Max has some interesting behaviours. He’s a kisser, a hugger and he loves to play. He loves car rides. He loves to lay on his back and screw around on the covers like he’s trying to scratch his back. He has no problem with a towel being draped over him, much  like the horses of King Arthur’s realm did. All he needs is a jouster on his back and he’s in! He is very attentive, he knows how to sit, lay down, stay, shake a paw. Mostly he knows how to show us how glad he is to be with us. He is great off leash as well as on. Previous owner notes show that he can clear a 4 foot fence. He has made no effort to try to escape. We do not chain him in the back yard as his previous owners did as per their notes.  There are a couple of behaviours he does that we will try to work with him with:

Barking – when anyone knocks at the door, rings the bell, or even when friends come to the house, this guy barks. He is not friendly like Buck was, where a wouldbe robber might have gotten hit by a wagging tail.. this guy has a fierce bark and he’s not afraid to use it. He barks even though he can see friends are no threat, and we invite them in the house. I’ve been looking at Cesar Millan’s site and seeing what sorts of things he recommends to the owners, and we will try some of his techniques. He has a show on called the Dog Whisperer, and to me, he’s amazing with dogs. M and I are assertive and calm when we go on walks and when we discipline, however we are goofs when we play 🙂 hee hee.  We will try 2 approaches with the barking, an assertive “enough” when he barks and also ignoring his behaviour and having friends and family not make eye contact with him when they first come in the house, and to just talk with us.

Allergies – he does seem to be itchy around his muzzle. It is probably a food allergy as he does have some. He has hypoallergenic food which we are feeding him but we are also adding in some turkey and chicken to see how he does with it. I confess he does get whatever sauces come with it, and he does like veggies. Also i’ve gotten him to enjoy some apple, cherries and he likes to have a bit of my morning coffee, just a finger dipped in the coffee/cream/sugarfree vanilla syrup.. I suspect it’s the cream he’s going for, but he loves to lick my fingers. I’m not going to give him his own bowl because the last thing I want is a hyper dog lol  The vet suggested we stick to one type of meat, try him on it x 6 weeks and see if he shows signs of being allergic. He loves chicken, but we do think he is allergic. He does not have signs of an ear infection (typically how his allergies manifest) but he is notably itching on his muzzle and feet. We will discontinue the chicken in a week and put him back on straight kibble and see how he does.

Mouthing – he does tend to mouth (ever so gently ) when playing so we will try to cure him of that. I’m going to have to read some doggie books to see what the best way to deal with that is. 🙂

Overall this is a pretty well adjusted boy but he does seem over protective of the house and us. No issues when walking past people on the sidewalk etc, he barks if they reach to try to pet him. He has started to show some “let me at em” attitude if he passes another dog on a lead. Off leash he would be fine..

…Pam…