They're here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So Wednesday morning we woke up to these 3 little beauties..............

Spot (he has a white spot on his bum)

Jasper (Charlie's choice)

And Tony (as in the tiger)

Tuesday afternoon I came home to Poppy "caterwauling" by which I mean she was talking to me in meow language telling me that the babies were coming that night!  So I went upstairs with her and made her a lovely nest inside the bottom of my wardrobe and she had a sniff around and promptly rejected it!  After about 4 hours of her noise I had, had enough so decided to ignore her!  The way I saw it was that she would have to settle eventually and give birth whether she liked it or not!

So she spent the evening as close to me as possible and eventually came to bed with me and went to sleep snuggled up between me and Bobby (who has taken to my bed this week!).

When I woke up Wednesday morning she was nowhere to be seen and was not in her "nest" so I went searching and eventually I could hear the kittens!  I followed the noise to Charlie's room and woke him to say she must have had them under his bed to which his reply was "no they are here" as he peeled back the duvet......

Seriously of all the places!!!!

I cannot believe that Charlie didn't even stir!  He had no idea she was there!!!

Anyway, off we all went to school and work and when I came back at lunch time, she had moved them!  Poppy is renowned for moving her kittens and it drives me mad, last year every time I came home she had moved them somewhere else!  This time they were in the bottom of Charlie's wardrobe, so I moved all his things out to make sure they were safe and set her camp up in the room, with a covered litter tray and her food bowls etc.  Charlie slept in Bobby's room that night so as not to disturb her and upset her.

Then when yesterday when I checked on her late afternoon, they were nowhere to be seen until I looked and found them in the littler tray in among all the litter!!!!!!!!!!!  I mean for god's sake!!!!  So I told Poppy she was being ridiculous and moved them all back to the wardrobe and she immediately went in there, grabbed Tony by the  neck and plonked him back in the litter!!!!  I had to give in and clean the litter tray out, put an old pillow case in and that's where they have stayed thank goodness!

Poppy really doesn't like motherhood she is really cross about the whole thing so I will definitely get her "done" as soon as the babies are gone!

I am going to leave with you with lots of boring photos of the triplets (!!!!) they are soooo adorable and it's going to take all my strength to not keep any of them!!!!

In the wardrobe

In the litter tray!!!!

All boys!!!! 

TTFN

The REAL Marley and Me xx

A dog owner's best friend!

This little red can of compressed air is my best friend.......

About a year or so ago I got told off by the headmaster at school for Marley's barking!  He said he had, had complaints from the neighbours!  So off I go to my local pet shop in search of a soft muzzle to put on him whilst tied up at school to prevent the barking!  Now I am all for reward training in the form of treats and clicks etc. but as intelligent as my lovely Marley is I generally don't have the time of patience for it!

So the lovely lady in the shop, who is very knowledgeable about all things dog related, said that due to Marley's giant size, if I were to put a muzzle on him people would assume he was dangerous!  And then she brought out the red can!  I am not joking it almost glowed with a halo!  It is like heaven in a bottle!

All it is is compressed air that when you press then nozzle it makes the sound of a tyre compressor (is that what it's called?  You know what I mean the thing you put in your tyres to blow them up!).  You absolutely do NOT spray it AT the dog but merely in the vicinity when they are acting out an unacceptable behaviour such as barking or pulling on the lead!  The idea is that the sound is so unpleasant to a dog that they associated it with unwanted behaviour and therefore do not repeat the behaviour for fear of it producing the sound!

IT IS A MIRACLE IN A BOTTLE!!!!!!!

So the first behaviour I wanted to correct was the barking outside school!  2 sprays later and he has never barked at school again!!!!!!  The next behaviour I wanted to correct was the stealing of food which is Marley's favourite past time as you know!  Now the problem with this is that Marley has these little invisible mirrors attached to the top of his head, so when you creep round the door in an attempt to catch in the act so you can activate the spray, he can see you so stops what he's doing, so I have had to give up on this one and just hide food at all times!!!!!!

The next behaviour was over vigorous play with Busta!  Poor Busta was ending up with a sore mouth from all the saliva from Marley and little nicks on his ears!  There is never any aggression or malice in Marley's play but it was getting a bit much, so literally 2 sprays later and all was well!

The final unwanted behaviour I wanted to address was pulling on the lead!  It was getting beyond control at one point and after he had pulled me across a road whilst I had my brand new IPhone 4s in my hand which flew into the road and smashed AND after I had finished standing in the middle of the path IN PUBLIC sobbing like a little girl, I decided something needed to be done!  I spoke to my vet who said that she had seen people with broken hands from being pulled along by their dogs and she advised me to invest in a canny collar!  This collar has a soft strap that goes over their nose which tightens when they pull to discourage them.  Did this work NOOOOOO!!

