Max 10-102

Profile

Welcome Max aka Jasper to the Ragom family. He is a Golden Retriever mix that is 8 months old. He is not neutered but will be before he gets adopted out. He is good with cats but one of our neighbor dogs made him angry for I don’t know what reason and he snapped at him but all the other dogs he has played with have been fine with him so we will get more info on that later. He is very rambunctious but after you exercise him he will get pooped out and flop down on the ground.

He is a very big chewer... he already chewed the plastic piece on the corner of my daughter's bed... he chewed one of her bobble head dog statue’s head off and the corner of one of our fancy tables. He would need a family that is very committed to exercising him and bringing him to obedience classes. He is a big lover though and loves to play, play, play.

At a Glance #10-102

Mixed Breed	Born: August 2009
Male	55 lbs

Status: Adopted

Profile

Welcome Max aka Jasper to the Ragom family. He is a Golden Retriever mix that is 8 months old. He is not neutered but will be before he gets adopted out. He is good with cats but one of our neighbor dogs made him angry for I don’t know what reason and he snapped at him but all the other dogs he has played with have been fine with him so we will get more info on that later. He is very rambunctious but after you exercise him he will get pooped out and flop down on the ground.

He is a very big chewer... he already chewed the plastic piece on the corner of my daughter's bed... he chewed one of her bobble head dog statue’s head off and the corner of one of our fancy tables. He would need a family that is very committed to exercising him and bringing him to obedience classes. He is a big lover though and loves to play, play, play.

Updates

Thursday, July 8, 2010

We had a great 4th of July weekend!! Max had no problems with the fireworks or their booms and noise. We are pretty close to where they set them off so you can not only see them - but FEEL them. We had two nights worth of fireworks (Bloomington and Edina) and Max was not bothered at all by the commotion. In addition, we had those terrible storms that blew through and he was just fine. In fact, he slept through them as well as one of the nights of fireworks. He sleeps better than any of us including his foster sister.

Nothing seems to bother this young guy which is really nice. He rides in the car with absolutely no problems. He jumps in and gets out on his own and is curious for a while about what the scenery is all about until he gets bored and then lays down and sleeps. He does not need to be crated, nor do I think he would get into the crate if there was one. He just likes to sit on the seat and look out the window like he is a human. If you are sitting in the back with him, he wants to be in your lap, of course. He loves attention and always wants to be next to you.

We had some friends over who have a special needs child. I was a little worried how Max would handle her because she loves dogs and wants to have her hands all over the dog. Max was a champ. He loved the attention and was especially gentle and careful which really made me happy. I think he understood her special needs and made sure he was extra careful with her. He is very perceptive about things like that as I coming to find out.
Unfortunately, we have had a set back when it comes to counter surfing. I am trying not to smile as I tell this story, but its really pretty hard not to shake my head and smile about how I should have known better. In the past few weeks he has had no interest in anything that I have put on the counter. That includes steaks and burgers and all other types of food. Of course I was around in the kitchen so he was not left alone with said food. Then, early in the weekend, I made a ham, cheese and spinach stromboli. (its kind of a sandwich thing that can serve about 10 people) Well, I sliced two pieces and went outside to sit on the deck. The stromboli was sitting on the counter where I have always set our food. Well, Max didn't want to come outside....I wonder why. So, I left him inside with no second thought. ( I was actually thinking it was probably too hot outside for our poor little guy haha). When, I came back into the house about 10 minutes later to get a glass of water, the stromboli was completely gone. the plate licked clean and still in the same spot where I left it. (at least he didn't take the plate down with the stromboli and break it - so he is a "neat" counter surfer). So, needless to say our counter surfing days are not entirely over. Max should be watched or food put away if he is left alone with it. It's really my fault...sometimes temptation is just too much no matter what we think and clearly Max enjoys a diet deviation if given the chance. I was actually surprised he ate the whole thing, and was still hungry at dinner time. What a sweetheart.....you can't help but love him!!!!

His jumping is getting better. But he still gets excited when we come home and has to show us how much he has missed us. The barking is sporadic. I still don't know what sets him off. He just barks sometimes at different people and dogs that pass the house. Aside from the aforementioned three issues, he continues to be a joy in our house. He is truly enjoying his summer and its fun to have him around. The dragonflies in the back yard drive him nuts!!! He loves to chase them and can do this for hours on end. I think the dragonflies like it as much as Max. He also continues to love the pool, exploring and stick chomping. What a life!!!

His faults are so minimal compared to the wonderful dog that he really is. Contact placement to meet our guy and make him that special addition to you family. You won't stop smiling when he is around!!!

