Jake is a beautiful Black Tri that is a little overweight from not enough exercise and being crated for too long every day. He is 65lbs. and is on a diet and is getting ten times more exercise in his foster home than ever before. He is playing with his foster brother Oz another Aussie, and he does very well with him. He needs a home that does not have an alpha male but he needs a dog that wants to play. He has abandonment issues because he was left at a shelter after growing up in a home that got him straight from a breeder. He was given to the shelter because his family claimed he was “too big and a chewer.” He is a year and 7 months old and still acts like a puppy, wants to play and have fun. He does have an off switch! He likes to chew but he has only chewed his toys and bones that have been given to him since being at his foster home. He has not been crated at all but is let out during the day for 10 minutes when his foster mom comes home for lunch.
He is a traditional Aussie when it comes to being a Velcro dog. He wants to be everywhere his owner is. He is well trained: he gives paw, hi five, sits, comes, plays fetch and drops the ball right at your feet and listens to his name very well when called. He is neutered, house broken and up to date on all shots. He wants to be loved and needs lots of attention because he is still young.
He is scared of new people and uses growling as a way to let you know he is scared. He is working on that with his foster mom to stop that practice because it makes him seem like a mean dog when he is just trying to cover up the fact that he is scared. It takes him longer to warm up to men than women. He will warm up quickly when given a treat by the stranger. He will guard your house and let you know when people are coming and someone is outside of the house or at the door. After he gets used to you he will want to play, play and play. He uses his crate as a place to hide when he gets too scared; it’s his comfort zone.
He wants to sit next to you on the couch and cuddle with you when you are sleeping. He does listen when you tell him to get off and lay down on the floor. He pulls on a leash and might do well with a prong training collar to help with that, he is working on being better on a leash with his foster mom.
Overall, Jake is an amazing and smart Aussie that will grow up to be a loyal, affectionate and sweet boy once he gets to his forever home. Jake is being fostered in the Chicagoland area. To adopt this medium energy level Australian Shepherd, complete an application today. Reference ASRM 0044.
