Friday is a handsome five year-old neutered Australian Shepherd cross, who looks a lot like a purebred Aussie.  He is a beautiful dark blue merle with lots of copper and white on his chest, front feet, hind toes, and has a white stripe on his face.  He presently weighs 58 lbs.  

His former owner stated he was an Australian Shepherd crossed with an Australian Cattledog (blue heeler), but Friday acts and looks more like he is crossed with a Golden Retriever.  He is a solid, stocky boy, more like the show Aussies than the working ranch dogs, but he still loves to run and play with other dogs.  He has 3/4 length, bushy tail, and the bone is cork-screwed at the end (likely born that way).  He has good conformation (structure) and moves nicely: especially important if you are looking for a dog for dog sports.

Friday responds well to his name, comes when he is called and knows basic commands like sit and down.  He will chase and pick up a ball with lots of enthusiasm, but then loses interest and drops it.  However, I think it would be easy to teach him to play fetch.

He is responding well to positive reinforcement and clicker training, but cowers or lies down if you yell at him.  Temperament-wise he is neither dominant nor submissive, and not shy nor bold.  Just a "middle of the road" kind of guy!  Definitely a happy sort of dog, and bounces along like a happy-go-lucky Golden Retriever.

He walks well on leash, but like many dogs, will pull if he wants to get somewhere/to something.  He is walked on a flat/buckle collar: NO choke chains!  If you want to take him camping, he does tether well.

Friday has a nice-sounding, lower toned, quieter (than our other dogs!!) bark and he is not an excessive barker.  He will bark at other dogs, but so far doesn't bark a lot when playing.

He is good to trim his nails, and all but two are white so it makes it much easier to see what to cut!  He loves to be brushed and good to have his feet wiped when he comes in from outside.  You can touch anywhere on his body, put your hands in his mouth, or check his teeth without any problems.  He is a noisy drinker, but unlike our other foster dog, he doesn't drip water all over the floor!!

He is a one family sort of dog, and definitely has the Aussie reserve.  He is not like a "I-love-everybody-oh-boy-oh-boy" Golden Retriever, but is like a typical Australian Shepherd, taking some time to make friends.  He adores his people, wants to be near you and loves being petted.  Friday is not a dog who excessively licks your face but he will give "kisses."  He has been great with our four year-old daughter.

Friday has no resource guarding issues with people (i.e.: he doesn't guard his food bowl, toys, bed) and also seems to not guard things from other dogs.  He chases cats but I suspect if the cat would stand its ground, Friday would respect it.

He gets along well with our other dogs, and enjoys playing with them.  However, he does not like most unneutered males, and will snarl and lunge at them.  This may change as we have only recently had him neutered so he still has hormones like an intact male!  While he will not back down from a dog fight, he does have a lot of respect for confident dominant dogs, so I think he could do well with a submissive or dominant dog.

Friday is totally house trained and crate trained.  We presently crate him when we are away from home and overnight, although he also can be left loose in the house.

Friday will jump/climb a four foot fence if he is looking for his person, so should be only left unattended in a yard with a six foot or higher fence.  He has jumped on top of our washing machine to look out the window.  He would do well in Agility!

Friday's worst trait is jumping up at - not really on - people, though he does make contact with his large paws.  This is often a nervous behaviour in dogs, or dogs trying to get closer to your face.  The BEST way to stop this annoying behaviour is to do nothing: ignore it.    Do not try to push him off, knee him, yell at him, try to step on his hind toes, etc.  Just back up or turn away so he cannot jump on you.  When he sits, then reward him with what he wants: attention.  In the beginning you may find you are moving away a lot as he runs around trying to get close to you, but he is a smart dog, and figures things out quickly.

However, Friday has learned that if he doesn't get attention by jumping up, he should trying lying down, flopping over on his side, and then pawing at your foot.  This can REALLY hurt if you are only wearing socks!  Again, the best way to stop it is to ignore him, and step away to he cannot paw you.  Then when he does what you want: sitting still, reward him with the attention he wants.

Friday was surrendered to Chilliwack Animal Control when his owner could no longer keep him.  Friday did not cope well in a kennel environment, and was snarling, growling and lunging at both people and dogs and wouldn't eat.  He will also NOT go to the bathroom on concrete.  Therefore, if he needs to be boarded, it is recommended he stay in an alternative boarding facility where the dogs are loose together in a fenced area, or that he stays with friends or relatives in their home.

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Friday went on a "foster to adopt" with a lovely, dog-knowledgeable family, but they had to return him to me.  They adopted another recently-neutered male dog just after they got Friday, and the two dogs did not get along.  However, they said Friday was good in their house, wanted to be near them (a bit "clingy"), great with their children and visitors, good with their small female dog, and chased their cats (!).  They had him vet checked and professionally groomed so he has a spiffy shorter summer hairdo!

IF YOU WANT TO ADOPT FRIDAY
...you have a securely fenced yard or a plan of how you will exercise him.  He must be kept as an inside dog.  If you have another dog, you will have Friday meet him/her in a place other than your property.  You will only use positive reinforcement in training him (no choke chains, hitting, yelling, jerking his collar, etc).  We do not ship dogs; you must come here to meet Friday.  And, because we care about all of our rescued animals, you will contact us at least once a year to let us know how he is doing.  Photos would be even better!!!

Please fill out our adoption application form if you would like to meet Friday.

Please e-mail me, Christine, at with any questions about Friday or for my phone number.

Friday is a lovely boy, and would be ideal for someone who would like an Aussie-type dog without lots of herding instinct.

He would have great fun in Agility classes.  (Agility is the dog obstacle courses: tunnels, balance beams, jumps, etc.)

I really adore Friday, and it is hard for me not to want to keep him!  I have to keep telling myself if I keep my foster dogs, I won't be able to foster others in need.

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If you are interested in meeting him, please fill out our application form (see below).

The adoption fee for Friday is $200.  He will be bathed, de-fleaed, dewormed, neutered, tattooed and vaccinated prior to adoption.

Friday is currently eating a good quality dry dog food, supplemented by raw meaty bones, which he loves.  He should continue to be fed a good food or could be switched to a raw food diet.

Hint: any food you see advertised in television commercials or which can purchase at a grocery store are not high quality pet foods.  Learn to read labels, just like you do for your own food!  Especially avoid artificial colours and flavours, including in treats.

Friday and Flint in the yard

Please fill out our application form if you are interested in adopting one of our dogs.

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If Friday is not the dog for you, please consider a "rescue" dog.  Petfinder is a great place to start. 

If you live on Vancouver Island, Victoria Adoptables has pets listed from various rescue groups.  Pet Pampering has a great resource page of links to pet adoption sites for the south Island.

AND please check out the Chilliwack Animal Control's web site.  Most of my foster dogs come from their pound.