The other night, actually early morning, I let Charlotte "escape" as I took Marley out for a potty break. Later, I was a bit confused as I heard her eating her dry food on top of the dresser in the bedroom. (It's the only place I could think of, other than the kitchen table or counters, that she could get to and Marley can't.)
The next time I got up the mystery was solved. I had only "thrown" the door closed as I came in and it hadn't latched. (Depending on the humidity the door latches when "thrown" as you come through, or it sticks mostly closed, but not fully closed & latched.) Not only was the door open a few inches, but an item stored between the wall and the dryer, next to that door, was on the porch floor. She'd worked very hard to get that door open and get back inside.
Once Marley knows not to eat the mushrooms (or we're past mushroom season and mountain ash berry season) and he knows to always go potty outside, we'll unlock the doggy door and this won't be an issue any more. Or at least not until Charlotte or Marley start inviting "friends" inside.
Monday, July 25, 2016
Saturday, July 23, 2016
He's growing up
This morning, on one of our many trips outside, Marley went into his half-squat. It looks something like when a horse needs to pee and the back legs go back a bit extra and there's a bit of a drop to the rump. He "assumed the position", then his left leg lifted a bit. He's on his way to being a "big dog".
At the rate he's growing, and the size of his feet compared to the rest of him, I think the Labrador daddy size is going to overshadow the mommy springer spaniel size. So, he'll be a big boy, big dog.
At the rate he's growing, and the size of his feet compared to the rest of him, I think the Labrador daddy size is going to overshadow the mommy springer spaniel size. So, he'll be a big boy, big dog.
Friday, July 22, 2016
Ouch!
For the first time (and I hope the last time) Marley bit me intentionally. There have been a lot of scratches and bits, but they were incidental to his activities. This one was very deliberate.
We had been gone all day (him, too) and only home a short while. He asked to go out (he's getting better about that later and later into the day), but then he fought getting the harness on. We harness him even though we have a fenced yard because of all the lawn mushrooms. We don't know if any of them are harmless and don't want to find out the hard way. So, putting on the harness to go potty is just standard procedure here, until he grows out of eating everything he gets near. The only exception is the dark-hours pee breaks, when we slip a loop of kitty collar on him, go a few feet of the porch, pee and come back in to go back to bed.
This time, though, since he'd been in the harness nearly all day, he didn't really want it on. He slipped to his side, making it hard to get the harness on him. The, to make it worse, he rolled to his back making it virtually impossible. As I was trying to maneuver him back into position he reached around and sliced the back of my hand. That is totally unacceptable. I gave him 3 quick, light slaps to the muzzle. He didn't make a sound. He knew he'd done wrong. Normally, I would not do that to a puppy, but like a mother dog, there are certain things I can't allow. If he bit his mama, she'd either gently bite him or grab his neck and shake him to let him know he crossed the line.
He stopped fussing, we got the harness on and went out for him to do his business. I gave him the usual praise "good boy!" for piddling and pooping outside. Those are separate activities. Only the bite was bad. I think it will probably not happen again now that he's tried it and found out it's definitely not allowed.
We can't have a dog that bites when he's not happy. No one should have a dog that deliberately bites humans when it's unhappy. That's just the way a dog's life is.
Note: Less than an hour later he needed out again and there was no issue with getting the harness on him. Lesson learned, I think.
We had been gone all day (him, too) and only home a short while. He asked to go out (he's getting better about that later and later into the day), but then he fought getting the harness on. We harness him even though we have a fenced yard because of all the lawn mushrooms. We don't know if any of them are harmless and don't want to find out the hard way. So, putting on the harness to go potty is just standard procedure here, until he grows out of eating everything he gets near. The only exception is the dark-hours pee breaks, when we slip a loop of kitty collar on him, go a few feet of the porch, pee and come back in to go back to bed.
