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.