Marcia Having Fun

Cute toy Marcia got from Cassie for Easter... So far she has just played with it and not destroyed it...

 Another visit to the dog park... She again did well and enjoyed peeing on as many things as possible.

 And so far she has not forgotten her daily back rubs!  They are just the most adorable thing ever!

Skeeter too, continues to do well.. She's healthy, her neck neck isn't bothering her and she also is doing so great with her first New Rattitude foster... She's a champ! 

Hanging Out...

Got Marcia to wear the latest shirt that was sent from lootpet... She didn't seem to mind it so much and I thought she looked pretty good in it!    Her and Skeeter are drinking buddies too!  They like to go to the communal water dish together... sillies..

 Marcia enjoying a treat!

Playtime!

 She's getting really into playing with toys (now that I have figured out that she likes the stuffed ones) and she will even play a little fetch and tug with me which is super.    She has some energy to her that you don't always see until you get her riled up and then she gets super playful with you.  She just follows your speed.   

Worn out from playing!

 She's slowing gaining Skeeter's trust and Skeeter is letting her snuggle a bit... Not always, but sometimes... Nice to see them both interacting well.  I've seen Skeeter snark at her a couple of time and Marcia listens.. Once over a doggie bed that I think Marcia either wanted or wanted to share... Marcia listened too and found another spot...

Wednesday Walk About

Marcia let me know yesterday that I was working too much (I've been working a lot the past few days) - right after work, she started barking at me and getting kind of spazzy - doing some rattie runs around the house and I was even shown a couple of spins that she can do! 

We headed to the dog park right after work as I thought it wouldn't be too busy in the big area, rather than taking a walk... Our park can get pretty busy and lots of big dogs and I didn't want Marcia to be overwhelmed there.  Luckily there was only 1 other dog when we got there and there ended up only being two more... This was great for her (and me too).

 I think she pee'd on about every inch of the park... She does like to leave her mark!  

She met Aussie; she was a bigger dog but they interacted well together... a little play, a little chase..

 She also met Marcel, a french bulldog that was more her size... Marcel preferred to chase the bigger dogs and was really speedy.. this was after an hour at the dog park and Marcia wasn't up to running and playing chase and was winding down...

I was also happy to see that when the two bigger dogs got into rough housing and chasing, chomping and barking at each other.. Marcia knew to stay out of the way and let them be... though she kept a watchful eye on them... She also made sure she met all the people.  Just a quick; who are you...

 

It was a really positive dog park experience in the bigger dog area for her.... We did lots of walking around the whole area and she kept pretty close to me without too much wandering far off.. It was fun just to hang out with her without the other dogs.

 

A lovely positive day at the park... and now I have a worn out happy non spazzy) sleepy dog!

Likes and Dislikes

Marcia doesn't like any fruit or vegetable... I've tried them a bunch and so far, it's all a big NO... carrots, green beans, broccoli, apples, bananas, oranges... none of them... I gave her a piece of popcorn and she ran off with it... I thought, ah!  a food she likes... then I watched her basically just chew it open mouth and dribbled soggy popcorn pieces everywhere... sigh...   She'll eat a piece of chicken or beef, but as for the vegis and fruits - it's a no go! (I'll keep trying though!)  It is nice to be able to eat one of those cutie oranges without her trying to stare me down for a piece though (talking to you, Skeeter!).   She just likes her kibble (and doesn't say no to coconut oil or fish oil either)!

Marcia giving herself a back scratch <---video

Much like another foster parent (see Scritchy-Scratch video), Marcia gives herself a back scratch nearly everyday and I can never get my camera out fast enough to catch it... I finally did!    Her back scratches are very slow.. She really gets into them... You can also see her awesome fluffy foxlike tail in this video

What does she like?  SHOES!  Thankfully, she doesn't chew them (whew) but she does like to bring them to her and just hang out with them... If you take them and put them away; she'll try to find them and bring them back... She doesn't get into our shoe box, but we aren't always so good at getting the shoes in there..then one will dissapear and I have to go hunt it down... She's training me to better at putting my shoes away! 

shoe in the front, one in the back.. just like she likes!

Walking on Sunshine!

It was such a nice day on Saturday, I took Marcia out for a walk at Randall park.  It's a busy park with dogs and people.  She is just super on a leash... nice and slow (which is my speed), doesn't pull and while she does like to sniff and pee on as many things as she deems necessary, she is easy to move along.    We also met people which went well and meeting dogs too... One dog was growly and barky at her and she wanted to go have a conversation with him but I just kept her walking and she was easily distracted by the next smell...

  She was such a happy girl getting out and enjoying the sunshine!  We went to the pet store after and she handled it like a champ - enjoyed meeting people and dogs alike.... :)

 Love a pooped out puppy and love seeing Skeeter and Marcia being snuggly! 

Marcia is just the sweetest dog.  Mellow but not lazy... She just wants to be with you and see some sights.  I think the car worries her a bit;  she pants while in it, but then she also goes right to the car and jumps in.  I think more positive road trips for her and she would be more excited in the car versus worry.  We'll work on that. 

