Wednesday Thursday

Marley's appetite has gotten better over the last few days.  He's now eating 2 full meals a day.  For awhile, he was barely eating one meal plus a few snacks, even with people food thrown in.  On Wednesday evening, we had Italian food delivered.  I mixed some small pieces of chicken and bread into Marley's regular food and he ate all of his dinner at once.

After dinner, I played ball with Marley in the living room.  A new Pet Central store opened on 2nd Avenue, about 4 blocks from our building.  Debbie went in there on Saturday and they gave her a little blue plastic ball with their logo & info on it.  Marley loves that ball, because it's small enough to fit comfortably in his mouth and it's very light, so it moves far & quickly when he pushes it.  He also crushes it in his mouth and it reinflates when he lets go.  He pushes the ball under the hutch and it either comes out another opening or it goes to the very back, and I have to get it.  When I get it, I try to deceive Marley about where it will reappear.

I took Marley out about 8:30 and we were out about a half hour.  We ran around the block and then we found 3 smaller dogs playing together.  Marley quickly joined the group and went from one dog to the other.  He played with Sandy Rose and another small brown dog for a few minutes.  He played longer with little Charlie (Boston Terrier, Beagle mix).

I took my shoes & sox off about 10:30 and went back into the living room to watch some TV.  Fifteen minutes later, Marley had to go out.  He did his business and we ran 3/4 of the way around the block, including up the hill on 41st.

Marley stirred early on Thursday morning.  He started whining before 5:30 and Debbie took him out after a couple of soft barks.  Thankfully, he didn't wake up the neighborhood.  Ten minutes later, they came back in and we all went back to sleep.

I got up at the regular time.  I fed Marley his breakfast and gave him a small bone stuffed with American cheese.  That's his morning treat.  I used to give him peanut butter and cream cheese, but the end result was too soft.  Marley played with the bone and ate the cheese slowly.  I made some instant coffee for myself - Debbie doesn't drink instant, and ate my breakfast.  Debbie got up when I left.

As soon as I stepped out of the building, the flurries started.  By the time my bus got to Madison Street (in Chinatown), there was an accumulation on the parked cars.  It was just warm enough for snow hitting the street and sidewalk to melt.  The flurries got heavier for awhile, but it was over before noon.

The temperature dropped throughout the day and Thursday evening was quite cold and windy.  I got home before 6:30 and quickly changed clothes.  Shortly after, I took Marley out and we ran to the dog run.  We stayed for over an hour, until I couldn't take the cold any longer.

At the run, Marley played with: Cody, a big fluffy bear of a dog, a little over 70 lbs.; Charlie, a collie-golden mix, about 50 lbs; Drake, a black lab, about 70 lbs; and Brooklyn, a small brown poodle, probably between 5 and 10 lbs.  All of the dogs played together, although most of the big dogs didn't spend much time with Brooklyn.  After Drake left, Marley played alternatingly with Cody and Charlie.  When Marley played with one, the other got jealous and barked at the two that were playing together.  Another instance of the 100% rule: "I want all the attention and I want you to only play with me."

Talking to the dog

In order to train a dog, you have to speak to it.  Giving a command is a way of talking to the dog.  Giving praise and showing affection also require talking to the dog.  I find myself saying all kinds of things to Marley, many of which he will probably never understand, as if he were a human child.  But he does understand quite a bit, sometimes more than I realize.

Here is a sampling of the things I say to Marley:

• This is my breakfast.  That's your breakfast over there (pointing to his food bowl).
• Be a good boy for Mommy today.  I'll see you tonight, Marley.
• Slow down, stay with me.
• It's alright Marley, that little one is just afraid of you.
• Don't be looking for sticks, play with dogs.
• Leave that stick alone.  You don't want to get sick again.
• Let's go.  All the way through, Marley.  All the way through (running through the intersection).  Good boy.
• You're such a good boy.  You're my good dog.
• This is your kind of weather, isn't it Marley?
• What are you thinking?  What do you see? What do you smell? (as he sits at the end of the street, looking into the distance)
• You're just waiting for your dog buddies, aren't you (sitting in the street late at night)?
• Let's go home and see Debbie.  [I know he understands this.]
• Finish your rice (as I point to his food bowl). [He knew what I meant and ate more rice.]