So after several months of trying my best (treat training never worked) I went to my trusted pet shop to ask for their advice and ask if there was a different type of collar I could use.  The lovely girl there said there were many but why didn't I give the spray a go?  So she told me what to do and as we (Marley, Busta, Belinda and I left the shop, 2 sprays when he pulled on the lead and he never did it again!  It was unbelievable  Bee could not believe it!  Suddenly he was walking next to me on a loose lead, it was like a dream and so much more enjoyable for both me AND him!

So there is was all his bad behaviour solved ...... until his operation which meant him not being able to be walked so when he was eventually allowed out on the lead last week we were back to the pulling problem again!  So I went to pet shop bought a new can of spray and hey presto ONE spray and NO pulling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Charlie's hat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ninja squirrels on the TELLY!  

Marley went mental and when they disappeared off the screen looked behind it to try and find them!

Poppy is still VERY pregnant!

A lovely but VERY cold walk earlier today!

TTFN 

The REAL Marley and Me xx

Marley's Back!!

So Marley has had a sudden recovery to his personality!  It began with the dismember of the blue power ranger.....

No feet and just one hand left!!!

Luckily both my boys are well past the power ranger phase so no emotional damage was done, but this was just the beginning in the relapse of Marley's personality!

He is pulling on the lead (something he had learnt not to do a looooong time ago), he is whimpering out the window at the ninja squirrels who are still plotting their plan of attack, he is chasing the cats (ours and the local area's), he is trying to get in the bins and he has resumed his early morning routine of coming into my bedroom and shaking his lips at me in the hope of waking me from my slumber!!!!  Oh and there was a little vomiting incident just now after he had been stressing outside at some invisible ninja animal, I gladly let him re-eat it!

He is so excited now to be able to walk to school that when I tie him up while I take bobby into his class, he walks around the post in circles until he has no lead left and cannot move...........

Wrapped three times around the post!!!

Still I shouldn't complain really, it is quite nice to have the old Marley back even though I have started to get grey hairs which I am sure is down to him, and there is always the guarantee that come 7pm he is out for the count until 7am the next morning....

Top end!!!!

Bottom end!!!!!!!

TTFN

The REAL Marley and Me xx

Gold Star for Marley!!

I never thought I would hear myself say this, but Marley has been the perfect patient for the last 10 days!!

He hasn't stressed, he hasn't scrounged for food (well no more than normal - he did manage to pilfer quarter of a Victoria sponge off the side that Charlie had made - the wind following that was unimaginable!!!) he has actually rested and has just been a pleasure to look after!!!

We went to the vets yesterday (Marley's favourite place to be!) and had his staples removed and she said he is doing beyond excellent in his recovery!  I am so pleased and discussed with the vet that maybe if he continues to do so well when he has to go for a check up with the specialist they may not have to x-ray which would save him from yet another general anesthetic!

So he had his first 10 minute walk to school yesterday afternoon and after the vets he was whacked out...

Marley and Me!

(I am happy that this photo is blurry enough that you can't see what I really look like!!)

Poppy the pregnant roast chicken is still pregnant and waddling along nicely!  When cats are preggers they are much more affectionate that normal, so she is spending a lot of time with us and Marley...

Both fast asleep!

She seems to be absolutely massive quite quickly so I am wondering if we are going to get 5 kittens instead of just 3 as she had last year!

And Dotty!  Well she's just being Dotty!!!

Love her!!!

TTFN

The REAL Marley and Me xx

Poor Marley and Busta :(

Marley's surgery was a success, but after 3 general anesthetics in the space of 1 month and several in his very short life time, I think when he got home on Thursday he really had, had enough!!!

He was totally comatose when he got home!

This is the length of the wound, it is on the inside of his leg and is stapled together!

He really wasn't himself when he got home which you think I would have been rejoicing about, but I actually didn't like it!!  Even now 3 days later he is perkier but not completely himself, he is mostly hopping on his leg but he is still on painkillers and will be for about 3 weeks so I expect it to start improving after that.

We had a potter around in the garden earlier (he's not allowed to be walked for 10 days (!!!!!!!!) but it completely whacked him out so he settled down for a rest with fat cat poppy who is the most pathetic pregnant lady ever!!!

BFF Emma then popped over and he was pleased to see a human other than myself, he managed a good waggle of his rear end and tail and had a little widdle on her husband's foot!  Emma came over to give me some owl printed canvas shoes that she got me earlier, I know they are not officially dog related but I cannot resist showing you a photo of them!!

Don't ya just love em!!!!

So onto Busta, the tart of our dog community!  As you know he went in on Friday to have his delicates removed and his eyelashes lasered (seriously!!!!!!!)  Neutering is a very straight forward procedure and I have never heard of a dog that I know having complications and when Marley has his done at 5 months, apart from being exhausted from the anesthetic, you wouldn't have know he had, had anything done!!  BUT this is Busta we are talking about!

