Maisy 12-381

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Maisy was initially surrendered to RAGOM in late 2012.  She had to have emergency surgery to remove an intestinal blockage because she had eaten a sock.  Maisy was adopted in February 2013.

Miss Maisy Mae is back with us. She was adopted several months ago but developed acute allergies, and the family made the difficult decision to surrender her back to RAGOM.  She just had her 6th birthday.  Happy Birthday pretty girl!

Maisy weighs 65 lbs and has a short wavy dark red coat with cute curlicue ears.  She has the most expressive face I have ever seen in a dog—you can look at her and see just where she is at. When she first got here she had deep worry lines in her forehead. I massaged her forehead and sinuses, and watched as her face relaxed and the lines melted away with each passing day. She has a beautiful big snout. I suspect she has an incredibly developed sense of smell. She sure likes to take a leisurely walk out here in the country and smell everything she comes across!

She slipped right back into the family routine and gets along great with the two resident dogs—they all remembered each other. She looks to one or the other for cues, for example she’ll follow them outside to go potty.  She loves being around the dogs but doesn’t necessarily play with them. When I throw the Frisbee for Annie she’ll intercept it and then play keep away. I have not seen any resource guarding around toys at all, and I suspect she’ll learn to play with her buddy once she is settled in her forever home. The two cats are ‘out and about’ and very comfortable with her here. The first night back with us she hopped up on the bed and that is where she has slept since. She has free roam of the house with no problems. I do pick up soft toys and put them away when I leave just to be on the safe side (she ate a sock and needed surgery when she was with her original family). She wants me in sight at all times and follows me everywhere. When I work at my desk she’ll wedge into any available space and lay down, as long as some part of her is touching me.

At a Glance #12-381

Golden Retriever Born: May 2007
Female Weight not specified

Status: Deceased

Profile

Maisy was initially surrendered to RAGOM in late 2012.  She had to have emergency surgery to remove an intestinal blockage because she had eaten a sock.  Maisy was adopted in February 2013.

Miss Maisy Mae is back with us. She was adopted several months ago but developed acute allergies, and the family made the difficult decision to surrender her back to RAGOM.  She just had her 6th birthday.  Happy Birthday pretty girl!

Maisy weighs 65 lbs and has a short wavy dark red coat with cute curlicue ears.  She has the most expressive face I have ever seen in a dog—you can look at her and see just where she is at. When she first got here she had deep worry lines in her forehead. I massaged her forehead and sinuses, and watched as her face relaxed and the lines melted away with each passing day. She has a beautiful big snout. I suspect she has an incredibly developed sense of smell. She sure likes to take a leisurely walk out here in the country and smell everything she comes across!

She slipped right back into the family routine and gets along great with the two resident dogs—they all remembered each other. She looks to one or the other for cues, for example she’ll follow them outside to go potty.  She loves being around the dogs but doesn’t necessarily play with them. When I throw the Frisbee for Annie she’ll intercept it and then play keep away. I have not seen any resource guarding around toys at all, and I suspect she’ll learn to play with her buddy once she is settled in her forever home. The two cats are ‘out and about’ and very comfortable with her here. The first night back with us she hopped up on the bed and that is where she has slept since. She has free roam of the house with no problems. I do pick up soft toys and put them away when I leave just to be on the safe side (she ate a sock and needed surgery when she was with her original family). She wants me in sight at all times and follows me everywhere. When I work at my desk she’ll wedge into any available space and lay down, as long as some part of her is touching me.

Updates

Friday, September 13, 2013

Maisy had another really excellent week. She had her first Manners class and she did really well the first half, and then she got distracted and was not the best listener the second half. The trainer said she’s not used to the intensity of responding to commands for a prolonged period of time. It was one of those 90 degree days too though, and all other dogs were feeling the heat. It was a start for her, and we practiced the commands throughout the week.

