Max - 29 January 2013

Max had a lovely long weekend, spending time at the beach and park. He is getting better at following the pack and not wondering off by himself too much. When he does wonder off, he now looks around to find us. He is also getting 'sit' very well!


He is very good with other dogs. He may be a little bit too 'sniffy' but he is never bad with another dog. We have had a couple of dogs try and mount him and he moved away from them instead of engaging. Today a little terrier came up and was nipping at his legs. Max tried to sniff it and walked off when he couldn't. All his friends came up to see and stop the terrier from being nippy towards Max.

Max was not too polite at the weekend barbeques. He loved the one with the teenagers; he went and stood in the middle of a group of girls who patted and cooed at him. However he was over exuberant at the family gathering. He was bumping into people and jumping up at nanny! He wouldn't be left outside and kept banging on the glass door. We had to crate him up so that he would calm down. We will have to keep up his training so that he will be a well behaved dog in the future.

Max - 23 January 2013

Had a fun day at the beach. Max played nicely with the bigger dogs at the beach. He instantly connected with a German Shepard and they jumped around  in the water together and bumped each other. Max got out of his depth and was a little worried but he managed to swim back to shore. We think it might be his first swim ever! He tried to chase a young Staghound cross but was a little slow. We can see that he is getting fitter everyday and is less tired at the end of play sessions.

 As much as he likes the water and sprinklers, Max is not as enthusiastic as some of our other dogs when being hosed off!

Max - 19 January 2013

First time taking Max to the beach after his stiches have healed. He spent a lot of time scooping up sea water in his mouth! He sits for treats as well, after a bit of reminding. He follows nicely and comes when called.

We get Max to sit before putting his dinner down. He is getting it very nicely. Next step is "wait" before eating when the bowl is on the ground.
Our dog sits to eat, but being a Tenterfield she is close enough to the ground. Max tried to sit and eat but it got too uncomfortable so he lay down instead!

Max - 16 January 2013

Max is learning to walk on a lead. He is much better at it at the end of the day or at night, after a whole days excerise. Lead walking first thing in the morning is not Max's favourite activity. He would rather walk where he wants. We have a couple of older dogs to teach him to walk on a lead. Max has not learnt to stay on one side of the handler. He also bumps into the other dogs as he walks. We have to teach him how to walk in a straight line.

Max - 15 January 2013

We are teaching Max not to throw himself at the door, be it front door or van door, as soon as it is open. He uses his weight to try and push his way past. We are teaching him to sit in front of the door. He does not stay sitting for long. 'Wait' is another command we are trying to teach Max. He waits for a little while, a few seconds, but tries to lunge out as soon as he is done waiting. He does not wait for the release. He tends to get better at waiting the later in the day (the more tired he is).

We are trying to get Max's stamina and muscle tone up. He does tend to only potter around the park and is panting more by the end of the first walk, eventhough he does less exercise than the rest of the dogs. Today we had Max running with the pack, if only for a little while.

Max is definately looking fitter and slimmer!

Max - 14 January 2013

Max is getting better at sticking with the group. He does socialise with other groups but he mostly returns to ours pack when called. We have kept up training the 'sit' command in different situations. He can 'sit' well for treats in the park.

 Max paces less and less at home everyday. He will lie down and have a rest near to us. He does not like being in a separate room as us.

Max - 13 January 2013

We had a successful weekend with Max. We thought him how to sit, though he only does it with treats. He is still learning the command 'lie down'. We had Roxy, a black labrador, play tug of war with him. At first he was unsure but he gradually got the hang of the game. Max is still very easily distracted so the game never goes on for very long. After a long weekend of training, Max snuggles up on some clothes with Tashi.

Max - 10 January 2013

11.00am:     Took Max out with our second group of the day. He enjoyed playing in the sprinklers. He followed our pack for the most part. His recall is getting a little bit better. Hoping to further improve this as the days go on.

3.00pm:       Max remembers how to jump the one meter high fence at the park. He seems to want to follow the other dogs who are leaving the park. He hangs around outside the fence if they leave by cars. He was quite taken by a very young Kelpie puppy that was on a lead and wanted to follow it around. Max goes up and greets every new dog that enters the park as well. He is not in the slight bit interested in chasing the ball.

6.00pm:     Max cut a bit of his front pad when he broke the water bowl, as he likes to dig the water up after he has finished drinking. He was very good when we put a bandage on it. He sniffed at the bandage but did not chew on it. We kept up Max's training in sitting still in a new house.
8.30pm:     Max is now resting nicely on the floor, after only a short period of pacing!

Max - 9 January 2013

5.00pm:     Brought Max home. Tried to get him to rest after his surgery. Penned him off in a section of the living room and stroke him to sleep. Slept for less than half an hour before wanting to pace.
7:00pm:     Took an hour an a half to teach Max that it was good to sit and lie down on his bed without pacing. Slowly the pacing time decreased and the resting time increased.
9.00pm:      Last walk around the neighbourhood. He is getting better at lead walking. He pulls less, but still walks in a zig zag way.

Max - 8 January 2013

11.00pm:     Let Max off lead with second group in an enclosed park. His interaction with other dogs is getting better. He is not constantly in their faces. Though he was a bit too rowdy for an elderly labrador. He decided to follow a large pointer who jumped over the meter high fence. When we got Max back, he had forgotten how to jump across the fence. He seems to be constantly learning behaviours from other dogs, though remembering is another matter.

2.00pm:     The dogs enjoyed the water overflow in the park, especially Max who rolled in it and drank from it. Max is still finding his feet in the pack dynamics. He seems to try out new packs. If a dog walks past, he will follow them, even if they are going in the opposite direction. We need to train up his recall and following skills, which we will throughly focus on once he settles in.

5.00pm:   Took Max to the vet. He will be coming home tomorrow.

Max - 7 January 2013

9.00am:     Woke up and Max was sleeping on his back in the crate.
Took Max out with our first group of the day. He does not walk well on a lead. He gets very excited and bites the lead. He also walks in a zigzag pattern as he wants to sniff everything and go in every direction.
12.00pm:     Let Max off lead with second group. He is learning about packs but is still unsure which is his. He followed a lady and her staffy cross halfway across the park eventhough we called him. He looked at us but kept going with them until he was bored (they did not pay attention to him) and came back. He did enjoy paddling in the water bowl and getting splashed by the sprinklers.
4.00pm:   Max does not know how to calm down yet. He paces the house and does not stop panting. He sits still for a pat but starts pacing again when the pat stops.
8.00pm:   Walked Max to the supermarket. Left him tied with Tashi. He was good for a few of minutes but started barking when people walked past him. Josh sat with the dogs.

Max - 6 January 2013

4.30pm:       Picked up a new foster dog, Max, a curly coated retriever.
7.30pm:       Max got a shave to get rid of some of his matted fur.
8.30pm:       Took Max to the enclosed park and let him off the lead. His recall is not very good as he gets distracted easily.
10.00pm:      Put Max in his crate for the night. He dug in the cushion and whined. He relaxed when he heard our voices.