Sunday, February 21st, 2016

Benji, Bogart and Pepper were quite the energetic bunch today. Bogart and Benji trotted outside as soon as they got out of their kennels for their outdoor playgroup time. Pepper took a little bit more convincing to go outside but once she was out, you could just tell how excited she was to see all of her friends. Right from the start of their group, Benji and Bogart were attached at the hip. The two of them were up on their hind-legs play fighting and trying to tackle one another for what seemed like the whole group time! They took turns racing after one another and would sometimes roll around in the snow. Pepper was very interested in this as soon as she saw them start to play but she was a little bit shy around them at first. Slowly but surely she joined right in and started following the two of them around. She left the wrestling to Benji and Bogart and enjoyed trotting after them and cheering them on. When Bogart wasn’t playing with Pepper and Benji, every so often he would follow me around looking for a little cuddle. Benji enjoyed playing catch with me for a little while as well. Pepper and Bogart spent their morning together on a nice calm walk on the back forest trail. It was very nice out this morning and I think the two of them really enjoyed it. Bogart spent most of his time bouncing around me while Pepper trotted in front of me, sniffing as she went. Benji also joined two of his good friends for a bit of a more energetic walk. He was constantly moving around from me to his friends and to the end of his leash to try and go as fast as he could.

Olive spent the day in the kitchen today. You can just tell she loves being in there as she races in every time and gets cuddled up in her bed up until her next outing. She started her morning off on a nice walk. It was pretty warm this morning and I could tell she liked it a lot more than the other cold days we’d been having. Olive was very excited to get outside for her walk as she trotted down the hallway and out the door. She walked by my side for the most part, only straying to sniff every so often. When it came time for her outdoor play group she was once again delighted to go out and see her friends. During her playgroup she seemed to be very interested in sniffing around the yard and observing what all of her friends were doing.

London and Ghira were quite playful with one another throughout the day. The two of them were little bundles of energy when it came to their outdoor play group. Each of them raced outside and sniffed around the yard a few times. They kept to themselves at the beginning of their play time but once I picked up the blue bone toy from inside the yard, they both ran right over to me and were ready to play. They were thrilled to chase after the toy and couldn’t quite keep their feet still. Ghira was constantly hopping to get the toy if I hadn’t thrown it fast enough. As soon as I would throw it, Ghira would be off like a bullet with London very close behind. Often times Ghira was successful in getting to it first but London still had her fair share of wins. Soon enough their friend Mac came and joined them. After a little while Ghira and Mac decided they didn’t want to chase the toy but wanted to chase each other instead. Ghira would chase Mac for days if you’d let her. After she was done playing, London followed me around for the rest of the group time waiting for me to give her as much attention as possible.

Brooke and Naughty were quite the dynamic duo today. They each started out on very fun walks with a couple of their friends. Brooke was on a quieter walk but she led the way as fast as she could and convinced her friends to join her. Naughty was on a pretty walk. She and her two friends were very energetic and decided they wanted to get tangled in every tree they could find. This made for a good workout! When it came to their outdoor play time, Naughty and Brooke had just as much energy as before as they raced outside to play. Naughty was the first one to find a toy. She was absolutely obsessed with it and insisted that I spend my time always throwing it for her. Soon after, Brooke had found one as well she wanted to play her own game of fetch as well. This of course led to a big game of fetch between them and I. They would each sit watching me and waiting for me to throw one of the toys but as soon as I did they raced to get to it first. The two of them each got the toy and equal amount of times. When they weren’t playing fetch with me they were usually following each other around to try and get each others toys. That is until they each found their own. From that moment on they mostly laid in the snow chewing on their new found favorite toys.

