Introducing...

Marley - Trainer of People

Or Master Manipulator?

Last winter Marley convinced me she couldn't wear any clothing. She has recently decided she doesn't like her harness. The same harness she has worn every morning for the last 3 years without complaint.

Every morning I'll stumble out to the living room and she sulks while I put on her harness. After the harness is on she is perky and ready to go for her walk. I've checked the harness and it fits loosely and I make sure it does not pull on her coat. I'm not sure why she is sulking.

She has started training her dog walker; according to reports she is sulking and adding some vocalization. Yep, she is trying to train her dog walker to ditch the harness.

I wonder how fast he'll succumb to her tricky human training.

Raining Cats & Dogs

It has been pouring all weekend and Marley and I have spent most of it outside. We went to the park and we had it all to ourselves so we did the funnest thing ever. We hunted squirrels, well to be honest I pointed them out and Marley chased them. We also enjoyed a fun game of chase, I ran and Marley chased me and when she got close I ran the other way after a while I let her catch me and then we started over until we were tired. We were both happy and relaxed when we returned home and I had hot cocoa while Marley enjoyed a chewy.

While walking to my car completely soaked I started to wonder, where are all the other dogs? Where is everybody? Are they all lucky and live in houses with yards? Are they all calm and relaxed while sitting at home staring out the window?

Multiple dogs, how?

How do people deal with multiple dogs?

I've been trying to wrap my mind around what my life would be like if I adopted another dog. I'm having such a difficult time imagining having enough time to care for multiple dogs.

At this time after dinner I spend about an hour grooming Marley. This includes combing out her ears, brushing her coat, checking her nails and brushing her teeth.

After our grooming session I spend some time playing with Marley. I usually attempt to play fetch; however she prefers hide and seek. We also do some training during this time.

After this I will give her a chewy and I'll spend some time with Bob. This involves grooming him and cuddling.

I have such a hard time visualizing how I could add another hour to my day to spend grooming an additional dog. How in the world do people with multiple dogs do this?

Road Trip

I'm planning Marley's second road trip. I love road trips and I'm so happy Marley does so well in the car. I've started by mapping our route and checking our destination for pet friendly sites.

I want to know how can the stuff of a 12 lb dog can take up so much room? Marley's stuff includes:

• Crate - to keep her safe in an unfamiliar location
• Blankets - got to be comfy
• Towel - in case she gets muddy, heaven forbid she actually swims
• Vaccine certificate - My vet provides me one at our annual visit and I scan it into my computer for safe keeping (paper vanishes and multiplies at my house).
  
• Food and water - always safe to use what is familiar
• Bowls - for food and water
  
• Toys - a variety to keep it fun, must not forget our soccer ball or bubbles
• Pet friendly snacks - Carrots and apples
• Extra Leash - just to be safe
• Regular gear - such as poop bags and long leash
  

Umm...12 lb dog requires 30 lbs of equipment how is this possible?

After visiting multiple sites looking for pet friendly destinations and mapping my route I discovered the best site ever! Go Pet Friendly is simply so wonderful, in addition to having great tips, they have a brand new Road Trip Planner! They are currently working on it and I encountered a slight snag. I emailed them with the problem and they responded within minutes. I am amazed with their friendly, professional customer service and I look forward to using them for my next road trip.

We are on a Mission

Marley and I are on a very important mission. We are trying to find the best, secret dog play spot. So far we have found a wonderful green field at a local high school and a fabulous enclosed green field in a quiet neighborhood. I was so surprised to find the secret enclosed green field; it is tucked away between a couple of houses and it appears the neighbors have taken it over for their dogs. I'm going to use it to practice some jumps with Marley. If you happen to have a secret dog safe play area we would love to hear more about it.

"More secret running spots, please"

I've noticed Marley does the weirdest thing after a walk. She will lay down and begin sniffing her paws and she will spend quite a while smelling herself until she has inspected her whole body. I wonder why she does this?

Fair Oaks Dog Walk

Fair Oaks is best known for its feral chickens...Yep, feral chickens! Marley loses her mind every time we go to fair oaks. She sees these large birds wandering around the ground and she knows she can catch one for dinner.

We met up with some friends for the easy 2 mile walk (from left to right: Casey, Penny, Bruiser-hiding behind Marley).

Don't they know we have to look at the black box and smile?

Marley really enjoyed the walk, we took a small break at the river. This picture is an example of my view every time we go for a walk and it always makes me smile. Marley is alert and her tail is slowly waging as she trots along.

We found more friends relaxing after the walk. All three are Siberian Husky mixes (from left to right: Apollo, Radar, Bialto and of course Marley).

We participated in some of the games and we were 5th in Musical Sit (everybody walks in a circle and when the music stops the last dog to sit is out). We really need to work on heel, Marley tends to lallygag when ever we heel.

We also attempted to participate in the small dog race. This is so embarrassing, we were ready to go and Marley and I had great eye contact. We were so going to win this race, they said go and Marley ran after a chicken. Yep my fabulous dog was totally distracted by the feral chickens.

Overall, everybody had a great time and we plan on attending this again next year. Of course we will practice heeling and we will try some controlled recalls around birds before the next event.