This time, though, since he'd been in the harness nearly all day, he didn't really want it on. He slipped to his side, making it hard to get the harness on him. The, to make it worse, he rolled to his back making it virtually impossible. As I was trying to maneuver him back into position he reached around and sliced the back of my hand. That is totally unacceptable. I gave him 3 quick, light slaps to the muzzle. He didn't make a sound. He knew he'd done wrong. Normally, I would not do that to a puppy, but like a mother dog, there are certain things I can't allow. If he bit his mama, she'd either gently bite him or grab his neck and shake him to let him know he crossed the line.
He stopped fussing, we got the harness on and went out for him to do his business. I gave him the usual praise "good boy!" for piddling and pooping outside. Those are separate activities. Only the bite was bad. I think it will probably not happen again now that he's tried it and found out it's definitely not allowed.
We can't have a dog that bites when he's not happy. No one should have a dog that deliberately bites humans when it's unhappy. That's just the way a dog's life is.
Note: Less than an hour later he needed out again and there was no issue with getting the harness on him. Lesson learned, I think.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
His worst day . . . updated, again
Today, we hope, is the worst day of Marley's life. He's in a crate, in a van, with a lot of other puppies, maybe some kittens, on the way to Corvallis MT for his neuter, second round of puppy shots and his microchip. We dropped him off about 8:45 and he won't be back home until about 8 or 9 tonight.
We'll be waiting for the phone call that it's time to head toward Thompson Falls to meet the van and pick him up. They'll call when they're at Plains, about 40 miles from the house, 25 from Thompson Falls.
Makes for a long day, knowing he's miserable, then he'll be knocked out, then sore, then miserable again when he wakes up. Looking forward to a lot of TLC until he's himself again. At least, after today he should become officially ours, ending the foster period and the shelter's responsibility for him.
In another couple of weeks we'll be able to take him in for his last puppy shot and begin to introduce him to other dogs, the dog park, places we've been avoiding for his safety. And we'll be able to let him walk through the stores where he's welcome instead of putting him in a shopping cart.
We'll find plenty to do, but all day we'll be wondering how he's doing. Poor little guy . . .
I'll update after he's home (probably not until tomorrow)
We got the call he was getting close to Thompson Falls earlier than we expected, so we had almost an hour's warning. Good thing, since we'd just started eating dinner. On the way to Thompson Falls we drove into a serious rain storm. Even on high the wipers were having trouble keeping the windshield clear and we had to be careful to stay out of the flooded road ruts (yes, even in rural Montana the pavement gets ruts from the heavy truck traffic). We did get there before the van, and waited outside the locked gate for them to arrive. The van had to pull over and wait out a hail storm. (When we went to the grocery store after picking him up we could see a lot of tree debris on the road; glad we missed that wind!)
Anyway, he was fully awake from the anesthesia, just moving a bit slow. These days, after they snip the little boys, they give them a green "N" tattoo near the surgical site. That way, nobody will try to do it again, and nobody has to take our word for it that he's been neutered.
Apparently Charlotte missed the excitement of playing chase. Even though we're supposed to try to keep him from getting too excited or active, she really wanted to stir things up. This morning they started playing tag about 6am. Things are pretty much back to normal. We just need to monitor his incision and try to keep him from licking at it too much.
We checked with the shelter and he is now officially ours . Not that it will make any difference how we treat him, but it's good to know he's now family. And he's microchipped and the chip registered to us and our contact info. Yay!
We watched Marley & Me again the other night. When the puppies and dogs were barking or crying he stopped what he was doing and watched until it went back to all people on the screen. He's also seemed a bit worried when we're in Sandpoint and the seagulls are screaming from the light posts in the parking lots. They do sound a bit like puppies in dire distress, don't they?
We'll be waiting for the phone call that it's time to head toward Thompson Falls to meet the van and pick him up. They'll call when they're at Plains, about 40 miles from the house, 25 from Thompson Falls.
Makes for a long day, knowing he's miserable, then he'll be knocked out, then sore, then miserable again when he wakes up. Looking forward to a lot of TLC until he's himself again. At least, after today he should become officially ours, ending the foster period and the shelter's responsibility for him.
