Sunday, February 7th, 2016

Groups

Emma had fun with friends her friends today. In the morning, she started her day with a walk on the trails with Benji. Not long after that, it was time for her group to go outside for their play time. Emma bounced around as she made her way out the door. When she got outside, she spent some time with Rocky before playing with Maya. When she and Maya started playing, they automatically began to jump around all over each other. I could tell she was having so much fun playing with Maya, they're similar size and make a great match. They both seemed to enjoy taking turns jumping onto of each other. What made it even more fun for them was that the whole field was kind of slippery. This meant as they were jumping all around, they were also slipping and sliding as they ran!

Rocky and Maya had a great day. They enjoyed their walk together in the morning on the trails. After their walk, it was time for their outdoor playtime as a group. They were both happy to go outside. When they were in the yard, it wasn’t long before Maya had found some pals to play with. She played with Emma and Mac. They all chased each other around the yard, and enjoyed jumping all over each other. Meanwhile, Rocky enjoyed just lounging around as usual. His friend Emma came over to him before playing with Maya, and stood and watched Mac and Maya playing together. Rocky would bounce around a bit whenever I came over to him, and he enjoyed some cuddles!

Benji enjoyed his time outside today. First thing in the morning, he went on a walk with his pal Emma. They had an awesome time. It was not long at all before Benji’s group went out for playtime. The first thing he did was come over to me for a quick cuddle. After lots of hugs and kisses, Benji ran into the large part of the yard to play with his friends. He ran around as Maya and Emma played, occasionally jumping in the middle of them and chasing the others. Between spurts of energy, Benji came to say hello to me for some cuddles.

Brodie and Cara had an awesome day. In the morning they enjoyed a walk together on the trails. The trails were a bit icy, which made Brodie a little more concentrated on where he was stepping. On the other hand, Cara was quite daring and walked fast, even on the slippery parts of the trail. Later on when it was time for them to go outside for playtime, Cara had a ton of fun playing with her friend Ollie. The game started by Cara barking at him, then she pounced around him and they began to play. Meanwhile, Brodie had a good time scoping out the yard. He explored along the fence and occasionally Cara would come to join him. Brodie also played with Nanook. Cara and her friend Rocky had so much fun playing with a bright orange ball and let it slide on the ice as they chased it. Brodie eventually got a turn at it too!

Ollie had an excellent day. He began his morning by walking on the trails with Leo and Mac. The three dogs had a great time together. Right after his walk, it was time for Ollie to work on his enhanced training. I knew that Ollie had really been working on getting his “down”, and so I decided we would tackle getting it down pat today. So I started off with asking him the commands I knew he knew well, such as “sit” and “paw”. Then I started telling him “down” after asking him to “sit”. With a bit of freshening up of his memory, he started to do the command well. He definitely got lots of rewards for doing a great job. I could tell he was pretty excited about all the positive reinforcement. At the end of our session, he snuggled up onto my lap for some cuddles. He also enjoyed having his belly rubbed! Later on, he went outside with his group. He was greeted by all of his friends, especially Cara, who came over to him and started to pounce around at him. He ran around with her for a bit! He then retreated back to me for some more cuddles.

Winston really got out and explored today. His morning started off great, he was ready to go on his walk when the time came. He took his time, being careful on the slippery parts of the trail and doing his best to keep up with the friend he was walking with. He was happy to climb back into bed after getting back inside. Later on, it was time for his group to go outside for playtime. He decided to wander into the larger and icy yard to explore. His nose was always to the ground, making sure to capture all of the scents all of the way he was walking. He went to the farthest part of the yard where I've never seen him go before! 

Nanook had a great time outside today. In the morning, I could tell that he was anticipating going outside for his walk. When the time came he was super happy! Not long after his walk, he was ready to go outside with his group for playtime. He rushed out the door and quickly greeted everyone. At first, he just enjoyed walking around on the ice and sniffing around. Then, his friend Brodie came over to him. The boys started to pounce around a bit. Nanook began to chase Brodie around the yard. Brodie turned around quickly on Nanook and started to jump on him. They continued to chase around and play for the rest of our time outside!

