Rina

Adopted: Rina has found her forever home. We wish her the very best life possible.

Rina, sometimes called Brina or Sabrina, spent the first few years of her life herding cattle. For reasons we are not sure of, she was deemed a failed cattle herder. At 28 pounds, Rina is a very small border collie, and she just recently celebrated her 4th birthday. 

We are working on a few behaviors with Rina. The first behavior we are working on is her relationship with her foster dad who is a 6ft man with dark, curly hair and glasses. Rina is scared of him. She has gotten a little better about this over time, but overall she does not react well to him. She growls at him when he walks by, but she will let him pet her. She barks at him on occasion and noticeably darts around as to not be close to him in the house. She does not show her teeth when she growls, and she has never tried to bite him. She is mainly just terrified of him. She is not afraid like this of short men, blonde men, or women. Another thing we are working on with her is helping her eat and drink more calmly. When she first came to us, she would gulp her food and water while watching behind her. She was extremely nervous and sometimes would not eat at all. This behavior has improved greatly as she has realized the food is hers and no one is going to take it away. She will eat more calmly if you pet her while she is eating and tell her it is ok. She has never had a potty accident in the house and does not have bad habits like digging in the trash or scratching on the door. She will sleep wherever you want her to, including in the bed, on the floor, or in a kennel. Rina is so adorable and really smart. She has the cutest ears that stick right up and beautiful markings.  She does little tappy taps with her front paws when she is excited. Even though she is a little skittish and nervous, she is very lovable. She loves to cuddle, get her belly rubbed, and will get in your lap if you let her. She has the sweetest eyes and has so much love to give. Rina was not good on a leash when she first came to foster care but has gotten way better in a very short period of time. Her previous owner never put her on a leash because she likes to stay right by your side wherever you go. Rina is the definition of a velcro dog and will make a devoted companion for her new owner. She is a really good car rider and loves to go. Rina has gotten along well with all the dogs we have introduced her to. She does, however, not really know how to play with other dogs. She tends to want to herd them and will sometimes even bump the other dogs in the neck. When we are playing ball, the other dogs watch the ball and Rina watches the other dogs. She has just recently started playing a little with dog toys, but didn’t seem to know what to do with a ball at first. We have not tested Rina with small children or cats. Presumably, she will want to herd both. Rina might thrive best being the only dog in the household, but that is not the only situation that will work for her. If another dog lives in her new home, it would depend greatly on that dog’s personality. Her strong herding instincts may annoy another dog, although she is  getting better about this. Rina is still being trained and will also need to recover from being spayed before she is available for adoption.