Doors and Doorways

I have always insisted Marley wait for permission before crossing a doorway. Living in a city it is extremely dangerous for a pet or child to run outside. I'm especially strict about her waiting for permission before exiting the car.

This was fairly easy to teach, this is what I did:

• First we learned stay and wait in obedience class.
  
• Each time we encountered a door leading outside I asked her to sit/wait. I then open the door and invite her outside.
• Once outside I asked her to sit while I locked my door.
• If we were returning from our walk we repeat the process.

This ensures she will sit and wait nicely while I juggle all my stuff while closing the door. I don't know about most people but leaving the house involves a lot of juggling of purse, leash, beverage, book and snack. Having my dog wait just ensures I don't drop anything.

I am extremely concerned about Marley jumping out of the car to chase squirrels. For this activity I enlisted the help of Marley's favorite people.

• I waited until I knew she could wait and understood sit/wait at doors in my home.
• I started to ask her to wait while I stood in front of the door (basically using my body as an obstacle).
• Once she didn't try to jump out, I started moving slightly to one side (basically creating a situation where there was a slight opening).
• I waited until there was enough opening for Marley to jump out if she chose, pretty much the entire door width.
  
• I then enlisted Marley's friends and asked them to call her name and basically entice her to leave the car. We started with me blocking the door and reminding her to wait.
  
• She was pretty good about it until I moved to the side of the door and she jumped out, thankfully she was wearing her leash.
• I picked her up and put her back in the car and repeated the command wait.
• I kept the sessions really short and we repeated this each and every time we were at the car.
  

This took a long time for her to learn this to my satisfaction. At this point I trust her to stay in the car while I walk around the car. She is very good about waiting for permission to leave the car; however, I will never try this anywhere near a road.

Edits:

• This was posted at the request of Bruiser's mom; I would strongly suggest completing an obedience class before trying this.
  
• This is what I do every time we leave the house or leave the car. If for any reason Marley doesn't wait, we start over at the beginning.
  
• We had to start at the beginning when we moved. Marley stayed on a leash until I had time to begin teaching her the rules applied to our new home.
• I do not put her in situations where she can fail; therefore, I will never do this anywhere near a busy road.
  

Lucky - maybe not

This is Lucky, isn't he cute? He is a feisty 5lb chihuahua puppy. This tiny little dog bit Marley.

Yep, he bit Marley. They were playing in the park and he ran up behind Marley and he ended up with a mouth full of black fur, Marley turned around and snarled at him. I totally panicked and scooped up Marley. She was not hurt, however it totally freaked me out.

Lucky's owner is very nice and she was very apologetic, however she is not sure of what to do to stop him from nipping other dogs. He doesn't seem to not like Marley, they get along fine, until she stops playing with him. If anybody has any great advice for preventing this from happening in the future, please let me know.

Ugh gross

As a city dog, Marley goes on at least two walks a day in addition to park time. She takes full advantage of these walks to poop. This allows me to monitor her poop and make note of any changes that may indicate changes in her health. If she has trouble, I review what she may have eaten and attempt to find what has caused the problem.

I became concerned last week because her poop increased in frequency and size. She started to poop 3-4 times during a walk and the quantity was astounding. I reviewed the treats she was receiving and couldn't recall any changes. I started to get worried and I decided to call the vet and schedule a check-up.

As I was searching for the vet's number (I know it should be programed into my phone) I noticed a black blob moving in the cat section of the house. It was Marley, who was exploring the litter box. It seems she discovered how to access the cat section and made herself at home.

This has led to a dilemma, how can I keep her out of that part of the house without making it difficult for Mahone to access. Mahone is 17 years old and I can't require him to jump very high. I went out and purchased a gate that actually attaches to the wall (I had a pressure installed gate) and I've raised it about 3-4 inches off the floor. I'm not sure how long this will keep Marley out and allow Mahone to access his part of the house. I'm currently open to any suggestions.

Cat box treats are bad?