Maggie is an accomplished and determined counter surfer!
Gone But Never Forgotten
Gender: Female
Color: Black
Height: Petite
Weight: 88 Pounds
Neutered: Yes
Shots Current: Yes
Heartworm: Negative
Fecal: Negative
Allergies: None Known
When my family comes to get me...
I'm taking this chair!
Good with Kids: Yes
Good with Dogs: Working
Good with Cats: No*
Housetrained: In Progress
Crate trained: In Progress
Leash trained: Somewhat
Microchipped: Yes
Behavioral Issues: Dominant
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Maggie is left brained. During her behavioral evaluation, she focused on the rolling toy, turned around at the sound of the clipboard hitting the floor, immediately filed it as no threat (and apparently uninteresting as well) then returned her focus to the toy. This is OK.
Maggie is highly dominant. This is really only an issue around food. To her mind, none of the other dogs should have food expect Maggie. We do not know if this is from being deprived up until now or whether it's a genetic thing. Only time will tell on that. I will tell you that she is getting better. We feed them all at the same time but keep Maggie separated when there is food down. Once everyone has eaten their fill, the food goes back up and that seems to have solved it, at least for now, under these circumstances. When it's time for treats, I make Maggie sit and stay until the rest of the dogs have finished theirs, as she will still go and steal them. As our girl Roxey will not stand for it, Maggie is learning (the hard way) that she must leave the other dogs alone when they are eating.
As far as her conduct with humans goes, she shows no food aggression or dominance whatsoever. She knows that humans are the boss. I can put my hand in the bowl when she is eating and push her muzzle away or remove whatever I wish, including all my fingers. I can take the bowl away with no reaction from Maggie. When she is presented with a treat, or sees one of us heading for the bag, she will begin to jump and rear up, but I put this down to excitement at the prospect of a biscuit. She knows she must sit to get her biscuit, but, again, at Jennifer's direction, we are no longer rewarding her with food. Only praise. When she does something right and is being fawned over, she leans in (typical Dane reaction) so she responds well to praise.
We discovered that the spray bottle filled with water is a very effective deterrent with Maggie. I rarely have to spray her, she knows exactly what it is and exactly what it means when I show it to her. Her current favorite toy is an old sock so she seems to be pretty low maintenance as far as that goes. She will pick it up and give it a serious shaking. Then puta paw on one end and let it shap over her head. She will exert dominance with toys as well so she is watched carefully. As long as the other dogs don't interfere with her, there are no issues.
Our overall impression is that Maggie, in addition to being young, exuberant, and full of energy, has no manners and that is the basis of the bulk of her issues. This is being worked on. All in all, this young lady wants to be good, she just needs a firm hand and consistent discipline. Maggie had a minor injury to her side that required stitches on Christmas day. She is being very good about not bothering it and is healing well.
*Maggie encountered a cat at the vet, apparently for the first time, and she showed an extremely high degree of interest in it. We do not know what her intentions were, but at this time, because of her size and age, we do NOT consider her to be cat safe.
Update 02-18-2010
Maggie's side has fully healed after receiving 8 stitches the day after Christmas. She is still somewhat clumsy in the manner of a large puppy and still has a hard time turning on the hardwood flooring.
Overall, Maggie's manners continue to improve dramatically. She still shows "youthful exuberance" on a regular basis, but her resource guarding has been considerably reduced. When it is treat time, she lines up with the other four dogs in the house, sits without being asked, cocks her head to the side, and waits patiently. She still watches the others eat their treat, but she no longer needs any restraint to keep from taking them. While we do continue to watch her closely when ther is food present with another dog, we no longer feel there is much danger of an altercation involving food.
Her efforts to learn that the outside is for the potty continue as well. She can sometimes go the full 8 hours, but does not always make it.
The addition of a Halti collar has improved Maggie's behavior in public, something for which she will probably never fully forgive her Aunt Koti, whose idea it was.
Playing in the yard with the other dogs, she shows no signs of any aggressive behavior.
She has donated many of her works of art to Great Dane Rescues to help raise funds.
Please thank her by visiting her site and ordering a sculpture.
Great Dane Assistance League
PO Box 460544
Denver, CO 80246
TEL: 303.887.9662
FAX: 1.866.431.4346
E-mail: gdali@gdali.org
