Shelties Available for Adoption at NVSR

Skylar- Adopted

Handsome Skylar is a very sweet dog who will roll over for belly rubs and likes to lie on his human’s feet. He  is a talented frisbee player and does pretty well with tennis balls, too.  The problem is that he doesn’t always want to give the frisbee or tennis ball back so his human can throw it again (as you can see in the video).    His foster mom is working on commands like “drop it” and he has started to reliably drop the frisbee and tennis balls in exchange for a treat in order for the game to continue. Skylar is often reluctant to release his prized items even though he wants the games to continue.  Although he does not guard food, but will guard toys and other objects he finds.  
Skylar was turned into NVSR by a woman who took him in after his male owner died.  Her own health problems kept her from giving him the exercise he needed and felt she could no longer care for him.   He has had very little training, however, and he is learning fast in his foster home, but he is still a work in progress.
Skylar is housetrained and crate trained, and his leash walking skills are improvement.  Foster mom has found that he loves to go for leash walks, but he will pull when he sees squirrels or other interesting distractions.  He gets along well with other dogs and has begun to play with foster mom’s female Sheltie.  He does not like cats and would likely chase any he saw.
Skylar is neutered and up to date on all tests and vaccinations.  He is ready to look for his forever home.  Perhaps because he grew up with a male owner, he tends to prefer men.  The right home for Skylar must have a fenced yard and someone who is willing to play frisbee with him and take him for long walks. Until he is better trained and has a good array of commands in his repertoire, we do not recommend him for a family with small children.  He would benefit greatly from a good obedience course to build on the commands he already knows and would likely learn quickly the commands that would make him a great companion.  
Skylar is almost 7 years old, weighs 29 pounds (a little overweight) and is 15 inches tall.  His adoption fee is $350.

Max- Adoption Pending

Max is an affectionate guy who likes to play with other dogs and bonds quickly with his humans.  He is a “Velcro” dog who will follow his special people from room to room and is always up for an outing on foot or in the car.  Although he has had no formal training, his foster mom says he is surprisingly obedient and responds to several commands.
Max’s family lost their home and were forced to move in with relatives who already had too many dogs and couldn’t add Max to the mix.  So his owner sadly asked NVSR to find Max a loving home where he would be more welcome.
Max’s vetting was very out of date when he came to NVSR.  But during his weeks in foster care, NVSR has given him all vaccinations and tests, treated him for parasites, and had him neutered.  He is now on regular heartworm preventative and flea/tick prophylaxis.  His tests suggest he is now a healthy 8-year old with the energy level of a younger dog.  His coat is slowly showing the results of the much more nutritious food he now receives.
Max is a good leash walker when alone with his human.  But he becomes a little too excited—though not aggressive-- and pulls when he sees other walkers with their dogs.  He loves his crate and behaves well during car rides in his crate or in a doggie car harness.  He will bark when people come to the home or he sees interesting activity out of the windows.
The ideal home for Max would include loving humans who will give him the attention he desires.  He is a social dog and would not thrive in a home where the humans are routinely gone all day.  He is fine with cats and would enjoy having another dog to play with.  But he does have some resource guarding tendencies and should be fed separately.  Care should be taken not to lavish too much attention on other pets in the home since Max will sometimes think of his humans as his “resources” to guard.  He would love to have a fenced yard, but he could do well without a fence if walked and played with regularly.
Max will benefit greatly from a good obedience course where he can learn better leash walking and add new commands to his repertoire.
Max is 8 years old, weighs 40 pounds, and is 18 inches tall.  His adoption fee is $350.

Loki- Adopted!

Loki is a very affectionate guy who could fit easily into many homes.  He will thrive with plenty of activity and humans who give him lots of attention.  He loves to play with other dogs and he makes human friends easily.  He has a sweet temperament and enjoys being cuddled by people he knows.  This youngster is a good leash walker and enjoys his walks knowing how to greet passersby and does not react to bikes, cars, or trucks.
At home, however, Loki will bark loudly at those same passersby to alert his humans.  He has a good recall and obeys simple commands like sit, stay and wait.  He quickly attached himself to his foster parents’ teenage granddaughters and greatly enjoys their visits.  
Loki  is a tall, slender boy who has been neutered and is up to date on all vaccines and tests.  He is housetrained and crate trained and is on both heartworm preventative and flea/tick prophylaxis.  He is now ready to look for his forever home.
Loki needs an active home where there is plenty to do.  He would be happy with other dogs, cats, and children in his forever home. He would love to have a fenced yard.  In view of his very social nature and need to feel safe, Loki would not thrive in a home where his humans were gone all day.  His foster parents feel he is a good candidate for agility and other dog sports.  Given his outgoing temperament, he would likely make a good therapy dog also.  He will greatly benefit from training courses that challenge him and prepare him for these activities.  