Maisy also got to go along with foster sister Sadie 13-034 to visit her new adoptive mom’s cabin. They both LOVED swimming and retrieving balls. Sadie’s new mom has a mean throwing arm and Maisy couldn’t get to her balls fast enough—she was in heaven. Afterward we hung out on the patio and she was captivated watching a pontoon boat go by. When it was time to come inside, she sat right beside me and didn’t make a peep. 

Maisy (on left) with resident dog Angel and foster sister Sadie 13-034

What beautiful Maisy needs most is someone or a family who will celebrate her many unique and wonderful traits. She is an exceptional dog. She is intelligent and so eager to learn. Someone with knowledge of dog behavior and experience in handling dogs will bring out the best in her.

More of her strengths and who she is:

  • Extremely sensitive
  • Silly
  • Cuddles on the couch 
  • Likes being special
  • Likes kisses on her rubbery snout
  • Walks with grace and style (she reminds me of a Lipizzaner horse).
  • Easy-going and quiet companion (she is one of the easiest fosters we’ve had).

Her challenges: 

• Sometimes she is timid when she is in new environments or meeting new people. Interestingly, she seems to sense people who are confident with dogs and responds beautifully to them.

• She can be very persistent if she wants something. For example last night we had an extra piece of chicken on the table, and as we were sitting there visiting she was bound and determined she wanted it. We had to tell her “no” several times, and finally she backed down from her fixation. We find she responds best to calm, even-handed, and firm correction. 

Honestly, we love this girl. We’ll be at Goldzilla in the Foster Tent so please stop by and say hello and meet her and all the other wonderful dogs!

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Maisy had a great week. We discovered that she LOVES the water when we took her swimming on those really hot days. She kept up with resident dog Annie retrieving sticks in the water. 

  

She comes from more of a field line of Golden Retriever, and what I am seeing is that she has a strong drive to work. She responds beautifully to training and learns expectations quickly. She needs them consistently reinforced though because she’s been allowed to get away with things as she was growing up. We start “Manners” class this coming weekend and then we are scheduled to start agility training, unless she is adopted before that and her new family can take over :-). 

We had a good friend over this past weekend who is an avid hunter and over the years has trained Labrador Retrievers. After I saw how eager (and good) she is retrieving in the water, I was curious if he thought she might have been trained for bird hunting in the past. He brought along a few dummies and worked with her. The first couple of throws she was very very excited to get her mouth around that interesting looking duck, and pranced back to him with her head held high, and then at the last second darted away and wanted him to play chase. After a few more throws and lots of praise he got her to return and drop the dummy. I got some really good pointers for working with her too! She is a sweetie and will be a wonderful dog for some lucky family!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Hi Everybody! Me and Angel went to the Meet and Greet on Sunday. I love hopping in the car to go for a ride. Sometimes going to a new place and meeting new people can be scary though! FM told me it is OK to be a little shy at first, and she said we’ll keep practicing. A few people came over to see me at the Meet and Greet. One nice lady who is looking for a new pupper said my name should be Lucy because I’m spunky and I’m a red head just like Lucille Ball in the “I Love Lucy” show. She kept coming back to look at me—I think she really liked me but remembered I’ll do better if there is another dog in my new home. 

Here are some pictures traveling to and from the Meet and Greet: So excited going to the Meet and Greet, Pooped on our way home!

FM here: Maisy has been with us for just over a week now, and what a difference a week can make. She is settled in, and her problematic behaviors are tiny blips on the radar screen. She’s been a dream. When she does bark for attention, which isn’t very often --once every couple of days, it will be literally one bark from across the room. The other day when she did this I called for her to come--she laid there and just looked at me. Well my attention was diverted away from her for a second, and the next thing I knew she was magically beside me like she'd been there all along. I praised her beyond words to let her know this is a much better way to get attention.

She is a total sweetheart. I can feel her heart opening up more each day she is with us—it is such a joy to experience. She’s been shuffled around a lot this past year and is so ready to get settled into her forever home.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Maisy here! I had a good day today: I played keep-away Frisbee with my furbutt friend Annie (I’m pretty fast), I found a wild turkey feather on one of our walks (yum!), and I scored a nice chunk of broccoli stem out of the garbage at dinner (it was yucky though). If I reach up really high with my neck I can see what is on the counter without even jumping up—but my FM doesn’t even let me do that so I have to do it super fast.  I only tried to jump up on the counter once today, but was busted before I even got a good look. I just knew there was something good up there.