Monday, June 28, 2010

It's been a while since our last update and a lot of things have been going on. Max is doing great. He takes daily walks and goes running with my husband at least every other day. Maxie loves to run. You can tell how much he loves summer and he's just able to be outside running and exploring the back yard. He has also met a couple of young kids (one was 3 and the other was 4) and he was just great with them. That was important for me to witness because I have never seem him with little kids before. (I have a 17 year old and they get along fine). My concern about him possibly knocking little kids over by accident now only applies to kids under 3. He was very interested in them, and even licked them, (for him thats a kiss) but did not jump on the kids and actually after the initial sniff, basically went about his normal routine of wanting to play.

He has settled down quite a bit. I think it is just getting used to his routines and family. He is quite the different dog from when he first came to us. He still jumps when he gets excited or when we come home from being gone, but he settles down a lot faster and knows the words "down" and "no". He does not counter surf anymore. I think he is still tempted but he has not been doing that for at least a couple weeks. He does get excited and "barky" when he meets some other dogs for the first time. Not all of them, but some dogs that he has met he has barked at until he got to know them. That is normal, typical, behavior for a young dog like Max. Introductions to new dogs can sometimes be tense, but once he gets to know them, he just wants to play and have fun. He and our resident are like old friends now. They play like a brother and sister and you can tell they adore each other. He continues to enjoy the pool - one thing I have noticed is that if it is too hot and humid outside, he is super lazy and sleeps a lot during the day. He will lie right in front of the vents that have the air conditioning coming out. I am truly glad he can enjoy it, but the rest of us tend to get a little warm in that room where he is hogging the air. He really is an easy dog to have around. We forgot the camera this weekend, so I am attaching some pictures from a couple weeks ago. He hasn't changed much, he is getting a little bigger and I am not sure what he will finally grow to be. My guess is somewhere between 65 and 75 pounds. He is still lanky like a growing teenager and is a hoot to watch. He can be a little uncoordinated at times because he is still getting used to his bigger, longer legs. He has also taken to jumping up on top of the plastic table by the pool. Thank goodness its an old table. We just laugh at the big paw prints that he leaves on the top!!

I hope you can see the fun and play that Max has inside him. He is so special and I know he will melt your heart, make you laugh and make you fall in love with him right away. Please contact your placement advisor to meet this very special boy.

Monday, June 14, 2010

The weather has been pretty crappy this week, so needless to say that Max has not been "soaking" a lot lately in the pool. He will do the occasional "jump in and cool off" when has been running around a lot but for the most part he has just enjoyed exploring the never ending world of our trees and bushes - always looking for that perfect stick! He loves to play catch with a tennis ball. He does so well and at times has endless energy for retrieving. He has been doing great with the Gentle Leader - once we get it on him. He gets so excited that he is going for a run or a walk that he has a hard time sitting still to wait to get it on. My husband takes him for a jog at least every other day. He does great with that and my husband says this dog will be a great dog for someone who enjoys running or jogging, and even biking. We also take him for a least a walk a day which he also loves. He is a pretty easy dog to care for. He still has plenty of energy, but it seems that when it is wet and grey outside, he is much more lazy. Maybe he is taking after his foster mom. He has so much love to give. He always has to be around his humans and foster sister. He doesn't like to get too far away from any of us. Sometimes when we are on different levels of the house, you can see he is torn on where he wants to be. He makes sure to visit each of us equally as he tries to run from person to person to make sure we know he wants to be with us. He is really cute. We continue to work with him on 2 issues. One is when he jumps up when we get home or if he gets really excited. He is still learning "down" and has been doing better. But he still gets really excited and jumps up to our surprise sometimes. This behavior is very consistent with his age and will easily be taken care of with obedience training. He is a young dog with lots of energy and he has lots of love to give. The other issue is the occasional barking when he sees someone walk in front of the house. He doesn't do it all the time, just now and then, and I am not sure what triggers it. With these two issues, we have found that if he does not listen, which does not happen very often, but it does seem to happen when he is overly tired, we put him in a "time-out" - and believe me, he understands the word "time-out" and that usually corrects the behavior. Our time-outs consist of him being put in the kitchen or the lower level with no contact with our family or Stefy, our resident golden. We have glass dividers between the kitchen and lower level so we can see him and he can see us. He does not like time-outs because he likes being close to us too much. I've attached some indoor pictures this week. You can see he has his favorite chair in the kitchen, which sits right behind me at the center island where I have my computer. He also loves to sit in the entry way chair to look out the windows and search for bunnies or watch the people that walk past our house.

Another of the pictures shows one of his many naps during the day and the other one shows how he has to be close to Stefy when they are napping. No matter where she sleeps, he has to be right there.

I hope you see the sweetness in him. He will make a wonderful dog for that special family. Please let your placement advisor know that you would like to meet Max and make him a part of your family.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Max continues to be a joy in our house. He has really settled down and has done so well with learning commands such as "no", "down" and "sit". His counter surfing is almost nonexistent anymore. He still jumps up every now and then, especially if we have been gone for any length of time, but he understands "down" and settles down quickly. His mouthiness is also gone. He continues to love his toys and loves to explore our back yard and discover the next big stick to chew on.

With some help from Konnie, another RAGOM volunteer, we have finally mastered the Gentle Leader. What a difference it makes on our walks. Max is completely at ease with it now and he is a pleasure to take for a walk. (thanks Konnie - from ALL of us!!!!). He is continuing to enjoy his summer in the pool. He is still really cautious about the pool and only gets in on the first couple steps. With his energy, I thought for sure he would be doing laps by now, but he seems to be more of a soaker than a swimmer. He can swim, because sometimes he is not paying attention to how close he is to the edge and falls in - so - to avoid drowning he lets his instinct take control and he swims to safety, but I think he just prefers the soak versus the exercise.

He and Stefani are getting to be great pals. He not only is a velcro dog to me, but also to Stefani. He has to be close to her when she is lying down. He will see that she is lying on the floor and he will go right up and plop down, almost on top of her! Its really cute to see how he shows his love for his humans and his Foster Sister. He is such a lovable dog and so cute. His face just melts me sometimes. Another thing we are learning about Max is how talented he is when we are playing fetch with him. He can jump up so high and catch the ball. Its amazing. He is just so agile and very coordinated. He is also very smart. He catches on to things really fast and remembers what we are trying to teach him. He still has his toddler moments, such as when I bring out a new toy for him and Stefani. He has a hard time sharing at first, but that's just the puppy in him. With a little redirection he does just fine. I have attached some more outdoor pictures. He is so cute and good I am actually surprised he has not been adopted yet. But he keeps us smiling and I am enjoying our time with him. Contact your placement advisor if you would like to meet Max. He really is a special dog and I know he is going to make a fabulous addition to a very special family.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

It was only a matter of time before Max "really" experienced the pool. He manages to take at least 10 soaks a day. He has only managed one real swim and I think it kinda freaked him out, so he has stayed on the stairs. Oh, and he has fallen/slipped in twice and recovered nicely, but I still think he is pretty cautious which surprised me. It is really funny to watch him because he only goes on the steps and rests his rump on the top stair. He is so darn cute and really lovable. The pictures below should explain it all!!

The things we have been working on with Max include the counter surfing. He is doing better, but not perfect yet. He still jumps up when he gets excited or if you come home and he is so happy to see you. He is doing a lot better, and I am proud of all the progress he is making. He continues to have full roam of the house and has been a total good boy. No chewing or destroying any furniture or human things. He loves his toys and loves to play with Stefy, our resident golden. He loves his daily walks and has settled down quite a bit since we first got him.

He does bark sometimes at other dogs outside that are being walked in front of our house. I think he is just telling them that he lives here for the time being.

I continue to think he would be a great only dog, but he still gets along great with other dogs. He just loves any kind of attention. He cuddles whenever we are on the sofa or the bed. He gives great doggie kisses and is not afraid to show his love for you. He never wanders very far from your side. He really is just such a lovable boy. Every day is a new experience for him and he loves to please. He does not like to get into trouble, he can tell by the tone of your voice if you say "no" or "down" that he has done something he shouldn't and reacts by immediately sitting and smiling at you while he wags his tail and seems to say, "sorry, I forgot".

He is looking forward to meeting his forever family. Please contact your placement advisor to meet Max and most likely when you meet him you will want to make him part of your family right away!!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Max has been with us for almost 3 weeks now and is doing awesome. He's adjusting to all of our family and rules with no real problems. He still likes to counter surf a little, but that is becoming less and less. He has now discovered his shadow and other peoples shadow. It's so funny watching him trying to catch the moving shadows. He is so sweet and very loving. All he wants to do is please you so you can give him big hugs and kisses. Max is also starting to settle down just a bit more from my earlier post. I think it took him some time to get used to the routines around the house. Don't get me wrong, he still has plenty of energy, and loves to run and fetch and go on long walks and runs, but he seems to poop out more often and nap and just veg around. When hes done playing fetch with the ball he drops it out in the yard and plops down right by it. I guess that's his clue to me that running after the ball 10 times is about enough for him. He continues to get along great with our resident golden. He plays nicely and has no issues with food guarding or toy guarding. Although if I do bring out a brand new toy, he definitely wants it first. I see that as a typical toddler trait. We do not crate Max anymore as he does not need it and can be trusted with the full roam of the house. He has destroyed nothing inside the house except for an old flip flop of mine. My favorite of course, but it was my fault for leaving it out and then watching him play with it (not thinking he would chew it into 55 little pieces!) My bad of course and not his fault, I knew he had it and I guess he figured it was ok to chew away!! He pretty much sleeps wherever he wants. He likes sleeping in my 17 year old son's room and spends most of the time on the bed with my son - who enjoys that. He also sleeps in the master suite where he starts on the bed and cuddles but then by the end of the night has gotten down and either sleeps at the bottom of the bed or on the marble tiles in the master bathroom. He is a good sleeper and does not get up at all during the night. He is doing great with commands like "sit", "no", "drop", "down". He is really smart and picks up on things super fast. My husband also took him for a run the other day and thinks Maxie would be a great runner, either with someone biking or jogging. He also has the prey instinct. He has so far found four bunny nests in our back yard - needless to say some bunnies had to be relocated and some bunnies were not so lucky!!! His curiosity of all things continue to entertain us. He really is a special dog and is going to make some family very lucky. I really want reiterate that he is NOT a chewer of things. He has not chewed any of our furniture, he leaves our stuffed pillows alone, as i mentioned before, he did chew my flip flop, but that was my fault for not taking it away from him, otherwise he has been a pretty perfect puppy. If your looking for an active loving young dog, Max is really hard to beat. Please contact your placement advisor to set up a time to meet this special guy.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Since the last update, Maxie has moved to his permanent foster home in Edina, MN. The first thing I will say about Max is that he is the cutest and most loving puppy. He loves attention and I know he will be so excited to meet his forever family. He has been with us for a week now and is adjusting great. The first couple days he was getting used to our routines, rules and family members. There was a lot of redirection in those first few days because he did not know what was ok and what was not allowed. He has since caught on great. He is super smart. He and our resident golden (5 years old) get along great. Maxie wants to play all the time and Stefy puts up with him for a while. They love to play tug of war with anything that can be tugged. Maxie also loves loves loves to retrieve. We will throw a tennis ball out into the yard and he chases it down and returns it promptly. He is learning "drop" and now drops the ball when he returns. He has a lot of energy and will need a forever family that is very active and can give him tons of attention and love.

As stated in prior updates, Max is up to date on all his shots and came through the neuter with no problems. He has full roam of the house while we are home, but I do crate him if I am going to be gone for more than an hour. I did this because I was not sure how he would do with no one around. As we get to know Max better, I am sure he can be left to roam free when no one is home. We do not crate him at night. He sleeps in the bedroom which we gate so he can't get out. He is a great sleeper and does not fidget or get up during the night. He has had no accidents since being here. He loves to spend time outdoors. He is constantly exploring and looking for new sights and sounds. We have a fenced back yard which is pretty big and an inground swimming pool. He has not jumped in "yet".....but I see him eyeing it all the time and contemplating whether he should take a dive or not.

Here are a few things that I know for sure that he needs in his forever home:

Fenced back yard because he loves to run and play
Time and patience because is still a puppy with lots of energy
Obedience classes because he is a counter surfer and likes to jump up to get some attention. We have noticed that he can also be a little mouthy, so we are working on that.
Minimum daily walks
Kids over 7 years because he is so energetic that I think he could knock over small kids but not on purpose
He is fine with other dogs and cats. But I think he would be great as an only dog as long as he is kept busy - the more attention the better!!
He does not like to be crated. He adjusts to it when it's needed, but he does not go into it willingly.
He does not like the Gentle Leader and backs away when we bring it out. We used just a leash yesterday and he did a lot better. I still will try the GL though in the future

Other cool things about Maxie is that he is really agile. He jumps up the 4 stairs on our deck with one big leap. He is a counter surfer and he is always soooo hopeful that there will be something that somebody forgot to put away - He has gotten lucky a couple times but we learned our lesson fast. We are working on the counter surfing but he still does it once in a while, especially around meal times. He loves ALL kinds of toys. Rope toys, stuffed toys (which do not stay stuffed for very long-then they become tug of war toys), nylabones, sturdy thigh bones (endless chewing), tennis balls and he loves to chew on sticks. We have little mulch piles all around the back yard. I actually think Maxie learned that from our resident Stefy.

