Currently on a raw diet that varies. I will provide more than enough freeze-dried raw to help him transition to what his new family feeds. He is fed 1-1/2 cups at breakfast and 1-1/2 cups again at dinner. He is housebroken. Even though he is fed twice a day he only poops once, which may be due to the raw diet which generally makes their poops smaller. He prefers to poo on a walk and not in the small, fenced area in my back yard. That might be different if he has a larger yard available.
He is up to date on all vaccines and on Simparica Trio monthly for flea/tick/heartworm. I will include whatever is left. Both the vet and his DNA age testing say he is 2 years old. The DNA test puts his birthday around March 2024.
He is a very laid back and loving companion. He just wants to be around his people. Not high energy so a big backyard and some games or a couple of daily walks is all he needs.
Training
We have attended basic obedience classes to prepare him to take the Canine Good Citizen test. We have also worked at home on the required behaviors. He is ready to take the test if his new home wants to do that. I can transfer his AKC registration number to the new home if they want to pursue that.
Sit means to sit until released. He will hold the sit for about a minute even with some distance away from me and distractions like doing jumping jacks or acting crazy.
Down same as sit, he will hold for about a minute and with both small distance and some distractions.
The release cue is the word Break.
Go box is the command to go into his crate. He isn't super enthusiastic about it yet but he is getting there. He will also bark and whine for a few minutes if you leave the room but then settles down. I do crate him when I leave the house because he is a counter surfer.
Place is the command to go on a mat or bed. Again, he should stay there until released. He goes to his place when I'm fixing meals and stays there until released. For meals I use the word Chow instead of Break to release him but either one should work. He does creep forward at mealtimes, which isn't ideal but he is a work in progress on that one.
He walks nicely on a loose leash although he does weave from side to side and doesn't know heel yet.
He will come when called to either his name or to the word Here.
He has had two training sessions for Barn Hunt, and I was told at the end of the 2nd session that he is ready to compete in this sport.
He will sit politely when greeting new people and is not bothered by friendly dogs running up to him. He is also comfortable around horses. He earned high praise from the National Dalmatian Club president as the best distraction dog they'd ever had after he was used for that in their recent Road Trials competition. But he does have some interest in chasing small furry animals like rabbits and might need some work to be around cats in the home.
He does like to play tug and will chase a ball but doesn't really have much practice playing fetch. He usually drops the ball on the way back to me, but he could learn to bring it back with a little effort.
He is very food motivated for training. I haven't found a treat or food he doesn't like. He will chew on a bone but hasn't been destructive or chewed on household items.
I play training games from Susan Garretts Recallers program. He has been introduced to It's Yer Choice to start working on only taking food with permission. Continuing this would help to address the counter surfing. We've also played Reinforcement Zone for finding value in being beside me which is foundation work for loose leash walking and introducing walking beside his handler. Many of these games are available free on YouTube. Just look for Dogs That or Susan Garrett. Another option, that in the long run costs less that going to training classes, is to buy one of her home training programs. The basic one is Home School the Dog. Slightly more advanced and to build reliable off leash handling and prepare for dog sports would be the Recallers program which has everything in Home School the Dog and builds on that. The free videos cover a lot of the same things but not in an organized way like the courses.
Embark DNA Results:
25.2% Australian Cattle Dog
22.2% American Pit Bull Terrier
11.2% Australian Shepherd
10.7% Supermutt includes Bluetick Coonhound, Border Collie, and Redbone Coonhound
10.4% Labrador Retriever
8.4% Plott
6.7% Catahoula Leopard Dog
5.2% German Shepherd Dog
Wisdom Panel DNA Results
Herding
22% Australian Cattle Dog
7% Australian Shepherd
4% Border Collie
3% Great Pyrenees
2% German Shepherd Dog
Guard
11% American Staffordshire Terrier
8% American Pit Bull Terrier
2% Boxer
Hound
5% Redbone Coonhound
4% Treeing Walker Coonhound
4% Plott Hound
4% Catahoula Leopard Dog
3% Bluetick Coonhound
1% Bloodhound
Sporting
9% Labrador Retriever
2% Flat-Coated Retriever
Asian and Oceanian
4% Siberian Husky
2% Chow Chow
1% Alaskan Malamute
Middle Eastern and African
2% Anatolian Shepherd Dog
To adopt, please email sharon@blackjackrescue.org or fill out the application at www.blackjackrescue.org
Bristol TN
STELLA
Catahoula Leopard Dog
female, medium, young, mixed
Catahoula Leopard Dog
