Crate

I'm so happy Marley loves her crate. After her adoption she was scared I would leave her and she refused to eat unless I stood next to her food dish. During this time we were also working on crate training and I decided to start feeding her in her crate. Eating in her crate allowed her to relax. However, she never went into her crate unless she was looking for treats or snacks. Last month, I noticed her napping in her crate. Today she spent the afternoon with her friend Sadie and after dinner she took a snooze in her crate.

You can't tell in the photo, the door is open and she can leave at any time.

After a bath

This is what Marley likes to do after a bath
This is Marley and her friend Reina (Chihuahua). As soon as they see each other they start wrestling. It is quite hilarious to watch especially because they end up covered in dirt and their shiny coats end up dull and grey.

Taking a break

Joke

Marley telling Joey a Joke

What do you call a hot dog with no meat?

A hollow wienie.

oopps

Marley and I got in trouble today in training class. We were looking for squirrels and Marley decided to have a great roll in the grass while I smiled indulgently. The trainer asked if we were bored and I said, "yes." Last week Marley fell asleep in class. In the last four weeks we have learned leave it and hand signals for sit, stand and down. The rest of the material we already knew. I have found this class to be very disappointing and not what I expected at all. The good news is our trainer has moved us to a more advanced class. I really hope this will be more exciting.

Can we chase the squirrels now?

Marley's friend

This is a picture of Marley and her friend Charley. They are always glad to see each other, except instead of playing they spend most of their time smelling stuff. They do not try to wrestle or roughhouse, every once in a while Marley will entice him into a game of chase. Mostly they smell stuff together.

Relaxing with bros

Marley and Mahone

Marley and Bob

They usually relax about 3" apart. I hope a cold winter will entice them to cuddle.

Emotions in Dogs

I talk to my pets all the time, the cats usually ignore me. When Marley first moved in she would look like the picture below. She would look at me and if I looked at her she would avert her eyes and flick her tongue, in essence she looked kind of embarrassed and confused. I recall stopping in mid-word and just looking at her as I realized...she does not speak English. I was talking a lot and she was not sure If I wanted her to do anything or if she should be doing something.
This moment was a turning point in our relationship. I stopped talking for the sake of talking and I began to teach her some obedience and tricks. Teaching her obedience and tricks gives her confidence that she is doing what I ask and I believe makes her feel secure. The picture below illustrates Marley's usual expression. The ears and eyes are relaxed and the mouth is slightly open and appears to be grinning, in essence a happy, relaxed dog.

I just finished reading a wonderful book called For the Love of A Dog by Patricia B. McConnell,PhD. This is a wonderful book where she discusses emotions and how dogs express those emotions. I started to read it because I wanted to learn more about the differences in Marley's expressions. I learned more than I anticipated. Marley has started doing this weird hip bump at other dogs. I was wondering if she was "presenting" except she has been neutered. This is discussed in the book and it appears it is a dominant female dog action and now I know what to look for and can avoid any potential dominance issues at the park.

p.s. Marley was not happy about the flash on the camera in the first photo.