Max 12-386

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Max is 2 year old neutered 55 lb male. Golden,Lab,Shepard,? mix. Found as a stray in ND, so much of his history unknown. He is overall a healthy young boy, a bit underweight. He is up to date with his shots and microchipped. He has a chipped front tooth, but it is not serious or acute. Max gets along with everyone in our home, kids, cats, male and female dogs, young and old dogs.

Max loves to play with our 1 year old pup. They could play chase and wrestle all day. He will need frequent walks or a fenced yard. He respects the older dogs and reads their cues when they need their space. Loves kids and gets so sad when they leave or go to school, cries at the door. He is very affectionate and hugs very hard, leans his head in and never wants to let go.

Max has been house trained and we give him freedom in the house while we are gone. All is intact when we get home. He sleeps on a blanket by our bed on the floor. He is not accustomed to jumping up on furniture and does not table surf. No guarding of toys or food with humans or other dogs, takes treats from your hand nicely, he is quite agreeable. Only barks when very excited. Walks great on a leash.

He has had very basic training, but I don't see much reinforcement. He will sit, but not stay seated for more than a second. He comes when he is called, even when chasing the cat. He has some wandering issues if left to his own pretenses. He snuck out the garage door one day and he would sniff, mark and walk. over and over again. I followed him for 2 blocks but you would think I was invisible. He would not come to me, even when I said "treat". My husband came along with the car and he called him and he jumped right in. Go figure. He is definitely trainable and when his hormones slow down (he was neutered less than a month ago) it will get a bit easier.

You have to meet him to really appreciate how loving this dog is. My daughter really loves him and for some reason named him Joey. He would be a perfect foster failure for us, but we keep in mind there are lots of perfect dogs out there that need a temporary home like ours. But I would expect he won't be with us too long.

At a Glance #12-386

Mixed Breed Born: November 2010
Male Weight not specified

Status: Deceased

Profile

Max is 2 year old neutered 55 lb male. Golden,Lab,Shepard,? mix. Found as a stray in ND, so much of his history unknown. He is overall a healthy young boy, a bit underweight. He is up to date with his shots and microchipped. He has a chipped front tooth, but it is not serious or acute. Max gets along with everyone in our home, kids, cats, male and female dogs, young and old dogs.

Max loves to play with our 1 year old pup. They could play chase and wrestle all day. He will need frequent walks or a fenced yard. He respects the older dogs and reads their cues when they need their space. Loves kids and gets so sad when they leave or go to school, cries at the door. He is very affectionate and hugs very hard, leans his head in and never wants to let go.

Max has been house trained and we give him freedom in the house while we are gone. All is intact when we get home. He sleeps on a blanket by our bed on the floor. He is not accustomed to jumping up on furniture and does not table surf. No guarding of toys or food with humans or other dogs, takes treats from your hand nicely, he is quite agreeable. Only barks when very excited. Walks great on a leash.

He has had very basic training, but I don't see much reinforcement. He will sit, but not stay seated for more than a second. He comes when he is called, even when chasing the cat. He has some wandering issues if left to his own pretenses. He snuck out the garage door one day and he would sniff, mark and walk. over and over again. I followed him for 2 blocks but you would think I was invisible. He would not come to me, even when I said "treat". My husband came along with the car and he called him and he jumped right in. Go figure. He is definitely trainable and when his hormones slow down (he was neutered less than a month ago) it will get a bit easier.

You have to meet him to really appreciate how loving this dog is. My daughter really loves him and for some reason named him Joey. He would be a perfect foster failure for us, but we keep in mind there are lots of perfect dogs out there that need a temporary home like ours. But I would expect he won't be with us too long.

Updates

Thursday, August 5, 2021

This note is to let you know that we had to say goodbye to Max yesterday.

About 2.5 years ago, Max was diagnosed with a heart condition which we have treated with medication since diagnosis. At the time of diagnosis, the U of M team indicated that we would could have weeks or years based on how Max responded to the treatment. Fortunately, we had 2.5 additional, wonderful years with Max. 

However, over the course of these past years, we have had to increase his medication 4x, which helped, but we reached a threshold on how much more we could do. Yesterday, he refused to eat, so we brought him in to our vet who, after reviewing chest x-rays, immediately directed us to the emergency team at the U of M again. In consultation with the cardiologist and U of M emergency team, they felt there was not a viable option for continued treatment and sustaining a quality of life for Max. We made the incredibly difficult decision to allow Max to rest in peace.

