Meet Puffin

Puffin's Web Page

Border Collie / Mixed (short coat) : : Male (neutered) : : Young : : Medium

If interested in adopting, read about our Adoption Process and complete an Adoption Application on the Mo-Kan website. A Mo-Kan application must be filled out to begin the process.

See Puffin's updated bio!

About Puffin
Status: Adopted! Species: Dog Rescue ID: D071423-3 General Color: Black with Brown, Red, Golden, Orange or Chestnut Color: black brown white Current Size: 21 Pounds Current Age: 10 Months (best estimate)	Location: Lee's Summit MO 64064 Microchipped: Yes Housetrained: Yes Exercise Needs: Moderate Owner Experience Needed: Species Reaction to New People: Friendly

Puffin is one of 6 puppies that were left in a box along a creek in rural Oklahoma in July 2023. They were taken to the pound but kept outside. Once with MoKan , they were placed in foster homes and have thrived beautifully! As of Nov. 1, 3 of the puppies have been adopted and have adjusted well in their new homes. There are 3 more still waiting for that perfect home. I want to tell you about Puffin who I’ve been fostering since July.

Puffin is learning all the things that will make his transition into his future home easier for him and easier for his adopter.

Crating: Puffin knows crate and voluntarily goes into his crate every night. He is content with his hard bone that has peanut butter in it. He sleeps all night and his crate is clean in the morning. Puffin is always crated when we are not home. Puffin also respects a barrier. He is used to having a baby gate up if small children are over and he is certainly capable of jumping over it BUT, he has never tried.

Housetraining: Puffin is almost completely housetrained although he is not left unsupervised for more than a few minutes. He will walk to the door when he has to potty and he always potties almost immediately when he goes outside. He will also potty on leash walks.

Leash walks: Puffin goes on 2 one mile leash walks in our neighborhood every day. He sees other dogs behind invisible and physical fences. He is used to seeing squirrel and deer and children on bikes and skateboards and cars going by. Puffin is a herder and he would love to run after the kids and the wildlife but he is becoming more controlled with each walk we take. I intentionally let Puffin play hard before we go on walks. Leash walks alone will not be enough mental and physical exercise for Puffin (and for most border collies).

Recall: We have been working hard on Puffin with recall because we do not have a fence. We use a long leash and treats. Puffin is smart. He is independent, but he is also a people dog, likes treats and loves his home base and his companion dogs. All of this works to our favor in training Puffin with “come”. He is responding beautifully with his continued training in this area. Puffin will need a fence in his adoptive home.

Socializing: Puffin lives with an active 5 yo male aussie and a 10 yo female bc mix. The aussie is his mentor and the BC is his disciplinarian. Puffin would love to have another active dog in his new home. Puffin started to go to the local dog park at their quieter times for the past 3 weeks. He needs some work on his entry into the dog park as he tends to get too excited as he goes through the initial gate. Once inside, Puffin has gained confidence and skill in meeting other dogs and allowing other dogs to sniff him. Now , he seeks out other dogs that like to be chased. Puffin prefers to be the chaser rather than the chasee. (another herding quality!) Puffin is friendly to just about every person he meets including small kids. He interacts regularly with a 15 month old, 2 year old and 4 year old child. He often has kids stop by to play with him. Puffin is working on “settle” and “gentle”. He can get a little too enthusiastic with high energy children. He has made huge improvements in soft bite and jumping up though this too is a work in progress. Puffin was has seen a cat each time we went to the vet hospital and did not show prey drive toward the cat. I believe that Puffin will do fine with a dog savvy cat.

Commands: Puffin has been introduced to helpful commands like “sit”, “wait”, “kennel”, “no”, “walk nice”, and “come”. If you are thinking about Puffin (and I don’t know why you wouldn’t be thinking about Puffin), you need to be smarter than him and that is pretty smart. As I mentioned, treats are golden with Puffin.

If you think you might be a good home for Puffin, complete an application to meet him. Please know that Puffin needs an active home with owners who love to interact with their dog. Puffin would not be a good dog for someone who is a couch potato or leads a sedentary life or just has too much happening that can’t involve a dog. Puffin wants to see the world and he’d like to have a partner to do that with. He will indeed be someone’s best friend. It could be YOU!

Puffin is being fostered in the Kansas City area.