You must complete an adoption application with WBCR before we will consider you for one of our Border Collies (under the “adoption” link). Then go to our PayPal link to pay the $15.00 application fee. One of our volunteers will check your references, and then another will come to your home to meet you & your family in person before the board will vote on your application. If you are approved, we will arrange a time for you to meet the dog(s) you are interested in. If you decide he/she is perfect for you and the board agrees, we will schedule a day for you to pick up your Border Collie, sign adoption paperwork, and pay the $350 minimum adoption donation. This whole process may take a month or more, as all WBCR members are volunteers and we’re committed to making a perfect match for our border collies. Thanks for your patience!
Please contact Andrea for more information on Hops –11 Month Old Male (New Berlin, WI) – – – Adopted!
July 6
Now that Hops has been with us for a bit, we think he is closer to 11 months old which was the upper limit the vet suggested.
His newest skill he would like to show off is his dropping of the frisbee outdoors. A few weeks ago he was happy to run around the yard holding the frisbee without any interest in giving it up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o4nb-l-rJk Now he understands the concept of catch and return.
June 30
Hops continues to be entertaining every day. Most mornings and evenings when I am getting ready in the bathroom he joins me by curling up by my feet, sitting on the closed toilet lid, or having fun in the tub. This video compilation is all different days staying busy behind the curtain. He brings in his own toys, tracks in (and out) the mud prints, and knocks hair care products off the ledge. #TooCuteToSayNo
June 25
Hops has been improving on his stay, sit/down, and returning a ball when playing catch. This video starts when we were doing sit/down/sit/down. He prefers to be in the down position as you’ll see. When he first arrived, I could hardly move away from him without him trying to get up. Now I can walk around him and he remains in a down stay.
This video shows how good he is doing with giving up a toy to play fetch in the house. We are working on this same skill outside with a frisbee where it’s a little harder to give it up. We are celebrating indoor victories today:
June 18
Our week of dog sitting had a lot of play and chase time. Here is a little sample of Hops’ play style. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VDDe0zm62k You can hear growling in the background but that’s from my dog aka the fun police who was watching.
Hops continues to snuggle including a recent balancing act on the back of the recliner (see picture).
His car chasing is still there. There are some minor improvements over the last couple weeks. This video shows the worst of it as we get closer to a busy road, as we walk along a road when a car passes, and in the backyard if I don’t engage or distract him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHt4gUKQ6LA
Hops can go up and down stairs. It took him about two weeks to learn to go down but now he does it like a pro. He still hates baths but he lets me wipe his feet when they are wet or muddy. I find him funny and enjoyable every day. His snuggles remain to be amazing!
June 10
Hops wants a forever home where he can live “hoppily” ever after!
This past weekend and for the next week we are dog sitting for a female, older Border Collie. Hops has been fantastic with her! At first he barked a lot, but it was out of pure excitement because she walked in, and he was in his crate. Once I let him out of his crate, all was well. He sniffed her a lot which didn’t bother her. Then he gave her the space and life has been normal and easy.
I had two relatives come by a few times this weekend. The first time meeting, Hops was very excited and wanted to jump on them. He is very happy to meet people but he is learning that he has to keep all four paws on the ground for pets. If the humans are consistent, he learns quickly. The next few times they came over, he was happy to meet them but the jumping had stopped and he just greeted them. Good boy!
I have noticed him being more settled in the last week. He is understanding the rules, knows the routine, and is relaxing nicely. As I type this update, the back door is open for him to be in the back yard where he could chase cars/run the fence; instead he is lying on the floor, chewing on an old nylabone. He continues to be quite the enjoyable dog to have around!
June 5
Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi! I’m HOPS!!!
Some times I like to flop one (or both) of my ears over like this cute picture of me. Look at me with my favorite frisbee. Look at me running and catching in this video: https://youtu.be/URleIdCye4M Look at me being so tired that I lied down to get a drink. Look at me throughout this web page and see that I’m cute, young, and trainable. I love to nuzzle my way into laps when the human sits on the floor. My biggest issue is that cars still mesmerize me, but the human is trying to redirect me; I just really like them.
May 30
Hops has made some great progress with showing his true colors and getting comfortable in his new surroundings. Over the Memorial Day weekend he spent three nights at a home with 5 other dogs and he did fairly well.
Here are things he is working on:
He needs consistent rules and ongoing training so he builds respect for the human and can practice his recall.
Hops isn’t just a normal pet that can be tired out with physical exercise alone. He needs activities that will challenge his brain.
He goes into his crate when his food or good treats are thrown in first so we will be playing some crate training games.
