Saturday February 6, 2016

Cats
Today in the cat room everyone was feeling a bit lazy. Chief was perched in his usual spot on the cat tree when I walked in and he quickly climbed out to say hello. We cuddled for a bit, and then Chief dug through the basket of toys and found a shiny green ball to play with. I slid it across the floor and he chased after it. Chief pounced on it and then started to roll around on top of it. Once he had enough playtime, he jumped up onto the window to watch the outside world.
Fawkes and Ekkaia are still a bit shy. They were nice and cozy in their kennel having a nap together when I said hello. Ekkaia sniffed my hand and let me pet him for a bit while Fawkes slept. I showed them a little toy to see if they would play with it, though both of them were too comfy to get up and only sniffed it and pawed it around for a while until they cuddled up to nap again.
Missy as well was very comfy on her blankets. When I opened her kennel she got up, stretched, and then curled back up in a ball. I gave her a nice scratch around her ears - she loves that - and she rubbed her head all over my fingers for a bit. I showed her a string toy on a stick and Missy immediately grabbed the string between both feet and started biting it. I dragged it around her kennel and Missy rolled all over the place trying to catch it, though she never got up from her cozy spot in the blankets.

Groups

Timber is such a happy boy and he was in a great mood today, just like he always is. When I went to take him on his walk he had the biggest smile on face when he saw the leash. We took it easy and stayed on easier footing and Timber had his nose to the ground the entire time we were walking. Outside during groups he said hi to everyone, but he really liked Oban the best and followed him around the yard as he was playing.

Glenda Lou ran right out the door ahead of everyone when it was her time to go outside, while Gryphon trotted behind her slowly making his way to the door. Outside she was super happy and energetic and loved to keep a running commentary of the activities going on. She ran around Gryphon in circles barking at him and tugging on his leg a bit to get him as wound up as she was. Gryphon hopped up and started running in the opposite direction to entice Glenda Lou to chase him and they started a game of tag with each other.

Clifford was trotting around the yard with the other golden retrievers, Oban and Kesler today when he found a bone on the ground. The bone kept him busy for the first part of group time. He was having so much fun with this bone and it was quite funny to watch: he kept moving it around in the snow like it was a ball and he made growling noises at it as he played :) Later he went up to Kesler to see what he was doing and Kesler started jumping up around him as if he wanted to play. All of a sudden I see Clifford and Kesler staring at each other face to face but they aren’t moving - such suspense! As soon as Clifford went into a play bow, Kesler bolted off and Clifford went right after him, chasing him around the yard. Their game got Oban’s attention and he joined in too. The whole time Oban was running Timber was glued to his hip and following along. We started a new game of fetch with the bone and the three retrievers had a great time chasing after it.

Jack and Molly are such well-behaved dogs; they have just the right amount of energy and use it well in the yard. When we got outside Jack ran straight towards the play structure where he sniffed around for the plastic bone they always play with and love. He knew exactly where it was and didn’t waste a second before picking it up and showing it off to everyone. Molly wanted to play with the bone as well, so she started chasing him around the yard in circles. I called him over to me and he ran right over. I took the bone out of his mouth to throw for them, and right as I was holding it up both of them were jumping at my feet with excitement. I played fetch with them the entire time I was outside after that. 

Chloe was one of the first dogs in her group out the door and she was already waiting for me as I got everyone else ready to go. She was standing at the door looking through the window with a toy in her mouth. When I got outside I started to chase her around the yard since she has so much energy; she loves it and always comes back to me so I will chase her more. Although I knew she wanted to play fetch, she wasn't too keen on giving him the toy and I had a struggle to get her to give it to me to throw, but once she knew I would play fetch with her, she gave it to me every time.

Maggie was very energetic today. She normally just likes to relax and walk around while enjoying the weather but today she was ready to play with everyone. At first she wandered around until she found the perfect spot to roll around in the snow. Then she got up and ran to me where she rolled right on my feet. I knelt down and gave her tummy a rub and some cuddles. When I was playing fetch with Chloe, Maggie joined in for a bit, then ran off to play with Zoe in the agility yard. It didn’t start off as much but the more they stood around each other the more excited Zoe got and she started prancing around her as if she wanted to play. So Maggie took her up on that offer and ran around with her. They played tag for a bit, then it turned into Zoe jumping on Maggie, and then it turned into more tag.

