My name is Finnegan -OTI!

** WE DO NOT ADOPT OUT OF ONTARIO **

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN ADOPTING A RESCUE DOG - PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE FEED TO ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS
**BASIC INQUIRIES ASKING QUESTIONS THAT ARE PROVIDED WILL NOT BE ANSWERED. ** WE ARE ALL VOLUNTEERS WHO HAVE EXISTING PETS/ FAMILY/ PAYING JOBS. OUR TIME IS IN SHORT SUPPLY AND WE APPRECIATE YOUR UNDERSTANDING
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*** HOW IT WORKS - ADOPTION INFORMATION ****
***ONLY RECEIVED & APPROVED APPLICATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR A VIEWING..-**No acceptions **
Do not ask to pop by to view a dog - it will be declined. Our dogs are in various locations in foster homes. Viewings are arranged with volunteers ,around rescue work, reg jobs and family and only offered to an approved app to ensure its a possible fit for the dog and applicant and to not waste anyone's time.

All info on adoption procress/ policies can be accessed at www.adoptapet,lucknow.on.ca
**.Applications
http://www.adoptapet.lucknow.on.ca/applications.html--This is a MS Word copy of our application.
It can be completed, saved and emailed back to the rescue at
petrescue@hurontel.on.ca .

1. We require a fully filled app to be considered as a possible home
2. Only the approved app will be permitted a viewing with the pet ** in the foster home 3. ALL family members MUST meet the dog ** in the foster home** .
4. Any existing pets MUST attend the meet/ greet with the dog ** at the foster home ** .
5. A home visit must be completed as part of the adoption process after the initial viewing by a rescue representative.
This is not a replacement of the meet/ greet at the Foster home.
6. We do not adopt outside of ONTARIO .
7. We do not deliver dogs. If and once the adoption process is approved and complete the dog must be picked up at the foster home

If you have any difficulties with the various application options please let us know @ petrescue@hurontel.on.ca

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IF YOU THINK THIS DOG WOULD BE A GOOD ADDITION TO YOUR HOME AND YOUR ENTIRE HUMAN AND CANINE FAMILY CAN ATTEND THIS DOG'S FOSTER HOME THEN PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SEND IN AN APPLICATION

WHY IS THIS DOG IN NEED??- This Pet has been surrendered to rescue to be re-homed through our screening / adoption process.

WHERE IS THIS DOG NOW ?- This pet is currently located

**ALL ABOUT FINNEGAN **
requirements
-fenced yard
-existing dog in the home as this gives him a play outlet ,socialization, company
-active family
-no small children
-older experienced /respectful 10yrs +children will be considered or teens
-someone who will continue his training.

PET INFO:
The Animal's name:
Finnegan (Finn for short)

Breed of animal:
Jack Russel Terrier X Border Collie (my best guess)
Color:
Black and White

Coat length:
Short/Medium. Not long hair, but longer than our boxer x american bulldog's coat

Description of markings:
Black and white with some small Jack russel terrier spots. Black head, white band on nose.

Weight:
21 lbs

Height:
He is a small medium. Slightly bigger than an average jack russel terrier. but not by much. His shoulder comes to just below my knee when standing, and I am 5'4"

Are the ears floppy or straight?
Perky at the base, and then flop over at the front.


Are there any health problems?
None known - none apparent. One tooth needs to be examined by vet. Bottom canine with weird looking spot on it - rest of teeth are perfect.

Energy level ? High to mid energy - puppy energy - Likes to play, wrestle the dogs, and chew on his bones and chews. Does love to come snuggle humans or dogs when it is quiet time. Goes right to sleep at bedtime in a bed full of 2 humans 2 dogs and a cat. Sleeps until everyone gets up in the morning. Doesn't wake people up or wrestle the other animals in the bed until everyone gets up.
Any physical special needs ?- blind- deaf- 3 limbs etc? None
Any medical special needs ?None known.

HOUSE INFO:
Is this animal a house pet?
Yes, although we suspect he wasn't until we found him. He seems very comfortable in the house, not anxious to be outside.

Is the animal house-trained?
80% See below.

Does the animal ever have house-training issues?
1. When he first came here, he was marking things. That stopped 100% within the first week and has never happened again.
2. When I leave the house for a longer period of time, I separate him from my other animals, he gets to have the basement to himself, with radio, a human bed, and some chews and toys. He does not like to poop outside - it can be very challenging to get him to poop outside and will only ever after a walk that is longer than 30 minutes, when he can no longer hold it anymore. He likes to poop in the basement, and if given the chance to get down there during the day, he will almost immediately poop. He has pooped upstairs a couple times, but this is not common, and he tries to hide it. This also happens when I leave the house for just a few minutes and leave him upstairs with our other animals. He knows it's bad, as he hangs his head and looks shameful - he wants to be a good boy, but has some psychological issue with pooping outside. We've been working on it.
3. We did offer him training pads downstairs, and he immediately began pooping on those, but now he has peed on them a couple times too - so not sure if we are going backwards or forwards, as he wasn't peeing downstairs before, and now he's using the training pads, but peeing downstairs.