Making Friends

Cassie's boyfriend also has a rat terrier mix called Boo... So she brought Marcia over to see how she would do with him.  They did pretty good.. Marcia definitely wants to be in charge and took his toy, but Boo didn't react so that was good.  .  She came from a home where she was the more "in charge" dog with another dog, and we have seen signs of this.  With my dog Sasha, they just don't interact much but I do watch them together closely to make sure things don't get heightened into a spat (i.e. the fenced off kitchen)...  Skeeter will also let her know she isn't in charge of her too... Poor Marcia; lots of changes for her...but the good news is she seems to be adapting well to this and has great interaction with us and guests... She's really just an easy going sweet little girl. 

By the end of the visit Boo, they seem to enjoy each other and enjoyed going in and out of the doggie door to visit the yard!

 

Boo took his duck back when Marcia wasn't looking!

I am not a sunflower!

She's very sweet... She is doing pretty good in the crate at night but you can tell it's new to her... She barked the first night but now she settled in a a few minutes.  She's also quiet in the morning while I'm getting up to get her...   I would say she is about 85% housetrained;  she is using the doggie door on her own, but there has been a few accidents; so I'm also taking her out in regular intervals and rewarding with treats... I think she will be back to 100% in no time!  I think it's pretty common for them to regress in a new house and especially with new many dog smells that I'm sure are all this house. 

 Oh and not a fan of the clothes... if you can't tell by this look... She was like "WTF" with this sunflower costume... you could tell she really didn't like wearing a jacket either though she tolerated it without giving me the stink eye.  At least it's getting warm so it's not really needed, plus she has really thick, soft fur...

Let's Go Out!!!

I wish I got more picture at the dog park... it was pretty windy and cold and so we were there only about an hour but Marcia had fun... We met up with former foster Skipper who is just no longer a puppy anymore and all grown up!  He is becoming quite the New Rattitude Yakima Dog Park Ambassador (long title).  Hanging out with Marcia is the 4th NR foster dog he has meet!

Marcia had a good time and even hung out with the big dogs for a bit... She gets along well with other dogs and has a pretty laid back way about her... She doesn't like to be growled at and will growl back and we have to make sure that doesn't escalate, but we didn't have any issues at the small dog park...everyone got along just fine and we even had another dog visitor that Marcia enjoyed meeting.

Skeeter came too but couldn't handle it... She just barked and ran the fence like a crazy dog barking at the dogs on the other side...Definitively not fun for her.   She was okay with everyone in the small dog park but had a lot to say to those big dogs accross the way!  Cassie came to get her, but I wanted to try and see how she would do though I had a feeling...   Dog parks stresses Sasha out too.  I'm glad I'm fostering again cause I missed the dog park with my two non dog park gals!

She also met my dad and Cassie's boyfriend this weekend and was like "yeah, new people to get pets from!"  She was maybe a little nervous getting pets at first but warmed up quickly.

The closest way we can get Skeeter to enjoy a belly rub.. looks awkward but she was just stretched out, head down and enjoying herself... :) 

  More amazing news on the Sasha and Skeeter front... Sasha actually came down and laid very close to Skeeter for a nap... I love this picture of Sasha's fluffy tail laying over Skeeter like a blanket... I continue to just watch these two get more and more closer to each other - makes me happy :)

Finding the right toy!

so not a huge fan of toys until I found this understuffed panda - that was just the toy that Marcia liked... nothing like a good destuffing of a stuffed animal to make Marcia happy!   She even played tug with me, but when I threw it - she just went over there to play with it by herself!

 sorry you lost your guts Mr. Panda!

 

Mr Panda meets Marcia  <----- video

Barkapolooza

So to keep the peace in my tiny kitchen area...up went the xpen... We had a spat and some growls with Sasha and Marcia so I thought it would be best to just make the food area off limits... Sasha is very protective in the kitchen and Marcia very much likes her food too.  It also lets me feed Skeeter in peace who is the slowest of the bunch.... Bonus - I'm really liking a kitchen all to myself! 

They seem to have figured each other out... I think Skeeter and Marcia are on their way to being sorta buddies - both are pretty mellow.. Sasha not so much, but doesn't mind Marcia outside barking at things and getting to show her all the best spots to be snoopy!

 Marcia does bark!  It's true she doesn't bark when someone knocks on the door or when Cassie walks in the door or I come home, but she does bark... She barks in response to the other dogs barking, she's barked in the back at some noise a few time and she will give a "WOOF" to get your attention..  I'm finding her vocal but not overly vocal.  I love her little deep "woofs"

Video of Skeeter getting Marcia to bark <----- Amazingly Sasha did not pick up the barking round robin (this time) - but they have gotten themselves all barky at each other and you can tell they have no idea what or why they are barking at other than each other... oh yeah Skeeter is the instigator most of the time! 

see Skeeter down in the left hand corner?  Marcia in the middle and Sasha on the right.

 Skeeter continues to do well... She does not like baths though and tries to rub off her "freshly shampoo'd smell" every time... Some happy that she is feeling better!  Skeeter Bath Time <--video

I will eat this whole carrot by myself!  I can do it!