He was the best dog and we already miss him dearly.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Hi, Max 12-386 here!  Well my vacation in Duluth has come to an end.  I've had a blast hanging out with my friends here.  I've been to the lake several times - where I hang out near the edge of the water and let my foster sister do all of the swimming for me.  I went for a couple of bike rides and liked that a lot except that it doesn't let me stop and mark on everything as I like to do.  I loved getting regular pets and frequent massages.  I even got relaxed enough here to stretch out on the deck and do some sun bathing (on the rare occasions that we had sun during my vacation).  Even though my location is changing I'll still be available to meet anyone who is interested in helping me find more fun things to do for the rest of my life!  I'm always up for anything! Just let placement know you would like to meet me.

Temporary foster Mom here with a final update from Max's time in Duluth.  We really enjoyed having Max stay with us a learned a lot about him over the last few weeks.  Here are some things to know.

Inside the house Max is an easy guy.  He is completely house broken (not a single accident in over a month here).  He doesn't counter cruise or chew on anything he isn't supposed to.  In my house he wasn't allowed on furniture and didn't push that (other than a couple of occasions of putting his front feet up on the bed and looking at me hopefully). He is pretty Velcro - liking to be near his people as much as possible.  He will occasionally play with a toy (favorites are things that bounce irregularly and squeak), but isn't a major toy hoarder.  He didn't chew on bones at my house, but did gnaw a couple of edible dental chews.  I crated him when I was out of the house (goes in easily with a stuffed Kong or treat), but he would be fine with free roam also.  He really loves attention and will gently nudge and stare at you to get pets or butt rubs.  He is very gentle when he does this.  He does not like any kind of restraint and seemed a little uncomfortable with surround-type hugs or being approached from behind, so I avoided hugs and stuck with ear scratches and belly rubs.  He knows sit, and is working on stay.  He knows down, but is reluctant to go completely down on command.

Max played frequently with one of my dogs - both inside and out.  They covered all play modes; bitey-face, wrestle, chase, tug, zoomies, etc.  He completely respected my older dog that doesn't play and left him alone.

Outside Max is very distractible and is almost always on high alert.  He is very active in a fenced yard - doing squirrel patrol, checking the gates, watching the street, playing with his foster sister, etc.  After he had been here a while he would relax more in the yard and I even caught him stretched out on the deck for a sun nap a few times.  He plays his own brand of fetch, which generally includes pouncing, tossing, tripping, and running around, but doesn't often include returning the item to the human.  He walks well on a flat collar, but a gentle leader may be a good way to help re-direct his attention when outside (I did not try this).

He does not like to go out when it is raining, and has some storm anxiety.  It is not too bad - he just glues himself to you and pants a little, but is pretty easily reassured.  He was able to sleep fairly well when we had some overnight storms as long as he was right next to my bed.

Max's limitation is that he does not do well when he encounters new dogs, especially when he is restrained (on leash or in a crate or kennel).  Larger dogs seem to be a bigger issue than small dogs.  He becomes fearful, and then will escalate rapidly to aggression and have to be removed from the situation.  A training class to help him overcome this nervous aggression would go a long way to helping Max become a better dog friend.  As evidenced by his rapport with my dogs and several other dogs he has met carefully during his time in foster care he can develop good dog relationships, but he needs training to learn to do this consistently.

I've included a few last pics; one of Max and his foster sibs, one where he was happy to be air-drying on the deck after a bath, and one where he was considering a career in rock climbing (this is as far as he got before he thought better of that).

Friday, June 7, 2013

Max here!  Guess what?  I was having so much fun vacationing in northern MN that I decided to hang out here for a while!  There are lots of things to do around here, and I've become pretty attached to my TFM (temporary foster Mom) and my FS (foster sis) Splash.  My FB Nic is OK too, but he is old and doesn't play so we just kind of chill out together once in a while.  

I've been to Lake Superior a couple of times and really enjoyed walking on the beach, although I won't go any further than putting my feet in the water so far. Those wave things are a little scary! Here is a picture of me about to put my toes in; aren't I brave?  

I play with Splash all the time now: zoom-chase, wrestlemania, bitey-face, tug, you name it. TFM laughs at me because I like to play upside down, like in the picture. I do this a lot when I am hanging out with TFM begging for pets too!  I've started playing with some toys - pouncing them and shaking them and gently chewing on them. Outside I will run and pick up a thrown toy and then I run around with it and throw it and pounce on it and trip over it until I get bored and walk away.

I also had a new adventure yesterday, but I'll let TFM take over and tell you about it that so I can go back to wrestling with Splash! I really, really like this having a home thing, and would love to have one of my very own - just let me know if that is your house!