How do you handle house-training errors?
Call him over, say "Finn, what's this?, We poop outside" Take him outside. We've been very lenient with corrections with him. He was very fearful when we first brought him here. He's most definitely been kicked, hit or beaten in his life before. His confidence has improved amazingly, but he still remembers. He doesn't like brooms, loud noises, etc. We are all positive training with him as his confidence and fear was my biggest concern.

Is the animal crate trained?
Yes - we tried just to see - he seems very comfortable in a crate. We do not use one for him though as there is no need.
How is the pet contained if not crated ?
Basement to himself - closed basement door.
Does the animal chew or scratch household items?No.
Does it get into the garbage?No.

YARD INFO:
Does the animal dig holes?
In the snow - yes, he has a very good nose on him and likes to follow bunny tracks, dig in the snow and stick his face in his holes to sniff around. Unsure if he would be a hole digger once the snow is gone.

Does it try and get over or under fences?He has not been given the chance to try this - unsure.
Is the pet protective of fence space? We have no fence. He is walked on a leash in our backyard and around our town/fairgrounds. He doesn't have a protective or possessive bone in his body though, so I highly doubt.

Is the pet an excessive barker ? or just alerting to things?He rarely barks at all. Once in a while if our dogs bark to alert to something, he will let out a couple small barks or a little howl with them - but most of the time he makes no noise when they alert to visitors arriving, cars pulling up outside, someone on our porch, etc. He is very quiet.

EXPOSURE INFO:
What ages of children was it living with? None.
Does he have exposure ? Yes. Our nephews, who visit our father in law almost daily (ages 7 and just turned 4) He was the very sweetest with them, very gentle, very interested in being around them, very respectful of them for being a young and excited dog.
How does the pet react to kids at a distance/ on leash ?Reaction ? Excited or ignores when on leash. No barking, etc. When he got away from my father in law he went to the school and was apparently playing with the kids during recess.
Exposure to strangers? reaction on walks or at the door/ in home ? Reaction .Great with any visitors/strangers to our home - very excited to meet them, does jump up in excitedness, but we've also been working on this. Telling him stay down, reminds him quickly, but we need to be quick and consistent.
No reaction to strangers on leash - if he knows the person, he will get excited and want to go say hi.

Is it good with cats? reaction?- on/off leash ? Reaction?
Amazing with our cat in our home. They play together, he respects the cat, and they have been caught cuddling in our bed at night. Has not seen a cat while on leash. The cat once went for his dish while he was eating - no reaction whatsoever. Our cat likes to run across the room and drop kick him, or soar over his head - trying to get him to chase him, he doesn't chase, he will follow him quickly, when Berlioz does this to him, but he's not a chaser.

Is it good with dogs? sizes/ reaction?- on/ off leash? Reaction?
Amazing with our dogs, indoors and outdoors while on a leash. Plays well, shares bones and toys with not a care or possessive look, when his toys or bones are taken or traded among the dogs. No food possessiveness either. Waits patiently at the doorway while our dogs and cat eat (they are raw fed, Finn is not) doesn't enter the room where they eat while they are eating.

Is this dog used to sharing its space / toys with other pets/ dogs if visiting etc? Reaction ?
Yes. See above. He's great at sharing. Not possessive, has never showed any type of aggression, or even any warning signs. He shares and he's very easy going. We have not had any other dog visit our home while he's been here. I cannot foresee him having any issues though.
-If yes… how does he/she react ?
See above.
Does it chase after cars, or horses and buggies or bikes- skateboards or people?
Has not had the chance to. Doesn't care or seem to notice cars on our walks. Hates buggies. see below.

Does the dog ride well in the car?
Yes, but the only time he's ever barked a lot, was when we were driving him home from the pound, we past two mennonite buggies and he barked like crazy at them both. Not aggressively, but it wasn't an excited, happy bark either.
-if no what are the pets struggles ?
Needs someone to continue working on his confidence. Needs someone to continue working on his refusal to poop outside.
Has it been exposed to livestock or horses? I am unsure. Not since he's been with us.

