Sir Raven Australian Cattle Dog / Blue Heeler Ocala, FL

We are looking for experienced Blue Heeler handlers/family/person for Sir Raven

Sir Raven
Blue Heeler Estimate 1-2 years old
35 lbs
Male
Neutered and up to date vaccines
Microchipped
No medical concerns

Sir Raven was found roaming in a rural area of South Florida and is now safe in our care. We found out pretty quickly that a typical volunteer foster was not going to suit Raven and that he needed a more experienced handler. We enrolled him in 4 weeks of Board to Train at our partner trainers APPLAUSE YOUR PAWS. He has graduated that training and now we are ready to adopt him to an appropriate family/person. Here is the evaluation from his trainers:

My name is Wil. I am the Lead Trainer here at Applause Your Paws Dog Training. I had the pleasure of meeting and working with an amazing dog named Raven.
The concern with Raven was that he was unpredictable and can be mouthy.

Upon receiving Raven, I noticed clear signs of stress when receiving him. Upon noticing this, I quickly took him inside and attached a FIGURE 8 leash on him. This was to prevent sticking my hands close to him when putting him in his suite. As I began to work him, I wanted to test a couple of things. When I administered the food in a bowl test, it became clear to me that Raven was a resource guarder. Giving Raven resources such as toys or food will trigger Raven to protect and become stressed/angry when being around him. Raven gives clear facial signs that he is bothered in multiple ways. Here are the signs to look for when observing Raven.

- Lip Snarl
- Frozen in Place/Stiff/Stares
- Shows Teeth
- Ears Back

I used a Fake hand to see what would happen if I were to ignore the signs. Raven will bite the hand. If ignored after first bite, Raven will continuously bite the hand until it goes away. This is a behavior that was self-taught and has been successful at what Raven wants, which is to have that person go away so that I may keep (insert resource). With loose leash walking, it was also noticed that if the leash was tugged, Raven would go after the leash to stop the tugging from happening again. With these 2 issues in mind, we got to work on Raven.

With walking on a leash. I only saw this incident one time. I usually teach loose leash walking with 2 hands on the leash. If I notice the dog is walking at a faster pace than I am, I stop walking, bring the hand closest to the dog up to my other hand and wait for the dog to reach the end of the leash. This alerts the dog that they have gone too far and need to turn to look at me for instructions. When doing this with Raven, Raven reached the end of the leash and then turned. Paused and then started going for the leash. This was a clear indication that if Raven doesn't like something, he will choose to go after it to have it stop. This is the same case for Raven's resource guarding. Raven has learned that if he reacts to someone touching his bowl, that "The Problem" will go away. It has worked before, so he continues to use this method as his first and only.

We have remedied the loose leash walking by a different approach. Using a slip lead and always using 2 hands. This prevents the "TUG" at the end of the leash which triggers Raven to go for the leash. By using 2 hands, there is no tug and Raven is able to stay relatively around you. If you use 1 hand, just be aware of not to "TUG" on the leash hard so that Raven does not redirect.

Raven continues to work on his resource guarding situation. This is one of those behaviors that is going to take time and repetition. This is where I feel an experience handler that knows Cattle Dogs is going to be best for Raven. This needs to be practiced daily if owner wants this to become better OR make sure to give distance to Raven when feeding. Do not get near the bowl when Raven is around. This can become difficult if there are no boundaries or system in place for this.

The ideal place for Raven would be a place that has a good amount of land where Raven can roam free and run around for physical activity. Training must continue so that Raven is tired mentally. I would not recommend a family with (Inexperienced) people in the house or children. This is not a city dog. Must have experience with this breed.

With that said, if Raven bonds with you, you will have a good buddy. Big cuddle bug. Loves attention and nice walks.

Sincerely,
Wilfredo Rodriguez
Applause Your Paws - Lead Trainer

The previous foster and Applause Your Paws staff are available to discuss Raven and all of his outstanding behaviors as well as the behaviors of concern. This is a team effort as we want Raven to succeed and have balance in his life’s journey. https://www.applauseyourpaws.com/

We are looking for any help and suggestions and sharing for Sir Raven. We are a small 501c3 rescue and help hundreds of dogs each year and every so often we save one that needs more experienced handlers. Raven is a smart, active, and outstanding Blue Heeler, but he does need someone that can direct him and love him so that he can be the best dog that he can be!

We will provide transport to an appropriate rescue/adopter!

We are a rescue in SOUTH FLORIDA where there is a tragic dog and cat overpopulation crisis. Our priority is out of area adoptions which is part of the solution to the crisis.

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2023/2024 adoption donations-
Local (South Florida) cat adoption - $250
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