Kallie - D3924

Hi my name’s Kallie. I’m a beautiful red Kelpie with the personality to match. I haven’t had the best start to life and foster mum doesn’t think I was exposed to many other dogs growing up, but I’m smart and already learning where I am in the ‘pack’ and how to play nicely with my foster siblings. When the people at SAFE first took me in, I was very scared and easily startled, so you’ll need to be patient with me and give me lots of love so I can feel safe, especially when things are changing. When I’m scared, if you rub my chest with your fingers I’ll calm down immediately.

I’d like an experienced and patient family willing to put the effort into training and working to build up my confidence, who’ll be tolerant of mistakes I might make along the way. As I’m still a baby I am still learning big dog things like toilet training and not to chew furniture (even when my baby teeth are itchy!) – and I do understand the word “no!”. If you leave for extended periods leave me with some enrichment activities - see below for ideas.

I’d love a home with another dog who I can play with during the day.

All dogs need a lot of care - we working breed dogs just generally need more of it :) And that is part of the fun for you and me! We’ll develop an amazing bond because of what we do together and I’ll be the most loyal, devoted dog ever!

I’LL RELY ON YOU TO:
1. EXERCISE ME Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! We need to wear off our energy. We were bred to spend long days working, using our brains to solve problems, so we have a strong drive to be active and mentally stimulated. If we’re not working, we need help to use up that energy.
2. PROVIDE ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES We have very active minds and are super smart. Activities in the community include flyball, agility courses, or we might be suited to herding or search and rescue. There are lots of enrichment activities you can provide for me at home, too. I’d love to work for my food every day instead of just being given it. You could do things like make food puzzles, or hide treats for me to sniff out and find, give me lovely big frozen blocks of stock or an ice block with a treat in the middle. And what about throwing one of those soft type dog frisbees that don’t hurt your teeth? And games of fetch where you teach me to drop the toy instead of turning it into a tug of war. Yeah!
3. BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR BOUNDARIES Consistent, clear boundaries mean that I’ll always knows the right way to behave. Eg, if you don’t want me in the kitchen, teach me to sit outside the entryway. It’s confusing if you allow me in the kitchen one day and the next make me stay out. Keep me off the sofa and human beds. Give me my own bed and make it clear that is my space. If you let a me break a rule once, I’ll probably break it again.
4. TRAIN ME Teach me these basic commands as they’ll get us through any situation: sit, down, stay, come, down, no, stop and leave it. Let’s practice them every day so I’m always primed to obey what you tell me to do. Plus it’s fun :) Use positive reinforcement for training. Negative training may lead to fear and aggression. Reward me with treats or pats when I pay attention or perform a command correctly. Don’t punish me for unwanted behaviour. Instead, redirect my thoughts when I’m doing something you don’t want me to do eg if I chew on something you don’t want me to have, take it away. But trade it for a chew toy. When training, be happy and excited.
5. SOCIALISE ME Socialise me from the start! Introduce me to as many people, places, animals, sounds, and smells as possible. I’ll be well adjusted because of it. If I start any herding tendencies, speak to the rescue or trainer to nip it in the bud as early as possible.

I’m a very sweet girl who’ll be a very loyal family member. If it sounds like I might be the one for you, please Apply to Adopt.