Marley Goes Camping

The kids & I took Marley camping this weekend--his first ever camping trip! He did great..he seemed to understand that the camper was just like the house in that you potty outside, and sleep indoors. He loved going for walks, smelling the smells, playing with Sadie, and just being 2" next to me the entire time. (We're still working on that velcro-attachment syndrome thing..I hope to be peeing w/o his assistance by next month.)

Our neighbors were sitting around their campfire Saturday night, and one of the guys hollered at me and asked what kind of a dog he was. I said labradoodle, in that way that only labradoodle owners can SAY labradoodle, and one of the girls exclaimed, "I KNEW IT!! Can we see him??" Then the guy said, "He's an awesome-looking dog." AWWWW, Marley had his own little camping fan club!! Go Marley! They loved Sadie up for good measure, too, and then we went in for the night.

Here are pics from Marley's first trip..enjoy!

Are you ready to go camping, Marley?



Come get in the van, Marley!! We're going camping, boy!



On top of sleeping people is the best place to chew bones in the whole camper!





Sadie gets in on the waking-up action:



Aww, a boy & his dog:




Wake up, Maddie..is that a giant wet doggy paw print there beside you? Nice..



This must be the guilty, paw-print leaving party..trying to look all innocent. Notice the trees & campfire outside the window, and picture the cool, crisp early-fall air..Sigh..LOVE it!



Kid 2 is worried about his bed-head hair...he's temporarily forgotten that we're in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees?




Sadie tries to ONLY lay at the end of the bed...until they're asleep, then she plots her power takeover of the entire bed....BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Marley Updates

Marley has been here a full week, and he is doing wonderfully well in his new home. (He can't speak, obviously, so this is my observation.) *smirk*

Marley has had no accidents in the house, and none in his crate, either. The first few days he took his sweet time going potty, and I spent a LOT of time outside in the rain. (Nice that it decided to rain solidly for a week after we get a new puppy...Mother Nature is a real pill sometimes..)On about Day 3 he started to understand what GO POTTY meant, and he did his business and bounded back in the house, muddy feet and all. Alpo Snaps are a WONDERFUL training tool! No, they're not the most nutritionally-sound doggy treat, but it's for training purposes. He's still not digging the van or car rides, so I'm keeping some real dried meat doggy treats from Western's Meat Market in the van for him..he gets one every time we get in the van. He hasn't been sold on that 100% yet, but I think it's working.

He & Sadie seem to be getting along as well as could be expected at this point. There are some squabbles over toys & bones, but they break it up the minute I yelp at them. He likes Lego's, my old nasty mowing shoes, my new shoes, and Mizzou baseball caps...those are on the "list of things I've removed from the new puppy's mouth the first week." He seems to like his food, and we're learning that we do NOT put our paws on the kitchen table or counter.

Marley & Sadie both went to the vet last Friday..Marley got all of his puppy shots, wormer, flea preventative, and heartworm preventative. He goes back in 3 weeks for boosters and to schedule his neuter. (Poor Marley!) Sadie went for the raging yeast infection she has from her neverending allergy issues..(Poor Sadie!)

Marley goes to the nursing home tomorrow for pet therapy..so today he gets a bath. I can't believe I gave him such a horrible hair trim on his face...but maybe by the end of next month it won't be noticeable? I can dream, right?

He's also learned "sit" in his first week, so we'll keep working on that for another week or so before we move on to "stay." He's also learned to walk well on a leash, and follows me with his eyes constantly. What a good boy--he needs to teach big sis Sadie because she requires a LOT more effort on walks.

And look what's going on when I'm not looking:

Sadie

This post has nothing to do with camping, a retro trailer, or scrapbooking. I thought it would be fun to share some pictures of our golden retriever, Sadie. Sadie joined our family about 10 months ago when she was still just a pup. Kid 3 & I drove to Kansas City, MO & picked her up, and from the minute we brought her home, she fit in perfectly. She loves to camp, she loves to go for car rides, she loves having kids in her pack, and she even tolerates the cats most days.

So here are a few pictures of Sadie throughout the past year...a little "tribute" to Sadie, so to speak. And after the slideshow, check out the cute Sadie video made by Kid 1.

CUTE SADIE VIDEO: