Size
(when grown) Large 61-100 lbs (28-45 kg)
Details
Not good with kids,
Good with dogs,
Good with cats,
Spayed or Neutered,
Story
Are you an experienced dog owner who loves a herding dog mix? Meet Pepper Joe, AKA Hank, a fine mashup of Border Collie smarts and Lab sweetness. He definitely needs someone who understands herding dog behavior and traits-someone who wants a companion and not a working dog. Hank excels at being a companion! He is a medium-sized dog who loves taking hikes, chasing the ball, and going on jogs and walks. He also has a great capacity for being chill: for curling up nearby while you work or read or watch TV. He loves road trips. He loves just hanging out. He basically lovesbeing around the people he loves. Hank is house trained and has lived comfortably in homes with other dogs and with adult cats. Mostly, though, he's interested in his human family.It's crucial that Hank has the right fit in his new home. A small-family, couple, or single-person home would work best for Hank. We do not recommend a home with small children. He needs access to some open space- like a fenced yard big enough for ball-chasing or a dog-friendly park-so that he can burn energy off-leash. Also, it is critical that everyone in his next home is on board with connecting to Hank and nurturing him.Why? Once Hank bonds with someone, he can become anxiously protective of that person insidethe home, even toward other household members. Hank shows this anxiety with a groaning vocalization, and sometimes he adds Border Collie herding moves around the person of concern. If the behavior is managed-if the other household member is willing to connect with Hank, gainhis trust, and help train him-then Hank's anxious behavior diminishes and eventually fades out.(He'll bond with more than one person in a home.) However, if Hank's anxious, protective response is not managed, it can escalate quickly to growling, barking, baring his teeth, snapping, and other very concerning behavior. That's why there has to be commitment from everyone in the household to work with and love Hank. Fortunately, he is very easy to love. He's kind of a heartthrob, to tell the truth.Because of this protective behavior indoors, a home with a lot of visitors-say, a home business or daycare-is not a good fit for Hank. As for Hank's interactions with children, he has actually lived with a family who had an in-home daycare business and children aged two, five, and elevenin the family. The household kept the back door open into a large backyard and Hank got along well with the family children and the daycare children. He bonded with the family's eleven-year-old; the two were inseparable. The daycare adult traffic was the dealbreaker. However, at a later home with two small children, when he was indoors, Hank developed the protective, aggressive behavior against the children (he loved the mom). Outdoors, he was fine with the children. Generally, he's a great woman's dog-he will protect you in and outside the home. As for exercise, Hank doesn't need marathon outings, but he does need off-leash play. That's where the fenced yard for ball chasing or a nearby dog-friendly park comes in. He's good aroundother dogs off-leash. He enjoys leash walks in low-traffic areas, but he can be very reactive to cars on busy roads and to other dogs when he's on leash. It is very hard to keep him happy with leash walks alone. Once he bonds with you, he will be a champ at off-leash hikes on trails safely away from the road. You can trust him never to get very far from you. He will check in. It's like he's on a herding-dog bungie cord.Hank has made great progress with training. He is smart and eager to please. (Just look at the video where he's learning "down.) He benefits from routines and well-established boundaries.
In the right home, he will thrive and so will his humans, because Hank is big love. If you are happy, he couldn't be happier. If you are upset, he will come over and try to help. If he is lying down when you walk in the room, he will beat the floor with his tail, and if he is standing up, he will wag so hard he nearly falls over. He is endearing and somehow enduringly innocent. He gives his heart away. His forever home will have years and years of love.
