VA Dog Rescue: The Max meeting

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

The Max meeting

Max

I didn't post Max on the internet before we went on vacation because I didn't have time to really evaluate him and certainly didn't have time to deal with email inquiries about him. When I returned and finally did post him, my write up was sufficiently off-putting that I haven't received a lot of inquiries. This is not a starter shepherd and there's no reason to entertain emails asking about cats, kids, ferrets, or other aspects of urban life.

Max

Max is a beauty, there's no doubt about that. But I suspect that his looks came at the expense of his brain, probably the result of the same marry-your-cousin sort of breeding that produces teabaggers.

The other day I received an email about Max that was worth my attention, however. It was from a former adopter of another crazy shepherd. He lives in the country and has a fence. He came out today to meet Max. We went out to the pasture with Max, Maya, Gigi, Patch, and Franklin.

Maya, Max, and Gigi

Max gets excited and starts to spin, chasing his tail. That's a horrible, neurotic shepherd behavior that we see all too often with in-bred dogs. Max isn't as bad as some. He chases his tail apparently out of excitement and frustration when he doesn't know what else to do. He isn't into self-mutilation, however, like some of them are, and he can be distracted from the behavior, usually with a ball or something to occupy his mouth.

Gigi and Max

After displaying his neurotic behavior, Max settled down a bit and acted somewhat normal, even running with the other dogs, which is what he needs to do to work out the neurotic mess that is his brain.

He's really beautiful when his mind is productively engaged on running, sniffing, or something other than tail chasing.

Maya and Max

It was the first time in the pasture for Patch and Franklin too. They enjoyed it and the weather was perfect for it. I hope we can do it again tomorrow.