Talking to the dog, I also find myself talking more with other dog owners.  I know they talk to their dogs.  And we talk about what our dogs like & dislike, how they behave, which dogs they play with or don't get along with.

I forget what the subject was.  Debbie said, "he doesn't understand that."  I replied, "if any dog would understand, it would be Marley."  She said, "you're right."

Monday Night and Tuesday Morning

Monday was very windy in New York and it rained most of the day.  It was warm, getting up to about 55 degrees in the city.  Once the rain ended, it was a beautiful evening - no wind, clear skies, temperatures still in the 50's.  Great for January.

Marley and I went out about 7, but it was still very wet out, so we didn't stay out long.  Things dried out pretty well in the next hour.  We went out again about 8:10 and stayed out a full hour.  We walked around the block four times, going up and down too many flights of stairs to count.  We jogged a bit.  A few times, Marley just sat and watched the neighborhood for 5 or 10 minutes.  When he saw a dog he liked, we followed, at a distance.  Most of the dogs we saw were too small for Marley to play with much, and we didn't see any big dogs that wanted to play.  We enjoyed our time outdoors and got our exercise.  Marley fell asleep about 10.

The alarm rang at 6:30 this morning and I got up right away.  I patted Marley once on the way out of the bedroom and he lay content on his little bed.  After showering I came back into the bedroom.  Then it was all pets and dog kisses for a minute.  When I moved away, Marley went to sit at Debbie's side of the bed.  He gave her a kiss and she got up.

Debbie went to get the coffee while I was making breakfast.  Marley gets a bone that I stuff with a slice of American cheese in addition to a bowl of wet kibble.  Debbie took Marley out while I finished eating my breakfast.  On the way to the bus, I saw Debbie with Marley.  He looked right at me, as if to say "where are you going, Daddy?", and I waved goodbye.  I'll be back about 6:30 tonight and we'll have another nice evening.

A nice weekend

This is a picture of Marley sleeping in the living room at about 10:20 last night. He looks happy, and he should - we got to the dog run six times over the long weekend and Marley must have encountered 30 dogs or more on Monday. He's probably dreaming of chasing some big dogs.

Saturday afternoon was warm, for January, and sunny. Everyone brought their dogs to the dog run, particularly those who were away during the coldest weather recently. In the sunshine, when the wind was still, it felt like spring. At one time, there may have been more than a dozen dogs in the run, which is just about capacity. The dogs were in groups of 2 or 3, either running together or just milling about together. And there were 4 or 5 balls being tossed about.

Sunday morning was 10 degrees colder and much damper than Saturday. Although it was about 37, it felt much colder. You could tell it was going to rain, which it did most of Sunday afternoon and evening. I got Marley down to the dog run by 9 am and he played with Luke for about a half hour. We then ran over to the playground and I tossed the ball for Marley to fetch for 15 minutes or so. Then Marley saw his buddy Charlie, a 10-month old Boston Terrier/Beagle mix, with his grandpa heading over to the dog run. Marley got really animated at that point and about 10 minutes later, we went back to the dog run and stayed there for another hour. We left when I got too cold to stay any longer. After this 2-hour outing, Marley slept most of the afternoon and evening. That was fine, because it rained while he slept.

Monday started out so-so, but developed into a nice warm day. We got to the dog run 3 times. We actually saw more dogs after 9 pm on the street than at the dog run. Marley played with a Maxie, an 18-month old bulldog, between 41st Street and the bridge at 42nd Street for a good 10 minutes. When we first brought Marley home, Maxie was much bigger than Marley. Marley is now much taller & longer than Maxie and is probably 50% heavier. When they play, Marley often jumps right over Maxie.

