She's chewing on his nose

This morning Marley is quietly mauling Charlotte again.  Today, in addition to wrapping her "arms" around his neck and grabbing his legs and so on, I looked over and saw her chewing on his muzzle.  Then she worked her way down to his nose ... she must be chewing gently because he didn't even really react.

Things are looking up

We're finding pee & poop in the litter box every day.  She's not bothered by one of us being in the room.  Yesterday she came & jumped in the box while I was at the washbasin; today she was in the box when I got up and went in to use the bathroom.  If she keeps it up, she has a "forever" home.  But, she'll remain on probation for a while, just to be sure.

Marley has started showing signs of his training and maturing starting to "take".  A little tug on the leash when he starts to pull works around the house, worked somewhat in the Home Depot yesterday.  Trying to get him to calm down when greeting people is starting to show a little improvement.  Once he even sat without being told to when a person approached.

Charlotte turned a year and 4 months on the 14th of December.  Marley will turn 8 months old on New Year's Day.

The mock battles continue.  I think it's just the way they get along.  They're both young and full of energy.  It's a reasonable way to work out the excess.

So far ... so good

We are now on day 3 of finding "goodies" in the litter box with the clay clumping litter.  Whether it's the open top she prefers or the clay litter over the walnut litter we may never know.  As long as it's working ... that's what we'll go with.

Marley continues to gently maul Charlotte.  Trying to keep him from mauling her is a losing proposition.  She starts at least a quarter of these sessions.  In fact, this morning I saw her pull hard enough on the side of Marley's mouth that I could see she was pulling ... a nice little "tent" near his mouth.  We've seen her leap up and grab him around his neck or grab a mouthful of his back leg. 

I think they like each other.  It's hard to tell, though, if he sees her as a playmate or as a toy.  She will occasionally make an unhappy sound, but will continue to "fight back".  She could easily go to the top of some furniture or into the guest room to get away from him, but only seems to do so when she wants a long undisturbed nap.

Ah Hah! Snowballs!

There's only so much snow shoveling we're going to do.   So, a time will come each day that we run out of snow on the deck or desire to shovel it (or both).  Marley will have to get over himself when that happens.  So far, he's been OK after we've had a session of "snow in the face" and go back in the house.  But, now that it's winter and has happened more than once ... it's become, in his head, "what we do" as part of the daily routine.  And he'd like it to happen around 10 or 11 in the morning. 

I had been thinking that if he can't easily find a chunk of hot dog or a dog treat in the snow, I sure didn't want to throw out the Chuck-It ball once, never to be seen again until spring.  Then the light bulb came on.  Why not make snowballs that fit the Chuck-It!  He doesn't have to bring them back, there's plenty of snow to make more of them, I can fling them with one arm. 

It was an instant hit.  In fact, I had to change the direction I was "chucking" the snowballs because some of them went over the fence!  (Side fence, not end of the yard fence)  He tries to get under them, but the trajectory is so much bigger that it's harder to anticipate where they'll come down.  And once they've hit the snow, they're hard to find since they're the same stuff as what they land in.

I probably tossed 2 or 3 dozen snowballs and he had a blast.  He runs further out for them, so he gets even more exercise.  I get a different exercise, but no lifting or other motions that irritate my arthritic hip.  Another multi-layered win.

Good news Bad news

Well, the good news is Charlotte doesn't have any health issues.  The bad news is she doesn't have any health issues, so there's no quick fix for her inappropriate elimination behavior.

We're on a watch and see basis right now.  If she goes back to using the box, our biggest concern is her getting lost when we're on the road.  If she continues to use the couch (or any other spot she shouldn't) we have to consider finding her a home with no other pets, with people who will let her in & out frequently.

She's really a sweet kitty.  She tolerates what the vet needs to do.  She puts up with Marley treating her like another puppy.  She even starts some of the "play" sessions.  She sometimes sleeps between us for a while, under the covers.  She sometimes gets some lap time - with or without Marley.

But, she wants to be outside and she wants to be inside.

We'll keep thinking, hoping the perfect solution will come along.

Marley was out of sorts all day yesterday.  It was like he wanted/needed something but didn't know what it was.  We babied him a little (more than usual), but he just had to deal with it.

Now that Charlotte's back home he really wants to play with her.  She really wants to check all over and make sure home is still the same as it was a few days ago.  It is, except there are now 2 litter boxes in the bathroom.  The covered one with the walnut litter and the tall one with the fine clay litter.  We like the walnut litter because it clumps as well as the clay, but doesn't develop an odor like clay does (you scoop often but it starts to smell like pee) and it's biodegradable, unlike the clay.  But, we'll use whichever she chooses at this point.  

SNOW! Let it SNOW! SNOW! I want snow!

Marley was acting "off" this morning & early afternoon.  I thought it was because Tom was out plowing and the snow was sliding.   He gets a bit nervous when Tom is out and there is strange noise.  Later, we found out what it really was.

Tom had shoveled the deck, but the roof had dumped more snow on the deck.  I went out and started shoveling.  As soon as I started he started barking at me because I wasn't throwing the snow fast enough.  He delights in catching the snow as it flies from the shovel. 

It doesn't matter how big, or how hard, a lump comes out of the shovel.  He's there to catch it on his chest or in his face.  Sometimes he gets too close and we have to be careful not to hit him with the shovel.  He leaps clear off the ground, twists and runs.  We all get exercise.  My FitBit says I got 39 minutes of active exercise between shoveling the deck and pulling snow off the roof.

Video - Brave Little Kitty

I took a video the other day as Charlotte and Marley were playing.  Sometimes it seems he's just mauling her.  Other days she's the aggressor.

Keep in mind, she weighs about 10 pounds and he weighs well over 50 pounds.  He's as rough as he can get away with, yet doesn't hurt her.  She attacks, but has never laid claw or tooth on him.

He's a good puppy

It gets easy, in the middle of a frustrating situation, to think Marley's being "bad".  But, when we step back and really look at him and his behavior, he's a really good puppy.

The main things we really need to work on (we've been too easy on ourselves) are:

COME - he needs more practice so he won't choose to ignore it until he hears a "magic" (bribe) word

Loose Leash Walking - he really likes to pull.  I've got a "slide whistle" leash training aid on the way

Greeting People Politely - he's got to learn to sit/down and let people pet him without "participating".  That means "training" strangers to not pet him unless he's being polite.

When we stop and think about the things he's chewed up ... well,lately  most of them have been things that have Tom's smell, that were left within his easy reach, and when he was frustrated (neither of us wanted to get up as early as he did).  Before that he "killed" and "gutted" his stuffed toys and other toys he could destroy.  We still have all our couch cushions, pillows, blankets, etc.  We still have the cat.  And we still have things he could have destroyed but chose not to. 

I think we're doing something right, most of the time, anyway.

Pen Puke

Marley is pretty unforgiving when he decides it's time to be up.  It doesn't matter what time or how much the humans would like to get a few more winks.  He will "entertain" himself if left wishing his people would get out of bed.

It happened again this morning.  I'd let him out about 6:15.  He took quite a while and didn't come back to the door until I opened it to see if he'd gone turd hunting between the deep roof-slide snow and the side of the house (the last bare ground for Charlotte to poop in without going to the garage across the property).  Since it was so early we went back to bed.  By 7 (I'm guessing) he wanted me up.  He came back and whined at least 3 times before I gave in.  By then it was getting close to 7:30.  Before I even got from the bedroom to the bathroom I could hear him bringing something up.

By the time I peed & got my robe and my morning meds, he'd brought it up.  Until I actually looked at it I was assuming it was something more or less "edible".  When I did bend over to examine his leavings it took several seconds to decipher what I was seeing.  At first the black pieces seemed like they might be part of a plastic fork.  But they were too sturdy.  Then I saw the fine little spring ... he'd eaten a ball point pen!

I'd seen it on the floor behind the recliner and meant to pick it up on one of my trips past the chair.  I should have.

When Marley is bored because no one is up to be with him and start his morning routine of fetching his ball (or other toy) he makes sure we'll be less reluctant to roll out of bed.  So far in the last couple of weeks he's eaten half of one of Tom's sheepskin slippers, the heel out of one of Tom's shoes, the cuffs of Tom's work gloves, and now a ball point pen.  Some of the items are just chewed and strewed, some, like the pen and shoe heel, he actually ate.

