Entered: 05/07/2016
Status: Adopted
Age: 4
Color: Black/Tan American Cocker Spaniel
Weight: 36 lbs.
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Galloway, NJ
Health: UTD, HW-, receiving regular lip fold cleaning, benefits from ongoing treatment to keep ears free from infections, dental evaluation and treatment for giardia complete
Temperament: Good with people as young as 10, good with most dogs, has a strong prey drive and would likely chase cats
Update 02/24/2017:“In the evenings when he decides he needs a hug, he will jump up and almost hug you until he gets a quick back rub; then off he goes to his bone.”
Marley has been very busy these last few months while waiting for his forever home. He spends his days surveying the yard for possible intruders and rearranging his foster mom’s large rocks in the garden. She believes he thinks they are heavy balls to be accumulated and brought inside.
When not outside landscaping, Marley enjoys his afternoons, either gnawing on a good bone or sleeping cuddled up with one of his foster brothers. He does enjoy the company of those he lives with. He has seen many a foster or visiting Springer come and go. His reaction to each is very individualized; some he barely flinches at and others he is very bossy with. His family can’t determine what characteristic makes him act like a bully. When corrected, he stops.
Of late, Marley has taken to sleeping downstairs until he hears stirring in the morning. Then he bounds up the stairs and straight across the bed to get a hug and some love. Then, as quickly as he arrives, he is off showing everyone the way to breakfast bowls. Possibly the sleeping downstairs is him determining there is just not enough room to share the bed.
In the evenings when he decides he needs a hug, he will jump up and almost hug you until he gets a quick back rub; then off he goes to his bone. You never know those hugs are needed, but he makes it clear.
After months of fighting ear infections, Marley seems to be in good shape but monthly grooming is keeping this in check as he is a bit like the Charlie Brown character Pig Pen.
Do you have room in your heart for this sweet boy?
Update 12/27/2016: “When Marley first came to his foster home he would chew things when bored. This is now under control with bones to chew and correction.”
Marley is an independent boy who loves to bark! Bark at the lawn guys, bark at the UPS truck, and bark and lunge at dogs on walks. While this might make him a super watch dog, his foster family is working on keeping the barking to a minimum. An electric collar that only emits a beep (no pulse) helps him to stop the barking and stay calm. When charged up, his foster mom works to redirect his attention.
When Marley first came to his foster home he would chew things when bored. This is now under control with bones to chew and correction. This boy loves femur bones and hard synthetic bones.
Marley has had several trips to the vet. His ears are an ongoing struggle to keep free from infections. Vigilance is the name of the game with this boy’s ears! The reason for some stinky breath doesn’t appear to be a dental problem. The vet believes that Marley’s lip folds could be the source, so cleaning them has commenced…who wants stinky breath when receiving special doggie kisses?
With love and patience, Marley’s foster family is helping him become healthy and the best boy he can be. Wouldn’t you love to add this cutie to your clan?
Update 10/03/2016: “Mr. M. is very sad that the pool has closed but is happy chewing on his bone and patrolling the yard for any critters to bark at and scare off. Watch out for those Halloween ghosts and goblins, Marley!”
This beautiful cocker is still battling ear infections. His foster mom is currently trying a recipe out of University of Pennsylvania to deal with the resistant bacteria strains. Marley is very food motivated so working on his ears for rewards along with a muzzle is the method used to get them flushed and put drops in twice a day.
Mr. M. is very sad that the pool has closed but is happy chewing on his bone and patrolling the yard for any critters to bark at and scare off. Watch out for those Halloween ghosts and goblins, Marley!
This boy will do great with kids over ten and would love a pool for swimming to his heart’s content. However, his foster mom’s not sure if he would return from a lake swim!! Keep an eye out for this love’s progress.
Update 08/07/2016: “If there were Olympic events for canine endurance swimming, Marley surely would have qualified.”
With more time spent in his foster home, more of Marley’s personality is emerging. It is apparent to his foster mom that Marley’s fairly strong prey drive would mean that a friendship with a kitty is unlikely. Because he loves to look out the glass door and barks at whatever goes by, his foster family has begun blocking his view to put a stop to that.
Marley’s relationship with the resident dogs in his foster home is amicable. A visiting puppy was not so well received, however. Not a fan of his puppy energy, Marley would chase after the pup, grumbling and snapping to get him to cease and desist his puppy ways. His foster mom suspected that Marley was trying to protect her and the rest of the pack from this interloper. Similar behavior was displayed if his foster mom was in the kitchen and the canine visitor entered when food was present. This reaction is not evident with the resident dogs. Although he receives correction for this behavior, visiting dogs might not be greeted too kindly in Marley’s forever home.
