Special adopter needed for a special dog

Jordan is a 30 lb,  3-year-old blue merle Sheltie surrendered by a family who couldn’t meet his needs. 

The ideal home for Jordan is someone who wants an affectionate pet, either as only dog or with a confident female friend.   It should not be a home where kids or grandkids visit and where visitation is minimal and can be easily managed.  Jordan would benefit from leash walking as he loves to do that and is well behaved around people and animals when on leash.  

The adopter will need to accept responsibility for understanding his past behavior and commit to the best of their ability to keep him from situations that could get him in trouble, such as dog parks, doggie daycare or other unsupervised settings with unfamiliar furry friends.  He should be boarded when needed in a kennel setting where he would be given walks and attention independently from other animals he doesn’t know well.

Jordan is in great health and coat condition.  He is vaccinated and neutered and microchipped.  He has very good house manners as well and will sleep in a crate at night if needed.   When left alone in a crate, he expresses frustration if he has something he can tear apart, but can be left alone in the house with the other dogs without being destructive.

Background

Jordan was sent to us by a family with busy teenage kids.  The activity in the home didn’t bring out the best in the anxious dog, who had already been rehomed after the death of his original owner.   He had a few run-ins with visitors while acting as guardian of the home and it was in his best interest to find a new place.  During his time with the family, he was regularly leash walked for exercise and potty time.

Jordan did pretty well in the foster home which was more busy with dogs than visiting people.  This made him happy.   For over 3 weeks he enjoyed playing in the yard and being in the company of other dogs.   He did some typical herding-like nipping when excited but that was deemed to be manageable.    The pack visited a festival and walked together on leash, having no issues with meeting other dogs or people in public.

If you watch the video about Jordan, you can see how well he plays with the other dogs.   One of the other larger foster dogs even picked on him a bit, but he was tolerant and playful.  He especially loves the female dog in the pack who is nearest his age.  He loves to play ball and go for rides in the car.

What happened that he needs such a special home?

During the time that rescue was interviewing possible adopters for Jordan, he began to show his house guarding behaviors a little more with some weekend visitors and a male contractor.   No blood was drawn, but he charged and nipped with a little too much energy.   Deciding that he was not well suited for homes with kids or grandkids, the foster home was considering allowing him to stay since he got on well and they were able to manage the few bad behaviors he had shown.   Other than with strangers, Jordan is an obedient, affectionate pet and he is well behaved in the house.  

Just about a month into the foster residency some playtime got rowdy, and something set Jordan off to where he lashed out and harmed one of the other dogs in the home, a small, senior male dog who was recently neutered.  (he is Ok now.) While the behavioral cause for the attack is unknown – testosterone or guarding his mom or some other need to express dominance.  It has been two more weeks with carefully managed separation and leashed interactions but Jordan continues to target the same dog and only that dog.   As a result, it is really necessary to find Jordan a new place where he can both thrive and be safe.    The efforts do keep everyone separated are likely not helping to reduce any anxiety.

Medical tests have been done to see if there are any red flags that could be impacting the behavior and he seems to be in perfect health based on bloodwork.

Adopting Jordan

Jordan is located in the Finger Lakes region of NY and his adoption will be facilitated by Long Island Shetland Sheepdog Rescue (LISSR).   Please go to their website at www.lissr.org to find an adoption application or send email to [email protected].   Given the special circumstances with Jordan, adopters or foster-to-adopt candidates will be considered from out of state.  His foster family is willing to transport long distances if needed to ensure he is matched with the right family.  Qualification and references must still be satisfied, including home visit from an affiliated rescue if not within LISSR volunteer coverage.   Adopters will need to sign a document accepting responsibility for Jordan with full understanding of his past behaviors.