Marley has now been with us for 55 days and is 43 days post surgery. For a while, whenever we took Marley out, he growled at every person and dog he encountered. We became worried that maybe he was not the dog for us. He wasn’t walking much, was afraid of everyone and everything…we were feeling very housebound. Again….in retrospect, we realize that he was protecting himself. Now, a month and a half post-surgery, he no longer growls but rather, is interested in meeting people and other dogs, wants to play, loves to be out and about walking, and travels well. We love him dearly. It was time to adopt.
Initially he was terrified of the car and the truck but he is now easily leaping into and out of both vehicles. (We even installed running boards on the truck for him.) He doesn’t want our help but we insist by making him wear his Search & Rescue vest with the handle on the back. That way way, we can help take the weight off his front leg when he jumps down. We don’t want him to injure it in any way.
We did lots of walks up Sinks Canyon, first in the campground because it was ploughed but later set off along some of the snowier trails. Marley loved it. We snowshoed a few times in very deep snow….he quickly discovered the best place for him was in the middle, between Mike and I, where the snow had been packed and where I defended the rear.
We discovered that the easiest gait for Marley is a lope or a gallop. No walking ot trotting for him without that front leg. So the flexi leash works well…he can lope ahead and then wait for us to catch up. For the most part, he feels safest close to us. He hasn’t been off leash yet and maybe never will be.
ENIGMAS 
let us know when you are in Sedona…we are in Prescott…30 miles away!