I don't dare ask the inevitable question ... because we'll find out way too soon.

Oh, by the way, he got his graduation certificate yesterday.  Lots of work still needed, and the next class will start some time after the first of the year, but he got his Level 1 certificate.

Ice Cube Feet

Charlotte is trying to get used to the snow on the ground.  She often goes only a couple feet from the door before coming back in.  But, sometimes she does go further out.  Last night she was out for several hours.  When she came back in about 3:40am - because Marley had to go potty (or wanted me to let her in) - and after a quick snack, she warmed her feet the best way she knew how.

A little while after coming in, as I was still trying to find the most comfortable position, she came to the bed and to the top of the covers.  She comes to the top to request I lift them a bit so she can crawl under with us.  Sometimes she snuggles her full body length along my belly or butt.  Not last night.

Imagine if you were almost asleep, warm & snug in bed, when suddenly someone sticks 4 little ice cubes against your back!  Yeah, that's what it felt like  Needless to say, the drifting off to sleep process had a bit of a setback.  Lucky for me she warms quickly.  Soon the ice cubes turned to tiny heaters. 

That's why I let it happen.

He's a snow dog!

We finally had our first snowfall here at the house.  Marley had seen snow on the ground at Vermilion Pass, but this was in HIS yard!  Not only was there snow on the ground, his first two trips outside, in the dark, it was snowing big snow blobs!  He at snow.  He caught snow flakes on his tongue.  He ran in the snow.  He had a great time! 

Later, when it was lighter, we took his ball out to play fetch in the snow.  He had so much fun.

I posted videos on You Tube.



Marley's First Snow video
Marley and the snowball

So, it's a little strange around here

Winter is setting in.  We're getting near and below freezing temperatures pretty regularly and the rain is trying very hard to turn into rain.  Charlotte is spending more and more time inside.  She is hooked on the soft glacial soil* for her toilet though, I think, since she will ask to go outside, then come back a few minutes later.  We rarely find she's used her litter box.  We're not finding "presents" or "surprises", just not seeing a lot of litter box use.

Her appetite has increased enormously.  Where once she seemed to be happy with 2 small (1/4 cup) scoops a day, she wants her dish filled every time she comes in.  We're trying to find a happy medium between a happily full kitty and a fat kitty.  She also expects to be offered her "Temptations" treats every time she comes in, and really, really expects them when we tempt her inside by telling her we'll give her some.  Her taste for them really ramped up when we found the tuna flavor.  While she's eating those out of our hand Marley is feeling left out, so we "accidentally" drop one or two for him here & there while she's munching.  It's not unusual for a dog to want to eat cat food.  That's why her dish is on our dresser - one of the few places Marley can't reach.

One of Marley's favorite treats is licking the spoon after we give Charlotte her quarter can of wet food at the end of the day.  He still jumps up and tries to snatch the spoon.  He misses getting the "empty" can at the end of the four day cycle.  We used to let him have them and he'd lick out all the "good stuff", then chew on the can.  When he chewing getting pieces of aluminum out of the can.  It's a struggle to keep the can in my hand for him to lick the juices, but I can't let him have cans anymore.

Charlotte has shown she's not above eating dog food and dog treats when she's hungry.  In the last few days she's finished his kibble, eaten Milk Bone Minis off the table.  It IS unusual for a cat to eat dog food.  Cat food is higher in protein & fat than dog food, so they usually will pass it up.  Not Charlotte.

So, we have a dog that will eat cat food and a cat that will eat dog food.  And they still rough house together.  Marley treats her rougher than we'd like, but she will start a session at least every day or two.  Go figure.


*Our soil has a consistency similar to a hard wheat flour - more substantial than dust, less than sand.  It's really soft and easy to move.  And it only seems to hold water in the top quarter inch or so.  This area was once under the huge Missoula glaciers that carved the Clark Fork River all the way to Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho.

A bad night out

The other night it was dark when we got home from Marley's class.  Tom was unloading the car in the dark, bringing in the groceries.  He left the back hatch open the whole time as he made the needed trips to & from the house.  After a few minutes the interior lights go out.  Since Charlotte is dark gray and it was dark outside (the porch lights don't reach out that far), he didn't see that she'd jumped inside the car.  He closed it up and we finished our evening as usual.

Toward bedtime we expected her to come in.  No sign of her.  When Marley had his last trip out for the night we expected her to come in.  No sign of her.  Tom called her.  Tom offered her "crunchies".  No sign of her.  That happens some times. 

In the morning we expected her to come in, maybe even complaining, first time Marley went out.  No sign of her.  Later in the morning, still no sign.  Finally, Tom went and looked in the car.  There she was, curled up on the front seat.  She was quite happy to come in with him.

Today, while we were on mushroom patrol, she came and joined in the fun.  I got a bit worried because as I'd point out the bleeping 'shrooms, she'd come check them out.  I started to worry she might try to nibble them and we'd be taking her to the vet.  I can't imagine dealing with a cat and mushroom poisoning - they don't deal well with confinement.  She was happy to some inside out of the snow with us, though.  So, all is well for now.

Would you believe he's helping fix dinner?

Tonight I'm being lazy, fixing chicken patty sandwiches & potato crowns in the air fryer.  I cook the chicken patties on one side, flip and finish cooking.   When it dinged the first time, he ran in the kitchen to keep an eye on things.  When it dinged the second time and I didn't jump right up to take care of it, he came and barked at me.  Now he's very antsy as the potato crowns cook. 

I think it probably is rooted in self interest.  We have been gradually introducing him to "pre-wash", meaning he gets to lick the plates when we're done.  So far, he's taking it in stride ... other than now feeling entitled to them and overseeing dinner prep. 

He's spent more and more time in the kitchen when meals are being prepped.  He's learned there's food, there's sometimes "fallout" and sometimes even deliberate treats.  Now, he's taken it a step further and seems to realize that activity, with or without bodies, means there will be food.

We'll see how this behavior progress over the next weeks.

Everybody to the vet

This morning it was time for Charlotte's annual (now biennial) trip to the vet.  At a year and a quarter she weighs in at 10 pounds.  We weighed her in her crate, then they weighed her crate without her and wrote the crate weight on it so next time we can just plop her on the scale and do the math.

She's nice & healthy.  She didn't seem too upset by what was going on, even when she was restrained and when she got her 3 shots (she gets rabies shots since she spends a lot of time outside and she hunts).

Her crate smelled of pee - not sure if it was old pee that her body heat warmed or if it was fresh, since I gave her no opportunity to use the litter box before we left.  I just scooped her up from a nap and put her in the crate.  Either way, the towels get washed and put back in the crate for next time. 

Surprisingly, she didn't protest or resist going back in the crate when Dr. Hopkins was done with her.  Not surprisingly, as soon as we were home and she was out of the crate (in the house) she took the next opportunity to go outside.  Surprisingly, she was in her nest box on the porch when we got back from post office.  I had expected her to disappear over to the garage or out in the ferns somewhere for several hours.  Maybe she's really appreciating the warmth of the house.

What about Marley?  He is getting used to the car barrier.  We just couldn't risk him jumping from back to front at a bad time.  He'd just stand on the front edge of the back seat, then suddenly he'd be in flight to Tom's lap and feet.  Having Charlotte crying in her carrier seemed to let him know how much "worse" it could be for him.  And letting her loose in the car with him ... NOT GONNA HAPPEN.  Never.  No way.  That could get us all killed.

We did take Marley inside to weigh him.  Our vet has a nice, big walk-on scale with digital readout.  He's now at 51.8 pounds.  He's 6-1/2 months old.  He's going to weigh more than Max (about 70 pounds, mostly hair, tall and lean) and maybe more than Una (about 80 pounds).

Looks like this is going to wind up being a small cat, big dog family.  And that's just fine with us.

Charlotte is staying in more ... most of the time

As the nights consistently drop into the mid to low 30s Charlotte is spending a lot more time inside with us.  She'll go out and be back within 5 minutes or so.  She'll be gone a while, then show up shortly after we turn on the porch lights (we do it to "call" her in the dark).  She's started seeking more physical contact again, too.  Lap time.  And under the covers time.

