Petite Golden Retriever

 

Marley

Subject:Marley Update
Date:January 6, 2010
From: Dave E.

To: Timshell Farm

Hello and happy new year! I wanted to give you folks a short update on Marley now than another year has passed.

Marley has grown into a wonderful family member. She is the smartest thing on the planet, really she understands the most subtle gestures and commands. Her food drive has enabled us to train her very consistently and now she responds with just the slightest of gestures.

She follows all the proper commands for a well mannered dog such as sit, down, stay, leave-it, go-sit-down/go-to-place, off/down, etc.. As one might expect, she has fallen into our routine by now and understands how things work. We enjoy play time, she loves long walks, and will run endlessly. She also sits down with us while we relax in front of the TV before bed, and often she climbs into bed with us. If she takes up too much space, just a simple "Marley, move over" will make her move over... and "Marley, off" will make her get off the bed without protest. It is really remarkable to me.

When I come home after work, she follows me up to the bedroom where I change out of my work clothes, and she waits to play rough. This is the only time where we get to play dirty, I let her put her teeth on me and we wrestle for a little while. She will play-bow and bark and it's all in good fun. It never hurts and she really enjoys it. When the game is over, all I say is "Marley, easy" and fold my arms and we're done... she follows me back downstairs and looks for a treat.

Marley has quite a nose. We play a game where I hide a smelly treat somewhere in the house and say, "Marley, find it!" Her nose is to the ground hunting for this thing until it's found. Now I can use "Find it!" to basically tell her to clean-up after the messy kids!

Marley is quite a people-dog. Mostly she couldn't be bothered with other dogs, but she is infinitely attracted to people and loves to lie down and get scratched. She walks with us on a long lead all the time but she is never distracted by a stray dog or a barking dog within another house. She has a high chase drive so if she sees a squirrel or rabbit, watch out!

Marley will not bite or steal things from us or the kids. She will not mount your leg or attempt to achieve dominance. She understands her place in our house. She does not go to the bathroom in the house, destroy objects, furniture, or exhibit any form of distress, even if left alone for many hours. When we leave on vacation once or twice a year for several days, she stays in PetSmart's "pet hotel" where we pay for the longest amount of outside time available, and they tell us she does perfectly fine and appears just as happy.

The kids love her and we love her too. Everyone who meets her compliments on her good looks. She's excitable, yes, but a wonderful companion to all of us. I've included a couple of pictures for you... I hope you enjoy them. Thanks again, I will try to email you again next year!

-Dave

Subject: RE: Marley update
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2010
From: David E.

To: 'Linda Rogers' <timshellfarm@gmail.com>

Hi Linda. Marley is a great family member. She is well trained and everyone loves her! She especially loves snow. I don't know if you get any snow down in Texas, but when it snows here it snows pretty good... And she loves it. She just can't get enough of romping through the snow chasing frisbee or digging for hidden treasures. Here are a few pictures from this past winter.

Hope you are well,

-Dave