Zippy

Meet Zippy. Zippy is a 4-5 year old Border Collie mix (some Beagle?). She was a true stray when she was found in 2021. She had obviously been in a home at some point because she knew some tricks and manners, but she also obviously had some trauma and had a hard time with dogs and some people (bearded men were the worst). She has a come a long way in the last 2 years!. At her core she is a complete lovey sweetheart. She is affectionate and funny and takes well to learning new tricks. She is not a huge fetcher, but she loves tug of war and playing with and in water. She is house trained and loves to snuggle. She will steal food, so watch out. Zippy’s struggle is reactivity with other dogs and sometimes people. It is a 100% fear response but manifests as lunging and barking, which can seem aggressive. With people she will quickly calm down and turn lovey. With other animals it can be a lot more work. With work she has been acclimated to another in-home dog and has made a cat friend and some dogs friends at another house. She can do it. But she is a lot of work to take on a walk where she might encounter new dogs. You have to be proactive and in front of any interaction. She will match any aggression and needs to be shielded from another aggressive acting dog. I think her ideal home would be with people who love her (obviously), can be alpha with her and can give her lots of time running around outside. A fenced yard is a must and even better if it is stockade fence to cut off her sight lines of other dogs. She has come a long way in her interactions, but has a ways to go. Patient, loving desensitization training will continue to pay off. Holding and stroking her when she first sees a new dog is the best thing. She had a strong bolting instinct early on and is an escape artist, hence the name. She always came back and pretty quickly learned that home was safe and the bolting behavior waned. It is heartbreaking but necessary for me to find her a new loving home, but my circumstances have changed. Please contact Jim (langelandj@#gmail.com) for more information.