Last night she not only spent quite a while under the covers with us, she stayed while I made a potty break.  When I was settling back in I felt to see if she was still there, then petted her a little.  I moved my hand away and almost immediately she reached over to pull my hand back to rest on her shoulders.

I plan to work on getting her used to her harness, then add the leash.  Maybe that will be a way to get her outside, and keep her too.  Of course, it's almost impossible to hunt on a leash ...

Marley Goes to School

Yesterday Marley started six weeks of school.  He's been placed in an adult class despite being only 6 months old.  Because there is one trainer at the Ponderay Petco store, she's gotten to know him a bit at the 3 sessions of Puppy Play we've gone to, and she told us this class would be the best match.  She tries to match dogs by energy level, even more than size or age at the Puppy Play.  His classmates are about a year old.  One is a border collie, but we're not sure what the third dog is.  She's not real happy with other dogs getting really close to her. 

Day one we worked in separate spaces.  Rebecca set up spaces by arranging the benches to provide both seating and separation.  This allows room to work, and keeps the dogs from getting in each others space, reducing confrontations.

We worked on name recognition (when you say your dog's name he/she must look at you to be rewarded).  This is a basic skill to be built upon.  Nearly all training says you should say your dog's name before giving them a command.  By rewarding looking at you, they learn that if you say their name something good is going to follow.  I had started working on this (but with "watch me") just a couple days before.  He's pretty good at responding to his name.  We work on it a bit throughout the day at home.

We worked on sit.  We're sort of backtracking here, since she wants us to use "stinky" (lots of smell) treats to lead him back into a sit.  We're doing it her way because of it being a building block of other training later on.  Marley's been a good sitter since he came home with us.  He just needed a name for it.

We worked on "target" - we call it "touch" and have been working on it for quite some time, so we worked on moving the target (palm of hand) to various places to give him a bit of challenge since he already knew it.

And, last but very much not least, we worked a bit on come.  That is one we really need lots of work on.  In a training situation he was doing well, up to a point, out in the yard before the mushrooms shut us down.  So, this is where we'll concentrate most of our effort.  This is a basic, vital, and sometimes life-and-death skill.

Speaking of "stinky" treats, we're about to find out how hot dogs affect Marley.  If they make him fart stinky farts we'll look for something else (like cook up some meat & cut into tiny pieces for training treats).  The important thing is that the treats are so good that they will convince him that doing what we want is better than chasing the cat, driving off the deer, following a scent ...

Update:
We attended a one-hour leash manners class a couple hours before the Sunday Puppy Play session.  We're learning how to let him learn how to keep the leash loose.  We practiced in the training area, then spent time walking around the store so the pups could learn to keep their attention on us and their leashes loose.  It was up to them to learn, not up to us to actively teach.  That means we stopped if they reached the end of the leash & pulled, we rewarded when they stayed close and when they made eye contact.  By the end of it Marley was almost heeling, and the goal was just to "walk nice" and not pull on the leash.  He's a good student.

Puppy Play #3

Today will be Marley's Puppy Play session #3.  Since we aren't really getting to know folks real quick around here, much less people with dogs, it's a great thing to give him structured interaction with other young dogs & puppies.  With puppies varying in size and age, he gets a taste of many behaviors, and we get a bit of guidance.

I haven't heard back from the gal who does "puppy boot camp" training, so I guess we'll look into the dates and costs for basic training at Petco - same place we're taking him for the play sessions - 70 miles one way.  All 3 of us need the structured training & tips.

I'll report back after we get back, or maybe tomorrow if we get home late - it ends at 4:30 Pacific time, which is 5:30 our time, before we even start home.  Some of our shopping has to wait until after the play session so it stays cold on the way home.

What a change since his first session.  Today he dove right in.  First it was just Willow, the shy husky-German shepherd  and a couple of small dogs on the "gentle dog" side, with Marley and Duke the Golden retriever on the "high energy dog" side.  Then Jax showed up - he's a Boston and after a few minutes the three of them were all having a great time.  About half way through the hour, Bailey, another Golden retriever showed up.  Bailey came in very submissive, but after a bit she was having as much fun as the three boys.

Once Jax got used to Marley he was tugging at his ears, grabbing his legs, wrestling with him.  At times all four high energy dogs were playing together.  Duke & Marley looked the most aggressive as they raised up on their hind legs and grappled, did some snarling & barking, but all in good fun.

Marley has really come a long way in just a couple of weeks.  Thursday he'll start school.  Since I didn't get a call back from the local gal who sometimes offers "puppy boot camp" we went ahead and signed him up for a class at PetCo.  Right now there's only one other dog in the class.  More would be better for distractions, two is good for lots of one-on-one with the trainer.  So, now it's twice a week to Sandpoint for the next 6 weeks.

Teeth vs Steel

It is amazing how strong our canine companions can be.  Marley has been strong from the very beginning.  He pulls like a draft horse.  When we were using a retractable leash I had a moment of inattention when he ran to the end of the line at full speed and I was twirled and dropped to the ground.  At that time he weighed only about 30 pounds.  He's now somewhere between 45-50 pounds.  Now, he has lost his baby teeth and the adult teeth are almost fully formed.

We've let him clean out the cat food cans on the day we serve Charlotte her last serving from it.  He's always liked the cans, and he's always chewed on them once the food is gone.  In fact, he'll chew & play with (including fetch) any can.  I rinse the last of the liquid from the tomatoes or other canned human foods to reduce the spill potential.  We can't let him keep them more than a few hours, though.  The photo shows the rim of a large dog food can after maybe 20-30 minutes.  It's no longer round.  It's got dimples all the way around as well as a number of total perforations.  Yes, Marley can puncture steel with his teeth!  (the spot middle-left that looks different is one of those holes)  Maybe it's not good for his teeth, but better the cans than us.  Better the cans than Charlotte.  Although, he "mauls" her on a regular basis with only an occasional complaint, and she keeps coming back for more.  UPDATED - THIS was a cat food can less than an hour before the photo!

The amazing dog factoid is that 2 of the dogs with the greatest bite pressure are generally considered 2 of the gentlest: the Golden Retriever and the Dalmatian.

I'd hate to be on the receiving end of an unrestrained, full-force bite from any dog, but I think Marley would be one of the worst.  Thank goodness he has his breeds' gentle mouth (most of the time).

Electrical plug - not a toy

First off, no, he didn't get zapped.  He didn't get hurt or scared.

What he did was chew off the 3-prong plug from an expensive multi outlet surge protector.  I kept putting off checking on what he was chewing.  It sounded like his hard plastic toy or his piece of antler.  By the time I got around to checking it was too late.  He had chewed off the plug from the very end of the cord and we "remodeling" the plug itself.

It could be worse; it could have been plugged in.  So, another item goes in the "techno trash" bin for a trip to Best Buy.  (They will take electronics for recycling, for free on the smaller items.)

Talk about bigger teeth!

Last night Marley was playing with his piece of deer antler and several times he had it sticking out of his mouth like a tusk.  Since he's in the throes of baby teeth giving way to adult teeth, it was so appropriate.

His last baby tooth that was stuck in the same place as its replacement came out last night.  Both his upper canines had trouble letting go of the baby tooth.  Tom pulled one in the afternoon and the other one was gone by the time the tusk appeared.  That means we don't need to take him to the vet for surgical removal of retained baby teeth.  Yay!

Puppy Play session 2

This week the little dogs from last week weren't there.  Willow, the super shy Husky-German Shepherd, was back, as was Duke, the boisterous Golden Retriever was back.  And there was Rusty, a tiny rust colored poodle - maybe the size they call miniature or teacup.  He's about 7 pounds.

Willow & Rusty got the quiet side of the enclosure when Duke arrived.  Duke & Marley both played.  Marley's a bit overwhelmed still, but was much more interested in playing.  He did interact a bit with Rusty & Willow before Duke arrived.  Despite Rusty's small size, he doesn't take unwanted attention.  Marley also got a nose lick from Willow.

One of the things I appreciate about our guide (for other sessions she's formally the trainer, not sure if that's what to call her in the puppy sessions or not), Rebecca, is that she not only watches and sometimes corrects the dogs, she also guides us humans.  If the dogs are playing and getting into it, like Duke & Marley did yesterday, we are to stand and use our legs to push them away if they are right up next to us.  That is to teach the dogs that rough play is OK, but not in people's "personal bubble".  If any of our dogs try take refuge in our laps or on the bench with us we're to stand and send them back into the middle area.  On the other hand if our dogs indicate another is too close by crying, barking or other non-agressive messages, we need to know that's OK.  The dogs need to learn to play, to communicate with each other and to recognize boundaries.