A little later we ran into RJ with one of his bit bulls, a 2-1/2 year old female almost exactly Marley's size. These 2 dogs have always played well together. RJ is a trainer and has rescued several bit bulls. He recently was taking care of 4 of them by himself. Marley and RJ's dog played for 10 minutes and then Marley & I ran around the block. Within 15 minutes of getting home, Marley fell asleep.

What a dog knows

Observing Marley on a daily basis, I often wonder just how much a dog truly understands. It could be more than I realize. When I look at him closely, I see a light in his eyes that tells me there is a certain intelligence present. I know it's different than human intelligence, but it's real. Our brains are primarily wired for language - speaking, reading, writing and the reasoning skills that developed along with language. Dogs' brains are primarily wired for smell.

What do I know about what a dog knows? I know a few things about what Marley knows:

• He knows and responds to his name. He knows my name and who Debbie is, both by name and if I say "momma." When Debbie calls out, "Lewis!," Marley knows he better behave.
• He knows and (often) responds to commands - come, sit, stay, down (lay down), off (get off me, get off the furniture), heel, go, etc.
• He knows he's a good dog and a good boy - I tell him all the time.
• He knows where in the apartment he is allowed and not allowed to go. We have a gate to keep him out of the kitchen, in case he forgets or gets bold.
• He knows where his bed is.
• He knows Debbie and I love him and he is eager to show his appreciation. I usually pet him first thing in the morning and he signals for me to put a hand between his paws, so he can hold it while licking it. If I bend down, he'll lick my face (dog kisses) for a solid minute.
• He knows when we're getting ready to go out, and knows the difference between me getting ready to go to work and getting ready to take him to the dog run.
• He has a good number of toys and he knows which one he wants to play with at a particular time.
• He knows that if he stays near the kitchen table around dinner time, he has a better than even chance of getting something especially tasty to supplement his regular meal.
• He knows very well where the dog run is and the different ways we take to get there.
• He knows who his dog buddies are. He knows who his human friends are.
• He senses our emotions - he knows if someone is angry or sad and he knows when we're happy.
• He knows that when I pull hard on his leash he better respond right away.
• He knows to run all the way through the intersection when we cross a street.

I don't know how many words Marley knows, but it's probably close to 100. I'm trying to teach him right and left. We'll see how that goes.

Fine Young Animals

The image at the right was taken last night. Marley is holding the ball part of his toy in his front paws and is chewing on a rawhide wheel placed between the ball and plastic 1/2 bone. He is fully engaged and is clearly having a good time. Notice that he is in his "place" on the couch - on the blue towel.

On our walks around the neighborhood, Marley and I come across a number of dogs between 3 months and a year old. These dogs are all very excited, enthusiastic, and energetic. It's great to see Marley and these dogs greet each other. There's the little dance they do when they first encounter each other - a jump to the left, a jump to the right, a lunge forward. When Marley meets a dog he knows and particularly likes, he may add a jump turn, immediately presenting his rear end for the other dog to sniff. If we release the leashes to let the dogs play a little more freely, Marley sometimes jumps completely over the other dog.

The older dogs are often less interested or less excited when meeting Marley. The certainly don't do the dance. Some dogs completely ignore Marley. Some older dogs do play with Marley and their owners later tell me that they don't usually play with puppies.

Puppies get it right. They are so happy and excited to be alive. They're full of energy and want to know what things are, what is going on, what treats you have for them. I like the variety of dogs in the city - all sizes, colors, breeds, hair/fur lengths & styles. A healthy, happy dog is a joy to be around. Is there anything better than to be in the presence of these fine young animals, with their lively spirits?

Two tennis balls

I always take Marley's purple ball when I think we might be heading to the dog run. I never know if there will be other dogs there or if it's going to be just us. The park workers sometimes leave tennis balls for the dogs to play with, but sometimes they're so ratty that the dogs don't want to pick them up or there might not be anything. If I take Marley's ball, at least he'll have something to run after.