OBEDIENCE / TRAINING :
Does the dog play games?
Unsure of what's being asked in this question. The boys all play tug of war with braided 'rope stick' toys. They play trade the chew toys, they play with each other. Does he defy us, or "play games" with us? No.
Has this pet had any obedience training?
Only through me. In 2012 I graduated with a Diploma in Professional Dog Training and Behaviour. I have also been working 50-60 hour weeks lately (mix of at home and on site), so I have no routine training schedule with him - we will just do short sessions, either alone downstairs, or with all of our boys at the same time upstairs.
If yes -Where ? and trainer info if we may contact them for additional feedback/ info ?
See above.

What commands does it know?
Sit, stay, come (outdoor recall has not been practiced as heavily as it should be, and he is always on leash outside.) If the weather cooperates with my work schedule, I have been planning to take him out on my 30ft long leash and work on some recall games.
Lay down (this is at a 70% right now, treats help, but with no training treats, he's hit or miss depending on if he wants to or not.)
Sit and wait for your dish until you get the "okay"
Sit and wait while your leash is put on/taken off until you get the "okay"
Out of the kitchen - goes to the invisible perimeter that my dogs have decided is "out" of the kitchen enough.
Jump into my arms (This was self taught through him - we were discouraging him jumping up on legs when excited, when we got home, so he started jumping straight up, but slightly away, not touching us. We started catching him. It's now a command. He taught himself this one, we just went with it and put a command to it.)
Bedtime - Goes up to bed
Go to your bed - goes to the dog bed, lays down, grabs a chew toy usually and hangs out there for a bit
Does it walk well on leash? Or pull etc?
Very slight pulling has begun, (when he has a smell, or wants to go mark a certain pole, etc.) he never used to, but is much more comfortable being on a leash and confident with himself now. We're always practicing good leash manners when out on our walks. He was absolutely terrified of a leash during his first few days with us, I don't believe he'd ever been on one before. He walks much better in the pack, on his own, he is more sporadic. In the pack, he stays in between our two dogs, who walk without pulling.
What walking tools do you use to walk your dog -{ flat collar, gentle leader, martindale, choke collar, Pinch collar, Harness }
Flat collar.

PERSONALITY/ BEHAVIOURS/ :
** Please be detailed in these questions. No Blanket answers of “Yes/ Sometimes” .We need detailed info to know how best if rescue can help and what the pets needs are for re-training etc .Without this we can not consider , possibly approve or place any dog into foster care” **

Would you say your pet is a stable, well mannered, pet ?
-or a bit rough around the edges :needing additional basic training needs?
Very stable, non-reactive, non-aggressive, non-possessive. Wants to please. Wants to be a good boy. Needs work with outdoor recall (I assume, as he bolted on my father in law), needs work with pooping outside. Other than those two, along with keeping up confidence building, making him feel safe always, and get over whatever's happened to him in his past, he is truly the perfect dog.
Personality/ reaction- with those it knows?
Very friendly, loves his people, loves to snuggle. Always content.
Personality/ reaction- with strangers ?
Very friendly, loves to meet new people, loves to meet children, may jump up on legs in excitement, we are still practicing this one with every new person we meet, he does very well if you are there to remind him to "stay down", but we're running out of strangers.
Has the animal ever shown/ possession/ aggression/ reactivity to anyone or anything?
Never, not once. Even when he first got here and was scared and nervous - no aggression, possession, or reactiveness. First time meeting our dogs and cats - nothing, very friendly, very excited and seemed to find instant comfort in the new animals he met. It's not in his nature to show these traits.

Has the animal ever bitten in the past? Not since he's been with us - and I highly doubt. Not in his nature. That being said, I don't know what he experienced before us and I assume it was not nice, and very scary.

Are there any behavioral problems? If yes what are they ? Refusal to Poop outside regardless if he's taken out every hour. May help if he was on a extra long lead/ lunge line.

Is there any separation issues?
Only within the first week - some whining while he was away from us. We could hear him in the basement from outside before we left for work. He is very much past this. He is comfortable now.

Are there any fears? Anything he deems to be threatening. A broom, loud noises, loud voices, running down the stairs quickly (like when the phone rang and I was upstairs and it was downstairs), there's been others, but that's all I can remember for now - he has gotten a lot better with things, in his first few weeks he was the most scared of random things.
-to what and how does the pet react?
Runs and hides. Under the coffee table usually.

Are there any possession issues with food/ toys/ space towards people/ kids or other pets ?
None. Absolutely 0%. I've seen the cat take a bone from him, cat eat out of his dish once, they take each others bones all the time, wait patiently for treats, There's 4 animals here, so you have to wait while each one gets his treat, doesn't try and take treats that aren't offered to him, or if the cat drops his, he doesn't go for it. Takes only what is given to him.


