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! :)

So excited!!!

So, Marley has started this thing...Every time she gets excited she gets a little too excited and pees! I've gotten to the point where I have to end up watching her closely when I get home or she'll start peeing. Yesterday, I had been gone for a while and when I got home she was so excited...like usual...to see me. She was jumping up on me and acting crazy. I picked her up to calm her down and that's when I felt it...something run down my leg! She had gotten so worked up when she saw me that she had actually peed on me!! I couldn't believe it! To say the least...I was very grossed out! It wasn't that she need to go out, it was just that she had gotten worked up! I guess if I have someone in my life that gets that excited when I walk in the door to actually pee all over their self, I'm pretty blessed! lol :) Hopefully she will learn to control herself soon, because this is not my favorite trait of hers!!

What a nice day...

It's days like these that I hate to be cooped up in my apartment! It's beautiful outside! The sun is shining and it's 56 degrees outside! Marley loves going on walks. The only problem is she doesn't quite understand that I'm the leader and she must follow me. I guess that all goes back to training her. I have a problem disciplining her. I would rather spoil her than discipline her. I need to learn how to train her to walk properly. It's very important for me to teach Mar to walk by my side, not in front of me almost pulling me down the path. One way to do so is to keep treats in my pocket and to reward her for obeying. Walking is very good for Marley. This allows her and I to develop our relationship...I know that sounds funny, but it's true! It also allows her to get her exercise, which she needs. So, next time I take her on a walk, I'll be sure to post about how it goes!