Marley is reliable about doing his business outside and he’s beginning to listen more to his foster mom’s wise instructions. He does, however, continue to destroy any toy as quickly as he can rip, chew, tear, or pull it apart. Fortunately he seems to spit out all pieces after the shredding is done. His foster mom can remove anything from his mouth without incident. However, there have been a few skirmishes over certain chew bones and lots of grumbling when he is chewing away and another dog approaches. Marley’s foster mom tries to limit chew time with those bones and makes sure that every dog has one.
One activity that Marley absolutely LOVES is swimming in the pool. He is the first one in and the last one out every day. This has certainly been a wonderful and fun way for Marley to exercise. If there were Olympic events for canine endurance swimming, Marley surely would have qualified. Undoubtedly he would love to have access to a place to swim at his forever home.
Marley’s ears continue to be a problem and there is a possibility that one or two of his teeth aren’t healthy. He will be visiting the vet for an examination soon. He’s also scheduled for a grooming as his foster mom shares that Marley looks very much like Cookie Monster at the moment.
Got water? Maybe you should ask about adding Marley to your family.
Original: “After five hours of grooming, Marley emerged…minus his dreadlocks.”
Marley is an American Cocker Spaniel that found his way into MAESSR. After being dumped on a farm in New Jersey, he was discovered by a caring family who contacted a MAESSR volunteer. Following five hours of grooming, Marley emerged…minus his dreadlocks. Marley’s foster mom picked him up on the way back from a Springer picnic. There were a few seconds of grumbling between him and the two resident Springers in the car, but they all settled into their crates. By the time he arrived at his foster home Marley was ready to explore his new yard. The resident dogs met him without incident. He currently lives with three other dogs and is getting along well with them. Marley’s also quickly learning the rules and joys of inside living and has settled in nicely.
Aside from needing a serious grooming, Marley was discovered to have horrible ear infections. Treatment involves packing his ears with medications once a week for the next four weeks. It is hoped that this will clear up the combination of bacteria and yeast down there.
Marley has not been exposed to children in his foster home. He did see kids at the vet’s office and, although he seemed excited to see them, interaction was limited. His foster mom thinks he would be best with older kids 12 and up. The running and squealing of little kids will make Marley chase and bark. He has met a total of five dogs and gotten along well except when a dog without sight bumped into him and he responded with a growl. There are no cats in his foster home so it is unclear how he would be with them.
A few bathroom accidents have occurred which seem to happen when in the evening when socializing with everyone. His foster mom has figured out his pattern and is now redirecting him to the outdoor facilities. Since Marley is one smart boy, he’s catching on. One recent evening he did go to the backdoor and scratched to be let out. Good boy! Marley has not been confined to a crate other than at groomers, where he was fine. During his family’s work day and at night he has been confined to a single gated room. He would howl at first but settled when corrected. He is now sleeping in the upstairs bedroom with his foster siblings and doing great.
Although Marley tries to counter-surf, he is too short to do any real mischief. He will chew on any blanket, and his foster family is trying to stop this behavior. They also try to limit his contact with any blankets or throws. Snuggling on the couch is something Marley loves to do. He wants to be touching his person when he can push through the rest of the pack (who all want the same thing.) No worries…he will go up the back of the couch and drape himself like a neck warmer around his human.
On leash Marley pulls a bit and is excited to be on the go. He wants to meet other dogs but starts barking, which scares some off. He knows “sit” and “come” and will come inside when asked. He loves the car and does well riding along, but eager to jump out once he’s arrived at the destination.
Marley is becoming more and more playful. He loves the little grunting pig that came with him from the family who found him. He also likes chewing on hard marrow bones and other bones at his foster home. Marley will play with humans and will often engage the other dogs in play. He will take his gigantic baseball-sized mitt of a paw and bat at any person or canine to engage in play. He LOVES belly rubs, gentle ear rubs, heck…he just loves to be loved!
At mealtime Marley is fed in a room separate from the other dogs, but he is fine with his food bowl being removed while he is eating. Oftentimes he will not finish his food unless someone sits in the room with him…proving that his people are the most important thing to him, even more important than food!
While Marley was a good boy for bathing, he had to be muzzled to have his ears touched. His foster family is certain that was due to how infected they were. He did allow his foster mom to insert ear wash the first night and wash his ear lobes without issue. The vet thought he was really good considering how much discomfort he undoubtedly felt.
In his forever home Marley would be good with another laid back dog or as an only dog. He should not have immediate free reign of the house but should gradually be given more freedom as he earns it. His foster family is unsure if he ever lived inside, but his condition when found showed lack of care for some time. Yet, he was overweight, not underweight, as one might expect from his overall condition. He could stand to lose a few pounds to reach his ideal weight.
Marley certainly has all of the endearing qualities Cockers are known for. Do you have room in your heart and home to love this sweet boy???