In another couple of weeks we'll be able to take him in for his last puppy shot and begin to introduce him to other dogs, the dog park, places we've been avoiding for his safety. And we'll be able to let him walk through the stores where he's welcome instead of putting him in a shopping cart.
We'll find plenty to do, but all day we'll be wondering how he's doing. Poor little guy . . .
I'll update after he's home (probably not until tomorrow)
We got the call he was getting close to Thompson Falls earlier than we expected, so we had almost an hour's warning. Good thing, since we'd just started eating dinner. On the way to Thompson Falls we drove into a serious rain storm. Even on high the wipers were having trouble keeping the windshield clear and we had to be careful to stay out of the flooded road ruts (yes, even in rural Montana the pavement gets ruts from the heavy truck traffic). We did get there before the van, and waited outside the locked gate for them to arrive. The van had to pull over and wait out a hail storm. (When we went to the grocery store after picking him up we could see a lot of tree debris on the road; glad we missed that wind!)
Anyway, he was fully awake from the anesthesia, just moving a bit slow. These days, after they snip the little boys, they give them a green "N" tattoo near the surgical site. That way, nobody will try to do it again, and nobody has to take our word for it that he's been neutered.
Apparently Charlotte missed the excitement of playing chase. Even though we're supposed to try to keep him from getting too excited or active, she really wanted to stir things up. This morning they started playing tag about 6am. Things are pretty much back to normal. We just need to monitor his incision and try to keep him from licking at it too much.
We checked with the shelter and he is now officially ours . Not that it will make any difference how we treat him, but it's good to know he's now family. And he's microchipped and the chip registered to us and our contact info. Yay!
We watched Marley & Me again the other night. When the puppies and dogs were barking or crying he stopped what he was doing and watched until it went back to all people on the screen. He's also seemed a bit worried when we're in Sandpoint and the seagulls are screaming from the light posts in the parking lots. They do sound a bit like puppies in dire distress, don't they?
Monday, July 18, 2016
Marley's built-in Fetch, too!. And Charlotte wants under the deck.
Apparently, Marley came with "fetch" built in, too. Last night while we were catching up on some TV, I tossed his newest treasure, a beef hoof, and he ran, got it, brought it back and dropped it at my feet. I was sure it was a fluke. So I tossed his stick across the room. He brought that back and dropped it at my feet. He did it another half dozen times. All we need to do is teach him a word for it. And we'll be able to build on it.
I had expected to need to teach it, but, with the Labrador and Springer Spaniel mix, he's got the genetic programming to pick things up and bring them to people. In some dogs it's there, but needs a lot of coaching. In his case, he may think he taught us to throw the stick he brought us.
Meanwhile, Charlotte has developed a taste for the outdoors. At least twice a day, she hangs by the back door, ready to scoot when we take Marley out to do his business. Yesterday she went out around 5am. Not unusual, since Marley & I needed potty breaks about then. But she made a new way to get under the deck, digging a hole under the lattice, next to the place Tom had filled with sandstone chunks. It's been difficult, but we've been trying to keep her in until he can fix that one, too. It's difficult handling the flex lead (got to remember to push the button so he doesn't get too far ahead) and opening & closing the door, and keeping the cat from slipping out all at the same time. Luckily, she usually is perched on the corner of the dryer, so she's at a convenient height and right at the door. We need to either convince her to stay out from under the deck, or make sure she can get herself back out of there. So far, we've had to move the big rock off the block of wood, and move the block of wood for her to get out.
Charlotte will really stir things up if she wants a round of tag. Marley was quietly chewing his hoof. Charlotte was stretched out on the floor a few feet away, but Marley wasn't aware of her. She did a couple of slow blinks his direction - the equivalent of kitty kisses. Then she reached out and messed with a piece of egg carton to get his attention. And, the race was on! She can still get to higher places to get a break when he plays too rough. In the bathtub is a favorite escape that will probably be the first to be breached. He can almost get in the tub or on the couch now, at 11 weeks. Soon, there will be few safe places for her.