Hops gets excited by cars driving by and lunges towards them. My street is pretty quiet so we will focus on getting his attention when on walks with commands and distraction techniques.
While at the other home he got over-excited and barked when the other dogs were barking. Sometimes the distraction technique was a bean bag thrown near him.
He is working on his “off button.” He is learning to settle at his foster home indoors but struggled with relaxing when out of the crate at his vacation home.
Here are the things that make him one of a kind and fun:
Hops will make jobs for himself if he is not in his crate. A positive example of this is he got toys from under the couch, played with them, then put them back under the couch so he could get them again. A negative example of this is if left unattended in the yard, he will chase cars (run the fence) and possibly think about digging or chewing on something. He’s very creative, so who knows what he would come up with!
He has an amazing high jump and long jump. It is beautiful. We wonder if he would like to try dock diving or disc.
Hops is food motivated, so training with treats is relatively easy when I have his full attention.
He plays by himself with toys. He also can be a toy hog. (See picture with both frisbees)
He has been peeing on walks since the last update and now goes #2 on walks for the last few days.
He needs his daily dose of cuddles. He regularly comes to me for full body rubs and hugs.
My guinea pig likes him. I wouldn’t trust them together with a cage in between them but my younger pig runs to say hello when Hops comes in to say hello. Usually my pig hides in his crate when someone new come around but he seems to enjoy when Hops licks him through the cage. (see picture)
When I get ready in the morning, Hops likes to hang out in the bathroom with me. (See picture on the toilet.)
May 19
Hops is one happy dog. He loves people, toys, dogs, walks, and all things about life. Here are a bunch of reasons he is cool:
He only had two accidents in the house and that was within the first 24 hours. Interesting fact: He has never gone #1 or #2 on leash and we have gone for some long walks. I help him out by letting him out in the backyard before and after to do his business.
He is good on walks. He is not a big puller unless you want to keep walking and he is interested in smelling the flowers. Then I count to 5 and say “okay, Hops, let’s go” and he obliges.
He likes chew toys but they don’t have to have a squeaker. The silence is music to my ears.
When it’s time to go for a walk, he gets so excited but sits without me telling him to so I can put on his harness.
I have my guinea pigs on a table in a spare room with a gate blocking the entrance. Hops hops over the gate when I am in there. He is curious about the pigs but doesn’t act like he wants to eat them. He just sniffs and looks at them while I clean the cages.
He is still quiet in his crate all night.
He loves to snuggle and would love to be a lap dog if you let him.
This video show him during his busy body times which is a lot of the time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiFMo9ad3us
May 16
Hops arrived to his foster home on May 14 and has been happy, fun, and curious since arrival. He was a bit stressed the first 12-24 hours after quite a busy, stressful week of experiencing being a stray, living in shelter, staying at a vet, being neutered, and then arriving at his temporary home. I’d be a bit worried too.
He is fairly quiet in his crate. He goes in on his own but whines/barks for a minute or two which is quiet manageable especially for the second night in a new place. My dog has been assertively communicating with Hops when he gets too excited or too loud and Hops backs off without showing any aggressive behavior in return. He really wants to play and chase but I will have to find a play date for that kind of fun. He whines because my dog won’t play with him but he also has to wait for his neuter incision to heal yet.
He doesn’t seem to like car rides. For his trip to the foster home, we put a blanket over the crate and played music with bass. There was still some barking but it was manageable. Hops likes chew toys like durable squeakers and can stay occupied for a few minutes of time on his own. He likes to stay near my dog or me for attention and cuddles.
To let me know it’s time to go out, he stops moving and looks at me; otherwise he is mostly in motion and busy like a normal 7 month old Border Collie. A couple times he has taken a pen or non-dog-toy item from the table but stops chewing when I say “hey” and let’s me take it. I exchange it for something appropriate but he’s fine with just the pets and attention too.
He knows sit. He is learning “wait” before leaving his crate and “down” which he is catching on to quickly. He jumps on people so he is learning “off” as well.
May 13
WBCR was contacted about two male strays picked up together in Wisconsin. A woman saw them sitting near the road on her way to work and asked her husband to go check on them. He drove out a bit later and found them in the same spot his wife saw them in so animal control believes they were dumped. The bigger dog had a microchip but the people he was registered to said they knew nothing about the younger dog and had given the older (they said he’s 10-months-old) dog to someone else because his kids were allergic. He tried contacting the person he’d given him to, but no one ever responded or came to reclaim the dogs, so we arranged transportation and set up foster homes for each.
Hops headed to the vet for a check up and neuter. He was friendly and loved everyone. The vet believes he is more like 7 months old. They picked the name Hops because he hops around when he’s happy. They are correct about that. He’s so cute!