In 2 weeks she's doing a "leash work" session, so we'll go for a noon-time session and the puppy play session at 3:30 (4:30 our time).  I didn't ask how much the leash session will cost, but, the 3 of us need it.  Marley is learning to "walk nice" in the yard, but as soon as we're around other people, other dogs, other places, etc. he's a sled dog again ... I honestly think if we had a dog cart he could haul me all over the place even though he's still just a baby.  I wouldn't do that to him, but I think he's capable of that much pulling strength.

This afternoon he's being a pill.  When there are unusual noises, and Tom isn't in here with us, Marley will bark to have me fix it (I think).  I have repeatedly harnessed him up, taken him out and nothing happens.  I can't risk that he isn't really asking to go out, but it does get frustrating.   I've seen this behavior any time Tom mows the lawn or similar noisy things that take him out of the house.  He was like this when the well was being put in on the next parcel. 

The adventures of "doggy parenthood".

He wanted me to let her out

This morning we had a 3am potty run.  Marley needed to pee, so did I.  No big deal.  Well, it's getting to be a bigger deal than before because most nights now he sleeps (or rests) all the way until nearly 7am.  But this time, right after we came back in, before I could even get myself snuggled fully back into the covers, he started whimpering.

This was the same whimper & whine as when he needs to go out.  At first I thought he was just jealous of Charlotte being able to eat in the bedroom (on top of the dresser).  But, he continued and he got more insistent.  So, back up, put the robe back on, put the Crocs back on, get the flashlight, get the leash, and out we go.  Well, he doesn't need to pee.  He doesn't need to poop.  We stroll out, then right back into the house.  But, Charlotte is now outside and happy and Marley is ready to go back to bed.

Later this morning I saw not only was Charlotte on the guest bed (she seems to be claiming it for her own) but Marley was up there with her, one leg over her and nobody was making a fuss.  Does it mean they're going to begin to snuggle & sleep together at some point?  Maybe.  He looked like he was ready to be yelled at for being on the bed (as I've done before) or for harassing the cat (as I've done before).  Since they weren't actively fighting or wrestling or playing hard I decided to let it slide.  Was it a mistake?

Another hazard

New day, new hazard. 

Marley has enjoyed chewing on sticks.  Up until this week he left lots of little holes with his baby teeth and some small splinters on the carpet.  Then, as he gains adult teeth - more teeth, bigger teeth - and his gums are itchier (we assume) the splinters have gotten bigger.  And he has started "eating" them!

I didn't realize how much he was "eating" until yesterday morning, about 6:30, when he barfed.  At first I didn't realize what I was seeing.  At first glance it looked like the "shreds in sauce" type of cat food and equivalent to about half a can!  How could that be?  We feed Charlotte pate style cat food, only a quarter can at a time and she gobbles it down.  It's hard to think in the dark, when it's still not time to be getting up for the day.

Then it hit me!  Those were all wood splinters!  Not cat food.  Not food at all. 

I guess it's better than it going through and poking a hole in his gut.  But, then some of them did go through - they're out in the yard in his "leavings".  So, effective yesterday, no more sticks. 

With the way he rips any kind of cloth toy, even firehose type cloth, and eating the sticks, he's pretty much down to just the rubber toys (like the Kong toys) and Nylabone type toys and the rawhide chews, Greenies and so on.

I wonder what the next big thing to go on the banned list will be ...

Learning continues

Marley has attended his first weekly Puppy Play Time at the "local" Petco (it's in Sandpoint, ID, 70 miles or so from here).  He was fairly timid at first.  He's gotten so much better as he experiences more things; he was frightened of almost everything at first, but has gained confidence as we expose him to as much as we can.  There were 4 tiny dog puppies and a husky (or similar) when we joined the group.  The husky is so timid she didn't want to participate and hid behind "mama's" legs almost the whole hour.  Apparently she's done that for weeks.  Everyone is hoping she gains some confidence.  There was one puppy, not part of the session, that started crying in fear at the sight of Marley.  It looked like it might be a barely weaned German Shepherd or similar  type of

Shortly after the trainer put a fence across the play area, thinking to keep Marley & Willow (the husky) on one side and the braver little puppies on the other, Maya arrived.  Maya is an 8 month chocolate lab, full of energy.  She barreled right in and was convince Marley would play the way she wanted to play.  He did get brave enough to "check credentials" (sniff butt & such) and kind of play with her, but she has a lot of energy and he wasn't really sure what was going on.  The two of them were too much for Willow, so she went to the little puppy side.  She did sniff noses with one or two of them, but pretty much stayed under the bench, behind "mom's" legs.

Then Duke arrived.  Duke is a golden retriever, older than Maya, and even more energetic.  He pushed Marley to the point he cried and tried to hide with us.  The trainer said that it was 100% OK for Marley to let Duke (or Maya) know they were pushing him too hard - his puppy yips or snarls were a pretty clear message.  Duke didn't want to hear it and the trainer got a little physical (nothing mean, just very dominant) with him to slow him down a bit.

The trainer also brought a couple of the braver little dog puppies over into the big dog area to see how they'd do.  One was overwhelmed right away, the other was pretty confident. 

Even though it's 70 miles round trip, we need to make sure Marley can learn to get along with other dogs (people are no problem, as long as they pet him, feed him treats, etc) and this is a safe way to start since everyone there wants them to get along and there's a trainer to help with some of the things that are less intuitive for us.

So, what about Charlotte?  She's spending more time in the house now that it's getting cooler.  She's never liked being cold.  Sometimes it seems she only wants to come in, eat and leave, other times it seems she goes out just long enough to eliminate (or whatever she does out there) and wants right back in.  We won't leave food out for her, but we are going to make a really well insulated cozy refuge on the porch for her, for when we're asleep or gone - at least it will be shelter from the weather. 

Sometimes when she comes in she zips right past him, headed for the kibble or a hiding space.  Other times she comes in itching for a ruckus an starts right in jumping on him, getting really feisty and then the mayhem seems so real.  But, no blood, no fur, no screaming ... it must be fun.

Another new game

Tonight Marley was offering an empty soup can for the Trade game.  I wanted a few more seconds before trades so I put a handful of kibble in the can and gave it back to him.  After he managed to get & eat all the kibble he walked away, then came back to me.  I told him to bring the can.  When he got to it I told him "yes" and he brought it back over.  I put in another handful of kibble.  Again he took it to the living room (from the dining room) to figure out how to get the kibble.

Since it involves food, and is interactive, we have another new game to play.  I guess we'll call this one "Empty the Can".  Each time I put in more kibble he looks inside before he takes it away to work it out.  He wants to be sure I paid him.

I keep putting off a really important lesson with him - walking nicely on the leash instead of acting like a sled dog every time.  Gotta get on that.

In the meantime, making up new games to keep him thinking are fun.

(The Trade game has shown me he can generalize - he will trade off items to trade.  This morning I think we used at least 4, maybe as many as 6 different items for trading.)

What a pill!

Some days he's 90% sweet little, well not so little at 40+ pounds, puppy and other days ... well, let's call those times his "terrible twos times".  This morning was one of those terrible twos times.

First he had to pee & poop at 4:30am.  Then he had to pee & poop at 7:45am.  Then again ...  It's not something we can deny him, but he was just starting to make it through the night.  And the difference is that at night he whimpers, and escalates if he must.  During the day, once anyone is up, he starts with a loud, sharp bark and repeats it every 2 seconds until he gets what he want (or needs) or is distracted.  No whimper, no whine, just straight to the bark.  And we never know for sure if he's asking to go out, asking for a snack, asking us to play, asking for water, etc.  So we try to guess what the big problem is this time.

Then, just after Tom showered, the "fun" began.  First, he grabbed Tom's socks to chew on.  It's not the first time he's gotten a pair of socks.  Tom sat them on the couch "just for a minute" and Marley grabbed them and ran.  They were still rolled up in a ball.