If it's just Marley and me at the dog run, or at the ball field, he has no problem chasing after his ball. But if there are other dogs there, he prefers to chase the dogs. If the other dog has a ball, Marley would rather grab that ball than fetch his own. If I throw Marley's ball, the other dog is likely to go chase it. I've spent a lot of time throwing Marley's ball to other dogs. There's just something about the other guy's stuff.

We were at the dog run over the weekend and I saw something new. There was a larger dog running around with a tennis ball in her mouth. Her master threw another tennis ball and she grabbed the second ball. She ran around the dog run with two tennis balls in her mouth. Normally, a dog drops the first ball and pick up the second ball or nudge the second ball and keep the first ball in its mouth.

I often see what looks like dog A.D.D. If you have a toy and roll it near a similar toy, the dog will pick up the first, hold it for a few seconds, put it down, then go to the second, pick it up, hold it for a few seconds, then go back to the first. Repeat a few times. The dog would grab both, if it could. The dog has to choose, but is unable to.

Packages

Shopping for Marley can get to be expensive, so we watch how much we purchase and look for good prices. It wasn't always that way.

When we first brought Marley home, the emphasis was on just getting enough of the right stuff, regardless of price. I went down to the local Petco, which is about a 1/2 mile from the apartment, and bought collars, leashes, balls, tug toys, stuffed animals, soft treats, rawhide, etc. They didn't have Marley's brand of dog food, so I also went to Petopia, which is just a few blocks further away. Although Petopia isn't as big as Petco, they have a really good selection of merchandise. But their prices aren't any better than Petco's.

We learned about a couple of good websites from fellow dog owners in the neighborhood. One is SitStay.com and another is jbpet.com. Jbpet tends to have better prices and is in NJ, so stuff gets here pretty quickly from them. SitStay is in Nebraska, so shipping to the East Coast takes 4 or 5 days. They both have huge catalogs, and if I can't find an item on one site, the other is almost sure to have it.

Another site I've visited is Petmeds.com. I haven't actually used them yet, but probably will come spring. Marley uses Frontline and Revolution. Petmeds sells Frontline, but you can only get Revolution from a vet.

I've been ordering food, treats, toys, and waste bags every 3 weeks or so. I've also ordered a couple of beds for Marley on-line. So, on a regular basis, we get packages from UPS. When I bring the packages upstairs, Marley gets excited, because he thinks he'll be getting something good. In a pinch, I'll get something from Petopia or Petco or from a pet supply store near my office.

Marley was a year old around Christmas, and around December 20th we had some extra special toys and treats delivered. One of the toys was a cloth multi-colored cube with open sides that was filled with 5 multi-colored balls of different sizes, shapes, and colors. Another toy was a plastic bone with a plastic ball in the middle. It unscrews and you can put rawhide wheel between the ball and either side, where the bone halves are. Marley loves both of these toys, but he really enjoys working the rawhide toy. I think his middle name is Tenacious.

Now Marley thinks that anytime we bring packages into the apartment, he'll be getting something. He gets excited, and we have to show him and say, "not everything is for you."

Weekend

I took Marley to the dog run four times this weekend. Our shortest trip out was 45 minutes, but the other trips were all over an hour each.

Saturday was cold and with the wind gusting at over 40 mph, it was wicked bitter frigid. In the morning, Marley played with a black dog about his size and age at the dog run. When we were done at the dog run, we ran 3/4 of the way around the block to a ball field type playground. A two-year old black lab named Bella was already there with her mother. Marley and Bella chased a tennis ball and each other around for 15 minutes before Bella had to leave. I threw Marley's hard purple ball, one that once had a squeaker, and he retrieved it regularly for about ten minutes. Then a family came to play field hockey, so we left. On the way home, Marley found an eight-inch stick, which he devoured completely in the next hour.

Saturday afternoon, we went back to the dog run. The other dog that was there didn't interact with Marley very much, so I wound up tossing the ball to him for most of the time. We stayed for about a half hour. I thought we were going back to the apartment, but wound up walking and running around the neighborhood for another half hour. That included going up and down about 15 flights of stairs. So we got a workout.

