Saturday, April 16th 2016

Cara and Baxter both started their morning off on energy filled walks along the trail. They were each walked with at least one other friend with whom they got along with very well so they were quite excited to get outside and enjoy it. Cara trotted down the hallway and out the door looking for friends to sniff. Baxter bounced his way outside and was immediately at the end of his leash ready to go go go! Throughout their walks, Cara was into the habit of sniffing everything. She loved following all the scents that she could find. Baxter was a little bit all over the place; he would walk beside me, go sniff along the trail or try to play with his buddies. Overall they were both ready to nap after their walks were done. When it came to their outdoor play groups, they got to be in the same group. Baxter raced outside to find the best toy possible while Cara roamed around the yard saying hi to all of her other friends. Soon enough Baxter had found a red toy bone and became instantaneously obsessed with it. He began racing around the yard with it in his mouth, running through the tunnel and also playing with it in a big mud puddle. Oddly enough, this is where Cara joined him. I didn't know that she was much of a puddle lover but she was splashing around in there with Baxter for what seemed like ages. The two of them would even play bow each other every so often. By the end of the group time, Cara wanted a head scratch so she and I cuddled for a little bit.

Daisy is such a sweet girl. She was absolutely ecstatic to join me on her morning walk as she was jumping up at her kennel door up until I opened it. Throughout almost the entire walk she was right by my side and continuously looked up for me to give her a little pet. However, every so often she scanned the field to see all of her other friends that were out walking. She loved bouncing around at the end of her leash to try and get their attention from further down the trail. When it came to her outdoor play group, Daisy raced outside into the warm spring air and was ready to play. She did a few quick laps around the agility yard before settling down to say hi to everyone. Throughout her group time, she did a variety of things such as dig in the dirt, play tag with a couple friends, sniff along the fence line, but she always loved coming back to cuddle with me.

Maverick and Shyla seem both very happy that Maverick is back on all four paws once again. He was such a trooper throughout the past week! This morning to two of them were so excited to get outside and start their walk that they burst out of the kennel before I could even put their leashes on. Of course they soon calmed down before we left but once we got outside they were moving as fast as they could in order to start exploring the field. Maverick took the lead on Shyla, always being at the end of his leash and moving forwards. Shyla, however, enjoyed staying closer to me or sniffing along the side of the trail to see what scent she might find. When it came to their outdoor play group, they went outside with the same energy as in the morning. The two of them didn't play too much but were either hanging out with their friends in their group or simply roaming around the yard. Maverick was quite the fan of all of our husky girls in his group today. He always seemed to be flirting with them no matter where I'd find him. He would continuously play bow and tackle Lucy a little bit. Shyla always seem to follow him around and make sure she knew where he was. She was very personable with me today and actually cuddled with me for awhile. When she wasn't doing either of those activities, I could usually find her with the other husky girls.

Rex was quite the little ball of energy today. As soon as I saw him this morning I knew I'd be tuckered out from playing with him all day. It must have just been the fact that he was wide awake and waiting to go outside bright and early. He walked a very fast walk with his friend Maple. The two of them were like a little dynamic duo for keeping me on my toes. They were both usually at the end of their leashes and enjoyed trying to constantly get me to go faster. However, I'd get lucky sometimes and one of them would be distracted and off sniffing something so they would slow down a bit. We definitely all got our exercise. When it came to his outdoor group time, Rex raced down the hallway and out into the yard. He seemed like he turned himself into high gear as he raced around the yard like a bullet. A toy soon caught his attention and it was game over for the racing from then on. He laid down in the sun chewing on his toy for most of the remainder of his group time.

Maple, Birdie, Sophie T, Sophie L, and Charlotte, were a rambunctious group of innocent looking girls. These girls were definitely the highlight of my day in terms of groups. Maple and Birdie might have gone on different walks in the morning but you would have thought that they were inseparable all day long! These two were attached at the hip any time that they were together and not much could break them up. One by one they each sprinted out of their kennels, down the hallway, and into the yard to find one another. Once they did, it was game on. Birdie and Maple were racing around the yard at full speed. They wouldn't even use the whole yard to run around which was the funniest part. Sometimes they would simply racing around one of our great big stone in the yard. Sophie T. and Charlotte were also pretty quick to get in on the action. Soon enough it was all four of them racing by me one after the other. Charlotte and Sophie T. weren't always so keen on constantly racing around the yard but did quite a few times. Whenever they weren't, they always seemed to keep one eye on the other two dogs no matter what they were doing in case they felt the need to join in again. For quite some time the four of them were gathered around a big hole/puddle which Charlotte of course couldn't resist laying in. I'd say that all four girls took their turns in the puddles but Charlotte definitely jumped in one or two extra times. Even by herself she loved splashing around in them and trying to convince Sophie L. to join her, as you might be able to guess, Sophie L did not. Instead, she made good friends with Sophie T. The two Sophie's stuck around one another for a good amount of time. Sophie T. had found a rope toy somewhere in the yard and became immediately obsessed with it. So naturally Sophie L. spent her time trying to snag it away from her. They played around for a little while until I began throwing it for them and only Sophie T. felt the need to chase after it. While Sophie T. raced back and forth playing fetch, Sophie L. remained by my side and gave me quite a few cheek kisses while she got a good back and head massage/scratch. She went back into her kennel a happy and fairly clean girl. Charlotte on the other hand came in also happy.... but I can't guarantee that she was very clean.