So Belinda picked him up to be told by the nurse that he was feeling very sorry for himself.  THAT was an understatement!!!!!  I have never heard a dog crying quietly like a little girl, that was until I saw Busta last night!!!!!  He obviously wasn't in any pain, his tail was wagging and he had no problems laying on the floor, but he wasn't "talking" to Belinda or her husband Gary and lay making the most pathetic sound I have ever heard!

Busta whimpering and feeling VERY sorry for himself!

We decided that the crying was emotion and not due to any pain, and Belinda text me at about 10.30pm to say he had finally gone to sleep but was whimpering in his sleep!!!

So Busta is not allowed out for 10 days either, so Bee and I are feeling a bit housebound, it's weird not having the pressure to walk the dogs every day!!!!

I will leave you with a photo of Marley in his bed, which I dragged out of the shed, where I had put it away due to Dotty liking to use it as a toilet!  He is really comfy in it and he has a lovely view of the garden!

TTFN

The REAL Marley and Me xx

While Marley's away........

The cats will play!!!!

So Marley went in for the surgery on his leg yesterday and fat cat Poppy and Maisie decided they would make the most of the space and peace and quiet in front of the fire last night!!!  Dotty is funny though cause she pines for Marley when he is not there, so she was wondering around like a little lost lamb all night!

I took Marley over to the specialist's at 10am yesterday morning, we were a few minutes early so waited in the car.....

He is the most eager dog I have ever seen at a visit to the vets!!!  Natalie was saying the other day that when Flash goes to the vets, she does so with her tail in between her legs, sweaty paws and loosing fur profusely (a sign of stress)!  But no Marley was described by the surgeon (who did his previous operation on his front legs) as a "nutter" and very "keen"!!!

So there I left him, I never feel upset when I have to leave him there because he loves it so much!  I will however cry when I pick him up if they have shaved half his fur off which they did with his other op, he looked like he had been in a prison camp, it was awful!!!!!!!

Well I am going to enjoy my last day of peace and quiet, where I don't have to worry about the kitchen doors being shut, or food on the side!  Oh and the ninja squirrels are out in force this morning, probably arranging their plan of attack for when he comes home, so I'm glad he's not here at the moment because the torment would be too much for him to bear!!!!!!!!!

Oh forgot to say Busta is going in tomorrow to have his knackers chopped off and his ingrowing eyelashes treated!  So we've got Marley the loveable dumb dog, Busta the tart and Flash the grumpy old bitch, but how we love them so!!!!!!!!

TTFN 

The REAL Marley and Me xxx

A poorly Marley and a Pregnant Poppy!

Marley has ripped a tendon in his back leg!!!  he had x-rays under a general anesthetic last week to confirm and has been referred to a specialist for surgery on Wednesday...

Recovering from the general anesthetic in front of the fire last Thursday!

Poor Marley, I feel so sorry for him!  He has had such a rough time with his joints, his legs are far too long for his 40kg body which makes him lanky and awkward (and adorable) and the vet said he probably turned too quickly while we were out one day which ripped the tendon which now has to be replaced - not repaired!!

However.................life with Marley when he cannot be walked properly (3 times a day) is UNBEARABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Seriously I am at my wits end already and I read online that the recovery for the surgery could be 14 weeks FOURTEEN WEEKS!!! He paces, and he barks and he runs to the end of the garden full throttle like there's a mass murderer out there every time I open the door and he scavenges for food!  WHAT AM I GONNA DO?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Basking in the sun on the sofa!

On a  more positive "spring is on it's way" note, Poppy is up the duff!!!  It's weird when cats are pregnant because overnight they suddenly expand and that's how you know!  I just love little kittens and they are not too hard to look after, as long as they are in a room shut away from Marley they are pretty self sufficient!  The problem comes when I fall in love with them!  I just know that if there is a tabby one or a black and white one I will want to keep one but I MUSTN'T, three is enough!!!

Poppy the pregnant roast chicken!

So it's all go here, I feel utterly miserable about everything, I just need some proper sunshine to blow the blues away and then i'll be fine!!!  Before I go I want to leave you with some photo's from my parents house, I was there the other day and all 20 of the chickens were being allowed to roam free in the garden and were having a whale of a time...

Oh and I must introduce you to my parents' dog...

Molly the danastiff (great dane / bull mastiff)

Molly was a rescue dog and is the best, she doesn't steal food and absolutely adores my Dad!!!  She is not quite as tall as Marley but is twice as strong as him which I didn't think would be possible!!!

Oh one very last thing, Natalie text me with an hilarious story about Flash.  She said she let Flash out in the garden last night and she was sick for no apparent reason so she let her back in and noticed that she was walking funny, when she took a closer look she realised that she (flash!!!) had a pepperami wrapper hanging out of her bum LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!  I once had a king charles spaniel who chewed a handbag of mine and a few days later had the strap hanging from the same orifice!!!!!!!

TTFN

The REAL Marley and Me xx