He's learned socks and such are high value targets and will run, duck and weave to elude us as we try to get them back from him.  Next it was Tom's knit cap.  Not the first time for the cap, either   But it was the first time he got up (front feet?  all the way up?) on the couch and grabbed something that was in a magazine box on the drop-down table in the center of the couch.  Another animal cracker.

If we offer a high-enough value treat he'll "allow" a trade, but he's often scheming on how he can get the treat without actually giving up the booty.  Animal crackers are different enough they worked this morning.  Twice.  Barely.  The second time he tried to get the cookie without letting go of the cap.  Luckily, with all the "Trade" we've been playing, and his food driven mind, it wasn't too hard to pry him open and retrieve the hat.

Next ... was that a dryer sheet?  He's gotten them when they came out of the dryer with the clothes and fell off a piece of laundry.  No, it was a wrapped caramel from the table in the center of the couch!  Stolen!  Again he violated our space.  He'd been good about things on that table through yesterday.  Once we trapped him ... actually, he was scooting under the bed thinking it was a safe haven when I grabbed his back leg and dragged him back out.  Not only was it a wrapped caramel, it was a chocolate caramel.  OK.  Thins should settle now, right?  Of course not!

Next thing I knew he had his front feet on the edge of the couch's center console (table), eating the kibble out of the little bowl there.  This was kibble set there for the Trade game.  This was the first time he'd gone up there like that.  So I hollered at him, then cleared all edible (or seemingly edible to him) items off that table. 

He's getting to where he can reach higher and higher ... nothing much is truly safe, but all in all he really has been good about not reaching things.  Except socks and knit hats ...  I don't think they'll ever be safe.

Anniversary trip

This year we decided to have a soak and a fantastic dinner for our anniversary (#34 if you're wondering).  We have loved Chico Hot Springs since I was introduced to in in September of 1995 by Ben Hawkins, and Tom since he first visited at the end of our Yellowstone snowmobile trip in January 2000.

The Chico Hot Springs resort goes back to 1897 and has been a resort and a sanitarium (of the healing type, not the nut-house type) over the decades.  The old hotel resort building still offers simple rooms, some with private bath others with shared bathrooms just down the hall. There are two hot springs pools; the covered small pool runs 103-105 degrees for serious hot soaking, while the  open-air large pool currently runs around 102 degrees, but in years past was as cool as 94 degrees.  The pools are open from early morning until 11pm to both hotel guests and day users.  Day users 63 and older can soak all day for $3.50!  In addition to the rooms in the old building, and the pools, there is a poolside grill with burgers, pizza, etc. served there and in the saloon, as well as the saloon itself (we had to learn to use that word instead of "bar").  The dining room serves excellent find dining.  There is a "lounge" at the back of the dining room where you can sit at the bar (see why we had to say saloon?) and eat from the the dining room menu.  There are also some newer motel type units, some cabins & houses on the property for a wide range of styles and prices of lodging.  There is also a day spa, gift shop, horses, dog sled rides, hay rides, and more.



While many places claim to be "pet friendly", they really are only pet tolerant.  Chico Hot Springs really is pet friendly.  They keep biscuits at the front desk.  80%+ of staff & guests actively welcome, greet, pet and enjoy dogs.  It was hard sometimes to get through the lobby or grounds as everyone seemed to want to stop and pet Marley.  He'd roll over for a belly rub almost as soon as the hand would come toward him.  We even took him back inside one last time so one of the housekeeping staff could meet him.  As we were leaving the room she commented that she knew we had a puppy but she hadn't had a chance to meet him.  For him, it's the best place in the world.  Everybody is his friend.  When I asked about leaving him in the room versus in the car while we dined, soaked, etc.  Their biggest concerns were whether it was still cool enough in the car and whether he would bark when people walked by our room or dig at the carpet by the door to try to escape.  Other places just say don't leave pets unattended in your room, period.  Sitting at an outside table near the bar, one of the staff checked to make sure Marley had water available - he didn't, so the staff member went and got him some.


The rooms in the old building are simple.  Most have a bed, or two, and a sink and some kind of chest or armoire.  No closets.  Some have a private bath.  There are bathrooms down the hall and a couple of toilet-only rooms.  The toilets are something I've never seen before - when you flush, a faucet runs water into a small sink built into the tank lid, from which it flows into the tank for the next flush.

The star of the dining room is their Beef Wellington for two.  It's the only dish that does not arrive plated.  Instead, the meal is brought out on a big platter and carved and served tableside.  The Wellington is a generous tenderloin covered in a pistachio and duck liver pate and wrapped in puff pastry, then baked.  They serve it with Duchesse potatoes, grilled or roasted & mushrooms asparagus and tomato topped with cheese and baked or grilled.  We eat the inside slices at the restaurant and have the leftovers for the following night's dinner.  This time, with no motorhome refrigerator to go back to, we took an ice chest full of blue ice and a container to protect the leftovers.  That will be tonight's dinner, back at home.

Before the day of cell phones, one of the draws, besides the hot mineral pools, was how quiet it is at Chico.  There is a television in the bar.  There are two telephones in the lobby.  For those who need more night life, or need a television, this is not the place to be.  The first time I stayed, three of us from the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park were attending a training session on the software I worked with and taught.  (The government shut-down that sent us home without attending the training is a whole other touchy story.)  The senior member of our group asked to make our reservations at Chico.  After the first night the other guy moved to a Best Western in Gardiner because Chico was too quiet for him.  He was then able to hang out with the guys from the east side of Rocky, who were also attending (actually none of us were allowed to attend so we drove 2 days up and 2 days back for nothing).  These days there is some cell service and there is limited WIFI in the bar and some other areas of the resort.

This trip we explored side roads in the Paradise Valley

Let's Make a Trade

We have a new game.  It started when Marley started a game of fetch.  Generally, when we play fetch he stops after just a half dozen or so throws.  I started trading a piece of his kibble for the toy.  It went over well enough I started asking "Do you want to trade?"  We went through a cup or so of kibble that way. 

Now, he will apply the concept of "Trade" to any object he's willing to chase.  It's been a canvas toy.  It's been a Kong ball.  It's been a multi-armed toss & chew toy.  And most recently, it was a remnant of a rawhide chew bone. 

Not only does he bring the object and relinquish it, he places it in my hand!  If he drops it he will pick it up and get it to my hand.  He will also trade with Tom.  It took a higher value treat (chicken jerky) to trade for Tom's hat when it was left on the coffee table and Marley grabbed it.

The other thing he's learning is that he can run free in the yard if he wears his new muzzle.  He still needs to be supervised, but he can run without a leash.  The other option is to be on a leash so we can keep him away from the mushrooms.

This was the "haul" from one good pass of the yard this morning.  Tom walked Marley, watching for mushrooms.  He'd point them out to me and I'd take a photo then pick the mushrooms.  I found a bunch of them, too.  They range in size (in this batch) from about 2 inches across down to less than 1/8 inch across.  A couple of them were new to us even though we have been pulling mushrooms almost every day since late June.  Later in the day I realized a fallen leaf I had passed over in the morning was actually a slightly misshapen boletus mushroom.  Some days we only get a half dozen to a dozen; some days we get cluster after cluster of the damned things.  I am starting to hate mushrooms - all mushrooms.

Hunting kicks up a notch

Charlotte is really getting into the hunting.  We've had a total of 6 mice (that we know of) in the house.  One died in the dishwasher, one died in a trap and Charlotte ate the other four.  She's gotten quicker about eating her prey.  And while we think she ate the first two mice (they disappeared between times we checked on her); we her eat the last two, so we know she's eating what she catches. 

This morning she caught and quickly at a bird.  From seeing her stalking to when it was gone was only a minute or two.  I was busy with Marley, so the bird had no chance of rescue.  I think she probably killed it at the first strike since she laid it on its back and it never moved.

I'd rather she stick to mice and such, but an outdoor cat needs to be able to fend for itself in case there's a reason it can't come inside to the cushy food bowl and bed.

We make sure the traps are put away and the cupboards are either open or that she can open them when she's in the house.  She's able to track them down rather than wait for them to find, and trigger, the traps.  It also gives her a reason to come back inside.  And, with the hunting she's not eating near as much kibble. 

Killers!

