Sunday, January 31st, 2015

Cats

Fawkes and Ekkaia had a wonderful first day back here at Tails & Trails. The two of them were a little nervous but seemed to get their surroundings organized pretty quickly. When it was their turn to roam around the cat room, they chose to snuggle up beside one another inside one of the boxes on the big cat tree. They almost spent the entire afternoon in there. Fawkes loved getting chin rubs while Ekkaia enjoyed having her back petted.

Missy enjoyed sitting up in her kennel for most of today, all snuggled up in her bed. However, she did enjoy hopping down and exploring around the cat room every so often. There were two new cats to meet so she spent some of her time sniffing around their suite and trying to say hi. Once that was done with, she hopped back into her suite and napped for the rest of the afternoon. I gave her a little head scratch which I think she really enjoyed.

Ziggy can be quite the playful little boy. He spent his morning snoozing in his suite but when it was his turn to roam the cat room he had a ton of energy. He loved playing with a little feather toy that we had today and would follow me around when I had it in my hand, always trying to catch it. After a while he decided to go lay in his favorite spot: on the cat tree. Once there I came over to give him a chin rub which he absolutely loved. It almost looked as if he was smiling.

Chief is such a cuddly little guy. I spent at least half of my time while in the cat room snuggling up with him. When he was in his suite, he would constantly meow to get outside and explore around the room. Once out, he perched himself at the second highest part of the cat tree and waited for me to come pet him. Eventually he wanted to look around the room and decided to hop down. There was a new crate inside the cat room from two new cats which he spent a ton of time smelling before finally deciding to go lay on the cat tree once again.

Groups
Jack and Molly both have so much energy when they go outside compared to when they’re in their kennel with each other. Right as they got outside they started jumping around me and barking to get my attention. But when I tried to go up and pet them, they ran away and started to tease me. Max found a bone and picked it up right away to show it off to everyone, which got Jack and Molly’s attention and they ran towards Max to see it. Max only wanted me to see his bone, though and he ran to me and dropped it off at my feet for me to throw for him. Of course Molly and Jack saw that and were waiting for it to be thrown too. As I threw it Max sprinted after it and continued to do so each time. Molly and Jack were chasing it as well but they couldn’t keep up with Max and Jack only caught it once.

Ripley was chasing all the dogs outside; she loves to run and did it for the majority of them time we spent in the yard. When I walked up to pet her, she looked up at me then ran straight in the other direction to keep playing. She saw me playing fetch with the others and watched closely but didn’t join in right away; eventually she did but only to run along with them not to actually catch the bone that I was throwing.

Bandit was being such a sweet guy outside. He wandered around in the beginning to explore on his own, while the others played with each other. Later I found a bright orange Frisbee on the ground in the yard and when I picked it up he lifted up his head and I had his attention. I called him over so he could chase it when I threw it, but he never ran after it. When I picked it up again he ran over and grabbed it from my hand and started to walk around with it in his mouth. When Max saw him with the Frisbee he suddenly wanted the toy as well. When I called Bandit over for some cuddles he dropped the Frisbee and Max scooped it up right away.

Macie had such a nice walk with Justice this morning. They are both always on their best behaviour and I always look forward to walking them together. During the walk and outside she loved to explore and kept her nose high to smell everything she passed in the forest. When it was group time she got distracted by another dog in the yard beside hers and kept on trying to walk up and say hi. When we got to the other yard, I picked up a rope toy and showed it to her to see if she’d play fetch but all she wanted to do was smell it before jumping up to lick my face. What a sweet girl.

Maya and Rocky walked with Nanook this morning and they all enjoyed themselves. Maya of course took the lead and was running the entire way around the trail, while Nanook stood beside me and Rocky quickly trotted behind us. Maya really wanted to go up to the dogs ahead of us and I had to keep pulling her back to slow down. Outside she was playing tag the whole time. It didn't matter to her whether she was being chased or the one doing the chasing. Rocky had a chill day outside and wandered around happily. He entertained himself by watching the dogs as they played across the yard. Nanook wandered around the yard sniffing all the plants along the fence. He would stop every now and then to roll around in the snow; he did it so much that he blended right in with it. Later on he started to play with Brody and I’ve never seen him so playful; they were running around in small circles chasing each other, then jumping up and play fighting whenever they caught up to one another.

Brody was exploring right when he got outside on his own up until Cara started to play with Maya. When Brody saw them playing he ran right over and joined in with all the fun they were having. Cara would follow behind me and bark at me to try to get me to chase her; whenever I did she’d bolt to the other side of the yard as Maya and Brody chased after her. The two were so much fun.

Maggie was being so playful today.  As she came outside she started running laps around the yard to get rid of all the energy that was built up inside her. She didn’t join in too much in the beginning with the other dogs but after she ran around a bunch she joined in with them for the rest of the time playing tag. She is quite the speed demon for such a quiet-seeming girl!

Ollie was being such a sweet boy outside and during his enhanced training. He came up to me for cuddles in the yard and didn’t even bother playing that much with the other dogs. He liked to stick around Julie a lot and walk with her in the yard. He seemed fascinated by her wheelchiar that she was rolling around in. His enhanced went really well and Ollie did great at sitting and staying in his spot as I backed up a few feet before I called him to me. He didn’t even try to move until I released him. He still needs to work on laying down but we had no problems with him jumping up.

Rupert was such a happy guy outside today. He was being so playful with me and the other dogs. Right as he got outside he found a nice big spot of clean snow and started to roll around in it; he loved rolling around in the snow, especially during his walk. He picked up the rope toy out in the yard and brought it over to me, knowing exactly what he wanted to play outside: fetch! I picked it up and threw it again and again the whole time we were outside, every time he brought it back to me he had the biggest smile on his face.

Glenda Lou and Gryphon both have so much energy, that I never even knew they had. They didn’t stop running around the whole time. Glenda Lou was leading all the dogs as they followed behind her with Gryphon. I’d try to take photos of them running past me but it was so hard to because they were so fast. When they started playing they invited the two new labs to play with them but it was hard for them to keep up with Glenda and Gryphon.

Maverick had a special interest in Walker today and went straight up to him when they got outside in the yard. He sniffed him for five minutes before he started to play with him. At first Walker was being cautious but after a little bit they became more comfortable with each other and were running around in circles and jumping up on one another. They both got tired of all the playing and came up to me for kisses and cuddles. Walker jumped right up on my chest to say hello. Shyla played tag with Glory out in the yard when she wasn’t going up to all the dogs to say hi. She preferred to keep to the rear chasing after the other dogs, running happily along behind them.

Delilah had a lovely walk with Chander and Tiffani and really seemed to enjoy being out on the trail. Delilah was happy to explore in the yard during outdoor group and although she didn't play she was quite social with the other dogs. Her favourite thing to do was to explore the yard. Once she was satisfied with that, she kept on coming up to me and following me as well. She liked my company and loved when I gave her lots of attention and cuddles.