Ryder the Aussie Heeler Puppy ~ Adopted!
Ryder is a little puppy who was on special at Walmart. Sure, you think I’m kidding, but I’m not!
One of our dear adopters had gone to the store to pick up an item or two when she saw a woman in the parking lot giving a way puppies. Only one was left and she said she was going to take it to the pound. Well, our friend, the world’s biggest dog lover, couldn’t let that happen and brought little Ryder home. As much as she would have loved to have kept him, she works long hours which would have left the puppy in a crate all day, so she did the hard thing and asked us to find him a home. Hard for her, easy for us! He is a doll!
We are fortunate to know Ryder’s lineage: his momma is an Australian Shepherd, his daddy is a Blue Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog). He has the docked tail of his mother and some ticking from his daddy. Both of them passed on a boat load of intelligence, personality and herding instincts. In the video he is only about 9 weeks old but is already ball oriented and displaying herding tendencies. Can we say “agility training”????
Ryder is very outgoing and playful. When all the puppies have worn out and fallen asleep, he is still ready to go! He is fully crate trained and I expect that he will be easy to housetrain as well.
You can see more photos of Ryder in his photo album.
September 26 Update:
Ryder is doing great and has settled into our home wonderfully. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that his best friend has turned out to be Durango, a brindle girl Australian Cattle Dog, just the same age as he. The are forever wrestling and romping around. It is so much fun to watch! Ryder has discovered the joys of water. He loves to paddle the water out of the bowl, usually, but not always, waiting until all the other dogs are done drinking. I finally actually had my camera in hand today when he did it. Watch this video and laugh!
Gosh, I love my puppies! Three more arrived this weekend, while others were adopted. Ryder takes everything in stride, with a happy heart. Although, he sure does know how to work those eyes to look pathetic when he wants! He and Durango are best buddies now, wrestling and playing, making the silliest sounds. I love watching them.
With the new dogs on board, I put together this video of them all. Yes, Ryder is a little star in it. He’s so funny!
Oh the fun we have had. Last weekend Andrea and Jason Rigler came over to evaluated Durango and Ryder for disc dogging (frisbee for us novices). They compete in the sport and brought their dogs to demonstrate. Ryder was really into it, as much as a little puppy can be. Sweet little Durango was already tuckered out when they arrived from serious morning play, but she gave it a go. Here is a video that I made sharing tips on how to get your dog started in disc dogging. Ryder shows off in it a bit. Enjoy!
Today Ryder went home. It was so good to see! Paul and Jennifer had lost their beloved Bo, a Rottweiler, in December and it hit them hard. Many of us know that pain. But the time seemed right to start looking for another dog and then they stumbled across Ryder and knew, just knew!, that this was their puppy. When he saw them, he knew it too! As much as it hurts to let go of my fosters, it is such a joy to see them with such loving families!!!
2 thoughts on “Ryder the Aussie Heeler Puppy ~ Adopted!”
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i have an aussie shepherd blue heeler mix also! she looks exactly like this one!
I have an aussie/blue heeler mix as well…we were told she might be part huskie, but after seeing Ryder I am convinced that can’t be true–she is identical except she has a long, white-tipped tail. She was born in fall and digs in the snow the same way Ryder is digging in the water.