Pablo Australian Cattle Dog / Blue Heeler Mix Manassas, VA

TO CONTACT THE FOSTER HOME, email Zoe.kjb@gmail.com@gmail.com. DO NOT use the Petfinder form. Inquiries don't reach us.

Meet Pablo! Pablo is an almost 9 month old, 35 lb, neutered male red heeler mix. He is looking for a special home that will provide him with continued training and enrichment to help him work through some behavior quirks. Pablo is extremely smart. He has high food drive and loves to work and learn. He is very fun to train and very handler focused. He is crate trained, housebroken, knows basic obedience and fun tricks. He has been introduced to agility and caught on very quickly.

Pablo currently lives in a home with both cats and dogs. He does chase and bark at the cats occasionally, so if he does go to a home with cats then the cats should be very dog savvy. Pablo will need a slow introduction to any resident dogs and he seems to get along better with female dogs. He would also be just fine as an only dog. Pablo has not been exposed to children much and due to this and his mouthy nature when excited, should not go to a home with children.

Pablo will not do well living in a busy city or neighborhood as he is easily overstimulated by things that make noise and move. He becomes overstimulated and is reactive to other dogs he does not know, and will react by barking, lunging, and snapping. He is currently being worked with in his foster home through counter conditioning and positive reinforcement training to create a positive association with other dogs and maintain calm behavior when seeing them. Pablo will thrive in an adoptive home that has time and dedication to continue working with him on this. Pablo currently needs a large amount of space between himself and other dogs in order for him to not become overstimulated and to be able to learn and train effectively. Because of this, Pablo will do best with a home with a yard that is private and does not directly border lots of other yards with dogs. If you do not have a yard, then you must have a quiet, low traffic area to walk and train him in. Pablo may never be a dog that can go to dog parks or areas with lots of other dogs in close proximity. The goal is for him to still be able to lead an active lifestyle and be able to go out, see dogs, and not overreact.

Pablo’s ideal adopter will have both ACD or similar herding breed experience and experience with reactive behavior in dogs. If you do not have this experience, then you must be willing to demonstrate that you have done your research and will be able to provide the training and environment that he needs to be successful. He would be a great dog for someone involved in training or dog sports or someone wanting to become involved in those things. We have worked very hard with him and will continue to do so until the perfect home is found. Please email zoe.kjb@gmail.com with any questions.

COMPLETE AN APPLICATION
http://www.acdra.org/adoption-application