Finn

Background

Finn’s owner passed away and Finn spent a few months roaming the neighborhood, fending for himself, before he was captured and brought to a shelter. Finn was not doing well in the shelter and the shelter reached out to NEBCR. Unfortunately, during the time Finn was roaming free, he became proficient at fence jumping. His foster home has seen him effortlessly jump a 6-foot stockade fence as if it wasn’t even there.

For that reason, Finn’s adopter MUST commit to leashing him whenever he needs to be taken outside as it is unlikely that any fence could contain him.

Finn is a sweet and cautious 2–3-year-old, medium energy border collie mix (possibly with Great Pyrenees?) who loves to play, run and is always, ALWAYS up for a HIKE! He settles very well in the house but has endless energy while hiking. He is a cautious soul and takes a few days to warm up to you – but once he decides you are one of his people, he will greet you by placing his front paws on your shoulder and giving you a hug. He is polite though, and clearly asks permission before jumping up. 🙂

Finn has had mixed responses to other dogs. He seems to love female dogs and plays beautifully with the young female BC in his foster home. (Finn’s play style is best described as “adorably awkward”). He has reacted negatively to male dogs he has encountered, with the exception of one very old male dog. Finn lives with a 12yo cat and a 7-month-old kitten and mostly ignores them. Finn hasn’t had much exposure to children while in his foster home, but the few that we have come across on our walks didn’t seem to bother him.

Activity

Finn comes across as a laid-back, mellow kind of guy, right up until he casually vaults over a fence and takes off, so don’t let that laid-back manner fool you! Finn is amazing at jumping and can go from a casual stroll to full out run in the blink of an eye. He enjoys playing with toys and loves fetch, but unlike many border collies, he isn’t obsessive about it. He settles well in the house and is happy to sleep while his foster mom is working during the day.

Training

He is house-trained (though he has had a few accidents, usually when he was stressed). He is not a highly food motivated dog, unless you have cheese. Then he will be laser focused on you! He has a basic understanding of sit, stay/wait, lie down, crate and come. He also knows the command “speak”. We strongly recommend Finn attends a training class to reinforce this training.

Bad habits

Have we mentioned the fence jumping? We really can’t stress this enough. This is a behavior his adopter will need to commit to managing for life. Additionally, for all that he ignores cats inside, he does have a good nose for prey and if he comes across a deer or squirrel on his walks, he will get overly excited and need to be calmed down. He generally walks well on a leash but needs improvement. He is strong and can pull hard if he gets excited about something. For that reason, his foster home walks him with an EZ Walk harness.

Crate

He sleeps and eats in his crate. He is calm in his crate in the house but panics in a crate in the car. He rides well in the car if not crated. He appears to love car rides and associates them with fun adventures.

Recommendation

Finn would do well in a home with an outdoorsy person that hikes regularly. He would do well with a (female) canine companion, but it isn’t necessary. His ideal family will be one with the time, energy, patience and dedication to help him become settled and continue on his path to becoming a well-mannered, happy companion.

Please do not inquire about a particular dog until you have an APPROVED application on file.