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.

Marley got me in TROUBLE

We were successfully working on a jump exercise and it was time to take a break. I called Marley over and heaped praise. My instructor asked, "Where is her toy? Why are you not playing with her?" I stammered out a response about Marley's lack of interest.

During our break I dragged out the variety of toys I keep in our agility bag trying to interest Marley in playing with me. She sat there and looked embarrassed. Yep, Marley gave me the "13 year old girl OMG you are so embarrassing" look. I tried a latex squeaky, Frisbee, stuffed duck, ball and a rope. Nothing, she refuses to play with toys when we are in class.

She is under the impression that playing with toys is something we do before a walk in the morning. So far I've tried playing with her and giving her treats as a reward for playing in the evening and sometimes that works, however it is not consistent.

At this point I'm not sure what else to do to entice her to play with me at other times. I welcome any advice.

Rainy Day Fun

Marly has decided she does not like wet weather. Since I'm not too fond of water falling from the sky, we are exploring some fun indoor activities. Marley's favorite is her puzzle. It took her a while to figure out how to get the treats out of the puzzle.

"How do I get the treat out? Do I lick the toy?"

"Ah, you move the wooden pegs and the there are lots of treats!"

I've started to fill only 3 pegs with treats, however she doesn't believe me and will still lift all the pegs in order to verify there are no hidden treats.

I'm going to have to start looking at some of the other puzzles.

Treat Ball

We got Marley a new toy, a treat ball. She absolutely loves it. It has an insert where I can record my voice, which kind of weighs the ball a bit. I have not recorded anything, because I think it would drive me nuts.

This toy will keep her occupied for about an hour. Unfortunately, she'll end up hiding it and I have to spend an hour searching for it.

I've also discovered she loves bubbles. Yep, the same bubbles we used to play with as kids. She goes absolutely crazy and starts barking at me as soon as she notices the bubble bottle. As soon as I blow the bubbles she starts jumping and trying to catch them before the dissipate. As soon as I can I'll take some pictures.