Sarah, AKA Fiona Border Collie & Rat Terrier Mix West Caldwell, NJ

Fiona is a highly intelligent, curious and affectionate dog. She has proven to be good with children and other dogs. She is redirect-able from unwanted behaviors, and has shown progress in basic obedience (sit, lay, leave it, leash walking).

Fiona is partially house-broken, with few accidents. So far she has only peed inside the house a handful of times, but each time has attempted to signal us she has to go (scratches the door, occasionally barks). She is mostly crate trained. Although she doesn’t nap in her crate on her own volition, she goes in easily when coaxed and usually doesn’t bark or whimper. At the moment, she’s able to sleep for six hours without a bathroom break, although we have not attempted to leave her in for a full night yet.

Fiona is still very nippy and likes to chew on carpets, sticks, clothing, etc. She needs to be watched when she is out of her crate as she can be destructive or at risk for accidentally harming herself. We are usually able to redirect her from unwanted behaviors, but at times she is too hyper for a successful redirection. I have found this usually this just means she needs a nap. At her age, the above behavior seems natural and she has demonstrated she is responsive to training.

Due to her breed, she is extremely high energy and would work best with an athletic owner who will run with her or someone interested in giving her a job, or providing activities such as agility training to give her proper energy outlet.

She is not very good with cats. Our two cats do not get along with her and find her energy levels to be stressful. She has mild separation anxiety, although she is getting better at self-soothing. I suspect it might be more boredom than true separation issues.

Reasons for rehoming - note from current owner

We feel we are unable to meet her energy and attention requirements, and my partner was recently laid off, so our income has considerably tightened and we are struggling to afford pet insurance, obedience training, a proper fence, day care, etc.

If interested in Fiona please complete an application at www.orphanedpetsinc.com