MAXI SADLY NEEDS REHOMING BECAUSE OF A FAMILY CRISIS

Maxi has been living happily in the Midlands for 6 months in a lovely forever home but, sadly, has had to come back into our care as his owner needs to go to Australia indefinitely because of a family crisis.

He is now 2yrs old and is a very active dog who likes nothing more than playing with his ball. He adores water and it is hard to keep him out.

Because he is very strong, he would really be better with older children (probably 10+) unless they are very dog savy.

His owner said of him: Maxi really loves other dogs and would be extremely happy living with another one and, unusually for a rescue dog, he also adores men. His only faults are being extremely strong on the lead and getting excited on his outward journeys in a car (anticipating fun & great walks) but he settles extremely well on his way home again. He would benefit from a car restraint (harness or crate) and then he would be perfect both ways in the car

He is very intelligent and has successfully tried his paws at agility a couple of times

His recall is usually very good as long as you have a ball to throw for him but he can be distracted by and wants to go and play with other dogs when the ball game finishes.

He can be left for 4hrs or so with no problems at all during the day and settles down quietly with his kong or nylabone. He sleeps in his bed in the kitchen at night and has been known to sleep through to 8am without a sound even though he is usually fed (James Wellbeloved) at 7am and then again at about 5pm to 6pm.

REPORT ON MAXI - 12/03/09

Maxi is around 2 years old. He has been micro-chipped and wormed

Maxi can be a bit aloof at first, but as you get to know him, he's just a big boy who loves the attention, especially from the girls! :-) He also likes to have treats, a couple when he's walking, a few when he's been good and about 4 or 5 just before bed! He's a spoilt thing!

He is very strong on the lead when on walks and likes to take control because he thinks he's the king of the village (as he has a broad chest which he seems to puff out) but we usually put a harness and a halti on him so he doesn't pull. He doesn't like squirrels and when he meets other dogs we have to keep him on a tight leadas he wants to pull you over to play with them.

He loves having a fuss off people but when he wants more he taps you with his paw and he doesn't realise that it can be quite rough. He sometimes does what he's told but he has got into a habit of jumping up at you and does not respond to "down". We have overcome this by turning our backs on him. Apart from that he is a gorgeous dog and we love him to bits!

Maxi will love anyone who has got a ball or a Frisbee and will play all day, if allowed to. He tends to run away with the ball so two balls are helpful to get his attention back.

We don't let him off the lead but when we play ball, he's usually on a training lead which is quite long so we can throw the ball a bit further.

As you can see from this picture, Maxi likes to be nosey!

FURTHER UPDATE ON MAXI FROM JANE

Maxi has been doing so well in foster that we decided to try him out in a few other situations so he was moved a couple of miles down the road to Jane's where he would be living with 2 dogs and, probably more importantly, with two cats. The result was absolutely brilliant. Jane reports:

Maxi was greeted by Tess and Harvey and there were a few grumbles but all is now fine. He met our two cats and slept on the rug in front of the fire with one of them yesterday evening. He slept well over night in a crate with all his own bedding in the kitchen amongst the 2 dogs and cats and we never heard a peep!! He was fed, watered and walked and then took himself back in the crate with the door open and went fast asleep. He is now sitting outside happily watching the world go by.

MAXI HAS GONE TO HIS NEW FOREVER HOME

Ros said. “I'm sitting watching the car racing in China at this moment - not something I usually do but who cares!! Its very peaceful with Maxi curled up on the sofa beside me. I was up at crack of dawn as usual to feed the hens before they wake the neighbours with their crowing. I took Maxi out in the garden again (I've done this each morning) to do a wee and test him with the hens without resorting to barking at them. He was great and didn't pull away from me this time. He also had a brief unexpected encounter with the cat who we've had to keep away from him to begin with. Maxi and Tiddles inspected each other for a few minutes then I took him away for his breakfast and Tiddles to his safe haven upstairs for his food. I then made a cuppa and Maxi & I came into the living room to chill out with the tv. James or Danny will probably take him out for his morning walk when they do their newspaper rounds shortly.

