Multi Media Final Project

New Doors....

So the metaphor..."Opening up of new doors" can be applied to Marley and me. Like I've said before, I've never really been much of a pet person before I met Marley. I fell in love with that puppy and didn't think twice about keeping her. That was door number one. Then once I got comfortable with her, I became more comfortable with other pets...like cats. Now, I don't have one and don't plan on getting one, but I can now go to my friends' houses and not act so awkward around their pet cats. I will actually pet them and socialize with them instead of keeping my distance as if they had some sort of a disease. Marley has done this for me....She has opened my mind. I would say that I am a little more laid back than I once was. Now, I said a little...I won't push it too much! The term "door" also means something else to me. I mentioned in my last post that she always greets me at the door...I can't explain how good that is for the soul. Sometimes, yes, I just want her to leave me alone, but sometimes after a bad day, it's nice to have at least one thing in your life that actually wants you and I can honestly say Marley is that constant thing. She is always at my door...

Being away...

So, I've been away from my apartment for the last few days. I've taken a new babysitting job and had to stay overnight with the kids a few nights. This means that when I'm away, Marley misses me...lol...no, but really, she does! My great roommate took care of her while I was gone. I stopped in a few times to let her out or to grab something. I could definitely tell that she did not understand why I was gone. After I was gone the first night, I came back the next morning to get ready for class and she was so excited to see me. As soon as I let her out of her kennel, she jumped up on me to get my attention almost if she was saying..."Mom, Mom!!! Where have you been? Pay attention to me!!" And I did. She has always been a clingy dog, but when I was home for the first time all week last night, she curled up close and stayed next to me while I was relaxing in front of the tv. It's nice though...to have a constant thing in your life that actually cares and jumps up to see you when you come home. She always does that doesn't matter if I've been gone 15 minutes or 8 hours, she always meets me at the door! Now, that's nice! :)

Chewing problem...

Ok, so Marley's little chewing problem has not exactly gotten any better. She really enjoys chewing on my personal items...not so fun for me!! I bought her a chew toy a while ago and that seemed to help for a while, but lately she has gotten much worse. Since this is becoming such a problem, I decided to explore why she may be doing this. There are many possible reasons. She may not have learned as a puppy not to chew. Since she was almost one when I got her, that could be it. She's bored, wants attention, is fearful or could be suffering from separation anxiety. She usually does this when I'm not in the room, so she possibly may be upset that I'm not there. I need to learn to manage the situation and make the items unavailable to her. It's also important to get her toys that she can chew on and make them appealing to her. I could also soak them in things to make them appetizing to her. Honestly, that sounds like too much to me. I'm going to keep the things that I don't want her to touch, out of reach and give her toys to chew on. She should get the idea eventually, right?!

Spring Break Hike

Marley and I went to Harrison for Spring Break. The last day of break, it was so nice. I just wanted to get outside, so my little brother and I took a drive about 30 minutes away and took Marley hiking at Lost Valley. The weather was beautiful! Lots of people had the same idea that we did. The park was very busy that day, but still enjoyable. We packed our lunch and ate when we got there. Then we went on the trail. Marley did great! She kept up with us and did what I told her to do. We saw people along the way and she behaved well. We made it to the waterfall and turned around. When we were almost to the entrance of the trail, a few people were walking toward us with their two dogs. I let Marley sniff the dogs like usual and thought she would be fine. All of a sudden, one of the dogs just snapped at her!! Marley didn't say anything. She was so scared! I was, too. I didn't know what to do! Finally, the owner's of the dogs calmed the dogs down and I picked Marley up and walked away. She was fine, but a little shook up. All in all, it was a good day for a walk! We had a great time!

Haircut!!

So, I finally took Marley to the groomer's!! Her hair was getting so long, it was about time! I knew that they were going to have to cut her hair very short, but I didn't know what to expect it to look like really. When the worker brought Marley out, I felt so bad!! Her hair was so short! She looked like a rat! I knew that her hair would grow out in time, but it looked really strange at first. When looking at her face, you could tell Marley was herself, but she really didn't look like the same dog. Now, I will keep better care of her hair and brush her more often. Hopefully, she will not have to have her hair cut so short in the future!

Dropped off...

I dropped Marley off at the pet grooming salon a little before noon today. She really needed a haircut. It's definitely about time that I took her in, but I left with an interesting feeling...I felt like I was a mom dropping off my baby at daycare!! "Will she be ok?" "How will her haircut turn out?" "Is she going to be sad when I leave?" She was shaking and unsure when I left her there. It made me sad!! I know, I know...dogs are not people, but sometimes it feels like she's my kid! Silly I know! I am going to pick her up in about an hour...hopefully the haircut will turn out well!! I will post another blog soon telling how it looks and even upload pics if I can. I took a before pic from my phone and will take an after shot, too. Hopefully, my baby is ok! :)