Playing keep away with Annie                      

Look at my turkey feather!

I earned treats today for plopping by butt down to “sit” for FM a bunch of times, and “down” is easy-peezy. I get excited and am not real good at “stay” yet, but me and Angel are working on that! Oh ya, and if you have something really good to give me, my arm can move at lightning speed for “shake.” Otherwise I pretend like you are speaking in a foreign language. 

Practicing “stay” with my two furbutt sisters

My FM thinks I am one of the best girls she has ever walked—she keeps saying it is just like walking on a cloud with me and Angel on the two sides of her. I walk extra good when Angel is with me. FM keeps giving me kisses on my snout and I give her kisses back, right on the lips too.  I love my FM and follow her everywhere, up the stairs, down the stairs, into the garage, and into the bathroom.  My favorite thing is when she asks me if I want to help her. I am on that, especially when she is outside because I get to smell and smell and smell and listen to all the birds.

FM wanted me to tell you that if you have any questions about me, let your placement advisor know you’d like to talk. Just a heads up that she is a little biased about me!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The one and only amazing Miss Maisy Mae is back with us. She was adopted a couple of months ago but during the past month there was an up-tic in naughty behaviors including barking for attention, mouthing, and counter surfing. Her owner felt she didn’t have the time and know-how to deal with these behaviors, so she made the difficult decision to surrender her.

Maisy has been here for several days now. She was really subdued when she first got here—not a lot of eye contact and more “to herself.” She is gradually coming out of her shell and the fun-loving dog we remembered is back.

When Maisy first got here I had her tethered to me to let her know she needs to look to me for direction. This worked great to get her in synch with me. We are noticing more barking and counter-surfing than when she was here a few months ago, and as we address these behaviors we are already noticing some progress. What a good girl… Mouthing has not been an issue, but we are keeping an eye out for even a hint of that.

So many of the dogs who come into RAGOM have not had physical care, or safety, or they haven’t been emotionally nurtured and loved. Maisy has been fortunate to have had all of these things times ten, but she comes with her own set of challenges. In a nutshell, she is a super smart girl; she has picked up a few bad habits; and she will benefit from a family who will give her strong leadership. She has had some obedience training and knows basic commands. She will flourish in a home with an experienced dog owner who will continue obedience training to give her that structure she so desperately needs. We are noticing her positive response to clear parameters even in the few short days she has been with us.

She loves anything food-related and can get underfoot when we are in the kitchen. We just started exploring keeping her out of the kitchen when we are cooking, mostly to limit the temptation to counter-surf. She is house-broken and has free run of the house when we are away and has never been destructive. When we are home she likes to grab a sock or other clothing and play “catch me,” and I trade to get it away from her. We try to keep stuffed toys and clothing picked up to be on the safe side (she has a history of eating a piece of clothing and required emergency surgery). I have not seen any resource guarding issues around food or toys, but we are being proactive to avoid any potential situations ie feeding them in different areas of the kitchen.

Here are a few requirements for Maisy:

  • She will do best in a home with another dog to model confidence for her. She lets other dogs take the lead and tends to be a follower.
  • Maisy needs a family who will give her consistent daily exercise. She is athletic and will make a fantastic walking or jogging partner. She would not be a good dog to sit at home for long periods of time if she has not been exercised beforehand.
  • If she is trained to the boundaries she will not need a fenced yard. She has excellent recall and comes immediately when called.
  • She does great with kids but no kids under 5 because of her history of mouthing.

 

Maisy is a real character. She'll benefit from activities that stimulate her and help build confidence. I think she would absolutely LOVE going to agility training or something like that where she can have some fun with you, while gaining mental and physical stimulation at the same time.

Please contact your placement advisor if you are interested in Maisy!