Adopted
Maverick
is a great BIG, people-loving, fuzzy pup! We started fostering him on the 2nd of
April, and he’s been a great dog to have around. He’s a very sweet pooch, and a
fun-loving playmate for our own Golden, Zeke.
Maverick is a handsome boy, only about 2 years old per the vet, and he’s BIG!
We’d fostered a smaller female before he came along, so he really seemed a lot
bigger by comparison. As you can see in his pictures, he’s quite a bit larger
than Zeke. He weighs about 85 pounds (and is actually still a bit underweight),
but he tends to think he is more like 10 pounds… he will try to climb up into an
open lap if he sees the opportunity, though he is learning not to do this. In
general, he doesn’t jump up or try to climb on the furniture. Due to his size
and puppylike excitement, though, I could see him overwhelming a small child who
was not used to dogs. However, our neighbors have a 20-month-old girl (human!)
and she loves petting Maverick. He didn’t mind one bit when she was pulling on
his ears! He loves petting and scratching. He is definitely one of those Goldens
who follow their owners from room to room. He tries to spend the max amount of
time in our presence, hoping for a head pat or a belly rub whenever our hands
are free.
Maverick gets along well with Zeke, although there is a quite a bit of playful
competition. They wrestle and roll around together, nibble at each other
playfully, and play tug-of-war with their toys all the time. Each of them always
wants the toy that the other one has… typical! (A few toys have suffered because
of this.) Being a little older, Zeke sometimes doesn’t want to play as much, and
when he’s had enough, he will grumble at Maverick… but usually they do end up
playing together with no problems. We have only heard Maverick bark a few times,
and he has never growled. He sticks to chewing on toys mostly, but has been
caught a few times with slippers. He also sometimes thinks the toilet is a
better place to get water than his bowl! But he understands the word “no” and
knows to stop what he’s doing when he hears it.
Maverick walks very well on the leash. He doesn’t pull, and he is learning to
ignore other dogs while we walk. He does sometimes make escape attempts if the
gate across our driveway is open, but he understands “no” in this case too. He
knows “sit,” and he comes when called by name. He doesn’t mind grooming and will
hold still for nail clipping, brushing, ear cleaning, etc. He is definitely one
of the softest-coated Goldens we have ever known—he is very fuzzy.
Whiel we are gone at work, he spends time in his crate. We sometimes have to
coax him into it with treats, but once inside, he is fine. When we are gone for
shorter periods, he stays in the laundry room with Zeke behind a baby gate. At
night, he sleeps on the floor in our room with no problems. He is housetrained
and hasn’t had a single accident. He eats well—more slowly than most dogs we
know—and is only a little slobbery right after drinking.
Maverick is just a wonderful and well-behaved dog. We think he’d be a welcome
addition to any dog-loving home!