Information for Potential Adopters

Ok, so here's an update on Brigit and Siobhan.

The good people at Austin Pets Alive! kindly took the girls into their program, and today they went to APA to get spayed, microchipped, and caught up on heartworm and flea preventative. They are now in an APA foster home, so if you are interested in adopting them, you will need to contact APA to meet the girls and fill out an application.

However, here's some information about the girls you might want to know before even considering them for adoption:

As you might have guessed if you've read any of the earlier entries, the girls were very thoroughly socialized. They have been around people of all shapes, sizes, ages, races, and wearing various kinds of clothing and accessories. They have spent their whole lives interacting with numerous other dogs, cats, parrots, livestock, and horses. When I was raising them, they were turned on their backs multiple times per day, and got very used to people messing with their ears, mouths, feet, tails, and got weekly nail trims. They are used to walking on various surfaces, being in various structures and social situations, and being approached by total strangers. They have also spent their whole lives thusfar sleeping in crates, so they are well adapted to crate training as well.

In the five weeks since they have been staying with the other foster mom, I cannot speak as to whether or not they retained their acceptance of nail trims and other forms of manhandling, but I do know that they continued to spend time with dogs, cats, and other people, and have been learning good doggie manners from other well-socialized adult dogs. They are also still very good around children, although since they are big and rambunctious girls, they might still accidentally knock over small children in their eagerness to play.

As far as I know, they are NOT housetrained, as their foster mom only let them inside at night to sleep in their crate and they otherwise lived in her backyard. They also have received little to no training, so they have not yet learned good manners like sit, stay, lay down, and the doozy: DON'T JUMP ON PEOPLE. As far as I can tell, that is their one really bad habit.

Having said all of that, these girls are extremely smart and have a steep learning curve, and beyond that have a nearly insatiable desire to please, so I'm fully confident that with love, consistency, and positive reinforcement training, they will quickly learn basic good manners, housetraining, and whatever else you may want to teach them.

Which brings me to another crucial point: these girls are most likely Border Collie, mixed with some kind of Shepherd or Bernese Mountain Dog or some other highly active, highly intelligent working breed. They have extraordinary personalities and the most gentle, friendly temperaments you could imagine, but they are also going to be big girls (my guess would be between 60 and 70 lbs) with a lot of mental and physical energy and the drive to WORK. It is crucial that they go to a home with either a big yard or an owner who can spend a lot of time each day giving them lots and lots of exercise. And above and beyond physical exercise, they are going to need a lot of mental stimulation as well. They need a job to do, so I cannot stress enough the importance of getting them into agility, herding trials, therapy work, or some other meaningful activity. If you cannot provide this for them, you are going to end up with a bored and anxious dog that will likely become neurotic and destructive. I would also recommend providing them with lots of enrichment opportunities, such as foraging toys.

And finally: I raised these girls from the bottle, so I am of course very attached to them. I would consider it a kindness, if you do end up adopting them, if you would send me updates from time to time, perhaps even the occasional picture or two. :) Obviously that isn't a requirement, but it is a pipe dream of mine.

Thanks for reading!