Teddy and Kizmet were in quite a cuddly mood today. The two of them began their morning on a very calm walk with one of their friends from their group. They were very interested in sticking beside me for a good part of their walk. Kizmet constantly looked up at me as if to say “pet me please!”. They each took turns straying off the path in order to sniff a few things but mostly remained by my or each others sides. When it came to their outdoor group time they were pretty independent and hung around mostly with each other. The two of them would walk side by side along the fence line just sniffing away. Eventually, they realized that they were in a quite playful and energetic group as everyone began racing around the yard after one another. Teddy and Kizmet stood in the middle of the field and tried to watch what all of the other dogs in the group were doing. Soon enough, Kizmet leapt forward and joined in with Teddy following. Kizmet was very chatty today and always seemed to want to bark and anyone that was playing with him. He looked so cute in his play bow as he waited for anyone to come join him. Teddy bounced around and stuck around close to everyone. Once they had enough playing, the boys came over to me to cuddle. They were both obsessed with licking my face, silly guys.

Chloe C. and Sophie were very playfully competitive over who had what toys today. The two of them were constantly play fighting or chasing each other for each others toys and only sat down to relax a handful of times. It all started almost as soon as they got into the yard. Sophie raced outside while Chloe trotted out of her kennel with a ball already in her mouth. As soon as Sophie saw her with the ball it was game on. Sophie raced after her while attempting to get the ball but Chloe had a good grab on it. Eventually I found Sophie a toy bone to play fetch with and Chloe would chase after Sophi'es toy too and try to pick up both her ball and the toy at the same time! Obviously it didn’t go quite as she planned and almost every time Sophie ended up getting the toy. This game went on for quite a while until the two of them decided to race after one another again. For the most part it was Sophie chasing after Chloe, but as soon as Sophie would get the toy, Chloe would race after her as fast as she could to get it back. The first time Sophie got the toy away from Chloe, Chloe didn’t seem to quite know what to do with herself and instead simply stood there thinking of how to get it back. Eventually the girls slowed down and ended up each finding their own toy to lay down with and chew on.

Forrest and Boomer had another great day today. They began their morning walk with their friend Oliver in the back forest trail. All three of the boys were just ecstatic to get outside into the warmish fresh air. As soon as Oliver got outside he even stuck his nose up in the air as if he was catching all the different scents but immediately put it down after as he of course needed to sniff everything in sight. Boomer and Forrest jogged outside and were pleased to see that it was snowing once again. During their walk Boomer seemed to want to sniff and look around everything single tree possible. He was always off of the path as far as his leash would allow, venturing into the trees and ended up sending Forrest, Oliver and I on a very windy path to follow him. Oliver and Forrest didn’t mind the slightest and continued on their way as we found our way through the trees. Once it came time for their outdoor play group, Boomer and Forrest once again jogged out of their kennels and right into the yard, ready to see their friends. They were quite playful today with almost each and every single dog in their group as they continuously bounced around everyone to see what was going on. Throughout their group they were always very cuddly towards me and spent a good part of the group time surrounding me and cuddling with me.

Oliver and Heidi were the quieter ones in their group today. However they each had pretty energetic walks to start off their days. Oliver joined his friends Boomer and Forrest on a walk on the back trail and he enjoyed following his nose along the way. Once outside in his outdoor play group Oliver was much more casual and enjoyed remaining on his own. He ventured through as much of the snow as he could in order to sniff out everything possible. He looked so concentrated, always having his head down in the snow or sniffing along the fence line. I attempted to get him to play with a rope toy for a little while and at first he did seem intrigued but he must have caught another whiff of something shortly after because he was off again. By the end of his group time he was quite tired and ready for an afternoon nap.