Maxi has needed a lot of attention as he's been settling in - especially as he's needed to become socialised with the others in our menagerie - however he is becoming much more settled; he joins us on any trips in the car with the promise of even a short walk when he gets there. We're having no problems with ball obsession - he loves it when he gets it and seems content with just a walk at other times. James has been the best at helping him to get used to the other dogs in the neighbourhood, one
by one he tells me about this dog or that one which Maxi has become friends with! He does seems to find little dogs harder to be nice to - a little unfortunate for his little cousin Dougall (Bishon Frisse or however you spell it!). However James in his way is making progress there too. The main thing which has been so good is that although in his way Maxi is quite demanding, he is becoming the hub of love in this family - everyone wants to be with him at some point and visa versa. It will be interesting when the holidays are over after this weekend and all go back to school or work. It'll be good for me as I can
spend time properly socialising him with the cat and the hens without interruption.”

UPDATE MAY 09

Brian's getting regular walks with 'you know who' who is becoming very used to us each taking our turn.

Danny now takes him off early in the morning on her newpaper round, then comes back and we all have breakfast then off to school . . . that’s the children of course. Maxi is starting his school this Wednesday as we're off to obedience classes (that’s because I need to learn probably more than he does!). His behaviour is really very good. His best is when told to go to 'bed' at night, when we all turn in he goes straight to his mat and sits down.

Maxi and Tiddles have developed a sort of Cat/Dog understanding...

i.e 'you toucha ma food I scratcha yer nose'... so far he has remained scratch free! They sort of sidle past each other with a respectful look.

Maxi is becoming much more relaxed with other dogs on our walks and there's less fuss now. Still a bit touchy around males though but it was great when I could walk with my sister in law Ella and her Dougall the Bichon Frise without any fuss at all. Very companionable!

PREVIOUS UPDATES FROM HIS ORIGINAL FOSTERER

MAXI is a handsome golden boy. He is approximately 18 months old and is neutered. He was fostered in Ireland for 7 weeks by Mary who says, "Maxi is a beautiful, sweet, affectionate pet. He does obey some commands like sit, always comes when called and he is, of course, toilet trained. My family, neighbours and kids in the area are all very attached to Maxi. He loves all of us and we are going to miss him greatly especially me. I am sad to let him go but I think it is for the best as he needs to develop his full potential with some training and will make some family a wonderful pet in every way."

"He is a very strong dog and I have found it a bit difficult to train him as he is a bit too strong for me. He will play ball non-stop, if he is allowed to, with all the young men and kids in the area and is extremely good at rugby & football. He needs to be kept active and loves his walks. He chases cats but will not harm them."

We were told that he was not good with other dogs but Mary said, "Sometimes he barks at other dogs but he just tries to make friends with them. I never had a problem with him in all the time he was with me and there were always other dogs about which he played with. As far as I know he spent a night or two in the Dog Pound in Ennis, Co Clare, after rescue, then spent a night with a lady who had other dogs. It was she who said he did not like other dogs but I never found that to be the case and I made a point of involving him during play on most occasions to test him. He also spent three nights in kennels while I was away for a weekend about a month ago. Again, absolutely no problem with the other dogs but the lady told me that he might be a little shy of some dogs at times but no barking or biting of any description. In summary, I do not believe there was any incident of bad behaviour or biting. He always wanted to make friends."

IN FOSTER IN SOMERSET

Maxi is now in foster in Somerset with Pauline and settled in immediately. She says, "He is a very, confident, friendly dog who is extremely responsive to commands and has a good recall as he wants to be with you. He loves his ball even more than his tummy so this will make training him fairly easy. We were told he could be a bit food aggressive at times but I have seen no sign of that. He takes treats very gently and patiently when with the other dogs and he has been fed, in his separate cage in my van, surrounded by all my other dogs, with no problems."

"He loves to be brushed and combed and was extremely good, very patient and well behaved, when being microchipped. His biggest fault is being strong on the lead as he was probably never been taken for walks in his original home but this is improving all the time. He gets on well with my other dogs, especially Rhani, but, like my own retrievers, he enjoys playing very rough so I suppose this could be mistaken for aggression if people don't know the breed. He is just very young and playful."

"He is a bit of a "Hector the Collector" and loves to gather toys up in a big pile around him. He probably could be pushy if allowed as he desperately craves affection and loves being in the thick of things but I can see why Mary found it so hard to part with this gorgeous boy".

©2008 Irish Retriever Rescue UK