Later, Debbie and I rolled out a new rug that we recently bought for the living room. Marley was curious about what it was and was all over it immediately. He figured out that it was softer than the bare floor and lay on it for a while.

Late in the afternoon and again at dinner time, Marley threw up the stick and everything else he ate on Saturday. Not wonderful to clean up, but it got done. Afterwards, I gave him some more food and he kept it down. Marley fell asleep early Saturday night, about 9 pm. He lay half on the new rug and half on the floor in front of the hutch. Every once in a while, he curled up completely on the rug, later uncurling to his original position.

Sunday morning was actually colder than Saturday, about 16 degrees, but felt better because the wind was fairly still. It helped that the sky was clear and the sun shone directly on us. There were two dogs Marley had played with before at the dog run and the three of them ran together for 30 minutes. Marley and I stayed longer and he chased his ball around.

Sunday afternoon was more humid and that made it seem colder. There was also a little breeze. I doubled up before taking Marley out - two hats, two pair of socks, two pair of pants. This is in addition to six layers on my torso and a scarf to keep my nose and chin warm. Marley was oblivious to the weather. In the time we were at the dog run, there were four other dogs there. Marley played with 3 of them. The last was a black lab named Charlie who is the same age as Marley. Charlie is probably a few inches longer/taller and 10 lbs heavier than Marley, but they were well matched in temperament and energy level. They sparred well together.

A lot of people, especially those who don't have dogs, don't understand dog play. The dogs will charge at each other and lunge forward with their upper bodies, winding up leaning on each other, stretched out and standing tall on their hind legs. They'll show their teeth and hiss at each other and use their front legs to get better position. It looks like serious fighting, but it's all in good fun. Sometimes, you have to look closely to tell the difference. Another clue is to see if the tails are wagging or stiff.

The Crate

We bought a 36-inch crate at Home Depot the day we brought Marley home. The sides are made of steel wire and there's a hard plastic insert for a floor. There's a door in front that locks via two sliding parts. Marley tried to figure out how to open the crate from the inside, but without thumbs it wasn't going to happen.

We kept Marley in the crate about 1/2 the time plus overnight for about the first 3 months we had him - between 3 and 6 months old. We put a soft towel on the crate's floor for him to sleep on and usually kept some toys in there. Marley took his meals in the crate, and we kept his food & water bowls in there as well. Keeping these things in the crate helped with housebreaking - he would let us know when he had to go out rather than fowl his personal living space. Even so, it took about a month to get him reliably housebroken.

We enjoyed having Marley with us, out of the crate, in the evening. He would start to get sleepy between 9:30 and 10 pm. Sometimes he would first lie on his belly with his legs, tail, and snout all touching the floor. When he did this, we said that we had a six-point dog. Then he would shift onto his side in front of the hutch, dark side facing up and legs pointed into the room. As he lay on his side, I would kneel down beside him and stroke him from his head, along the length and breadth of his body in a zigzag pattern, to his tail. He was small enough that I could do this in one continuous sweep. I would say, "You're a good boy, Marley. You're such a good dog." I'd stroke him and continue talking to him for 5 or 10 minutes, until he was asleep.

Between 10:30 and 11, Debbie and I would be ready to go to sleep. I'd shut off the lights and lock the door and then get Marley into his crate. The easiest way to get him in was to his toys in and a treat or two and then gently grab his collar & tell him it was alright as I took him over to the crate. Once at the front of the open crate, he usually didn't resist. After I closed the crate, he'd look at me as if to say, "You're really going to leave me here?" After I went into the bedroom and closed the door, Marley sometimes would whimper. Less often, he barked. It took us a while, but we learned to ignore it.

Over the summer, we used the crate less and less. We finally let Marley free in the apartment full time. He had grown so quickly that the crate had gotten too small for him. He still fit inside, but by September he could only lie down in it. Marley's food & water were kept in the crate at first. Later, his food was served outside of the crate. Lastly, his water bowl was taken out.

