MAXIMUS - 6 years old, 30 pounds, nervous, good with cats and dogs, house trained. Needs a single family hone (no shared walls). Adult home needed.
Our foster, Max, has been enjoying this beautiful, but windy, day with a walk in the neighborhood, exploring the backyard, and running errands with me. I want to share the following about Max (Maximus), who has been with us for four weeks: He is a sweet boy, who gets along with other dogs, and seems to be cat-friendly (we have several neighbors with indoor-outdoor cats, and he wants to say hello but does not bark, pull, lunge, or chase). He is housebroken.
He does suffer from separation anxiety, and stays stressed/anxious/pacing/frequently checking and waiting at the door while his people are away. However, he is not destructive, and he does not act out by using the bathroom in the house. Yet, on Thursday and Friday, he was a bit less stressed, and started playing with the many dog toys available (so far, he just plays with them (he loves the hide and seek toys), and does not de-squeak them), and, over the last week or so, he has been settling down for periods of 45-60 minutes (not sleeping, but staying near/semi-relaxing with his beagle friend, Ruthie). [If people are home, he will relax and nap, but he is always on guard that they will leave.] We have started him on anxiety medication that he takes daily.
He does well with Ruthie, and would probably like to have a canine sibling, especially when left alone (he really needs a home where someone works from home, or is a young, retired home-body, and, with his fear of noises, I would recommend a home without young children who are, as children do, going to screech, run up to him to hug him or pull his ears). He does react to loud and/or unexpected noises (he still reacts to my phone dinging, the wake up alarm going off, and the frig. door dinging when I have it open for too long), and people passing by my house. When this happens when I am home, he settles quickly and isn't very noisy (just stressed until I tell him it's okay), but he can be loud when reacting to things outside (especially yard work).
He is smart, and has started to figure out how to unlatch the gates in the house (used primarily to keep him from bolting out a door/getting under foot when we are leaving, and to separate the pups when they are enjoying pup cups, treat-filled kongs, and licki-mats.
He likes to go for walks (he does generally well as the only dog on a walk, but he is still trying to figure out pack walks); he loves car rides; like his beagle friends, he likes veggies as snacks; and he loves treat-dispensing toys, and licki-mats with peanut butter or pumpkin.
He is an all-American mutt, and his DNA results identified 15 different breeds: Norwegian Elkhound (30%), Chi. (17%), Labrador Retriever (15%), Rat Terrier (10%), Treeing Walker Coonhound (4%), American Hairless Terrier (3%), Toy Fox Terrier (3%), Flat-Coated Retriever (3%), Plott Hound (3%), American Foxhound (2%), Miniature American Shepherd (2%), Dandie Dinmont Terrier (2%), Parson Russell Terrier (2%), MinPin (2%), and Portuguese Podengo Pequeno (2%).
Think Max is a perfect match foryou? Contact the shelter to get in touch with Maxs foster to talk more!
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November 5, 2024, 5:35 pm