She got a but jealous when I was practicing his sit, down & shake commands with kibble pay-off. So, I got some of her crunchies and put them on the little table next to the chair I was using. And a few strokes and soft words improved her mood.
They have a unique relationship, but it's working for this household.
I had expected to need to teach it, but, with the Labrador and Springer Spaniel mix, he's got the genetic programming to pick things up and bring them to people. In some dogs it's there, but needs a lot of coaching. In his case, he may think he taught us to throw the stick he brought us.
Meanwhile, Charlotte has developed a taste for the outdoors. At least twice a day, she hangs by the back door, ready to scoot when we take Marley out to do his business. Yesterday she went out around 5am. Not unusual, since Marley & I needed potty breaks about then. But she made a new way to get under the deck, digging a hole under the lattice, next to the place Tom had filled with sandstone chunks. It's been difficult, but we've been trying to keep her in until he can fix that one, too. It's difficult handling the flex lead (got to remember to push the button so he doesn't get too far ahead) and opening & closing the door, and keeping the cat from slipping out all at the same time. Luckily, she usually is perched on the corner of the dryer, so she's at a convenient height and right at the door. We need to either convince her to stay out from under the deck, or make sure she can get herself back out of there. So far, we've had to move the big rock off the block of wood, and move the block of wood for her to get out.
Charlotte will really stir things up if she wants a round of tag. Marley was quietly chewing his hoof. Charlotte was stretched out on the floor a few feet away, but Marley wasn't aware of her. She did a couple of slow blinks his direction - the equivalent of kitty kisses. Then she reached out and messed with a piece of egg carton to get his attention. And, the race was on! She can still get to higher places to get a break when he plays too rough. In the bathtub is a favorite escape that will probably be the first to be breached. He can almost get in the tub or on the couch now, at 11 weeks. Soon, there will be few safe places for her.
She got a but jealous when I was practicing his sit, down & shake commands with kibble pay-off. So, I got some of her crunchies and put them on the little table next to the chair I was using. And a few strokes and soft words improved her mood.
They have a unique relationship, but it's working for this household.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
How smart is he ...
Yesterday morning, before the rest of the gang (Tom & our guests) got up, I taught Marley "shake". One 10-minute session and he had it pretty well. With a couple of quick refreshers here and there through the day, he'll now offer his right paw on request.
When Tom was running him through his sit, down and shake this morning, Marley offered to shake when there was a pause in the action.
His vocabulary is getting pretty good for an 11-week old puppy (11 weeks today). He knows (whether he always does it or not):
- his name
- sit (he needed a word for it; he came with sit built-in)
- down
- off
- leave it
- no mushrooms (we have lots of tiny mushrooms, many varieties, growing in the lawn any time it gets wet)
- go potty
- load up
- go outside
- cookie
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Marley Tracks her and Rescues Charlotte
This morning, Marley was a bit "off". As I was working on "shake" with him in the dining room, he kept stopping and looking toward the sliding glass door in the living room. A little later, partway through his breakfast, he started barking. Thinking he needed to go outside, I got his harness & leash on him and we went out. He wasn't looking for a patch of grass; he was looking for Charlotte. She'd gone out at 5am, when we went out for a dark-hours (sort of dark, but not really) pee break. We hadn't seen her on the porch at the 6:30am "up for the day" potty walk. Normally she doesn't stray (yet) from the porch. Well, he found her. She'd managed to move a cast iron dish from the one low spot where it's possible to barely crawl under the lattice and get under the deck. It's the same place she'd gone through before, with the same result. Going in, it drops into a small depression; coming out it's uphill a few inches and changes how a body would fit, and she can't back out the way she came in. I'm guessing she was calling, but quietly and Marley heard her even though I didn't. I moved the piece of landscape timber and rock at the end of the steps so she could come out. And she lost her collar again. Marley was really happy to see her and have her back.
This morning we started on a new trick. He knows sit, down, off, leave it. Sit & down he know both by voice and hand signal. Now we're working on stay and shake. He got gist of shake pretty quickly. We'll see how he does with in the Troy, Joy & Dakota come in for breakfast this morning.
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