Tag Archives: Max

All About Max

Dog behaviour

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Max n MMax 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…

All About Max

Meet and greet

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Eating out of her handThe meet and greet went pretty well at Anna Maria’s place. Their home is on a nice secluded piece of land out Mission way. There is a big fenced play area and all the dogs in the place got along with Max.

He barked at Anna Maria and her dad, but quieted down after he found out they didn’t pay any attention to him. They have a couple chows there, so it was interesting to see him with 2 females. One is a younger purebred Chow and she and Max were chasing each other quickly. The older female was playful for a while. I think they’ll get along just fine.

Where's Max?SPOT MAX!

Anna Maria and Max went for a walk around a fenced area and when she called him and turned and left, he came scampering, so she figured he’d work out well. She’ll give him some vigorous walks, that’s for sure.

BTW – all the pictures on this blog are “clickable” for a larger version of the picture. Some are in the “NextGEN format” so that when you click a picture, it “zooms” on the page – the old format shows you the picture on a page by itself.

In either case, the pictures are always clickable.

All About Max

My next big hurdle!

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Day One for MaxHmm… I have been hearing about a meet and greet. I have to go out to mission to meet some other dogs, and if I get along with them I can stay with them (I think they called it boarding) while Mum and Dad go on holidays. It sounds like a fun place, sounds like there are alot of other dogs there to play with so that might be fun. I’m not throwing my support behind the idea 100%, I’ll have to meet Anna Maria and Brian and then I’ll make my decision!

I might decide that being around alot of other dogs, going for walks in the woods, getting fed a couple times a day, getting to sleep on my swell beds at her place..  being entertained all day..  that might be terrible..  hey… wait a minute, that doesn’t sound bad at all? Well I’ll just keep an eye on the other dogs and see what they are like and then I’ll let you know how this meet and greet goes..  I think it’s going to happen in a week or two.  Stay tuned!

Max!

All About Max

At the Off Leash Park

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Today we took Max to the off leash park called the Serpentine. It’s a smallish park, but there are tons of dogs there all out having a good time. All sorts of dog, all sorts of sizes, and he had no issues at all! He just pranced and ran and chased and was chased and had a great time.

Here is a movie of Max, taken by Pam October 28, of him playing at the park.

The “That’s Gross” comment from Pam was about a “little” slobber Max had over his nose! haha About 3 or 4 feet long! haha

All About Max

Settling in…

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Max seems to be settling into our routine. When he first came to us, he wasn’t thrilled with my early rising (around 530 or 6 am) and certainly didn’t want to eat when I normally fed Buck, around 6:50 or so. But the last couple of mornings he had his breakfast early, and was ready for the car ride to go pick up Pam from the train. He’s getting a handle on when we go for “a walk” and when we go to get his “business done.”

He still “speaks” to strangers, even when we are on walks. Not good at 7 am! I’m not sure how to go about getting him to NOT bark – might be a hopeless task – but I need some kind of command to stop it. It’s not like he’s yapping constantly, just barks once or twice to announce his presence. I’ve tried to make him sit (he does) then put my hand on his chest and give him a “quiet” or “no barking” command. Buck understood the “no barking” command, but it’s been years since he ever really spoke. I don’t think we was trained on a choke chain, because the normal tug on the leash doesn’t seem to faze him. (He’s not on a choke chain, but I might try using it for a couple weeks to see if I can do something about the barking.)

Crying angelI think Pam is feeling a tad slighted because Max has really taken to me. He’s been a constant companion to me, and I’ve really needed it. When I’m emotional, he’s there for me. When I give him a hug, he returns it, snuggling into my arms, raising his paw to me, banging his head into my chest. It’s very heartwarming. He’s just a great guy.

I have had such a tough time dealing with Buck’s loss. I feel so guilty – and the guilt keeps changing. I hate myself for being the one that made the decision to end his life, even though his last few days were so obviously painful for him. What right do I have to be playing god with my best friend? And I’ve been doing so much reading lately, I realize that maybe Buck was in pain longer than I want to admit, and maybe I was being cruel by not doing something earlier. It’s easy to say I should just let it go, and believe me, I wish I could just “let it go” but I can’t – it torments me…

Anyway – Max is doing great! He’s a real playful guy and Pam and I had a game of catch with him today. He’s fun and energetic. Tomorrow we’re off to the big off leash park, to see how he does. He’s recovered from his surgery, so I think a nice walk in the park with some other dogs will be good for him. We’ll keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t over do it!

Talk to you soon,

Maurice