What life with Marley is like.
Before making a choice on this wonderful companion I urge you to read the following in its entirety.
In August of 2015, I was in search of a dog. Finally having a house able to house a dog, I was eager to fill my void. I ventured to a shelter in a nearby county that practices euthanasia
. My main goal was to get a dog, and save a life at the same time. This is where I found Marley.
Marley was located in the 1st kennel, and at that time known as Charley. Charley seemed a bit relentless to come say hi at first, but cam and sniffed my hand after a few minutes.I was not really that "impressed" with the dogs reaction. I continued to look at the rest of the kennels. We saw at least 50 kennels, and still didn't see a dog I felt would fit in, but could not stop thinking about Charley. She had a cautious, yet gentle way of presenting herself.
I decided to take Charley out for a viewing. My wife and son, where with me at this time too. I was very timid about what dog to bring home with my son being under 2 years of age. When we took Charley to the fenced area, she was not really that interested in our the family. She wanted to sniff the area, and stretch her legs. She did allow me to put my hand anywhere I wanted.
I started with placing myself behind her, and rubbing her chest and neck. She responded by sniffing my face. I ran my hands down her tail, adding a slight pressure to see how she would feel about tail pulling. In the perfect world this would not happen, but my son is coming up on being a toddler, and was a concern. She simply turned and licked me. I followed this up by running my fingers threw her legs, up her stomach, and threw her toes. None of my touchings drew an aggressive response. Rather, Charley seemed to warm up to me. She started sniffing me, and then licked me. Charley adoption was signed shortly after this. I did not have much info to go by, but she was gentle with my son. Filling my top concern.
Charley seemed to fit right in with our family. She is everything I want in a dog. She responds to positive training, she was gentle with my son, doesn't jump on people, and over all she just wants to be loved. She is a 48lbs lap dog, that really just wants to be a part of your life. Besides having an apatite to feed a cow, there are not really any complaints regarding her disposition.
Shortly after bringing her home, I changed her name from Charley to Marley. This was after the movie Marley, and Me. The dog in this movie reminded me of Charley. A big goof, that just wanted some affection. Luckily enough, my Marley was not destructive.
Now there are some thing that need to be know about Marley. She is a Treeing Walker Coonhound. This means a lot more than I thought. When I received Marley, she was labeled as a foxhound mix. About 2 weeks after having her I got a piece of mail that included her UKC papers. This as a owner of a "rescue" was awesome new. I was already proud of my dog, but now I had a pure breed, with registered papers at that. I excitedly went to the Internet to see what info I could find. I was hit with a lot of info pointing me away from Marley. I chose not to listen, as this beautiful animal just wanted a home, and someone to love it.
The Treeing Walker Coonhound is a hunting dog. With a fast search you can find more detailed info, but this is some of what I read.
From wikipedia:
"
"The Treeing Walker Coonhound is a breed of hound descended from the English and American Foxhounds. They were first recognized as a separate breed in 1945.[1] Thomas Walker had imported the English Foxhound to Virginia in 1742. The breed originated in the United States when a stolen dog of unknown origin, known as the "Tennessee Lead", was crossed into the Walker Hound in the 19th century.[2] The Treeing Walker Coonhound was recognized officially as a breed by the American Kennel Club in January 2012.[3]
The Treeing Walker Coonhound was bred to hunt small game, particularly raccoons and opossums. Some hunters use them for large game such as bear. They are a fast, alert, hot-nosed hunter with superb endurance, treeing ability and the desire to perform.[4] They are vocal with a distinctive bay that allows their owners to identify their hounds from great distances. It has a clear, ringing bugle voice or a steady clear chop with changeover at the tree.
These hounds are affectionate as family pets and enjoy living indoors, but they were bred for a life of action, and require a great deal of outdoor exercise.""
I was relying on the very last sentence to ensure the dog I had was the right fit for me. She was so effeminate towards me, I could not believe else wise.
I did do more research on her breed. About everything I read made it seem like this breed was better suited for a "farm" or somewhere with land. A place where she could just be a dog, and not a pet. Unfortunately the info i read about hunting breeds, and her needing more room than I can provide is all true.
Marley needs a place where she can run, and be happy. Don't expect her to come to every call. She would rather be chasing a squirrel through the trees. It is not a sign of disobedience, but rather a sign of curiosity, intrigue, and wanting to explore.
This breed is known for being smart and Marley does not come short for this. She is smart. Smarter than you, or I. WTC hounds are know for using tools to get what they want. Think of a bench next to a fence. She has already thought about using it to clear the fence. I did not run into this myself, but saw her use many "tools" to benefit herself. This in my opinion is not her being defiant, but rather not being challenged enough.
I was not able to provide Marley what she needed to be a happy dog. Even at 3 walks a day, sometimes being 4-5 on the weekends, I could not expend her energy. This breed was breed to hunt small animals for hours at a time. The chances of a standard walk working is low.
She does have her down time however.
Marley loves to lay on the couch, and sleep. During the mid day, and night she is almost ead she sleeps so hard.
She snores, and has dreams, I'd guess of rabbits. There have been times I would give her a shake, and she would actually still snore at me. Nothing loud, at least as loud as I am.
She likes to lay chest to chest and snuggle. This was one of my favorite moments. She will also nap with you. Wrap an arm around her, and it is ZZZ all the way.
I can't say enough good things about Marley. I cried as I signed that release papers in fear she may not find a good home. One that she deserves.
If you think this is a dog you can have live with you, you will never regret it. Besides some room and independence, she only requires a big heart. I promise you will have a friend for life.
On the other side, if you are taking her based on her beauty, please take this as a warning. Marley is not a dog for everyone. She can be a handful, and was more than I could handle. Besides space I was able to give her anything, but it was not enough. Please do not make the same mistake I did. She deserves more.
to play with. Most folks want puppies so it is hard to place a big dog.
