JUNEAU's story

　　* BEING FOSTERED IN SANTA CRUZ, CA *

　　1/23/19 UPDATED DESCRIPTION: Juneau is an approximately 18 month old, Border Collie and Samoyed mix, weighing 40 lbs. He loves meeting new people, which is great, because he is so handsome and has the softest fur that people cannot resist wanting to pet him. Our boy is very affectionate, and is big on giving kisses, and sometimes gentle nibbles. He loves belly rubs, and asks for them by sitting, licking your hand and then rolling over belly up. He will even ask for hugs sometimes, by sliding his nose and head under your arm to ask for petting or to be held. He will then lean into you when you hold him. Juneau also is very good with other dogs and loves playing with them. As with many rescued dogs, he has a long list of wonderful qualities, and a short list of items that will need work.

　　Although when he feels secure and settled in a home, Juneau is calm and well behaved, he can be anxious if his people are gone. With some basic obedience training, he would be the perfect dog for almost any home, except for his single tough issue of being left alone. He will whine, cry, and give out stress barks when he feels alone or abandoned. We are seeking adopters who can have Juneau with someone all day, and who are experienced with, or willing to learn, how to slowly condition him to be calm when his people are not with him. We believe that he may be an excellent emotional support dog for someone who needs a dog to be with them at all times. Juneau and his human would understand and could support each other, and slowly work to gain confidence together.

　　Juneau is generally a very happy boy, and is especially joyful when outside or playing. He is a moderate energy guy. When in the house, he is very calm and mellow for a young dog. When happily settled in a home, Juneau is also very quiet and rarely barks. He will occasionally give out a single short bark to get his foster sisters attention to invite her play, or sometimes when on leash and seeing dogs approaching.

　　He is friendly with other dogs, although he can be a little pushy in his eagerness to meet, and may annoy some dogs. Juneau and the 3 year old, female, cattle dog at his foster home get along great. They do a lot of playing and generally follow each other around. He is very submissive with her, and will go belly up, letting her put her paw on him. But, at other times when they are playing, wrestling and chase each other around, they play as equals. Juneau does not show any guarding behavior at all. However, he is a bit of a thief. He will try to distract the other dog by pretending to be playful, and when they look up or get up from their toy or chewy, he will snatch or steal it from them.

　　At his foster home, he completely ignored the cats he has encountered, both inside and outside. He also completely ignored a flock of wild ducks that were on the ground about 3 feet from him. However, when at a new situation, he did chase the cats. We believe he just wanted to play, but the cats ran and hid. In a new home with cats, he would likely need a slow introduction to the cats. We have not yet seen him around children. He should be fine in a home with older children, but he maybe too rambunctious for small children when playing.

　　While he has the white fluffy fur of a Samoyed, Juneau definitely has herding breed traits. He has herders Velcro dog nature to be where ever his person is. He will be beside you, and each time you move around, he will follow you, including into the bathroom. If you slip away for a few minutes, when you return he will celebrate with a big greeting. He also herds the dog toys from around the house, and places them all in an organized pile on his dog bed; and then lays down next to the bed to watch his toys.

　　Juneau loves to play fetch with the frisbee, and will bring it to you, but he hasnt learned how to catch them yet. He loves both squeaky and chew toys. An obsession he has is drinking water from a garden hose. He loves it. Juneau also is a chewer, and especially when inside. He is learning which items are OK to chew on. As a strong chewer, he will need chew toys that won't break his teeth (stuffed Kongs, bully sticks, flexible Nylabones, etc.).

　　Juneau is great riding in a car, and enjoys car rides. When walking on leash, he never pulls and pretty much heels when walking. Sometimes when in new or unusual situations or when seeing a dog he wants to meet, Juneau seems to get information overload and will bark, whine, and jump in place. This has been happening less as he has more experience meeting dogs on walks.

　　He is very eager to please, extremely smart, and a fast learner. Juneau does NOT try to get up on any of the furniture. He knows sit, and will come if a treat is involved. He can be stubborn too, such as his persistence about putting paws on counter and dining table (but does not beg for food), and wanting to greet people by jumping up on them. Occasionally, the puppy in him will grab a shoe to chew on, but he will give it up, when handed a toy in exchange.

　　Juneau is still a pup, who had almost no training before his current foster home. We believe that Juneau had been left outside most of the time, before being at the shelter. His fosters now have him pretty much house trained. Although, he wont go to the door by himself to let you know he has to go, yet. His adopters will need to continue managing and teaching him what is OK and what is not.

　　His fosters have been crating him during the day when they are away. He is not yet trained to go into the crate and does NOT go in on his own. Once inside the crate, he will whine a bit to tell you he is unhappy, but then settles down. If he is very tired, he has no problem being in the crate and left alone.

　　If you are interested in Juneau, please begin by completing our adoption form at this link: http://hittgv.org/index.php/adopt. Download and print the form to be completed. If you have questions about this dog, email us at [email protected] or leave a message at (707) .