Debbie and I recently started talking about taking the crate out of the apartment. About a week ago, Debbie said, "We should take the crate down soon." Marley heard this. Every day since then, Marley has been spending more time in the crate. Last night, he went inside and lay down for about 20 minutes. Maybe he's a nostalgic dog. He knows what Debbie said and he's telling us, "You can't take away my special place."

ACD behavior

Australian Cattle Dogs, also known as Queensland Heelers, are herders. Below are a few ways he expresses that behavior.

I usually take a ball when I take Marley to the dog run. If Marley is the only dog there, or if the other dogs stay down at the other end, he will fetch the ball. But if the dogs are running together, Marley will let the other dogs get the ball and then he'll chase the dog that has the ball.
Sometimes, another dog will be running and Marley will chase that dog, but only within a set perimeter. He'll try to keep the other dog from exiting that area by running along a boundary line.

Debbie often goes to bed early than I do, but if I'm really tired I'll go in first. If I'm hanging out in the living room watching TV and Marley wants to go to sleep, he'll come over and nudge me with his snout. I may try to pet him or tell him it's alright or tell him to go to Momma. He may nudge me again. If I don't pay attention, he'll start barking. And he won't stop until I go into the bedroom. Once I get into bed, he'll get onto his bed and we all go to sleep together.

This is also related to the "100% rule." Togetherness, love, and ownership/territory are defined by the 100% rule. Marley wants to be with both his masters 100% of the time, or as close as possible. Marley want 100% of the love in the household to be directed at him. He is a jealous dog. If he sees Debbie and me holding hands or rubbing one another, Marley immediately tries to get in the middle of it.

Ownership/territory is the strongest form of the 100% rule. Marley knows which chair is mine, where Debbie usually sits on the couch, and which area of the couch he's allowed on. Marely wants to rule it all, but when I say, "Get out of my chair," he moves. If Debbie sits in my chair, he'll bark at her. It's as if he's saying, "That's his chair, not yours." There is no such thing as sharing in his mind. Either it's yours or it's his. Mostly, it's his.

Bone Thief

Marley and I went for a walk about 8 last night. I was all bundled up and he couldn't be happier in his birthday suit. The wind wasn't as fierce as the past few days, so it was enjoyable for both of us. Marley played with a couple of pugs on 2nd Avenue and a young golden retriever coming up the hill on 41st Street. We turned the corner onto Tudor City Place and passed the entrance to our building.

Circling back, we came upon Percy and Melissa. Percy is a 2 1/2 year old vizsla and one of Marley's best dog buddies. Melissa is Percy's mom. They live at the far end of the hall from us. Percy and Marley are almost exactly the same size now.

Melissa walked Percy around for a few minutes and Marley followed excitedly, pulling me along. There's a low wall between the road and the sidewalk at the end of the street. Marley jumped up on it twice and walked back & forth along it as he followed Percy. Percy was pretending to not be excited.

We all went back into the building and rode the elevator back to the 3rd floor. Melissa took Percy's leash off and I dropped Marley's leash. Marley trotted down the hall with Percy following close behind. Melissa's door was ajar, and Marley pushed through. So we all went into Melissa's apartment and the dogs started to play. Percy grabbed a toy and dared Marley to take it away from him. Marley barely paid any attention to Percy.

Suddenly, Marley trotted over to Percy's toy box and grabbed a bone. He walked all around the apartment with the bone sticking out of both sides of his mouth, looking for a place to hide it.

"We get those meat bones at Petopia. They come frozen, but we heat them up in the oven to 350 degrees and drain off the fat. The marrow is actually the best part. Percy's done with that bone, so Marley can have it."

Marley couldn't have been happier. He walked around the apartment for another minute and then decided it was time to go home. So he walked down the hall to our apartment.

"Thanks for the bone. Happy New Year."

Marley chewed on that bone until 11 pm, only pausing for water and a quick trip outside. We all went to sleep, but Marley got up at 3 am and got that bone again. He chewed on it for 40 minutes, until Debbie got up and took it away from him. He chewed on it some more this morning, before I left for work. I know a dog who's going to be getting some frozen meat bones regularly.

