I headed into the cattery to have a little visit with everyone. As soon as I entered I spotted Chief lounging in the hammock of the cat tree and Aquinas sitting at the bottom. Chief noticed me and started rolling around, trying to entice me to go over and give him some pets. After I had made sure he had had enough love, I bent down to say hello to Aquinas. After Aquinas I went to see what Missy was doing. I found her laying in her cubby. Missy was then quite happy to get some ear scratches. Next I went to have a visit with Ava. While I was giving her some pets I suddenly felt someone rubbing against my leg. I looked down and it was Rhapsy, who had appeared out of her secret hiding place wanting some love and attention. I finished giving Ava all the pets she wanted then turned to love on Rhapsy.
Groups
I had so much fun out in the yard with the first big dog group of the day. These guys really know how to plow through the snow. Syrus, Magic, and Kyah were immediately drawn to one another, no surprise there. Huskies always find one another. Kyah was keen to get the games going by zooming around these two with her bum tucked. When Magic caught on, she darted across the yard looking for Syrus and Kyah to chase her. The whole group decided to tag along and next thing I knew 7 dogs were zooming through the snow, dodging obstacles, sprinting through the tunnel, and doing numerous loops around the yard. After a couple laps, Syrus veered off on his own to do some sniffing. Miss Millie was right on his tail, wiggling behind him looking to make a new friend. Syrus was so intrigued by Millie, she is a smaller dog, however she has quite the large personality. These two began dancing around one another while Syrus was singing away to her. He was howling at every move she made. All this talk got Dawson's attention and he came bounding over to check out the action. When Dawson came over Kyah was very attracted to him. She was flirting with him by licking his head and flagging her tail for him. Dawson was very fond of this extra attention and the two began dancing around, pawing, and playing. As Dawson and Kyah played around they came across Spencer who was sniffing the outskirts of the yard. Both Dawson and Kyah insisted on him joining in their games. Kyah began pawing at Specner while Dawson circled around him waiting for him to pounce. Finally, Spencer gave in and play bowed, then darted across the yard and over the tunnel. All the dogs were right on his tail which he really enjoyed. Spencer seemed so smooth and agile, leaping over the tunnel and zipping through it to dodge his playmates. Finally he got caught in the center of the tunnel and found himself having to back out. I got quite the laugh out of this.
Riley and Roobee are such sweet dogs. I love how much more comfortable they are here compared to their very first visit. Riley loves playing in the yard and getting attention from all the staff, while Roobee thoroughly enjoys exploring the yard and coming up to us for pats and cuddles. I had the pleasure of walking these two this morning. They were great leaders on our long journey through the knee deep snow. These two really can motor! I was happy to have them pull me along; it was great encouragement. Riley was bounding through the field like a deer while Roobee stayed close behind him following in his footsteps. I was following Roobee's lead, and following in their two sets of prints. In the yard today both Riley and Roobee were very distracted by the snowplow cleaning up our laneway and parking lot. These two couldn't get enough of the noise. They were both pacing back and forth along the fence and getting up on their hind legs trying to peak through the cracks whenever possible. When the snow plow was finally done Riley raced across the yard to check up on his friends while Roobee came to me for some one on one time.
Jax had such an awesome day today. He was so thrilled to meet another golden named Molly. These two were immediately drawn to one another and barely left each other's side for their whole time outdoors. They danced around one another and participated in a light wrestling match. Jax was so pleased about the deep snow in the agility yard today. He lay down in frog leg position, and tried dragging himself around. After serious effort, and lack of productivity, he decided rolling around in the snow was just as fun. It was too cute to watch. Meanwhile, Molly was along the fence digging and digging. I wasn't too sure what she was getting at until she popped up with a big red frisbee in her mouth. Her eyes were glowing and her tail was wagging like a mad girl, she was so proud of her find. She began trotting around the yard showing off her find until Duke came swooping in trying to take her spotlight. He was quick to try and snag it from her, but Molly was sure to keep a tight grip. These two began playing a light game of tug-o-war while Jax refereed. To my surprise, Molly won the tug match and began chewing away at the frisbee. I had to put it high out of reach so that she wouldn't tear it to shreds. After Molly had snagged back the frisbee, Duke was pleased to bound off and check out the other dogs in the yard. He gave Oliver a good sniff as well as Jax, whom he was quick to make friends with. Jax and Duke began pawing at one another and leaping around trying to get a wrestling match going. They both decided they were happy pawing at one another and prancing around rather than getting on their hind legs and wrestling.