He hand feeds nicely and knows commands like "sit" and "no". He is not aggresive about sharing toys or food. But he tries to instigate playing by taking a rope toy from Stefy and then giving it back. His way of saying "I want to Play". He jumps on furniture, but so does Stefy and again, I think he learned that from her. We also allow it. He loves to cuddle when his puppy energy is burned off. He gives great puppy kisses. His constant curiosity is so fun to watch. Everything is new to him and it's great to see things through his eyes that we take for granted.

He will make a wonderful playmate and companion for many years to come. He is truly a special boy and we really are enjoying the time we are spending with him.

If you are interested in meeting this special guy, contact your placement advisor.

Here are a couple of pictures of Maxie. Note the pool pic - see what I mean - you can see the wheels turning.... Also the stick pic....if you need mulch, he's your guy! More updates to come as we get to know him.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Hey, MadMax here. Well, time to update you on what's happening in my life. I was to the vet yesterday and came home minus my manly bits. FM says it is the quietest she has ever seen me. I'm now up to date on my shots, and my flea/tick prevention. I will be moving back to the big city....Edina actually. This was just my temporary foster home. Sometimes we RAGOM kids have to move for a short time until a permanent foster can take us. So on Sunday Laura will be coming to get me take me to my new foster home. (She brought me up here, too.) I am looking forward to it cuz my temporary FM told me I'm going to a really great place with a girl fur butt who will keep me in line like Goldie 10-107 has; I'll have a big fenced in yard; they have a pool so we'll find out if I like the water; my new foster mom is home all day so no more crating for the work day. It's gonna be awesome. Just thought I'd let ya know where I am until my new FM and family gets to know me and can tell you how I'm doing.

I thought you might enjoy a few last pictures of me and my Amigos. Lake, the lab from next door, has been over a couple times and FM got a picture of all of us playing chase. Whew we were all worn out that day. I also like Coulter the cat. He doesn't run so I don't chase him. Bailey the white cat runs so I give him a good chase. I don't hurt anyone, but in case you decide to add me to your family and have cats, they need to be dog savvy. The cats here are savvy and have places to go to where we can't get into.....not fair I say.

I will miss my buddies, but look forward to meeting my new fur sibling and making myself at home. The foster moms talked and so my new FM knows all my little tricks.......well that's what I call 'em. My latest one is jumping up on the patio table. I'm very agile. I like to stand on one of the loungers on the deck, put my paws on the deck railing and then try and eat bird seed. Very good at improvising:) I am a counter surfer and since I'm so agile I can really reach the stuff rather easily. They thought Bailey was busy, ha I've got him beat. Any way it's been fun, well except for the vet part, but I'm ready to move on and turn the next page in my book of life. Stay tuned for the next chapter!!

MadMax

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Hi Mad Max here. Well, I've made a little move up north to St Cloud. Yep, hanging out with Goldie 10-107 and Jax the cocker. My meet 'n greet wasn't the best and it was all foster mom's fault. She forgot to close the slider and I was doing ok meeting Miss Golden Girl, and then here comes that pint size pain in the butt. He doesn't do well meeting new male dogs. But hey, we worked it out. I then spent almost 2 hours playing like Mad Max with Goldie. Whew it was tiring. Anyway, FM says I do everything like a Madman, ha ha.

So here's the deal. I'm about 8 months old and still am a 'man', at least til next week. That's what they tell me. So anyway, not a lot of history on me, but I can tell you I love love love to play, like rawhides, chewing/destuffing animals (the play kind), hanging with my 2 amigos, checking out the cats and the not so popular digging to China.... I wonder where that saying came from........anyway I'm a puppy. I'm learning to sit to come in and go out and when called and I get treat. FM says I'm catching on fast. I stayed in my crate last night and wasn't a happy camper but when FM and FD went to work I was fine. I have a nice open crate I can stand up and turn around in and the view is pretty good....looking out the big sliders and keeping an eye on the birds that land on the deck.

I've been giving it some thought and I think my dream family/home would be fenced, older kids, and a fur butt
sibling would be ok too. Other wise visits to the dog park, long walks/runs.....gotta a lot of puppy energy ya know. I know the one thing I need is obedience school and someone who will continue to work with me so when I grow up I'll be the best family member ever. So hey if you qualify and are ready for some action, contact your placement advisor and give us ring. I won't be available until after my surgery which is the 22nd, but you can always come and meet me.

Well, I've been in the computer room with FM and my buddies are outside, so I gotta go check on them. Get my last play time in before bed. By the way check out my cute ears...up and down!! I am kinda busy so haven't been much in to cuddling, but I'll see how I feel down the line.

OK, so long for now and keep your eyes open for more updates and how the 3 Amigos are doing!!!

Max