With the cooler wetter weather we've been invaded by mice.  First it was one mouse that got away from Charlotte.  It found the trap under the kitchen sink.  We thought we'd taken care of the problem.  Then we started having more mice.  We've made sure Charlotte has access to all the spaces we've seen or heard mice.  She's caught and eaten at least 3.  The latest one, I woke to noises in the bathroom. Charlotte was chasing, catching & releasing another mouse.  That was her second one yesterday.

Marley was "helping" her.  He's not quite sure what's going on, what the mouse it, but he wanted to get involved.  When he wanted to take it out of the bathroom, I had to draw the line and close the door to keep him from taking it to the living room or other area with more hiding places.  In the end Charlotte ate it, confirming for us that she is eating them, not just letting them go again in the house.

I think between the two of them we shouldn't need the mousetraps any more.

A whole night!

Last night he got me up at 11:30, but then not again until a little after 7am!  I even got up to use the bathroom once, and he slept through it.  Oh, I thought this might never happen after all the 2-4 am pee & poop trips in the dark.

I expect it will be a few days before he goes through the night again, but I'm hoping they'll happen more and more frequently.  I'll still have to get up to pee, but there's a big difference between shuffling to the bathroom and taking a hike to the back of the yard (which includes putting on a robe & slippers and putting some kind of leash on Marley).

A couple of nights, when there weren't too many mushrooms, I let him go out while I held a flashlight to keep an eye on him.

Speaking of mushrooms, I'm trying a "natural" approach to mushroom eradication.  Since the mushrooms are really just the equivalent of flowers, with the actual plant equivalent below the surface, picking them and tossing them over the fence (or in the garbage) only keeps Marley from eating them.  As soon as it rains, or we water the lawn, they pop right up again for several days.  Several sources on the internet recommend a solution of 2 TBS baking soda in a gallon of water, applied with a sprayer when the temperature is between 60-75.  Since the whole battle is to keep him from eating them, I don't just spray the mushrooms.  I pluck the little monsters and immediately spray where I just plucked.  That way the above ground part is gone but I still know exactly where to spray.  I don't know how effective, or how long it will take yet, but I'll keep any eye out for how many come back now that I'm spraying where I pluck.

We've got at least 3 or43 (maybe more, it's hard to tell) kinds of small yellow-brown-tan mushrooms that don't seem to get more than about an inch to inch and a half across.  Mostly we try to find them while they're still 1/4 - 1/2 inch across.  That means they're still down in the grass and hard to see if you're not looking straight down at them.  Or see Marley going for something in the grass and get him off it and pluck whatever's left. 

We also have puffballs.  Again, we've been able to find most of them when they're still only an inch or so across.  Being white, and I mean white, they're easy to spot. The danger with these is mostly from releasing the spores and inhaling them ... unless it's one of the few toxic varieties.

And we have boletus mushrooms.  These are the biggest ones.  As they mature to 2, 3 or more inches across (overnight they can get that big, I've been watching) they also get slimy on top.  These are a spongy mushroom with no gills, just lots of spongelike holes all over the bottom.

And the mysterious gray "fluted" mushroom that I've only seen once so far.  I keep watching for it, but have not seen it since that one time.

Is this a unique situation here in our yard?  Nope, the lawn at the courthouse has at least as many mushrooms and as much moss.  I took Marley to the dog park to start getting him used to it.  And the mushrooms (only a half dozen or so that I saw) were tall, fairy tale tall-cap mushrooms, but much paler and a bit larger than what we've been plucking.  The cemetery has a curvy line of them - looking like ours but several sizes bigger.

Any of you know good ways to rid a lawn of mushrooms without poisoning the pets?

No leash

The last couple of days I've been letting Marley out in the yard without a leash.  It's been several days since the last rain or watering so there are few, if any, mushrooms coming up.  So, if he finds any they will be few & far between (I hope).  Funny thing is, he's so used to one of us being on the other end of his leash that he expects me to walk out with him to the appropriate area of the yard when he does his business.  I don't have to be right next to him, but I have to get out there.

We also have made progress with fetch.  The 2 ways to get the stick back are to use the 2 stick method - he has to drop the one he just brought before I toss the second one - or the "mercenary" method - he has to drop the stick to get the treat.  He loves fetch, but he doesn't want to give up the stick. 

Sounds like I need to find a way to wean him off the treats so he'll do things because he wants to please us, not just because he's a lab.  I saw a dog show where a family was deciding between 3 breeds and the lab breeder told them "they're not the smartest dogs, but they'll do anything for food".

Updates

Marley is getting much, much closer to being potty trained.  But, it's still "closer", not "trained".  In the last couple of nights he's done some "interesting" things.  Mostly not good things.

There's nothing like hearing the quiet little whine/whimper in the wee wee hours of the night, getting up, using the bathroom, putting on my robe, heading out to the laundry room to put on the Crocs, only to find Marley has detoured over to the dining room to drop a steaming pile of ...  It doesn't happen often, but when it does it really sorta ruins the rest of the night.  So, night before last I found myself mopping the pee spot in the laundry room where that had seeped through the rug he peed on, then mopping the place where he'd dropped one of the biggest poops of his life.  Try getting back to sleep after that.

Or last night, like a few other nights and days, he got me up at 1:20 to pee.  Then he got me up at 1:50 to poop.  Then he got me up (I thought) another time (not sure when), but didn't want to go out and hadn't left any "surprises".  Then he got up about 5 and again about 5:30.  I say I thought he got me up because several times last night I thought he was whining, but it turned out Tom's nose (or some part of his airway system) was making a very, very similar sound as he breathed; quite different from his usual sounds.  Needless to say, that raised heck with sleep. 

Oh, and at 3 or so, there was a lot of thumping from the bathroom.  The mouse Charlotte had captured and released, and captured and released, and captured and released earlier in the evening was between the litter box and the wall and she was trying to get at it.  I  moved the litter box and the chase began again.  And it got away from her again.  Right now it's somewhere under/in my stove.

Unlike our last cat, Charlie, she did not capture the mouse, bring it in the house and release it.  Her mouth was empty when she came in.  Too bad she's only a hunter.  She caught it many times, but never harmed it enough to even slow it down.  She knows to chase, but not what to do when she has caught her prey. 

So, we know she'd never survive as a barn cat or feral cat, even if she wasn't picked off by a predator herself.

Travel Nix

Sometimes having pets limits your traveling plans.  Other times having pets can completely shut down any traveling.  We have now fallen into the second category.  Marley likes to ride in the car.  Don't know how he'll do in the motorhome, but I think he'll figure it out and do OK.

Charlotte, on the other hand, has put the kibosh on travel for the time being.  She has become so determined to spend more hours outside than inside that we don't dare take her on a motorhome trip.  Despite our best efforts to keep her in, she gets out every few days.  We had started letting her out when we got Marley, knowing that sooner or later we'd be letting him know about the doggy door in the living room.  Charlotte has decided outside is where she wants to live, with brief visits for food, litter box and a bit of human contact.

Since she decided she really likes the outdoors we've not been able to keep her in for more than 2-3 days at most.  Keeping her in sometimes takes both of us; one to hold her and one to take Marley in or out.  It's been a real battle and this morning it came to a head. 

I had put the lid (with a generous hole for entry/exit) on the covered litter box because Marley was showing too much interest in her leavings.  Last evening she checked it out, perched on the edge of the hole and peed as if it were a toilet.  But, this morning, before she escaped again, she went into our closet and pooped on a duffle bag of my clothes.  We learned of it shortly after when Marley went in to eat it.  We picked up what was left.  Then a little later he went back in there and peed on top of the same bag.

If we leave here with the motorhome and both animals, we'll come home with one.  We just won't be able to keep Charlotte in the motorhome - she has too many levels to strategically sit and wait for the door to open when we come back - 3 steps, the arm of the couch and the back of the couch ... and we would be 3 more steps below the bottom inside step as we unlock and open the door.  There's no way we can have hands at all possible levels she'd launch from.

So, kiss the fall trip goodbye.  She would get out.  We'd have to move on.  She'd be either lost or hit by a car, caught by a coyote, owl, dog or ...  We can't leave her here for weeks ... water, food and litter only last so long.   To board her would be cruel - most "boarding" consists of putting the cat in a cage and providing a litter box, food and water.  I don't think she's gone wild enough to feed herself, and there are coyotes and a tomcat in the immediate area around the house.  Not good.