It's a pleasure to have Oliver spend some time with us. He was keen to arrive last night, and trotted down the hall without a single worry. I offered him a treat in his kennel which helped him settle right in. This morning he was so excited to get his day under way. Lucky for Oliver, today was nice and mild so he didn't need his winter coat. He bounded out into the yard and began prancing through all the snow trying take in all the smells. After a long while of sniffing he bounded over to me, his ears were flapping in the wind and he had the biggest smile on his face. Oliver was happy to get a good scratch from me, followed by a tasty treat. He sure loves his snacks.
Beanie and Poochio are enjoying their time with us more and more as the days go by. I believe Poochio is a huge fan of the snow. When I let him out this morning he went leaping through it, and plopped himself on his back and began rolling around. Beanie definitely isn't as big a fan as Poochio. Beanie likes to hang out by my side when she is in the yard where she can receive lots of pats and cuddles which keeps her warm. Later in the day it was much milder so she was happy to stroll around the yard and take in all the scents that have accumulated in the past day. Meanwhile Poochio was patrolling the fence. He seems to like to guard the outskirts of the yard. If he senses something he will bark and look back at me as if he's checking in.
Tennya was feeling rather frisky today. She seems to love the snow, and it is rather cute how it sticks to her fur. She ends up being a black dog with white spots. We had a great walk this morning with a new friend, Syrus. Tennya was very interested in this handsome husky the moment they met up. She trotted right behind him for the entire walk, plowing through the snow right on his tail. Syrus gave her some loving attention, kissing her and play bowing every once in a while. In the yard today I had a good time watching Tennya walk back and forth through the tunnel. I don't know what had her so interested in it today, but she was zipping through with a smile on her face. Towards the end of play time she came over to my side and enjoyed a good pet and cuddle before heading in to the warm playroom.
Nanook was full of beans in the yard today, he sure is made for the snow. Between the rolling around and the full speed sprints, he kept busy. The moment he found a fresh patch of powder he would burry his head and roll around for ages. The other dogs would always check him out but he wouldn't give them the time of day. He sure loves a good snow bath. Any time I went to pet him he gave me this look as if he wanted to play, then he would zoom around me full speed. He would do laps and laps, plowing through the snow without a care in the world. His friends tried to keep up with him but he definitely took the lead. When it was time to head into the playroom he was ready for a nap, so he decided to go right back to his kennel and cuddle up in his bed instead.
XiaoBao has been keeping nice and warm these past couple of days. We have been bundling him up in a sweater and a jacket which is doing the job. He loves heading out in the yard and quickly zipping around to sniff everyone. Once he has said his hellos he is quick to head back to your feet where he loves to be picked up and cuddled. The other dogs tend to get jealous of him, so today I knelt down in the snow and let him sit on my lap while I pet his friends. Chase really wanted to play with XioaBao today, and began zooming around us. XiaoBao briefly gave in to his games and danced around in the snow with Chase before returning to me for more cuddles and attention.
Kouza is doing very well. She is loving this winter weather and all the exploring that comes along with the snow. This morning she enjoyed a shorter walk with two of her small dog friends. The deep snow along the trail is harder for our small friends to plow through. Kouza was very interested in all the new scents along the path we took this morning. She had her nose down the whole time which kept her very busy. In the yard today she was happy to walk around with me and check out all the other dogs. We had a fun game with some snow balls where I would throw one and she would bounce around and break it on her nose. We played this game until it was time to head in. In the playroom she was happy to sit down on a cot and receive lots of pets and scratches behind the ears.
Enhanced
Today for Timbits' training I decided to up the level of difficulty. As we walked to our new and more distracting room, Timbits and I worked on his heel. He was so excited to get out and to be getting treats that it took him a couple moments to calm down enough to focus. When we made it to the new room Timbits was determined to sniff everything. I was quite impressed with his recall from all the distracting scents. Once I had his focus we worked on his 'sit' and 'watch'. Timbits did very well at both. To reward his good behaviour we then moved on to a game. He was much quicker to sit before I unleashed him to chase after the treat. We did this a couple times while also mixing it up with some more 'sits' and 'watch'.
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