A curious dog

Marley is a smart and curious dog. He's always trying to find out what is going on. One of his favorite things is to sit in one place outside for 20 or 30 minutes and watch activity in the neighborhood. You can tell from his concentration and the intensity of his stare that he's learning lots of things. When he's doing this, he won't respond to his name or an offer of treats, so you know something important is going on. Sometimes he'll watch birds for 10 minutes to figure out their movements before trying to catch them. If I didn't keep a tight grip, he might have caught a bird by now.

Marley tries to figure out how things work. If you give him a new toy, he'll try to make it squeak or see if it will bounce or if there's a way to take it apart or get something to come out of it. He has learned how to open closet doors, the non-sliding kind. We have a 42-inch gate to keep Marley out of the kitchen. He watches us going in & out. If he had thumbs, he would have opened the gate already. One of my favorite expressions is, "if a dog had thumbs, it would be over already."

Marley's sense of smell, like all dogs', is truly amazing. He'll sit with his nose in the air, take a few deep whiffs and can tell which people and dogs are coming, what food is being cooked, where the flowers are, etc. Twice, I've witnessed him start barking when Debbie approached in a taxi two blocks away and around the corner. A couple of times, we were on the street & he barked because he smelled smoke, before we heard the fire engines coming.

Marley invents games. I'd roll or bounce the ball away from him in our living room and he would retreive it. After 8 or 10 turns, he pushed the ball under the hutch. I got the ball out and put it near Marley, and he pushed it back under. Then he rolled over on his side and tried to get it with his mouth and front legs. There are also side openings, and Marley will push the ball through the front opening and try to get it by a side opening. Sometimes he lies near a corner and pushes it from one opening through the other and back.

The Marley Fitness Program

Marley is a high-energy dog and needs a lot of exercise. If he doesn't get it, you'll know - either a lot of jumping or the 9 pm "zoomies." The zoomies consist of a quick series of 8 to 15 sprints around the apartment and long jumps onto the couch or bed. Sometime, Marley will jump onto my easy chair and use that as a springboard for a higher & longer jump onto the couch. If there's a closed door along the obstacle course, Marley will force it open as he zooms about.

During the week, Debbie will take Marley out first thing in the morning and tries to take him on a long morning walk. He's usually out 4 or 5 times before I get home from work. I'll take him out 2 or 3 more times before 9 or 10. When I walk him, we usually go at least 4 or 5 blocks and run a short stretch of 42nd Street and up 4 flights of stairs. If it's not to late, we might jog over to the dog run and back, after he's had 20 or 30 minutes activity in the dog run.

On the weekend and on holidays, Marley is mine. I typically will take him on all his walks and we get to the dog run a minimum of twice a day. But he'll get in a 2 to 3 hour afternoon nap and he's ready to go to sleep for the night no later than 10:15.

Over the summer, we used to take 3 and 4 mile walks. We made it to Central Park a couple of times. On some of our shorter walks, 1 & 1/2 or 2 miles, Debbie sometimes joined us.

In the 10 months before we got Marley, Debbie started a diet, and I lost 15 lbs.

I took a business trip to New Mexico about a month after we brought Marley home. I thought that I would need to get in shape in order to keep up with him. So, after dinner, I put on my shorts and sandals and did one-hour power walks in the 95 degree heat. After that, when I went on business trips, I would walk or use the hotel treadmill. I also started watching what I ate a little more closely.

I started running in the mornings about a month ago, but I hurt my foot. I may start again, but I would run every other day, rather than daily.

After 4 months, I started telling people (truthfully) that I had lost a pound a week since we got Marley. We've had him a little over 9 months and I've lost and kept off 27 lbs. So, I've lost 42 lbs. in total and I feel great. And I know that having Marley around will keep me motivated to stay in shape.

