Thanks all! I'm worried about Max's bouts of aggression. We met on neutral territory on leads with their dogs last weekend. It went well but we'll see. Max may need some professional training which they are willing to do. I just don't want to see anyone hurt in the meantime.

Well as I suspected Max didn't work out with his second perspective family. It really wasn't his fault this time either. One of the couples females would not accept Max and refused to eat all since Max arrived on Friday. No aggression took place but it was probably a matter of time as there were lots of warning growls from their girls. The couple didn't feel safe leaving them together unsupervised.

So I'm still spreading the word he's available and hoping Blaze and him don't get into it for a 4th time. On a good note Sebo is very happy to have Max back and they play real well together.

Max is super sweet, well behaved and a quick learner but just doesn't know when to back down from a fight. His time on the street makes him more willing to fight than flight. When another dog starts something he is more than willing to finish it.

Sorry to hear about Max again. Cali growls at other dogs when they first eat together, then she figures out she should eat when the meal is served or she won't get to eat, b4 mika came around, she would skip a few meals here and there.

Good luck to Max

Sorry to hear about Max again. Cali growls at other dogs when they first eat together, then she figures out she should eat when the meal is served or she won't get to eat, b4 mika came around, she would skip a few meals here and there.

Good luck to Max

I so wish I could take him! My Chase gets a long well with every dog he meets.

Lordbroll wrote:

Max is super sweet, well behaved and a quick learner but just doesn't know when to back down from a fight. His time on the street makes him more willing to fight than flight. When another dog starts something he is more than willing to finish it.

Gosh, this sounds just like Koda Good luck to Max! I hope he finds his forever home soon!

It's a super hard behavior for me to crack. He's doesn't give any sort of notice, no grrr, no lip curl, and nothing as far as posturing, he just exploads into attack mode. No resource guarding, no jealousy, doesn't even mind close quarters. I would like to find his trigger and be proactive.

Sorry to hear that Max didn't find a new home yet. It sounds like a difficult behaviour to crack if there are no obvious triggers. Does he have a moment of stillness just before, some dogs do that. He sounds like a really sweet dog apart from that.

Ghost wrote:

Sorry to hear that Max didn't find a new home yet. It sounds like a difficult behaviour to crack if there are no obvious triggers. Does he have a moment of stillness just before, some dogs do that. He sounds like a really sweet dog apart from that.

No real stillness or other posturing I can detect anyway. I've been working with him on general commands to calm him, down, sit / stay and using the words easy and gentle when he plays with Sebo. It's gotten better but mainly because Blaze (the one he has issue with) is giving him a wide birth.

I've though about taking him to K9 University but it's way across town and a little pricey for a foster dog. Sometimes I wish I was a 501c3 but that's a different story.

There is probably some split second thing that you would only ever get if you had it on video, too fast to spot in real time (which is when you need to know). It sounds like you are doing great with him. It's sensible of Blaze to give him some space!!

I am wishing you the best with Max, He is such a cutie I wish i could have taken him but with the issues you have encounter with him. My Hubby would have been real upset if max and My Blaze had the issues. That you are having with Your Blaze.

It looks like Blaze it giving him his own space.

ljelgin wrote:

I am wishing you the best with Max, He is such a cutie I wish i could have taken him but with the issues you have encounter with him. My Hubby would have been real upset if max and My Blaze had the issues. That you are having with Your Blaze.

It looks like Blaze it giving him his own space.

Don't blame you one bit. I had to convince the wife the 3rd time Blaze got attacked not to take Max to the shelter. It really hasn't been his fault, he's reacting, not appropriately but reacting none the less.

He plays with Sebo constantly and shows indifference to Mikko even when Mikko screams in his ear.

It's been one of the most challenging foster situations I've ever had. If Blaze stays out of Max's face all will be well, just makes me nervous though.

Max's first trip to the dog park.

