Oh yes, I'm a sucker for a sob story. Marley needs a home and I have a home. Marley's family circumstances have changed every couple of months of her fist year. They got her to breed her, so she needs a hysterectomy. And her ex parents have agreed to take care of the neutering. She also needs a microchip and her nails trimmed and her anal glands cleared and her teeth cleaned and her nails trimmed. All this is in her near future, but for now she's getting acquainted with Cyrus (he likes her) and Roscoe (he'll tolerate her) and Tassman (who will probably want to play with her). Marley needs training and I'm a good trainer. Marley is pretty damn cute and I've never had a little dog, nor a pure breed dog. I've always believed that a mixed breed is a less neurotic dog and less prone to breed problems. Marley will be one year old in August, so hopefully, Marley will be very trainable. But so far in her first night at my house, she woke me up every two hours. I was a good sport and took Marley outside to do her business, but Marley just wanted to explore the area around the house, or my feet or the deck, but Marley refused to pee or poop. So back to bed. First thing out of bed this morning I took Marley and Cyrus to pee. Then when I came in to pee, Marley squatted on the bathroom rug and peed right in front of me. I have a girlfriend who is very ill and is having a surgical procedure done today. So the plan was that she would come to my house at 10:30 this morning and I would take her to the hospital. This morning just as my friend sat down in a chair, Marley took a crap on the floor right in front of her.
So now the work of training begins. One of my friends lives three houses up the street. She is a Chihuahua mama. And like many little dog owners, she claims training a little dog is different than training a big dog. I don't believe that, mainly because I've had such a variety of big dogs. But also because there are all the aspects of dog evolution and genetics breeding to tell us that no matter what size or breed they are pack animals and need a pack leader to feel secure. I am the pack leader and I expect all the dogs in my pack to behave well. So Marley and I are going to have some serious potty training sessions over the next few days. I think one of the things that makes little dogs neurotic is that so many little dog owners treat their pint sized pups like tiny human babies who will be little babies forever. Well, Marley is going to be a smart, happy, secure, healthy dog member of the pack at Chez Savage.
And I start doing research on little Dachshunds now.