ROUTINE:
Where is the animal kept during the day?
In the house, free range with our other animals, if I have to leave for over 15-20 minutes, I will put him downstairs while I'm gone as I like to supervise. I also have two dogs that are breed-prone to bloat (dane x lab and boxer x american bulldog) this makes me very aware of how hard they are playing in relation to when they have last eaten, as it is my worst fear and biggest anxiety in owning dogs. When we are gone, ours just sleep on the couch (we have cameras). Finn likes to play hard and wrestle often, so if I am not home to supervise and monitor, I like the peace of mind of having them separate and resting while I am away.

Where is it kept at night?
In our bed. With our two dogs and our cat. We have a dog bed up there as our one dog likes to move there sometimes in the middle of the night - but Finn hasn't used it. He likes the bed. The middle to be exact.
How long is this animal generally left alone in a day?
It depends on my work schedule. I don't think I've left him alone for over 8 hours ever - the norm is anything from 1 hour - 5 hours. Some days I work strictly from home. I work as a solar technician, so it all depends on my service calls for the day, and how far away they are - very irregular schedule, but he doesn't seem to mind.

Is it ever kept outside, and if so, for how long?
Never alone outside. Always supervised. We always walk him on a leash, regardless if it's a bathroom break in our backyard, or a big walk. There are a couple dogs in Teeswater that run free - in anyone's yard. They are friendly, but I wouldn't even have him out on a long leash by himself due to that fact. His safety is our #1 priority.

Is it used to being chained or kenneled or running free?
None of the above. He didn't mind the crate when we tried it out with him - but we have no need or reason to use it with him.

Have you ever boarded the animal or had a pet sitter out of your home environment? No.
What is the animal being fed? Crave - Chicken formula. He did try raw a couple times (pre-ground commercial - Iron Will Raw) and loved it, but I felt he ate it too quickly, and have gotten rid of my slow feeder bowls from the past - so we stuck with kibble.

Is it free fed? No. two meals a day. Plus training treats. (zukes mini naturals)

How much per day? 1 cup and a bit, each day. The bag said to feed him one cup a day, but I felt he was loosing weight on that, so now he gets a half cup, plus a bit more, for each feeding. Probably a cup and a quarter if I were to measure it and not eyeball it.

Is it used to bottled water? He's only ever gotten Mildmay natural spring water here. We fill up water-cooler size bottles at the fillup station at Mildmay park.

Please provide this pets current routine:
Wake up.
Go outside.
Eat Breakfast.
Play, then nap - our boys don't like to play too much in the morning, they're sleepy, and he follows whatever they do. All three nap on the couch.
Depending on my schedule, he stays up, or goes down if I leave.
Often, but random, bathroom breaks depending on my schedule.
Daytime walks when schedule permits.
Our dogs get a raw lunch at 4pm. He waits outside the door while they eat and then he gets a treat after some quick sits and commands while they chew through their chicken backs.
After lunch bathroom break.
Watches me make supper. - he loves to watch anyone cooking.
Nightly pack walk 45 minutes or more depending on the weather.
Couch time - he likes to lay up on us while we watch something before bed, we usually kick our two big dogs to the other couch so we're not all cramped, but Finn and the cat fit fine with us, so they usually fall asleep on us while we watch tv before bed.
9pm supper time for the boys
10pm last outside
10-1030pm bed time for everyone.

They play quite often on and off throughout the day when they are together upstairs. They either wrestle, or chew chew toys together. Sometimes Finn will decide to go chew chew toys by himself. Quick naps usually follow big plays, or big chew times. He enjoys chewing his toys and bones while he is downstairs when I leave the house and separate them, they're always moved around and you can tell that that's all he did while I was gone. His favourite chews are the compressed sawdust ones, and they last him awhile.he's burned through most of ours, so next time I'm in the city I will pick up more to send a couple with him wherever he goes, as I can't get them locally, but they are our boy's favourite as well.

The best home for this pet would be :
Somewhere with another dog, or possibly a cat that enjoys interacting and playing. He takes great comfort in his animal friends, I've never seen him sleep without being either on top of, pretzeled into, or snuggled into one of our dogs.
He would also love kids that know how to be respectful of animals - last thing this guy needs in anymore fear or trauma, but he truly loves kids.
Someone kind, that understands what he's been through and can continue to nurture him and make him feel safe and loved and protected.
Someone who will continue his obedience training - I feel like after he is neutered and his brain looses his crazy hormone driven part, he will be a gem to train. He is really very, very smart, eager to please, and wants to be a good boy. He also loves to learn. If someone could understand and take advantage of the part of his brain that is border collie, he would make an amazing trick dog, flyball dog, agility, etc. Getting rid of those young hormones is going to help him think straight so much more.