AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION
(ADOPTED on May 8, 2015!)
Chappy 
(my first foster dog for 
Come Bye Border Collie Rescue)

Chappy, male, black and white, medium coated Border Collie is estimated at 1 year old. I am fostering him in my home in unincorporated Calumet Township. You can email me: carriekellyk9@gmail.com to get more information about Chappy. To apply to adopt Chappy, or for info on any of the other CBBCR foster dogs available for adoption, kindly go to the Adoption Info page on Come Bye BCR's website at www.comebyebcrescue.org.

I will be looking for the perfect fit for Chaps. He is truly such a loving, friendly dog and  deserves a great forever home!
3/20/2015
Meet Chappy, aproximately 1 yr old neutered male. Chaps is up to date on his shots and heartworm negative.  While I have only had him with me for 10 days, he has already managed to find his place in our pack of 3 other dogs, one of which is a very fear reactive German Shepherd. He is skilled at getting dogs to play with him and they all enjoy chasing and wrestling with him out in the yard. The video at left is from his first day with me and he wasn't quite sure of himself yet.
 
He is quite a cuddle bug and wants nothing more than to hug you, lay on your lap or be close to you in the house. He knows to "go to your place" (lie down on his pillow), sit, down, come and is very well-behaved in his crate. He loves people...all people! So much so that he wants to hug everyone we meet. He is very gentle when he puts his paws up for hugs but we are working on sit for petting and only hug on cue. He is also good with children (9 yr old) and will be tested with younger children as soon as I can arrange it.

Initially, he didn't show much interest in toys, but now that he is getting comfortable, he is playing tug with the other dogs, and chasing a thrown toy. We will continue to develop his interest in toys. He is very food motivated and learns quickly. He is a gentle soul and it only takes a firm voice to stop him in his tracks.
 
He has been on some of the agility equipment simply from following my Aussie as she ran through tunnels, across the A-Frame, Dogwalk and lowered teeter. He shows no hesitation or fear of sound or movement. He is such a happy guy, I think he would make a great agility dog or a great family pet.
3/28/2015
Chappy is really coming out and showing himself to us now. He is happily playing with toys...by himself, with the other dogs and with me. He even managed to tug a little on a toy with me today. He shows no signs of guardiness of toy, food or bones with us or the other dogs in the house. He still loves his cuddle time on our laps or as close to it as he can get. He understands to "go to your place" on one of the many dog beds when we want our space. He understands to wait in his crate when the door is opened until released with the word "Okay". As much as he loves to cuddle, he also loves to play out in the yard. He and my other dogs sure can run and chase! 

Chappy was so excited by getting a treat that he didn't understand that every treat wasn't for him. Now he will sit next to my other three dogs and wait for his name to be said to accept his treat without trying to grab the others. His biggest challenge is learning to wait his turn for attention, rather than trying to squeeze himself in between myself and one of my other dogs. He is not the least bit aggressive about it, just wants to be involved, too. So we are working on waiting while I pet one dog, then I call Chappy for pets right after. He gets lots of praise and attention (and sometimes a treat gets tossed to him) for staying back and waiting. He learns quickly so I know this won't take him long to figure out.

He had a bath at the local Pet Supplies Plus (where you can bathe the dog yourself) and he was comfortable and calm throughout. I wouldn't say that he liked getting a bath, but he did enjoy all the rubbing with the shampoo and the drying off. Nails will be done later today so I'll see how he handles that. He is fine with handling all body parts and with the weather lately, he's gotten lots of practice with wiping muddy paws. 

He is very soft and rolls onto his back if he thinks that he is in trouble. Calm and consistent use of positive reinforcement training works great with him. I'm clicker training him and he loves to play the clicker game! I hope to get some videos of training sessions up this weekend, too!