Adopted: Ollie

Quick Facts:

  • Breed: English Shepherd (purebred)
  • Gender: Male, neutered
  • Age: 1 year old
  • Size: 61 pounds
  • Good with…
    • Dogs? Many!
    • Cats? Not sure…see below!
    • Kids? Yes! 10+ (and if calm and respectful)!

Hello! My name is Ollie, and I am the most handsome, smart and active dog!

History

I come from a farm in Central Wisconsin and was adopted by my current mom at 8 weeks old. We lived in an apartment in Chicago until September, when we moved to the Ithaca area. I love life!

Personality

I am a very sweet, smart and loyal dog! I love people and being in the middle of everything! I love to learn, and I am smart so I pick up new tricks very easily. I am also very affectionate and will come to you for pats and butt scratches all the time. I will basically plop down and show you my belly and expect full cooperation and coverage with scratches! 😊

I am very outdoorsy! I love to go hiking and don’t really get tired even when my humans do. I also love to lie down in any water (including puddles!) to cool off in the summer. I love the cold and don’t understand why we have to go inside even if I have icicles on my face! I want to stay outside and roll around in the snow!

I have done basic obedience training and know come, sit, down, drop it, leave it, wait, stay, shake, spin, bow, and sit pretty! Impressive, right? I learn fast and am very eager to please and do best with positive reinforcement training. I have seen sheep before and am definitely interested in them and would love some herding training if that were possible.

Cohabitation

I love people! I am friendly and eager to meet you, eager to have fun with you, eager to please!

Herding dogs like me are best around older kids (10+) because the running around and yelling that younger kids do often kicks in our herding instincts and then we end up chasing and potentially nipping at them. Not good! If younger kids are calm and respectful, I seem totally fine around them, but wouldn’t be good to live with them because younger kids certainly are not calm and respectful 24/7! That would be unrealistic and unfair to expect of them.

I am good with most dogs! I love to run, so I love to run around with dogs and be chased by them and also chase them! I go to doggy daycare twice a week and I LOVE IT THERE!!!! It is my favorite place! When I am on leash, I can be reactive to other dogs, but mostly it’s with bigger dogs and it’s no doubt because there were some scary incidents with neighbors’ big dogs in my past. Being on leash makes me feel more vulnerable, so my fears and reactivity kick in then. My mom took a class on reactive dog counterconditioning and I am doing better, am starting to feel a bit more positive about dogs on leash, but for sure I will need continued work on this so I maintain my progress and keep it going in the right direction!

I get protective of toys (just extra good ones in my opinion), can guard food around other dogs, and sometimes don’t like it if other dogs want to be close to my mom at her office, where we go sometimes. For these reasons, I would be best either as your only dog or with another dog in the house only if you are well-versed in how to help me with these possessive/guarding issues in positive ways (and of course only if your dog will not react back to me, which would just escalate things badly).

I like to protect you and the house (and am a bit unsure of myself in this role). I give a wonderful big bark when I hear suspicious noises outside and I bark if someone knocks on the door (well done me!). At present, if I don’t know the visitors/guests, I need to be on leash or in another room because that scares me and I’m not sure how I’m supposed to handle it. When we had just moved here in September (a very stressful time as you can imagine), I was not on leash once in this situation and I did nip someone who came into my mom’s office. I wasn’t sure who this person was and when she was walking away, I nipped her calf. She was ok, but we all felt terrible about it. The behavior specialist my mom worked with said it was due to overstimulation and fear. I have not had any further incidents now that mom knows to–in a very positive, happy way– put me on leash or into another room when guests come. I haven’t had any other incidents since (either with the people in the office or at home), but it is essential that you keep working with me using positive reinforcement with visitors. My current mom can explain how to do it. Once everyone is settled, I love people in our home and keep going around to everyone to get pats and love!

I have only seen outdoor cats, and I barked at them and then seemed scared when they got closer to me. If you have calm, confident cats, it’s possible I could be socialized to them, but we really don’t know, my experience has been so minimal.

Favorite Activities

I love:

  1. Long hikes and walks!
  2. Running around with other dogs!
  3. Learning tricks and commands with loads of treats!
  4. Fetch! (I am better at it in the house…when outside, I get distracted and often forget to bring it back!)
  5. Belly rubs and butt scratches!
  6. Cuddling on the couch!
  7. Frozen marrow bones, bully sticks and pigs ears!

Why I am looking for a new home

We smart herding breeds need a lot of exercise and mental stimulation. Even with a) going to daycare twice a week where I can run in a giant area with a lot of dogs, b) hiking on weekends and c) some fun training, I need more physical and mental stimulation. I think being in a more rural home with a large property where I can explore with my new family would make my life more fulfilling. At the very least, I need a large, fenced yard, but still need lots of mental stimulation. I would be over the moon to be adopted by someone who wants to do agility classes or take me to herding classes on sheep farms, or who wants to learn Nosework with me.

Medical

I am neutered and am up to date on vaccines. I am told I have some hip dysplasia and am on a low dose of a pain medication just to make sure I am comfortable. I run, jump, and wrestle with the best of them, you would never know I have any issues if you met me! I have an appointment at Cornell Vet School in early April to see what they say about the situation. The orthopedist at Elemental Vet said I am in a great shape and am a true athlete, and if I am kept as fit as I am now, the muscle strength will really help to keep the hip situation in check!

Summary

Ollie is so handsome, smart, sweet and loyal. He is a lovable busybody who wants to be involved in whatever is happening! He will be a dedicated and loyal companion. I want to find a loving (hopefully somewhat rural with a big yard) environment for Ollie where there is a clear routine and things are stable and predictable. He would love to have companion dogs to play with, but only in the house if you are skilled to positively handle his resource guarding issues. He loves to curl up in a bed or on the couch and loves belly rubs and chewing a bone. He is a very affectionate dog and leans into me when I pet him and give him butt scratches.

If you are interested in adopting me, please fill out an online adoption application and live close to Ithaca, Syracuse, Binghamton, Rochester, or Elmira. We do home visits on every applicant, and can’t do home visits where we don’t have local volunteers. The rescue will forward it to my current family, who will a) be in touch with you and b) make all decisions about my placement!

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