Piper Australian Cattle Dog / Blue Heeler Manassas, VA

Meet Piper, a 38 pound spayed and microchipped 6 year old female Blue Heeler who’s lived in GA, OR, FL, WI, and now MO! Piper lives to people-please; she loves interacting with humans. She is confident yet gentle. She has a noble character and respects what she is taught to respect.

She is in great physical shape. She has never been given human food / table scraps / leftovers / etc. and hasn’t been allowed to hang out around a human eating situation, which has greatly contributed to her physical health. She is well-trained to respect human food and boundaries.

Additionally, Piper has been with humans that would get her 5-20 miles of walking/hiking/jogging/running/onewheeling in on a weekly basis, which she really enjoys. She goes with the flow; she can go for a long hike and thoroughly enjoy that or she can be a couch potato with her human and thoroughly enjoy that as well.

She thrives with company by her side! She does very well on and off leash (once trained and accustomed to you).
Piper does very will with hand gestures and mouth/noise cues - a loud shhhh means stop/no, two quick high pitched whistles means pay attention and follow, a raised hand face-high toward her with eye contact means stop/wait, etc. and she understands verbal direction very well, as well - wait/stop, ah ah/no, sit/sit, over/jump over, up/jump up on to surface, dinner? or hungry?/time for food, etc.

She is house-trained, house-broken (never had 1 issue of damaging behavior in 6 yrs together), and can go a significant amount of time holding her pee/poop if she has to without having an accident in a space she knows she isn’t supposed to.

Piper is scared of thunder and fireworks but can handle gun shots from a rifle range, for example. She doesn’t have experience living with cats. She has been taught to respect larger animals like cows and horses and does. Piper is such a sweet girl; she is social, positive-reinforcement trained, and is good in daycare/boarding situations. She has no temperament issues and has never bit or been aggressive toward humans, even small children who lack boundary awareness but of course all dogs should be monitored in those situations as children may pinch and grab causing a dog to feel threatened.

Piper has a strong “prey drive” and is a vigilant hunter with things like mice, moles, chipmunks, squirrels, even opossums - these are all things she’s caught, mice pretty regularly when living on a farm. This comes into play when hiking - especially the high pitched squeak of chipmunks which can really distract her and so patient re-focusing will be likely needed. Please understand that it’s innate and cannot fully be fixed, but with that said she has been continuously and consistently trained to consciously fight her urge to chase so often one will see her inner struggle - she knows she shouldn’t but has the innate urge to do so. She may also chase a deer or coyote but has been trained not to.

She would do great with an owner that understands positive-reinforcement reward training, and understands how to be an alpha diplomatically. She lives to people-please. She is mostly aloof with other dogs and is more interested in hunting and sniffing things than playing with other dogs (although certain dogs get her to play but most don't). She is independent, confident, attentive, and loving. She never acts out at home in any way.
If she sounds like a fit then don’t hesitate -- she will be the best decision and addition you could make to your home!

Piper is spayed, microchipped, up to date on vaccines, current on flea, tick, and heartworm preventative. She is currently living in Kansas City, MO but is adoptable within the ACDRA coverage area. Transport is available. If you have questions or are interested in Piper, please email labuttcm@gmail.com

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