Loki is 4 years old, weighs 24 pounds, and is 17 inches tall.  His adoption fee is $350.

Sylvie- Adopted!

Looking for a handsome young girl who loves playing with other Shelties almost as much as she likes cuddling with her humans?  Sylvie is gentle and well-mannered in the house.  But outside this lovely blue merle can run like the wind.  She loves toys of all sorts and has become best friends with the two resident Shelties in her foster home.
Sylvie was relinquished to NVSR by a loving owner who realized she simply couldn’t give Sylvie the life she deserved.  The owner’s tiny privacy-fenced yard and busy schedule presented very little opportunity for the exercise and stimulation Sylvie needed.  And the two senior dogs in the home had no interest in playing with an active young dog like Sylvie.  The owner asked NVSR to find the right home for Sylvie when she realized that Sylvie’s restlessness, frequent barking, and general anxiety were all signs that the environment was just not right for this dog.
After a few short days of adjustment, Sylvie thrived in her foster home where she had loving foster parents home all day, a big fenced yard, and two very playful Sheltie foster siblings to run and play with.   Her anxiety gradually faded and was replaced by joyful tail wagging, requests for petting from her humans, and inviting play bows to her new Sheltie friends.
Sylvie has been spayed, brought up to date on all tests and vaccines, and given a professional dental cleaning.  She is scheduled soon for a thorough grooming.  When the “puppy cut” given by her previous owner grows out, she will be a stunningly beautiful dog with the flowing coat a Sheltie should have.  An NVSR volunteer has been working with Sylvie to develop some basic safety commands (like Wait and Leave it) and to improve her leash walking skills. Sylvie is now ready to look for her forever home.  She is reliably house trained and crate trained.
The right home for Sylvie will replicate the conditions in her foster home: loving humans home most of the time, a large securely fenced yard, and one or more canine buddies who will run and play with her.  She will greatly benefit from a good training program that will give her the whole range of commands that will help keep her safe. 
Sylvie is three years old, weighs 32 pounds, and is 17 inches tall.  Her adoption fee is $450.

Not seeing the right match today? New Shelties arrive regularly. Please check back. 

Fresno - Adopted!

“Fresno thinks he’s a lap dog,” according to his foster mom but since he’s a little too big to fit in her lap, he just lies with his body across her feet.  Fresno is very affectionate and loves to be near people. 

Trained years earlier for agility competitions, Fresno walks perfectly on leash and watches his human companion carefully for the next command.   He still remembers a few commands like sit and come.  Very treat oriented, he would be very happy to learn new commands if they were accompanied by treats. 

​This handsome blue merle is a pretty low maintenance guy.  He is housetrained and crate trained and doesn’t exhibit any reactivity to cars, humans, or other dogs when on walks.  He will chase toys thrown for him, but instead of returning them, he will sometimes just lie down and see if he can take the toys apart.  He enjoys dog puzzles and will work diligently to solve them if they have small treats inside.  As long as he can be near his humans, though, he is a very happy dog. 

Fresno came to NVSR from a breeder who was retiring and rehoming most of her adult dogs.  He could fit seamlessly into many different kinds of homes.  Though we think he would enjoy having a fenced yard to explore, his excellent leash manners mean he could do fine in a condo or apartment as long as he gets plenty of leash walks.  He has been neutered and brought up to date on tests and vaccines.  He is now waiting for a professional dental cleaning and then he will be ready to look for his forever home.  

​What he wants most in that home is one or more humans who will give him lots of attention and not leave him alone for long hours. 

Fresno is 10 years old, weighs 25 pounds and is 18 inches tall. ﻿
His adoption fee is $200.

Happy Tails

﻿Happy Tails are stories about life after rescue—shared by the families who adopted our Shelties. Some are even written by the Shelties themselves (they really are that smart).﻿
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Want to share your Happy Tail? Send your story and photos to shepherd@nvsr.org.
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