LINCOLN-MINI AUSSIE (MINIATURE AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD)

State: Central NY
Age: 5 years
DOB: unknown
Weight: 35 lbs
Sex: Male
Neutered/UTD: soon/Yes
Coat Color: blue Merle tri color 
Children under 4: no (no history)
Children over 4: Yes
Seperation Anxiety: no 
Other dogs: Yes
Cats: yes
Crate Trained: yes
House Trained: learning
Obedience Trained: No
Leash Trained: learning
Microchipped: Yes
ADOPTION FEE:  $475
2/27/23-Lincoln continues to make progress, albeit slowly, in trusting humans. He went to the vet for his pre-neuter appointmnet. The vet also checked on a hotspot on the back of his ear which he came into rescue with. Lincoln did not like the clippers so close to his ear so he was very fidgety. The vet was able to clean the spot up and he prescribed an antibiotic for infections and an antihistamine/steroid to help with itchiness. There were other areas on his body that showed signs of irritation. I definitley see an improvemnet in the ear and he is not licking and scratching at areas on his body excessively. 
 
Lincoln also had some visitors over the last week. He is extremely tentative while meeting them and looks to me for reassurance. He eventually went over and sniffed and allowed being petted. He does still shy away and cower when I go up to him, which makes me sad, but I just reassure him and give him lots of love. He will turn over on his back for belly rubs from me, which I take as a good sign that he is starting to trust me more and more with each interaction. 
 
Lincoln is doing great with house training. He has not marked at all this last week. If I see him sniffing an area, I divert his attention. He has only had two accidents in the house this week! I do notice he does drink a lot of water so I do let him out every couple hours if I am home and he is loose in the house. I am not confident that he is completely house broken yet, but he definitely is learning. He continues to be okay with cats. He does show interest in them. He sniffs them and is very curious when they enter the room. I do not think his curiosity is aggressive in nature. I trust him to be around the cats without having any issues. 
 
Lincoln still barks and whines when I am not around him or he can’t see me. If I am home and in his eyesight, he is fine. He has not attempted to climb the stairs yet so that is when he does most of his whining for me, when I am upstairs showering. Once I bring him upstairs, he settles right down. He sleeps through the night in his crate, which is right by my bed. When I put him in the crate to leave the house, he barks. Again, I do not hear him barking when I walk back into the house so I don’t think he barks all day. My guess is he settles down once he knows I am gone. Lincoln is doing great on our walks. He will bite at the leash when I keep him right at my side, but he does not pull excessively. Lincoln is learning a lot from my older dog. He follows her outside, will pee where she pees and follows her back into the house. They do get playful at times and other times they just wander around the yard sniffing. Lincoln is doing great considering he has only been living outside the mill for less than two weeks. I see him trusting more each day and I am beginning to see a little bit of playfulness in him as well. He is a beautiful dog with a very calm presence. He is going to melt your heart like he has mine. 
 

2/20/23-This handsome guy is Lincoln. His eyes and smile melt my heart. He is a miniature Australian Shepherd. Lincoln arrived into rescue on February 15th thanks to his temporary foster mom, Keri. He spent 3 days with her before making his way to his foster home. He was a perfect transport passenger for Lisa, Susie, and myself. We made a stop off at the groomers to get him bathed and trimmed up. He did have some mats behind his ears, one of which led to a sore that I am treating, and also on his hind legs that the vet will check out soon. He was nervous at the groomer when being pampered, but that is only natural as he is still learning that he can finally trust the humans in his life.

He is slowly learning to adjust to life outside of the puppy mill. From what I know about the breed, he seems to be a typical Aussie; up for anything, wants to explore, intelligent, and always wants to be with his human if his human is home. 

He is living with 3 cats and an older dog without issue. He does show an interest in the cats, curious, but at this point in time he has not chased them or shown any signs of wanting to harm them. He is respectful of my dog’s space. He does not try to engage with her any more than she does with him. I do plan on giving him a play date with another Aussie to learn more about his playfulness.

He has been walking 3- 5 miles in the morning. He has the  cutest little prance, but I also believe he is trying to herd me. He does this zigzag pattern in front of me and is always looking back at me. He does not like it when I keep him right at my side and can’t do that zigzag pattern, but he is capable of walking correctly by my side.

He’s a marker right now, so in addition to house training, I am working on curbing his marking issues. Once he is neutered, this behavior will cease. For now, I am keeping him with me at all times to stop him from marking. I have ordered belly bands and will give that a try as well so he (I) can have more freedom throughout  the house.

Lincoln likes to be where I am at all times. If I leave him in the kitchen, he will whine and bark until I come back. He has even figured out the bells I hung on the door to go outside will bring me back to the kitchen (or him). When he does paw at the bells I let him outside and praise him for going potty. Like I said, he’s intelligent. He figured out those bells mean something and they have only been up for 2 days.

Lincoln is pretty chill at night while watching tv or reading. He lays on the rug and will follow me into another room if I do get up. He’s not a hyper dog by any means, but he does need plenty of exercise and stimulation to keep him happy. I’ve tried playing fetch with him, but he hasn’t grasped that concept yet. 

Lincoln is not one of those dogs that loves being in his crate. I have 2 crates, one in my bedroom and one on the first floor of the house. At night he sleeps in his crate in my bedroom. There is some whining in the beginning, but when I tell him to stop, he does. When I leave the house and put him in the crate he does bark, but I do not think he barks the entire time. When I get home he is quiet and his crate is undisturbed (he hasn’t torn it apart, nor does it show any signs of him be anxious.

Lincoln is going to be a great addition to the right family who understands the breed and his needs. I can’t wait to learn more about both! He goes to the vet for his pre-neuter appointment on Thursday 2/23 & his neuter is 3/8. Once he is neutered he will be ready to be matched to his new home! 

2/15/23-Lincoln is a 5 year old handsome blue Merle tri color male mini aussie (miniature Australian shepherd). He was saved from being killed by a puppy mill as they were just done breeding him. He arrived safely into rescue today thanks to his transport & overnight volunteers. We are working on getting him an appointment to be neutered. Once we get to know him better & he is neutered then he can be matched to his new home.  More updates from his foster home soo