaloupe, mango, papaya, and turnip. She even eats lemon slices, very slowly, but she does pucker her way through.

For a nervous dog, she’s not afraid of thunderstorms which surprised us. They don’t bother her at all. She loves car rides and going to new places. When she does decide to settle down, she enjoys lying near you while you work. She is house and crate trained; however, she isn’t always thrilled about going in her crate. Cheese is a great crate motivator.

Aero is a beautiful dog. She has issues resulting from being unsocialized and uncared for and needs someone with patience and who is willing to work with her. The time will be well spent because she is going to be a wonderful dog - once she gets through her puppy teenage stage. She is full of life and is very happy most of the time. Occasionally, she reverts to her nervous self, but it doesn’t last long anymore. She has a fantastic tail wag and is so happy to see you when you come home. This happy, energetic girl needs a fenced yard (the fence needs to be at least 4 feet high). She needs a family that can keep her busy and give her lots of exercise. If there are other dogs in the home, they need to be good with her need to be the boss, boundless energy and rough play. She will expect to interact with them and be a bit assertive about it. She doesn’t always respect when another dog has had enough so a dog companion will need to be young as well and willing to play a lot. She also needs a cat-free home as we feel that she will want to chase a cat in the home. She is good at entertaining herself and will entertain you with her antics! She will occasionally lie close to you, but don’t expect a lot of that just yet, she is just too busy!!! If you have interest in dog sports or are very active, then this may be the dog for you. Aero has a ton of potential; she just needs the ideal person to continue to bring that potential out in her.

All Pound Dog Rescue dogs are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, heartworm tested, de-wormed (if required), and micro-chipped prior to adoption. The adoption donation of $400 is applied to assist in the costs of veterinary care and the overall care of the dog. For more information and adoption applications please consult our website at www.pounddog.ca.

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