Unfortunately, I figure by spring she'll be gone ... hit by a car, caught be some other animal ... then we'll begin thinking about travel possibilities.

Water Play! And freedom

A couple weeks or so back, during some near 100 degree days I got out the kiddie pool and filled it for Marley.  He wanted nothing to do with it.

Today I set up a small sprinkler on low flow to water a couple of flowering plants near the porch that don't get watered in the regular lawn watering pattern.  It was only going up about 6-9 inches, spreading a couple of feet, since I was aiming for just 2 plants that are together.

Marley wanted a drink of water and went right into the sprinkler.  He seemed to enjoy the water playing on his head and even started to splash in the mud a little bit.  His head got soaked, his neck & shoulders got wet.

I went inside and got his stick (we let him chew sticks to pieces and our furniture is still intact) for him to chase.  He doesn't quite want to give it up and loves the chase.  I tossed it into the sprinkler a couple of times, and into the dry part of the yard several times.  He thoroughly enjoyed being able to run without me holding him back or snubbing him up short on the leash.  And he seemed to enjoy the water.

One of the times I took him out I decided to let him off his leash; we haven't had any rain or watered in several days so there shouldn't be any mushrooms today.  Next time out I let him out without his harness or his leash.  His newly acquired courtesy - let me in/out the door, down the steps first - is holding nicely.  There are a couple of openings we need to fix - gaps where the fence meets the house.  There are boards to fill the gap, but they've been pushed aside, either by the area tom cat or Charlotte.  Marley would have a very, very tight squeeze to get through them, but I don't think that would stop him from trying. 

He's almost reliable about asking to go out.  Only one cleanup in the last 3-4 days.  YAY!  He might earn the doggy door after all.

Good golly, is there ANYTHING in the yard we can let him eat?

Every time Marley finds something to chew, or eat, out in the yard I find myself thinking this should be OK for him to munch on.  Then, just in case, I go online to see how many places Google finds that say it's NOT OK for him to munch on it.

We assumed from the beginning, once the mushrooms started showing up, that there could be a poisonous species in the mix of mushrooms that pop up in various parts of the yard every time we get enough water on it.  It's more likely after a good rain, but sometimes after watering, too.  Mostly they're really small, light yellow-brown and start with a little button on a stem, opening to a classic Disney tall-capped mushroom or flat-capped mushroom.  One day there were puffballs.  One day there was a single gray flat-capped mushroom with ridges on the top of the cap.  We try to pick them and throw them over the fence to keep him from eating them.  With any luck, even though fall will bring more rain, the cooler temperatures will put a halt to the mushrooms, at least until next summer.

Then it turns out we shouldn't let him eat the dried up earthworms he hunts in the grass - they carry worm eggs.  Oh, and the grasshoppers he wants to chase down and eat - they carry stomach worms.  I'd never heard of stomach worms, but apparently they are number two (after heartworm) in killing dogs.  Damn!  No fun allowed!

Then there are the iris, geraniums, bleeding hearts, mountain ash (AKA rowan), onions, all planted here over the years.  We'd like to keep them as they are reminders of Lois and the good times this house saw during her years in it.  One of these days, we hope, he'll grow out of the puppy phase of everything goes in the mouth.  Until then, we walk him on a leash inside our fenced yard to make sure he has a chance to grow out of the puppy taste-everything phase.

Charlotte - travel challenge

Charlotte is going to pose a problem when we try to travel with her.  She had done OK with the crate and car, but the next trip will be (we hope) in the motorhome.  She's gotten used to going outside and will stage herself on the dryer (right next to the door) or on the floor, ready to scoot as soon as the door opens. 

In the motorhome, when we're coming back inside, the problem will be that she could be on the top of the couch ready to jump over us, on the arm of the couch ready to jump past us, on the floor ready to dash down the stairs or on the bottom step ready to launch under the door.  How do you have a hand ready at each of those positions?  It's a span of several feet, starting at our knee level and going to above our heads when we're standing on the ground.  We're going to have to work out a strategy that will enable us to catch her before she leaps free.

She does have a collar with her name and our landline phone number.  We'll switch to her old collar when we travel since it has my cell phone number.  But, she has come inside without her collar several times.  Once it's off, she's just a lost kitty until someone takes her to have her chip scanned -- if they even try that.  Some people will just take a cat home and decide it's now theirs.

Anybody have any good ideas for keeping her safe when we travel?

Almost there

It's been an exciting couple of months for Marley.  From the warm safety of mama's nest box (we assume & hope) to the shelter, to our house.  Then there have been other kinds of changes - he's learned to like the car (mostly for the cool passenger foot well), he's learned to deal with guests (we've had overnight guests 4 times since he came home), a cat, and rules.

Most importantly he's almost there on potty training.  We've not been crate training him.  It's not the way either of us grew up with the dogs in our lives.  It's available, but we had to force him in one time and he's tried to stay out of it ever since (bad job on our part).  I've been making sure that some of his "find it" food goes in the crate so he can build a positive association with the crate.  The door is held open with a bungee cord so it won't accidentally close on him (the same as Charlotte's crate).

I found a mostly dried puddle in the dining room today.  That's first of any kind of "accident" that we know of in a couple of days.  That means we're almost there.

Yesterday I left him in the house (asleep once, awake once) for a half hour or so.  The guys were moving an old pickup truck out of one of the garage bays, then after lunch the engine & transmission (all bolted together), so they wanted photos.  He did OK.  He'd rather not be alone (wouldn't we all?) but didn't spend a lot of time barking or crying.  I also left him for a few minutes in the car while I picked up mail and got a money order, then again (running with the AC to make sure he'd stay on the floor) for a couple of items at The Local Store. 

All in all, a lot of progress.

Peace - for a few minutes

Last night Charlotte came down off the boxes, used her scratching post, then lay on the floor.  Marley was across the room, dozing near our feet.  He got up, walked over and lay down beside her.  (Massive jaw drop from both of us.)  He reached out with a front paw and touched her a few times, then settled down next to her.  It only lasted a short time before he got up and needed to go outside, but for just a few minutes there was peace that Marley initiated.  Progress?  I sure hope so.

He still cares

If Charlotte is out and wants back in Marley will let me know if I don't hear her.  This morning, at the 4am potty break, she was so eager to get out she was telling me about it.  I just don't have a lot of "fight" in me at 4am, so I let her out.

Around 6:30 she wanted in.  I didn't hear her rattling the front door, so Marley started to whine.  He whined quietly at first, then a little louder and a little louder, until I got up to let her in.

I knew it was the end of trying to sleep - he was going to harass her and she was going to complain.  She still hasn't laid claw or tooth on him, but I wish she would.  I'm almost afraid she'll let him really hurt her.  This time he was grabbing her by the tail while she was trying to eat.  Since her food is on the dresser in our room (to keep him from eating it), there was no ignoring the noise.

I did wear him out a little last night before bed.  Between feeding him a third of his dinner "find it" style and having him chase the laser dot ... he was panting.  So, it was only because I had to get up and use the bathroom (I think) that he needed to go out at 4.  For me, I have to choose between getting up at night and being a bit dehydrated & thirsty.  I'd rather get up, but boy I get worn down when it's too many times a night.  There's a huge difference between shuffling to the bathroom and shuffling to the bathroom, doing your thing, putting on your robe, heading through the living room and kitchen to the utility room, putting on the Crocs, putting the leash on the pup, getting the pup off the cat, going out into the yard for him to pee then reversing the process for another hour or two of attempted sleep.  Oh, I'll be so glad when he's good all night through, good in the house and we can activate the doggy door.

Locked out!

So, what do you get when you are trying to heat the bathroom, keep the bathroom door closed and let the cat have access to her litter box?  Well, if it's Charlotte, you get locked out of the bathroom.  This morning Marley was feeling especially full of himself, so when Charlotte needed to get to her litter box I let her in the bathroom and shut the door to keep Marley from bothering her (and knocking the door open, losing all the heat).  We use a space heater to warm just the bathroom and have tried leaving the door mostly closed, but they run in & out, bump the door and it opens all the way.

A while later we heard her making noises at the bathroom door, wanting out.  I went to let her out and could not open the door more than a half inch!  She's decided in recent days that she needs to open the bottom drawers of the vanity.  She has developed a "need" to get into the vanity cupboard between the drawers and can't quite get the doors open so she tries to go in through the back of the drawers.

