Balto

The AMAZING Balto is now seeking his forever home

Current weight 23 kilos

Balto is an incredibly smart, incredibly handsome, incredibly devoted - and only slightly scatterbrained - Border Collie / Smithfield mix. This one of a kind super-dog is now seeking his one of a kind adopter to treasure and adore him for the rest of his life. Balto has brought joy and delight to his foster family in the few short weeks they have had him and there is no doubt that he will make a wonderful canine companion to his lucky new owner.

Balto comes with a lead, harness and seat belt safety adoption pack
Despite his easy going nature and low maintenance lifestyle, it must be understood that Balto is not a dog for the faint-hearted, nor is he suitable for a first-time dog owner. He requires an experienced, confident leader who will celebrate and nurture his independence, free thinking and resilience, whilst giving him firm directions and clear boundaries so that he can reach his full potential as a steady, well-balanced canine companion.

Balto will only be rehomed in an acreage environment with lots of room to do what he does best - which is run and run and run some more! Whilst his name is Balto, his foster family generally refer to him as “Bolt” because that’s exactly what he does for 90% of his waking hours. He has boundless energy that really needs to be seen to be believed - and no suburban backyard environment would ever be big enough to contain the spirit and energy of this amazing boy. It should be pointed out that Balto is a true Houdini when it comes to fencing - his lean build and supreme athleticism means that he can slip under, over or straight through any weakness in surrounding fencing so this is something which needs to be taken into consideration by any potential adopter.

COAT AND MAINTENANCE

Balto is one of the most interesting looking dogs you’ll ever see and will draw attention and compliments from any crowd. With his one blue and one brown eye, smiling face and kitten-soft fur around his face, neck and ears, Balto’s front end is the dream of any Disney feel-good-movie producer.

SOCIALISATION

Balto has been in foster care with three large, boisterous resident dogs, all of whom he gets on well with. For an adolescent dog who is full of beans, he is incredibly well mannered around older, more dominant dogs and reads their social cues very well. He just loves to run and play with each of them at their level - which means tug of war with the Great Dane, gentle play bows and respectful face licking with the older cattle dog, and wild games of chasey and zoomies with the young blue heeler. He does not have a mean or aggressive bone in his body - instead his entire being is focused on fun, adventure and mischief… with every activity performed at top speed. Whilst he is not extremely submissive, he does recognise his place at the bottom of his current park and is very tolerant of the other dogs getting up into his personal space. He has shown no signs of resource guarding around food or toys.

Balto has been fostered in a home with children aged over 10 years and whilst he loves playing with the ball and frisbee with them, he does not actively seek them out for pats and cuddles, preferring instead to look to the teenagers and adults in the house for comfort and attention. Whilst he has shown no signs of aggression whatsoever, on the few occasions he’s been to public places, Balto has given signals that he’s not entirely comfortable with young children approaching him and giving him attention. He has instead moved away from them and retreated behind his foster carer. For this reason, Balto will only be adopted to a home where any children are aged 13 or over and who are familiar with dogs’ body language to know when they need space.

Balto has been fostered in a home with several cats and whilst he certainly pricks up his ears and rushes over to greet them eagerly (and somewhat clumsily!, he has shown no signs of aggression around them and will happily settle down for a snooze right next to them on the couch or the bed - even sharing his foster mum’s lap with a cat if given the chance.
Balto has been exposed to kangaroos, horses, sheep, cattle and (secured) chickens whilst in foster care. Whilst he has shown a definite interest in them and will run toward them to get them moving, he has shown only his true nature as a “herding”, not a “hurting” dog and has not shown any desire to cause harm to livestock or wildlife.

OBEDIENCE

There is no denying it - Balto is simply brilliant, with a working dog brain that is just begging to be put to work. Balto has quickly learned to sit, drop and to wait for treats, and to make eye contact with his foster mum before he does anything. Under the care of an owner with time to devote to more in-depth training with him, this dog could do ANYTHING! Whether it’s formal obedience training, fly-ball, high jump or agility - Balto has the potential to take his owner straight to the top of the class and look amazing while doing so.

EXERCISE

Balto has one of the highest energy levels we have seen in a dog in care and any prospective adopters need to be aware that he is not the type of dog who can be taken for a walk around the block once a day and then left to languish in the backyard. This dog needs to RUN - and he needs to run far and fast! Balto is currently walked off lead in open paddocks with his foster siblings for 90 minutes every morning. For the first 85 minutes, he runs at flat-out sprint pace and disappears for several minutes at a time as he gallops off, following his nose and choosing his own adventure. With a shout of his name though, he will be back at your feet in an instant, sitting when asked and panting happily as he waits for approval to run off again and continue his journey of awesome smells. He spends the last 5 minutes of the walk trotting happily near his foster mum and foster siblings and he’ll be happy to lounge around at your feet (or in your lap if you let him) for a few hours after that.
In the afternoon, he enjoys a play with a frisbee or a ball in the backyard before dinner - get your throwing arm ready because he will effortlessly sprint from one end of the yard to the other, drop the ball and be ready to go again, 100 times over. He then enjoys a final game of wrestling or tug of war with a rope toy for a short time before bed.

On the few occasions he’s been walked on a lead, Balto has been strong and likes to pull his foster mum along - he can’t understand why he can’t travel at the same speed on-lead as he can in the open paddocks. However he has shown great potential to listen and think before he starts pulling, and again, with time and consistency with an owner who is willing to commit to teaching him better leash manners, he will improve very quickly and be a pleasure to walk on a lead.

If there’s mischief to be found, Balto is right there in the middle of it, and at the moment he is sporting scabs on his face, eye, ears and leg as evidence of the fun times he’s had in the great outdoors.

As is typical of many working breeds, Balto sleeps with one eye open at all times. Even in his de