Temporary Foster Mom here. Max has been here about three weeks now, and I have learned a lot about him. Here is some of what I know:

The best things:

  1. He is housebroken. Every tree, fence post, leaf, etc. in the yard has been marked thoroughly, but no accidents inside at all.
  2. He attaches hard to people and is somewhat protective of them. He was quite needy at first and pushy wanting attention, but that is decreasing now and it takes less to make him share "Mom time" with the foster sibs. He has wonderfully soft ears for rubbing!
  3. He and Splash have established a great relationship and play all the time - to the point that I have to break it up when it is getting too rowdy inside or too rough outside.
  4. Max likes to be outside and so far has respected my 5 ft. fence. I trust he and my dogs in the yard without supervision for short periods (10 min.), and with indirect supervision (me watching out the window while I do dishes or iron, etc.) for longer periods (30 minutes plus). He does lots of squirrel patrol and watching at the gates for folks going by, but will eventually stretch out on the deck for some sunbathing.
  5. He does not chew on anything inappropriate, and stays off of the furniture here - but would love to curl up on the couch or bed with his people if it is allowed at his forever home.
  6. He walks nicely on a leash - with very little pulling. I use a martingale collar with him (one that doesn't allow him to slip out of it) around the neighborhood and a long line at the beach. He does well enough with walking that last night I put a harness on him and took him for a bike ride yoked to Splash (who is good at biking) and on leash and he did very well. We went almost a mile and I was never in fear for my life! He would make a great walking or running partner and I think will learn to like the biking too. He likes to "mark" everything he passes, but can be kept from stopping at every blade of grass by just being kept moving.
  7. He does very well in a crate. Goes in with a stuffed Kong or small treat. At my house he is crated about 8 hours a day with a neighbor kid who stops by mid-day to let him out in the yard for a few minutes. I'm pretty sure he would be fine loose in the house, but he and Splash get carried away with playing and I don't want to come home to find injured dogs or an end to my art glass collection.
  8. Rarely barks; a little alert barking when someone goes by, but I'm sorry to say that Splash reinforces that habit.
  9. Likes people of all ages, but is too unpredictable and klutzy for little ones. Older kids who know not to crowd him should be fine. Everyone who meets him calls him "sweet".
  10. I don't have a cat, but another of his foster homes had a dog savvy cat and they did OK. I think he would chase a "runner" cat.
  11. He is developing very nice house manners; sits before eating, waits for permission to go through doors, takes treats very gently, comes when called, etc.

The not as great things:

  1. Outside he tends to forget his manners. We are working on it, but he has little impulse control when there are good smells and other distractions about. He is not reliable off leash at this time, as he loves to follow his nose.
  2. He does not know how to meet other dogs well. He gets very over-excited, and then scared, and if he is restrained or if the other dog reacts negatively his bark and demeanor become more aggressive. A trainer has evaluated him and agreed that with good structure, practice and a class for poorly socialized dogs he could get past this. The fact that he has been able to established positive relationships with both of my dogs (who are not that easy to get along with) and some other foster dogs, and the fact that his initial reaction to seeing a new dog is excitement rather than anger both make me believe that with work he will become a friend to most every dog he meets.

Contact placement if you are interested in meeting this sweet, handsome boy!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

It's me, Max! Did you miss me? Sorry I haven't updated you in a while, but I was hanging out in a place where I didn't have Internet access. But since it is a holiday weekend, I am on something called a vacation, and here at the cabin they have a computer I can use, so I thought I would write and give you the lowdown on my vacation.

I'm hanging out near a seriously Superior lake with a couple of new fur friends, Nic and Splash. We all get along well together, although the Human Host (HH) monitors us closely to make sure we "interact appropriately," whatever that means. Nic is older and likes to be left alone; easy enough. Splash is kind of fickle - she flirts with me and play bows, but at first when I tried to take her up on the invitation, she would get a little snarky. But now after a few days of feeling each other out, we are starting to play together and have fun.

At this cabin they have a 5-foot chain link fence. I think I would really like to go on a wildlife hunting expedition while I'm here, but the HH seems to think that I should stay within the fence and so far I have obliged. If the fence were any shorter, though, I would be out of here and bringing that taunting squirrel out back home as a trophy. Here's a picture of me scenting the air for all of the good critter smells.

And here is me on squirrel patrol.

Part of the recreation package here was a trip to the lake. I had a grand time running on the beach and greeting new people friends there. I love people of all kinds, and they love me and tell me how sweet and nice I am! The lake itself seemed to be having a bad day and was crashing and thrashing - so I avoided it. Splash was brave and would jump right in, but I waited for her on the beach.