Snow Dog

The first snow of the season started before dinner time the Saturday before Christmas. By 9 pm, a few inches had accumulated. Marley had never been in snow before, but he was loving it. He tried to catch falling snowflakes in his mouth and ran into the deepest drifts, which weren't much yet. As he ate snow off the ground, he must have quickly realized that snow was just frozen water. At the right is a picture of Marley and Debbie in the falling snow. The snowflakes weren't as big as they look in the picture.

It snowed more heavily overnight and Marley went crazy the next morning. He ran from drift to drift and buried his face as deeply as possible. He wanted to eat as much snow as possible. I don't let him loose outside, except at dog runs, so I was running from deep drift to deep drift. And he loves the cold. I could be draped in six warm layers, along with face protection, and still feel cold. Marley would feel perfectly comfortable. Marley has such a wonderful natural coat, he doesn't even realize it's cold. He loves it when the frigid wind whips off the East River. He'll stand there with his face directly in the wind, with his ears flapping in the breeze. His expression says, "This is great!"

That snow took about a week to melt fully, and Marley took advantage of it as long as possible. It snowed about an inch & a half New Year's Day, but that quickly melted. There was a dusting of snow on the ground this morning, as well. But it was much colder today and the wind has been brutal. Needless to say, this is Marley's kind of weather. I'm sure he'll have many more chances to prance in the snow by winter's end.

Marley comes home

Debbie came home on a Thursday night and said, "We might be going to look at a dog on Saturday. I'll let you know tomorrow."

I met Steve for coffee on Friday morning. He said, "Every time my family went to look at a dog, we came home with a dog."

On Friday evening, Debbie and I looked at the website for the rescue shelter. The picture was in black & white and not very clear. It looked like a dog with a big snout and not much else. Debbie had researched lots of dogs, but she never heard of a cattle dog. Our friend Adrienne said, "They're not photographers, they're dog people. It's a really sweet dog. If you don't come up here and look at this dog, someone else will get him."

We got up early on Saturday and drove two hours upstate to the shelter. His name was Bobbi, but we knew we'd change it. Debbie said, "I was thinking Bubba, or {I lost my mind and couldn't hear a thing she was saying right then. I knew I had to come up with something better really quickly} ..." I said, "How about Charlie or Marley?" "Which do you think is better." "I'm thinking Marley." "Okay, so it'll be Marley."

We got off the Thruway at New Paltz and a half hour later we were at the shelter. The volunteers at the shelter told us that Bobbi's brother was adopted two weeks earlier and was twice Bobbi's size. And they said he was a lot cuter. We met Jane and were brought to a play area in back. Adrienne arrived with her dog, Barley. Then Jane brought Bobbi in. I called him, "Come, Bobbi. You're such a good dog." And he came trotting over, with a little hop in his step. As soon as Jane left the room, we started calling him Marley.

He was a cute little thing, about 18 inches long and weighing 10 lbs. His ears and forehead are mainly brown, with a streak of white in the middle. His muzzle is black and white. His eyes are darkly shaded, like a raccoon. His right side is darker. He has six different sets of whiskers and those on the right side have more black in them.

I fed him some kibble from my hand. At that moment, we knew we were taking him home with us. The rest of the day was devoted to getting him ready to come with us and getting stuff to take care of him. We took him to the vet for a rabies shot and to look for ticks. There was paperwork to take care of at the shelter. We bought dog food and toys. We got a crate at Home Depot. On Sunday I went to Petco and bought a bunch of more stuff.

Marley sat on Debbie's lap in the back seat for the ride into New York City. He was calm and didn't make a sound the whole way. We got a cart and brought everything into the apartment. Debbie and I set-up the crate on the side of our living room area, put down a towel, put out water, put some kibble in a bowl, and led Marley over to the crate.

Over the next several hours, we had him in the crate about half the time. He had a couple of accidents in the apartment and we clean them up. We took him outside to do his business. He was batting about .500 at this point.

At bedtime, we put him in the crate and closed it tight - he wouldn't be getting out. We put a towel over the crate. We closed our bedroom door. Marley cried for an hour, but we ignored it the best we could. Finally, we all fell asleep.