The vanity is the first thing inside the bathroom, so with the closer drawer open the door hit it and would not open.  We had to find something that would go under the door, then up, to push the drawer closed.  I tried slipping a thin metal yardstick through the tiny gap.  I could get it through the gap, barely, but couldn't maneuver it.  I needed something bent so I could slip it under the generous gap under the door, then turn it to push the drawer closed.  While I was trying to close the drawer, Marley thought it was a great game and was walking all over me, pulling at my hair, getting in the way.  Tom found a suitable "tool" and we got the drawer closed and door open, releasing Charlotte to be harassed some more.  And we're keeping that item handy in case it happens again.

Earlier, in the dark hours, I had found both bottom drawers open and a large Ace bandage unwound in the hall.  I'm guessing she opened the drawers and Marley helped himself to the new "toy".

Baby drawer locks just went on the next shopping list.  Oh, the joys of young animals in the household!

Getting better

After a bit of backsliding while he had diarrhea, Marley continues to improve his potty habits.  He also continues to frustrate us.  By late afternoon or early evening he reverts to going to one of a couple of areas in the living room to either let fly or pee a little bit to tell us he needs to go out.  Grrr.  Earlier in the day he'll bark at us, or we'll see certain behavior, but as the day progresses he just can't hold it together and we have to get more vigilant as we're getting more tired. 

Our only previous puppy was already well on her way to being house trained because she was the only puppy in an adult dog household so she learned to do what they were doing.  And she learned early.

We just need to keep reminding ourselves "he's getting better".  The important thing is he almost never pees or poops inside at night now.  He does expect to go out every time I get up to pee (once or more each night).  By taking him out, he's not as likely to need to go when we're sleeping.  Today he even made it to 8am - but we were out about 2 and 5 (just as the thunderstorm was arriving). 

About 6:30 Charlotte wanted back in.  She'd defied my attempts to keep her in at the 5am potty break.  I heard banging sounds and she was halfway up the front screen door.  We almost always go in & out the Dutch door at the back of the house.  She must have gone the long way around the house since the short way around means going outside the fence, then back inside.  She still had her collar this morning, so I don't think she went under the fence.

Going the long way around the house means she left her comfort zone - she usually stays pretty much on the back porch & deck.  We're still scheming a way to let her get under the deck without letting Marley get under it.  We're considering a sewer pipeline fitting - big enough for a bit larger cat than she is right not, but small enough Marley won't be able to fit as he continues to grow. 

Any ideas out there?  The gap between the deck flooring & the ground is covered by lattice panels; the gaps between steps is covered with fence material.  We want to keep her from digging a new entrance so Marley isn't tempted to enlarge a hole she starts . . .

Pumpkin - wow!

Marley had a bout of diarrhea. We don't know what brought it on, but it had gone on over 24 hours before we called the vet.  The vet surprised us by asking "Have you tried canned pumpkin?" rather than having us bring him in.  They'll see him in a week, so it's not like they just didn't want to see him, it was a matter of trying the reasonable things before resorting to a doctor's visit.

We had tried an Imodium, half a tablet in the afternoon, then the remainder in the evening, but it didn't produce any results that we could see.

This morning we had a small breakthrough - Marley was in my lap, being docile for a change.  Charlotte carefully climbed up to check him out.  For just a couple of minutes both of them were on my lap, not fighting. Wow!

Marley meets the kiddie pool

This week has been hot again.  Yesterday our outdoor thermometers both got to 100-101 when there was no direct sun on them.  Today, I looked mid afternoon and it's 95 in the shade.  So, it was time to break out the kiddie pool.  There was one in the tool shed, left from Lois' dog, Missy. 

I left Marley in the house for a few minutes, to go get the pool, bring it into the yard, unhook the sprinkler and start the water running into the pool.  Then I brought him out.  Since it was something he'd never seen before he was skeptical.  He circled it.  He drank from it.  He circled it.  He tried to bite the grasshopper floating just out of reach.  He circled it.  He put a foot on the rim, then pulled it back and circled some more. 

Every now & then he'd look at me for reassurance.  At one point he got both front feet wet.  Then he circled some more.  He looked like he was going to hop in, then circled again.  He really didn't trust this new thing.  I used a yardstick to flick the occasional wasp or yellow jacket out of the pool.

Finally, I picked up his front end & put both his feet all the way in.  He didn't much like it, but he didn't move away from the pool.  So, I put all of him in the pool.  At that point he decided the lawn was more interesting.  Every once in a while I'd splash the water with the yardstick.  All that did was get him interested in the yardstick as a stick. 

Next time we'll take his little (used to be almost 2 feet long) stick and toss it in the water and see what happens.

He also got his first peanut butter jar today.  I finished the little bit that was in the bottom of the jar and put it on the floor.  He got a bit nervous.  He barked at it, and barked at it until I put it on its side.  He must have thought I killed it because he moved in and cleaned the top inch or two.  He carried it into several rooms while he was working it over.  Maybe when he's all grown up, he can clean our peanut butter jars for recycling.  (Our first dog loved peanut butter and could reach to the bottom of the 40 ounce jars - they were squeaky clean looking when she was done.)

Today he also cocked his leg for the second time.  Unfortunately, he was in the house, by the furnace.  I'm so looking forward to the consistency that's coming.

His first long walk

Marley went for his first "hike" (actually a long stroll in the woods) yesterday.  Our friends Fran & John were here for a brief visit and we were headed to Kootenai Falls.  We took a little detour off the main route into Ross Creek Cedars Scenic Area. 

Tom & I had driven in to the area a couple weeks ago on a Sunday and it was crowded.  We had discussed going back on a weekday after Marley had his last puppy shot.  At that time he'd only had his first shot.

Yesterday he'd had his second shot, so he's still at some level of risk, but not as much as when he'd only had one.  So, when there were hardly any cars parked there we decided to take the 1 mile nature trail under the big Western Red Cedars.  Marley got to sniff all kinds of new things along the trail. 

There was another dog, so we moved aside to let the group (dog plus his people) go by without letting the dogs meet & sniff noses.  We let them know why we were being cautious.  They thought we were worried about friendliness, but I let them know it was the antibody lack, not that we were worried about his big dog eating our little dog.

By the time we got back to the car (I don't know if we did the whole mile or only half) Marley was so tired he laid down to drink his water.  He was pretty tired for rest of the day.  He even was too tired to really dive into his dinner.

Once we got home & had the mail opened up, we introduced Marley to his "Chilly Pad" - a gel pad that gets cold when there's pressure.  It will cool for 3-4 hours, then recover in about a half hour.  Once he figured out it was cooler than the floor under the dining table, he spent most of the rest of the evening on the pad. 

As far as we could tell, he slept through the night - we didn't find (we didn't look hard) any pee or poop in the house and about 6:30 he got up and had a loooooong pee outside.  I had a solo bathroom break in the middle of the night; probably only my second or third since Marley cane home with us.  It was almost 6:30 before we got up, and it was Charlotte who woke me by bumping into something on my nightstand.  Marley was ready to be up for the day, so I was up for the day.

Marley's improving, but it's still slow progress

Marley gets a little better each day about asking to go outside to go potty.  He still sometimes asks to go out by peeing in the house - usually if he needs to poop.  And we do find wet spots somewhere in the house some time almost every day.  But he's asking more and more often. 

I have to remind myself it's like having a toddler again.  If you're a parent you probably remember that period of time when your toddler knew they supposed to go to the bathroom & use the toilet, but more often than not would tell you after they'd peed or pooped.  Progress, but frustrating.

Charlotte's relationship with Marley continues to sound like war.  When he grabs her, she makes the most awful noises.  She sounds like she's in a lot of distress.  And yet, if he isn't paying attention to her she'll stir it up again.  She'll stop, look and calculate, then run past him at full speed or she'll arch up like a Halloween cat and bounce toward him until he chases her down again. 

She'll take refuge on top of a stack of boxes (yes, we still have them) or on top of the washer or the couch.  Then, when he's ready to move on to some other activity, she'll race down and get the mayhem started again.

They start early in the morning.  Often by 5 or 6 in the morning as the first pre-dawn light is starting to show in the windows. 

Once in a great while they'll touch noses peacefully.  Then the chase begins again.