Heidi spent her walk with two very playful huskies named Tasha and Boris. As soon as she got outside she was greeted by the two of them and they all seemed to get along great! The three of them were ready to go-go-go right away. Tasha and Boris were off in a heartbeat and at the end of their leashes trying to go as fast as they could while Heidi wasn’t sure she wanted to go that fast yet. Tasha and Boris ended up spending most of their walk time getting all caught up in the trees in the back forest. Heidi eventually came out of her shell and was soon walking right up beside them and even go faster than the other two. She was very good at staying on the path however she did follow them every so often. This made for quite the workout of a walk for all three of them. Once Tasha and Boris got into the yard during group time they were just as playful as they were on their walk. Tasha raced out with Boris right on her tail and ready to play tackle her. The two of them bounced around and tackled one another for what seemed like ages before finally realizing that our huskies Magic, Merlin and Justice were also in the group. This led to a huge play fight between the five of them with Susan’s dogs Glory and Brokk occasionally jumping in as well. The group of them raced around the yard at top speed, jumping over top of the agility tunnel, around the rocks and throughout the full both yards. Heidi was one of the more quiet and cuddly dogs in her group. She wasn’t in the same group as Tasha and Boris but was however with an equally energetic group. Once she got outside she greeted all of her friends, some new and some old before deciding she wanted to venture through the yard on her own. Of course she spent some time interested in what the other dogs were doing, but she always returned to just sniffing about in the yard. Once she gave the yard a full inspection, she came and sat by me and cuddled with me until the end of her group time. She was so adorable as she continuously gave me her paw to shake.

Sally, Glo and Molly are quite the toy crazed bunch. The three of them each had a wonderful day starting right from their morning walks. Sally and Glo joined their friend Sophie for a very fast paced walk where they all seemed to stay at the end of their leashes trying to go as fast as possible. Glo occasionally bounced around and on top of the other two girls but neither one of them seemed to mind and would just move around her in return. Sally seemed to be focused on searching for something in the snow for the most part of her walk. Molly was also on a three dog walk with two new friends that were just as energetic as her. The three of them immediately became best friends and were ready to venture out onto the trail. They all took turns running back to see me on the trail and then running back to the end of their leashes. Molly would continuously run back and forth from me to her friends and try and hop up so that she could get as much attention as possible. She looked very cute doing this! Silly little girl. When it came time for their outdoor play group, Sally, Glo and Molly were all put into the same group. As soon as Molly met Sally and Glo they completely hit it off. The three of them sprinted around the yard play fighting and tackling one another. Eventually they found a toy bone, and them all being as obsessed with toys as they are, decided it was time to play fetch. This went on for quite some time before each of them wanted their own toy. By the end of the group time they had each found their own and were laying with it while chewing on them.

Storm, Aura, Shyla, Maverick, Buffy and Dexter were all in the same group once again. They spent the entire day together which was awesome since they are all such good friends. In the morning, Shyla and Maverick got to go on their walk by themselves. The two of them raced outside with bundles of energy and immediately started trying to get in front of one another and stay in the lead. They continued this for the rest of their walk. Aura and Storm joined Dexter on another very fun walk where they played for almost the entire time. Dexter was a little bit all over the place with his playing but still managed to keep himself from getting tangled in the trees. Aura and Storm however, weren’t playing as much and spent their walk time investigating all of the trees and animal tracks on the trail. Buffy got a great one-on-one walk with me this morning. She absolutely loved the attention she got and didn’t seem to ever want it to end. Even when we were at the end of the trail and about to head back towards the building, she turned to go on the trail once more, silly girl. During their outdoor play group the six of them made for a very interesting, playful and fun group time. Buffy and Dexter hit it off with everyone they first met and were definitely the hit of the group. They always seemed to be right in the middle of everything that was going on whether they were play fighting, tackling, chasing or just sniffing around the yard. Buffy especially loved playing with Aura. The two of them were in a play bow for what seemed like eternity. Aura and Storm stuck together whenever they weren’t in the big group of playing. They always followed each other to see what the other one was doing and even played by themselves for a little while. Storm always seemed to want to be playing while Aura was a bit more relaxed. Another duo was Maverick and Shyla. The two of them also loved being together and even left the big group to go explore in one of the other yards. Towards the end of the group, the three of us cuddled for a while. Maverick absolutely loved getting his back scratched with Shyla wanted me to pet her head.