Size
(when grown) Med. 26-60 lbs (12-27 kg)
Details
Good with kids,
Good with dogs,
Good with cats,
House-trained,
Spayed or Neutered,
Shots are up-to-date,
Story
5 month old Opal is a 17 pound Miniature Australian Shepherd mix and eager for her furever home! We expect her to be between 30-40 pounds when she's done growing! She’s already a star in her puppy classes.She loves literally every human ever - young, old, man, woman - she doesn’t discriminate and wants to be best friends with everyone and will implore you to give her scratches and belly rubs. In fact, regardless of what’s going on, she’ll pretty much stop in her tracks if a belly rub is being offered.She is super smart and treat-motivated, so she’s a very quick learner. In puppy class, the instructor will often use her to demonstrate how to ask for a new behavior because Opal is sure to pick it up so quickly. She’s already doing great with so many cues including if you so much as say her name a certain way or clear your throat, she will automatically presume a default lay down position; she knows “touch” (a way of teaching “come”) and “place” (setting out a mat without you saying a word and she’ll go to sit/lay down on the mat) plus many more cues. She can learn just about any cue with treat motivation! She’s also doing great with loose-leash walking. Like most pups her age she is in her teething phase, but she’s not destructive. She has gone for the low-hanging shoe or sock, but loses interest pretty quickly and hasn’t destroyed anything in the house at all. At five months old, she certainly has her bursts of puppy energy, but she also has an amazing “off” switch, both on command (as mentioned above with the learned cues using treats) and naturally as she will chill out for a long time after her walks.Her family should be active and enjoy taking her for walks/exercise. She has even had her first creek swim and would enjoy more opportunities for water play. She loves playing in the overflow water from an open fire hydrant like no one’s business! Opal is very affectionate and loves sleeping next to her person or in their knee nook when napping on the couch. She currently sleeps in her crate next to the human bed at night. She enters her crate on command, as well as of her own volition when she’s ready for a nap throughout the day.While we always recommend slow and proper introductions, so far Opal has always been chill around cats with no barking, chasing, or other overly-interested behavior.Opal can get overwhelmed when meeting new dogs, but with proper introductions, she really loves to make new friends, have a buddy to play with, and will become the bounciest, most playful little pup! She’s probably not a dog-park kind of dog, but would love a family that properly introduces her to a roster of go-to buddies, so she can have playdates with familiar friends.Opal may have experienced some scarcity early in life as she has displayed possessiveness over what she perceives to be high-value foods. She’s never exhibited that behavior when it comes to training treats, kibble, yak chews, several other yummies, or toys, but there are some “special” yummies she resource guards. While she’s working on learning that she has everything she needs and that there’s no need to be overprotective, it’s best for her to be the only full-time dog in the home or be slowly introduced to the resident dogs & eat everything completely separately (in crate) as well as not be allo, so that she doesn’t have to stress over the fear of not having enough. She has resource-guarded against the resident dog when it comes to human food dropped by the resident toddler, so even though Opal gets along with all humans, she would probably do best in a home without super young kiddos who could accidentally get caught in the middle. We will not allow her to go to a home with kids under the age of 8 for this reason.As mentioned, Opal absolutely loves people and is in the process of learning that it’s okay to be home for a bit alone without them. For that reason, she’d do best in a single family home, so that she doesn’t bother the neighbors while she settles down after her people leave the house. She will often not even pay attention to her people initially leaving the house when left with a yummy in her crate.Opal has so many glorious qualities, is swoon-worthy cute, and she’s hoping her forever family is ready to scoop her up!Overall, we would love Opal to find a loving home with older kids and someone who works from home is ideal. You must live in a house, NOT an apartment or any type of place where you share walls with neighbors.***OPAL IS FOSTERED IN WASHINGTON, D.C., BUT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION AND TRANSPORT OUT OF STATE. Read below for more information.Our dogs are transported to a predetermined location agreed upon by the rescue (unless we are able to meet up with adopters within a couple hours or adopter can drive to get the dog). The adoption contract and fee are finalized prior to transport/transfer to adopter. As a Pep's Pals Rescue direct adoption, the adoption interview/meet and greet occurs on video call (Skype, FB Messenger call, FaceTime, etc) unless adopter is able to travel to meet.Our adoption fee is $350 plus health certificate and transport if you are too far to drive to pick up within a couple hours of Maryland (transport cost varies by location). This fee includes all current vaccinations, deworming, microchip, fecal analysis, spay, and a heartworm test. All dogs are current on flea/tick and heartworm prevention. A health exam will be completed and a health certificate issued by a veterinarian within 10 days of transport.If you are interested in adopting, please fill out the adoption application below:https://petstablished.com/adoption_form/57837/generic
##2018622##