 Rocky likes to take the opportunity for outdoor group to have some me-time. He keeps to himself for the most part, although he often watches the other dogs like he's watching a tv show or movie. He does like his pets and cuddles though! I saw Rocky start rolling around in the snow from across the yard and I thought it was the cutest thing so I ran over to take a picture, but as I did Rocky got up immediately and ran the other way. It didn't take much convincing to get him to come back for some pets though.

Maya was so playful today! She always gets everyone so wound up when she goes near them. It’s nice to have a happy go lucky dog like her in a playgroup to put everyone in a cheery mood. She started off by doing some laps around the yard to work off her energy. Emma spotted her running and decided to come and join her.  Emma followed her the whole time we were outside and would always stop Maya from what she was doing to start playing with her for a bit.

Benji saw Emma and Maya playing from the other side of the yard and ran right over to them. Before he went to see them he walked around the whole yard smelling everyone and everything he found interesting on the ground. He came across a rope toy that was half buried under the ice and walked around it, assessing it from every angle, trying to see if he might be able to get it out of the ice. When he went to play with Maya and Emma he ran up and started to jump on Maya invitingly as Emma backed away to watch them.

Casper had eyes for only one playmate today and he followed him everywhere; it was really cute. Even though his new friend didn't really want to play, Casper stuck by him, despite the fact that there was a game going on across the yard involving Maya, Emma and Benji. Eventually Casper decided to check in with his brother, William, who was exploring around the yard and sniffing things. Little Mac took a liking to William and jump all around him and even on him. Eventually William indulged him and ran around the yard a little.

Cara and Brodie had such a nice walk this morning together. They are always so well behaved and like to walk right beside me on the trail. Outside Cara was super excited and ran up to everyone to say hello before deciding to stick with Ollie for the whole time. She liked him so much and followed him everywhere he went in the yard. Meanwhile, all Ollie wanted to do was be with me and he was at my feet the entire time trying to jump up into my arms. Cara was trying to get him to chase her by jumping up on his back once and barking, but Ollie wasn’t even paying attention and just kept doing his own thing.
Ollie did a great job during his enhanced time today. We started off with some basic commands in one of the playrooms. He was so excited to join me and was right at my heel as we made our way to it. We are starting to work harder on the downs and we are making some progress. Ollie certainly does love work time! Up until outdoor play groups started, he spent the rest of his time with me up in the reception area, getting some extra attention.

Nanook took off into the yard and stayed pretty independent in the beginning. He explored the yard and had his nose glued down in the snow sniffing away at whatever he could find. He found a big fluffy pile of snow that was covering the ice and went to go lay down in it then started rolling around in it to cool off.  All of a sudden he stood up and got a burst of energy that made him run back and forth around the yard. Brody saw how fast he was going and wanted to see if he could catch up and started to chase him. He ran as fast as he could and every time he caught up with Nanook he got so happy and would jump up on him as he was rolling around in the snow. Cara would come up and watch as they played, joining in every now and then, but mostly barking at them.

Winston was in such a good mood today! He started out his day with a nice walk down the driveway. Since he doesn’t like going for full walks these are the perfect length before he wants to go back to his bed. When it was time to go back outside during groups he ran right out of his kennel and out the door. I was happy to see how excited he was to go outside :) He wandered around the yard for a bit before running to the door to hang out with his best pal Julie.

Macie was so cute this morning when I was feeding her, she sat down right away when I showed her the food and ate it in about 2 seconds. Later in the morning I went in with her to give her some cuddles and affection, she loves it whenever I go in to see her. Outside today she went and hung out with Justice. They both get along so well. Justice always likes to go up and sniff her as she’s walking around. Macie went from the agility yard all the way to the other side of the yard sniffing the whole time.