Max – ADOPTED

Max - ADOPTED

Age:5
Weight: 125
Location: New Britain, CT
Nicknames: Maximus, Lil’ Bit, Bubba
Good with other dogs?: Dog selective.
In his previous home, Max lived with three other dogs who were a but smaller than him. I mean, how couldn’t they be? Max used to weigh 144.6 pounds! They ate together and played hard together as Max was described as being the most submissive of the four. He came to us with lots of scabs and scrapes which have since healed up. He is happy to see other dogs on walks and wants to play. We are working on introducing him to his foster pack this week.
Good with cats? other: He is interested but isn’t quick enough to catch our cat.
Good with children? unknown, will not be adopted to a home with kids under 10
Activity Preference: Needs a couple walks a day.
IQ: Smart
Max’s favorite things: Max loves his stuffed toys. He definitely uses them to self-sooth. They last awhile until they die a very fluffy death. He likes a walk around the neighborhood and always needs to say hi to folks, so be ready to meet some new neighbors. He is highly motivated by treats due to his extreme and necessary diet.

Max likes neck scratches and belly rubs and body hugs. But he does not like kisses on his nose at all. It makes him nervous. You can kiss the top of his head if you must.

He also likes to play ball. He loves a tennis ball which was his reward for hitting his first weight loss goal!
Max is good at: meeting people, behaving in the house, going for car rides, making me feel safe, walking on a leash, playing, following commands, other: Taking treats gently
Ideal home: someone at home most of the day, other: Someone who understands dog body language
Training Needs: socialization with dogs
Health issues: Max came to us in an extremely obese state. We are working very hard to get him to a healthy weight and Max is making great progress. Due to his natural size (he should probably be anywhere from 95-115lbs) it is important that his forever home recognize that he stay trim for his overall health. His energy and happiness have increased dramatically now that he is more than 15 pounds lighter in his first month with us.

Meet Max

I’m sure you’re familiar with Grumpy Cat. And it could be that Max is related. But don’t let his resting frowny face fool you. Max smiles all the time now. Except when I’m trying to get cute photos of him 😉

Max had a really tough start. And we mean really. He was found tied to a poll covered in blood at a young age. A very nice woman took him in and worked with him to get him to trust people again. Max lived with three other dogs who were described as fairly dominant. Max was apparently the submissive one of the group. They were provided with food all the time and we think Max ate his feelings.

Max came to us severely overweight. His long-term foster mom had to move and made the tough choice to give Max a chance at a better home where he could get more attention than her schedule would allow. Tipping the scales at more than 144 pounds, we had to get him to a healthy weight pronto. Max had a tough transition into our house, doing a lot of crying for his lost life. We have never experienced that kind of sadness from a foster and it was heartbreaking to watch. But having been with us for a month now, he is much happier and loves attention and playtime.

Max is perfectly house trained. He will do his business on walks or in the back yard. And he is a pretty easy walker. He takes his harness like a champ and learned the route very quickly. He will let you know if he wants a long or short walk.

Max lets us know when Amazon is here to make a delivery but other than that, he only barks when he really needs to go outside or when one of his toy is stuck. He is completely non-destructive and has not been crated due to his size and initial anxiety. He has his own open space in our home and has been a gentleman. Max joins us downstairs during our Peloton rides. I think he wonders why we are doing all that work, but he keeps us safe while we get our sweat on.

Max loves to have someone by his side. It is when he relaxes the most. However, he is still wary at times, giving me the side eye. He does not like to be kissed on the face therefore, small kids are probably not a good fit for Max. He takes kisses on his head and lets us hug his around his body. He likes neck scratches and will lean into them. When he is comfortable with you, you’ll know because he will finally give you his belly. And that is huge and so rewarding. He loves playing with his toys and showing them to you; that is when you will get the biggest smile. Max knows how to sit and shake with both paws. I’m sure he can learn even more tricks. He also likes a car ride.

Max is at the point now where we can tell he wants to be integrated with our group. We have six personal dogs who are all seniors and super seniors. We will be working on introducing him this week to see how it goes with dogs of different sizes.

Anyone interested in Max will get a very easy going dog once he settles into your home. It is important to give him time to adjust. This could take two full weeks or more. But given our experience, it is quite possible that he won’t fully blossom until then. He is completely worth it!