Marley & Charlotte a week in

Today it's a week since we brought Marley home.  Charlotte is no longer frantic to leave.  In fact, she sometimes instigates a session of "tag".  She'll either run into the room, right up to his face, then go "Halloween cat" or run to get a game going.  She's only made him yelp once, the first time she touched him.  Her extreme concentration when she's watching the birds at the feeders (sunflower for the wrens, nuthatches, etc. and hummingbird) allowed him to sneak up on her and make the first intentional physical contact.

This made him so bold he really touched her

She decided this was a bit too personal and backed him off with flying paw, but no claws.

Sometimes she'll get on the coffee table and paw at one of the boxes (we're still unpacking) to "threaten" him or get his attention.  She's never hurt him and he hasn't hurt her.   It's fun to watch them take turns chasing each other, knowing neither one wants to hurt the other.

Charlotte and Marley!

We have added another member to the family!  We are fostering-to-adopt a yellow Labrador retriever - English springer spaniel mix.  He's not fully ready for adoption, partly for his age, partly because he isn't yet neutered or microchipped.   We're in almost daily contact with the shelter.  He caught coccidia right before we got him and was started on antibiotics.  Then the next day they called to tell us there was an outbreak of kennel cough, but the Clavamox he was on should help. 

Charlotte has had some issues adjusting to him.  Now, she's having to share our attention.  The first night she really scared us.  We're in a pretty warm spell and we had lots of windows (with screens) open for air circulation.  After fleeing from him for a while, she disappeared.  We figured she was just hiding - hiding very well.  It wasn't until Tom got up and it was chilling down from the rain storm that Tom went to close the bedroom window and found the screen had been popped most of the way out.  We figured she either tried hard or the screen wasn't in all that tight and got out somewhere around 10pm.  We went out calling and looking for her several times.   We were at the point of wondering how much longer to wait to call the local shelter, vets and animal return service (HomeAgain - she's chipped).  Tom went out to the garage one more time and she finally came to him.

It was another day before I found her collar snagged in the bottom of the fence.  I had already ordered her a replacement.  A spare's not a bad thing.

She's beginning to make advances toward playing with him.  She'll tear into a room, go right up to him, then run away or jump up onto the furniture to tease him.  He chases her, too.  And they've touched noses from time to time.  Each day brings a bit more progress.

Since he's appropriated every toy of hers he's come across, we bought her a special toy that is only brought out when Marley is otherwise occupied.  We play on the bed to make sure he can't get up and grab it (the top of the mattress is nearly waist high for me).  Her special toy is a feather "boa" on a string on a stick.  She grabs it and rubs it on her face.  As soon as it's clear Marley is headed that way, I put it in a drawer to make sure he doesn't get a chance to get at it.  I want her to know, without doubt, it's her toy.

We also introduced Marley to the crate today.  It was something I didn't think I wanted to do, but we were going out to dinner.  We're not yet ready to leave him alone in the house, can't close him in the bathroom since it's Charlotte's bathroom, too.  We put a big folded blanket in the crate, tossed in many of his toys and a couple of smal biscuits.  The TV was on, so we left it on for "company".  He was calm as we left and calm when we got back.  After a short walk in the yard (in case he needed to pee) we fed him, waited a few and took him back out to poop.  He even went back inside the crate after he'd been released!  So far, so good.

Her First Real Summer Storm

Today we had a real summer thunderstorm.  First the lightning & thunder, then the wind and rain.  The rain drops were big enough we expected to see white (hail or graupel) but there was just water.  At first, she was pretty calm.  Later, as the storm continued to be noisy, she started to run around the house like a crazy cat. 

It was a pretty strong storm.  We had to close the windows on the front and garage side of the house to keep the rain from blowing in.  After a bit, some of the "raindrops" started splattering on the windows, especially the awning windows (windows that are hinged at the top and open out at the bottom).  After a bit the rain settled into a steady, moderate rain, then finished.

She found her way to Tom's lap and settled in for the long haul.  Looks like she'll deal OK with the summer thunderstorms.

VOCAL

She’s gotten more vocal, if that’s possible.  And there are lots of tonal variations.   She "hollers" when she's hungry.  She hollers when she wants to go through a door.  She hollers when she'd like a lap.  She makes impatient sounds, much like a "m-o-o-o-m-m-m-m!" whiny complaint from a kid.  She "chirps" quietly when we get up or when she'd like to come up on a lap.  And she makes that distinctive "chatter" when she watches the birds outside the windows.  We made sure to leave a stack of boxes under the side window so she could continue to look out the window after the table was gone.

We keep to the protocols, though.  For her to get her twice daily “scoops” (kibble) she has to ring the bell on the pantry door.  Some days she jingles before I get the coffee pot set to go; other days she shows no interest until mid- to late-morning.  At our bedtime she needs to do a “chin-up” on the freezer handle to get her quarter can of wet food. 

She’s known “sit” for quite some time.  She loves her “crunchies” (Temptations cat treats) so much that we can get her to come in from the garage, or go into her carrier just by asking “want some crunchies?”  I tell her to sit and wait for her to sit quietly before she’s allowed to eat them from my hand. 

This week I started another behavior with her.  If my hand is palm up, partly closed, she needs to “sit”.  If I hold the treat between finger & thumb, up higher, she needs to “reach up” (stand up and gently grab my hand between her front paws).  The second or third session with alternating “sit” and “reach up” she did those behaviors for Tom just as readily as she did for me.

I really need to work on harness & leash training with her.  I really wish I’d done that before the move, but we’re getting awfully close.  I may try a bit anyway.