Wow tough call trying to answer the aggression problem seemed like any other pooch at the park. I kept waiting for chaos to happen glad it didn't. Maybe look into (gag as much as I want to say his name) Cesar Milan's or Victoria Stillwell's videos maybe they have a similar problem on one of their episodes.

He is a gorgeous dog and he did so well at the dog park. I can't understand why he doesn't have a home yet!!

Wife called this morning and Max latched onto Mikko's ear after Mikko was in his face talking. Glad she was there to pull him off. 10 minutes later they were laying within a couple of feet of each other.

Max is still in need of a loving home. Never had such a hard time finding such a sweet and handsome boy a home. He is getting better with socialization as there has been no incidents in over a week. we are now able to leave him with our boys while we're at work. He plays well with Sebo and basically ignores Mikko and Blaze whom both give him a wide berth, which is good.

His last adoption prospect changed his mind about taking Max as he realized he didn't have the time to devote to a dog and especially a high energy one like Max. I'm glad some people actually think things through.

Back to sharing and posting,,,,

Poor Max! I'm glad he has someone like you there for him. And at least they thought it through instead of taking him then getting rid of him.

Once again we thought we found the perfect home for Max, email from adopter:

I called earlier but you don't have to call back. Max and I just had such a great time and I wanted to tell you and Brian about it so maybe you would feel a little better about leaving him!

He did whine a bit when you guys left so we took a walk. We unwittingly stumbled onto a dog park 2 BLOCKS from the house!!! I was nervous to take him in since he has had some run ins in the past. But he was rather persistent!! And there was a man inside with, you guessed it, a husky who said he would help if there was any trouble.

There were some other dogs too and Max was but polite but uninterested. Max spent all of his time with Sam, the other Husky. They ran and ran and played and played. The man just so happens to be a dog trainer. His other dog, Dharma, is a trained therapy dog. Anyway, he told me what a great dog Max is and that he can tell he has had some training and that he is very, very smart. Most of it went right over my head but he explained that Max was mimicking some of the interactions between his two dogs and that this was very smart. He also said that if he does have some behavioral problems, it is because he is probably rather smart and willful but that the best dogs are both of those:-)

I'm rambling but the best part is that apparently the whole neighborhood is very dog oriented and every evening around 7-8 everyone brings their dogs to play at the park together. This man said it is really a very cool thing to watch them all. He also said that he thinks Max will fit in well with all of the dogs and that he will help Max if he has trouble playing nice in the beginning:-)

It all seemed so.... Serendipitous and meant to be. We are just relaxing outside in the shade now. He seems to like it out here.

I just wanted to give you an update and let you know we are having a good time together!

***********************************************

Sadly, 2 days later they returned him because he kept jumping the 6ft fence. Both times when they were outside with him. She was concerned and rightly so about his safety. Since it was a rental house she couldn't modify the fence as the landlord would not okay it.

So poor Max still needs a home.

Damn so close yet so far.

What a shame! Poor Max.

That email is a real credit to you for all the work you have done with him. The right home must be out there for him somewhere.

Ghost wrote:

What a shame! Poor Max.

That email is a real credit to you for all the work you have done with him. The right home must be out there for him somewhere.

Thanks, he has come along way. He has two of our boys walking on egg shells but no issues for a couple of weeks. It's going to be hard to find a suitable home with his propensity to escape.

Oh what a shame.. I really pulling for Max to get the right home soon..

Finalized Max's adoption on Sunday. He was so excited to see us and seemed very happy in his new home. I've never had a sweeter foster. It was tough to say goodbye again as he went nuts when we showed up. He's in an only dog home with 9 children, a stay at home mom (she fosters kids) and gets lots of attention, camping trips to the lake and almost daily rides.

Here are a few pics we took in his new home. Some are blurry, he had a hard time staying still.


Greeting me


Yum deer antler!




He has a big window to watch the world.

That's wonderful! I'm sure he'll live a happy life with that family. Sound's like he went to a great home.