Koda was full of excited anticipation before meeting new friends in his group today. In the morning after he arrived, he immediately went on a walk with Scarlett. Not long after that, it was time for him to go outside and meet everyone in his group. When he got outside, I think he was happy to see so many playful dogs running around. He fit right in and began playing with his new friend Jack. Koda would run up to Jack and pounce at him then run away. He kept doing this and Jack would chase him away every time. He then made great friends with Glory and played with her during every group outing for the rest of the day.

Jack and Molly enjoyed playing fetch as usual today. In the morning, they went on a walk on the trails together and they had an excellent time! A little while later, it was time for their group to go outside and play. As usual, they set off to find a ball or toy to play with. Molly ran up to me with a blue rubber bone and Jack followed behind her. They barked and jumped around until I took the toy from Molly and whipped it across the yard. They raced after it, and managed to keep their footing even on the slippery parts of the yard. They chased the bone every time I thre it and were always excited for the next toss. At one point, their friend Glory stole the bone toy from them so Jack and Molly let her have a turn playing with it. They watched intently, though, and were quick to jump over and grab it as soon as Glory was done with it. Jack took a break from fetch for a bit to play with his friend Koda.

Maggie and Chloe enjoyed playing together today. In the morning, Maggie went on a walk with Zoe and Chloe walked with Tango. All of the dogs had a great time! Later on, their group went outside to play. Chloe ran straight over to the blue and orange bouncy ball. She loves it so much, she carried it everywhere. When she finally dropped it, I took the opportunity to throw it across the yard for her. Maggie saw the ball fly by and decided to chase after it too. Chloe was speeding after the ball so fast I don't even think Maggie had a chance to catch up! But they both had a great time chasing after it together.

Zoe did a little bit of everything in the yard today. In the morning, she started her day off with a walk on the trails with Maggie. They had a great time together, and Zoe had fun running on the ice then sliding like a child does down a slippery hallway. When it was time for her group to go outside for playtime, Zoe seemed eager and happy to stretch her legs. At first, she wandered around on her own for a bit and explored. Then, she saw some of the dogs in her group having a ton of fun playing fetch. So, she joined Chloe and Maggie in their game. She also played with Tango and they had a great time together!

Timber was always up to play today. He seemed pretty excited to go on his walk in the morning, he was wagging his tail back and forth and sort of jumping around. He walked alone so that he could go his own pace on the trails. After that, it was time for his group to go outside for playtime. Once again, Timber was super excited and started to bounce around a little. When he finally got outside, he was more than happy to greet every single dog in the group. He then came over to me and gave me a quick sniff. I gave him some cuddles then he was off on his way to play with friends. He really enjoyed the company of Clifford and Sammy. He would always hop into their games and bounce around along with them.

Kesler, Sammy, Clifford, and Oban all played nonstop today. In the morning, Oban, Clifford and Kesler walked together. They all had a great time exploring the trails together! Meanwhile Sammy came in after walks, just in time for her group’s outdoor playtime. All of the dogs ran out of the door and greeted each other in a ball of excitement. They noticed that they had a new friend in the group, Sammy, and paid special attention to her. She was sniffed for quite a while, but once that was done, they all began playing. When they were all playing, they looked like a herd running around together. Everyone was so happy and excited and jumping everywhere. Clifford and Sammy seemed to lead the pack a lot, with Oban and Kesler following behind. Although they played all four together, they did pair off here and there. By the end of their playtime, all four dogs were panting and tired out!

Cats

Today was a good day for the cats, as they were inside cozy and warm while outside was snowy and icy. Missy was curled up in her bed having a nap when I went to let her out to roam the room. She woke up and instantly became excited to have the whole room to lounge around in. She headed straight for the cat climber and found a cozy nook to sleep in. When it was Gizmo’s turn to be let out into the room, he was also pretty happy to be able to use up the whole space to himself. He ran straight for the window ledge and spent his time gazing out the window. Fawkes and Ekkaia enjoyed their day by lounging around and napping. They cuddled up together in a cozy corner of their condo. They occasionally woke up to stretch their legs.