Marley

Updated 2/15/12

Marley,  age 2 1/2 

MATCHED

Friendly, outgoing, warm and cute! Very smart, and very loving towards all humans. Housebroken, and happy to curl up in his ex-pen and stay out of mischief when nobody’s home. Hardly jumps up at all—only when he’s VERY excited (greeting mom and dad after work, for instance). Super car rider: he sits up in the front seat looking too cute for words and likes to look out the window.Totally gorgeous: Big (80+ pounds and not one ounce of fat) and that lustrous blond you just can’t get from a bottle (eat your heart out, Clairol).

It’s not hard to see why it was such a wrench for Marley’s owner to give him up. But in the wake of life changes and upheavals, “I just can’t manage the attention & exercise that a big dog needs.  I feel like I am getting pulled in four different directions. He is used to lots of attention, outings, walks and I can’t provide that now. He deserves more.”

Marley had grown up with lots of love and lots of kids, and it shows in his happy, affectionate personality. His foster mom says, “He LOVES to be petted, groomed, snuggled with and is a complete love bug. He has the cutest facial expressions.  When he is really happy or listening to you intently he looks  deep into your eyes and his eyebrows dance.  Funniest thing I have ever seen.  He has a very expressive face that will make you laugh.”

He’s such a big, strapping young guy that it came as a surprise when foster mom noticed him limping and hitching occasionally after just four or five throws during games of fetch (he has amazing recall, by the way). X-rays showed that he has mild dysplasia in his right hip – but “neither hip is well formed,” said the vet. “He should have a consult with a specialist.” Well – that’s an unexpected bump in the road, but never mind. We’ll deal with it!

The more pressing issue, though, is a behavioral one:  Marley has resource guarding issues.  “He and my other dogs have gotten into a few fights over food, treats, toys, etc. Anything that’s high value to Marley. I think he has a bit of an ‘only child’ syndrome, where he’s a little backward socially & somewhat on guard with other dogs. If he sees something he wants that another dog has, he just tries to take it. The fights have been mostly just a lot of noise and spit, and when a human being yells at him to stop, he typically goes limp and rolls over. It’s important to control the situation very tightly—we don’t hand out food to all the dogs at the same time, and we keep high-value items picked up and out of the way.”

The good news is that Marley is making progress—GRR has hired a trainer  to work with Marley: he’ll have weekly sessions for 5 weeks and the trainer will do a one-on-one session with the new family, too. Marley is learning some self-control exercises including "leave it" and "drop" which will be helpful when he sees something he wants or he picks up something he should not have.  He is also learning to wait at doorways, another self-control exercise that helps him learn to wait for things he

wants to do, including going outside to play or greet people.   Marley will also be getting some specific resource-guarding modification training where he will learn that it pays off for him if he allows another dog to have something valuable such as food, a toy or someone's attention. 

Marley needs a special family—one who will continue his training and “no free lunch” program.  Someone willing to deal with his hip issues whatever they may be.  Kids will be fine if they are bigger than he is and a little older.  As for  cats, “with proper intros and the right dog-savvy cat, I think Marley would do fine. We have a neighbor cat who frequently comes over and visits.  Marley and I came out into the garage one day and Tigger was sitting on the workbench. Marley saw her and immediately stuck his nose up by the cat to sniff. Tigger gave him a good swat on the nose and he backed up right away (I suspect he’d chase if she ran, though).”

Marley is a diamond in the rough, and he will shine with the right family. Are you ready to start polishing? Please contact us for more details about this great guy.

Adoption Procedures