Our friends at Hawk Creek Animal Shelter contacted us about a tri color cattle dog named Ted that they took in as a stray. It took the finder a couple months to gain his trust and allow her to catch him. While he was with Hawk Creek he showed them what an amazingly sweet dog he could be. He was a fan favorite and was quickly adopted. Unfortunately, he had some insecurities that were bubbling up possibly from something in his past. He would lash out at the husband whenever he was on leash with the wife. It was not something they wanted to work through so he was returned. After that he didn’t have much interest and the shelter staff sought out our help. We made room for him and got him into a board and train program through the amazing Blaine Kennels. He has spent the past 6 weeks working through his insecurities and learning how to be confident. The staff also ended up renaming him Calico Cacti aka Cal.

Here is a note from his trainer:
Cal is a typical high drive cattle dog. He loves to please and would make an amazing sports partner. We believe Cal would excel at agility, flyball, disc, dock diving, or just about anything you wanted. He will need an active family that will give him lots of mental and physical exercise. Cal is a very sensitive but confident boy. This is a blessing and a curse. He takes direction very well and is easily redirected. However he struggles with people approaching quickly when he is leashed. When people approach without putting pressure on him he is a happy wiggly goofball! Cal always wants a job to do and can get vocal when he is bored. We are working to help him slow down and learn to relax in his kennel. This boy loves to play with all his dog friends. He plays like a cattle dog and can be too nippy and rough for some dogs. Cal is an amazing boy but will require structure and lots of exercise.

Cal has been trained on an electronic collars and will come with his own to his new home along with lessons from their trainer to make his move as seamless as possible.
Cal is also treadmill trained so in the winter or anytime the weather is bad, he can just hop on the treadmill (you can find cheap or free ones on marketplace) and work off his daily energy requirements.
Cal gets along with other dogs. He has not met cats but they have a high prey drive so they probably would do best without. They are not aggressive to children but has very high energy so small children would also not be a good idea.

Adoption fee is $200
Adoption applications available at rpaw.org