Sunday Morning Rituals

As a child Sunday mornings were filled with family rituals, Church in the morning followed by a special family breakfast.  Marley's Sunday mornings are also filled with special rituals.

We begin our day the usual way with a walk and breakfast.  A nap is a huge priority after breakfast and normally Marley curls up on my pillow for a rejuvenating nap.  Sundays are not very rejuvenating because while I know she sleeps on my pillow she is not allowed on the furniture.  So, I pretend I don't know and she jumps off as soon as she hears me walking in that direction.

After our "pretend the dog isn't on the furniture" game we jump into the car for a fun trip at the Farmers Market.  We are very fortunate our local Farmers Market allows dogs.

Today we spotted the largest turnips I have ever seen, They are larger than Marley's head. The carrots next to the turnips are mini carrots (about 5") in length.

We always check out the pomegranate products, which are simply divine.  Marley is not very impressed because I haven't given her a sample.

We check out the pumpkins, which Marley loves and I'm sure she wants me to buy her one to smash into her dinner.

Our favorite stop was at the Sheep Farm booth.  They sell wool, spring lambs and eggs, unfortunately I do not recall the name of the Farm.  Marley is always hopeful some juicy lamb will be delivered into her dinner bowl.

After shopping for veggies and fruits we usually do something fun; Today there was a Celtic Festival and we attended for a bit. The band was great and they played some of my favorites.

A fun feathered friend enjoyed the music. 

I have fond memories of my childhood Sundays and I love the way Marley has simply enhanced my current Sunday rituals.  I may just have to buy her the pumpkin next week. 

Marley the Inventor

Marley is quite smug!

Marley has created two new games and I'm not sure how I feel about my dog being so smart.

The first game is played outside while walking off leash. She'll begin to dawdle behind me and I usually notice when I'm about 10 meters away. As I start to panic, I'll notice she is behind me waiting for me to notice she is waiting. As soon as I see her back there I'll call her and she runs to me, where she repeats the entire process. Today, for extra fun she found some bushes to hide behind (she had a huge grin while "hiding" from me) and she always looks so pleased with herself when she is running my way.

The second game is played indoors in the morning. While I gather my things for our morning walk she'll bring me a toy and wait for me to throw it and she'll bring it back. While it may sound like a game of fetch, it is a bit more complex. When she returns the toy she sets it down about 1 foot in front of me, causing me to move forward to throw the toy. I've recently realized this is her method of making me move towards the front door faster.

I love her innovative play; however I suspect she thinks she is training me.

Frisbee Training

I have not given up on having a dog that fetches. Since Marley refuses to retrieve tennis balls, I've decided to try something different. I got her a Chewber and we started the following training regimen.

• I stored the Chewber in a container of kibble for about a month.
  
• I started to use it as a food bowl.
• After dinner I would hold it and ask her to "take it" and when she gently took it out of my hand I would praise her and give her a treat.
• I started to gently roll it about a foot and I would ask her to "get it."
• Once she figured out if she returned the Chewber she would be rewarded with a treat I started to gently throw it a couple of feet.
• As she became better at bringing it back I started to feel excited about my future disc dog.

Today, I decided to see if we could translate our Chewber success to our Hurl a Squirrel. I was pleasantly surprised to discover Marley was just as excited about bringing back the Hurl a Squirrel.

At this point I still need to try this in a different location and I need to start withholding some treats. I'm still not sure how to encourage her to focus on the toy and not on the treats.

I welcome any advice or suggestions.

Bad Bob

Marley is not allowed to chase cats. I do not allow her to chase cats while we are on walks or visiting a cat friendly home. If I catch her harassing or chasing Bob, I'll send her to her crate for a time-out.

I have to change my strategy for 2011. I've been home sick and I've managed to observe Bob and Marley during the day. I've discovered a horrible fact, while I've worked on Marley's behavior, I've totally neglected to curtail Bob's behavior.

Most of their interactions begin by Bob walking to Marley's bed. He'll sniff her bed, freeze and then flick his tail. Marley waits until Bob flicks his tail and then the chase is on! They run around the apartment until Bob decides to stop. Marley politely stops about a foot away from Bob and walks away.

At times, Bob will stop about a foot away from Marley and do a modified play bow. As soon as Marley looks at him, he flicks his tail and they are off for a quick game of chase.

At this point, I'm at a loss as to how to teach Marley not to chase all cats.

Smarty paws

I wanted to take some photos of Marley figuring out her new puzzle; except she figured it out right away. I tried to make if difficult and she grinned while she ate her quickly found treat. I am a bit amazed at how quick she figured it out.

I am a bit disappointed with the puzzle. I liked the sliders. I did not like the pegs, they are just too easy to knock over and that makes the puzzle kind of too easy. While the box indicates it is made of wood, it has a plastic feel, which I don't like.

I think I'm going to stick to Nina Ottosson puzzles. I really like the wood and I feel the puzzles are really challenging.

A friend recently told me it is my fault Marley solved the puzzle so quickly. He told me agility was making my dog too smart and I should cut it out!

Really, this is it?

We enjoyed an old fashioned Christmas. The focus was not on the gifts but on enjoying time with friends and family. I tried not to overdo gifts for Marley, after all how many tennis balls does a non-fetching dog really need.

Marley received a new puzzle and a bully stick.

I was good, what else do I get?

I received the best gift ever! Marley and Bob sharing my lap.

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?