We have taken a couple of tours of the area. HH takes all three of us at once. I love to explore. If I had my way, I would visit every tree and bush and post and leave a mark on all of them. I'm generally happy to walk next to HH and look around, but when I see another dog, something goes crazy in my brain and I get super excited and can't seem to figure out what to do with myself. HH tells me "leave it" and keeps walking and I reluctantly go with her, but I stay on high alert for a while to make sure everyone knows I am here and ready for whatever comes. HH says I need to work on this since I am agitated when on alert, but could learn with some training since I am smart.

As for that training stuff, I am good with it inside. I get all of the basic rules - no "doing business" in the house, no chewing on things that aren't yours, stop and sit and say your prayers before eating, pause and make sure HH has scoped the area and gives you the all clear before going in or out of doors. I love to be with a buddy, so would love to be near HH (OK, on top of HH) at all times, but respect the cabin rules that dogs are not allowed on furniture. The rules seem to be sexist in the fact that only Splash gets to sleep on the bed with HH, but Nic and I man up and camp out on dog beds on the floor next to HH's bed. After a hard day's play at camp, I sleep all night just fine. During the day I hang out in my crate if HH is working, but in my forever home I would probably be fine to just hang out wherever. I love the older neighbor kids who come to let me out of the crate for some yard time at lunchtime; they give me treats!

Outside, the training thing is a bit different. There are just so many wonderful things to see, scents to check, trees to mark, etc. Sometimes all of those things cause memory delays and it takes me a while to "come," or "sit," or "calm down." I eventually remember, but HH makes sure I am inside the fence, or on a leash or long line at all times just to make sure I can get a reminder if I need a memory jog, and in case another dog comes along and my brain freezes.

While I am having a blast on vacation, I would really like to go home to a forever home. I don't need a whole lot there; a good fence and someone to be near as much as possible so we can lavish affection on each other. I'm a little too much of a klutz and a bit too unpredictable for small kids, but would love some bigger ones to pal around with. I wouldn't mind having all of the attention all of the time, but if there are fur buddies I will need careful introductions to see how well we will get along. I WANT to like the dogs I meet, and I like to play, but that darn brain freeze thing gets in the way at times. There aren't any cats here, so I'm not sure how I would feel about them; judging by the way squirrels give me brain freeze, I'm not sure cats would be a good idea.

So there you have it. The holiday will be over before you know it, so if you want to be the home I go home to after my vacation, please contact your placement advisor about me.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Hello World!  It's Mr. Max coming at you from the b-oooootiful state of Iowa! I am hanging out here after one of those world-class sports-like trades where one guy goes one place so another guy can go another place and so forth. I don't know if money exchanged hands, but hey, I am obviously a high-value player in the world of dog rescue, eh?

Here's the best part about being here -- they have a raised veggie garden next to a compost bin, next to a four foot fence and you know what that equals?  Raised veggie bed + compost bin + four foot fence = The Great Escape. Steve McQueen's got nothin' on me!  How fun is that?!?

The down side is now its "leash-only" outings in the backyard which is kind like recess where you have to stay on the blacktop.  It's still good, but it could be soooo much better... Up in Minnesota, my other FM let me hang out in the backyard all I wanted inside her tall fence, play with all the other fur kids, and post a bunch of notices that it was my space.  So... I guess down here when I don't have a lot of time in the yard, I like to hang out inside, play with all the other fur-kids and post notices that it is my space.  FM says she is not a fan of that last behavior and we are "working on it".  

Here is another interesting little tid-bit about me... I love to play with other dogs after a short get-to-know you intro where I'm a little tentative.    But, when I'm on a leash and I see them, instead of acting tentative, I act like a "crabby toddler after a 6-pack of Mountain Dew" (FM's words, not mine).  I didn't do this in my other foster home, and FM thinks maybe that's because I was walking with a four-legger friend every time.  She says she will report back after we give that a try here!

Do you have some love and patience to give a guy like me?  I'm pretty flexible and I do like these foster folks, but it would be a-ok to have a family that was all mine...  Are you The One?

Friday, February 8, 2013

Well, Max went to the Vet and got a clean bill of health, other then needing to gain a few pounds, WOW! What a problem. He is great eater and loves treats and he now weighs in at 56lbs. He is in great shape and love to run with the rest of the gang here. OH oh! Spending too much time at my house and my fosters tend to get a bit spoiled, look at him, sleeping in the bed and on the couch, he loves to snuggle, he has the retriever nod my hand onto his head and he is getting feathering on his hind end. I really think there is some Golden in this one. Everyone who meets Max wants me to save him for them, they really love his loving ways and how safe and loyal they feel he is around their kids.