Smallest Big Dog

Marley's fabulous dog walker is simply amazed at Marley's ability to keep up with larger dogs. He keeps calling her Little Miss Big Stuff. He has not realized Marley does not know she is a little dog. As far as she is concerned if something is going on she must be involved and nothing will slow her down.

Is that a dog or a shadow?

Sandwich?

Sandwich, where?

I'll beat these ginormous dogs to the food!

All photos in this post taken by James McKellips.

Agility Update

We took a brief agility break and we both feel refreshed and excited to be back in class. Um, let me rephrase that, I'm excited to be in class while Marley wants to be inside where it is cool.

Our first activity was jumping in a circular pattern leading to a tunnel. No problem, I thought we like jumps. I failed to take into account these specific jumps all had wings. Yes, I crashed into each and every wing.

I regrouped and settled Marley at the first jump and I lead out a bit. Upon releasing her I noticed she looked at me and took off to her crate. It seems she was totally embarrassed by my klutzy behavior. I suspect she wants a new handler.

I've discovered if I spend some time thinking about what our results should be and I notify my feet and shoulders we do great.

We've started training the weave poles using the 2x2 method. So far we are progressing nicely.

Cool Day Today

Today was a refreshing 99 degrees...yep it is still sweltering outside.

To combat the heat we do a variety of activities such as practicing our 2x2s. Playing chase or find the Bob. My favorite is "Find the Frisbee!"
Marley is warming up to this game. She seems to feel it is mean of me to make her retrieve something that is almost her size.

Stay cool and hydrated!

Why is it I seem to have pvc in every indoor picture?

Desperately Seeking Cool

It was a sweltering 80 degrees during our morning walk. We did some agility practice in the park and by the time we were done it was hoovering around 91 degrees. Marley and I do not enjoy the heat. We rushed home around 11 a.m. and started drinking cold water while contemplating the long day ahead.

We've decided to spend the day indoors with some trick training in the afternoon and an evening trip to the park. I've tried taking Marley to the park in the late afternoon and she will walk from shade to shade where she proceeds to stretch out and give me the "crazy human" look.

During the hot weather we follow some of the advice provided by the ASPCA.

• The majority of our outdoor activities occur in the early morning or late afternoon.
• Marley no longer accompanies me on errands around town.
• I make sure our walks are on natural surfaces, such as grass, gravel or dirt. I believe asphalt and concrete retain heat for a long time and is therefore not safe for Marley's paws.
• I'm also spending some time preparing her for any Fourth of July noise we may encounter.

Finally, I'm compiling a list of any friends and acuqintances with a dog friendly pool. I'll bring chocolate cake if we can go swimming.

Marley's BFF

While I've been dealing with work, school and a lack of internet service, Marley has had a lot of fun. I managed to organize some play dates and extra walks while I was busy. We started our agility class last week and we pick up our new weave poles in a few days.

During our break Marley was able to spend some time with her friend Sadie. They usually chase each other, play bitey face and nap together. All around they have a good time.

Sadie is totally convinced that a camera is trying to steal her soul and this is one of the very few photos of this lovely dog.

To Marley's dismay, Sadie acquired a sibling about a year ago. Reagan is a beautiful lab/shepard mix. She behaves like a typical little sister, she wants everything everybody else has and believes rules are for other dogs.

She is utterly convinced that Marley is her best friend. Marley for the most part, ignores Reagan.

"Do you want to wrestle? How about a game of chase?"

Marley has unfortunately taught Reagan some bad habits, such as guarding the front door by barking at the neighbors and chasing cats. Actually, the only time Marley doesn't ignore Reagan is when there is a cat around that needs to be chased. I find their relationship quite fascinating.

All photos in this post were taken by Laura Calonder.

Jen Pinder Seminar

I just audited a Jen Pinder Seminar for Novice dogs. It was fabulous, I learned a lot and I have a couple of pages of notes and tips.

The oddest thing ever was many of my fellow classmates received the same advice from Jen Pinder as from our instructor. If our instructor mentions you need to work on your recall, why does it take so much more importance when Jen brings it up as a necessary skill?

It was great and Jen Pinder was hilarious, I highly recommend attending one of her seminars.

Just when I'm totally proud of Marley

I know I'm really lucky to have such a great dog and there are times when my heart overflows with love for my dog.

Marley's recall stopped traffic. Not many of our neighbors are up and about when we take our morning walk and it is quiet and peaceful. Marley was walking ahead of me on the stretchy leash and I noticed a car driving in our direction. I call Marley and we wait for the car to turn and drive away before proceeding on our walk. My neighbor pulls her car over, gets out and said, "you called your dog and she came back." I'm a bit startled. My neighbor continues, "Was that hard to teach?" Now, I'm a bit perplexed and I tell her it was relatively easy to teach and Marley will recall to both sides.

When I'm fully awake a couple of hours later and thinking about this event, my heart just fills with pride in Marley. I'm so very happy she is my dog. Just when I think my heart can't contain this much love for my dog...

Marley behaves like a total bitch. Yep, I said it! I took her to a nice dog park and she proceeded to claim a section of the park as "hers" and she barked at everybody who entered her space; people, dogs, birds and kites. Ugh!