I can't believe how much energy and happiness comes from Fez still to this day. From the moment I saw him this morning until the end of the day, he always seemed like he was smiling up at me. This morning he got a bit of a shorter one on one walk with one of our volunteers. When he got outside for his walk he stuck his little nose right up into the air and sniffed all he could. He must have been taking in the nice warm air. Our volunteer made sure that he got plenty of loving throughout the walk and got to go as slow or as fast as he wanted to go. During Fez's outdoor play group, you could just tell how happy he was to be outside with his group. He's in a bit of a quieter group which I believe does him a lot of good. For the most part of his group time he wandered around the yard and would come over to me every so often to rub his back up against my legs and get some extra attention.

Juno and Zennon! What a little duo they were today. As soon as the got down the hallway they became completely ecstatic to be back here at Tails & Trails. Lucky for them it was soon time for their walk and it was almost as if they could tell since they would both shoot right up every time they heard us come down the hallway as if to say it was their turn. Once they got outside it was go go go! They both trotted to the end of their leashes and began sniffing every where they could. Zennon spent his time all over the place while Juno was mostly close to the end of her leash sniffing or checking on what Zennon was doing. Once they got back from their walk they went back into their kennel to have a quick nap before their outdoor play group. Once it was time for them to go outside again, Zennon lept right up with Juno close behind him. They each got some one on one time with me out in the yard. Zennon loved getting all of the attention whereas Juno was a little bit hesitant but soon enough would let me give her a little back scratch. When they weren't with me, Zennon enjoyed searching the yard for toys. Juno spent her time sun bathing and watching Zennon as he moved around the yard.

Boris and Tasha had quite the active day today! The duo began their morning on a very fast paced walk with our husky Tycho. The two of them were ecstatic to see him when they went for their walk. All three of them were bouncing right off of each other and immediately ran to the end of their leash to start walking. Boris took the lead in the walk while Tasha stuck back with Tycho, play tackling him constantly. Eventually also joined which led to quite the funny tangle between all three of their leashes. When it came to their outdoor play group they got a bit more of one on one activity since they were just out together. Tasha was very excited for all the cuddling that that entailed. She sat by my side for at least the first half of her group time. Boris on the other hand, used his time to search and sniff the yard for anything good to follow or chase around the yard. Closer to the end of their group, the two of them began a full on sprint after one another which lasted until the end of their group time.

Winston had an overall good day today. He began his day on a short one on one walk with Adam. He was wagging his bum the entire way down  the driveway. He also enjoyed sniffing alongside the driveway and even looked as if he might have found some bug to follow for a little bit. At the end of his walk he stop in the reception area for a little bit of a cuddle with everyone before returning into his kennel for a quick nap. Once it was time for his outdoor play group he was very willing to get outside in the warm spring sunshine. Winston did a short tour of the yard to see all of his friends before returning to a warm spot in the sun. He ended up sun bathing for most of his group with a few visits from me for extra cuddles. 

Koda, Nymeria, and Tennya were quite the playful bunch today throughout their outdoor play group. As soon as I went to open Tennya's kennel she raced out as quick as could be and trotted into the grass yard to find the perfect bone or toy to chew on. Soon enough she settled down in the sun with a bone to gnaw on for a small part of her group time. Nymeria was quite attached to me when we first went outside. She was constantly wanting to jump up on me or play with my shoes. However, she soon saw Tennya in the yard with her bone and sprinted over to her. Nymeria had her eye on the bone but Tennya did not seem to care or want to give it up. This meant that Nymeria of course had to lay beside her and bark at her to try and get it. Soon enough, the two of them began racing around the field, changing who was being chased every few seconds. They looked adorable jumping all over each other and play tackling. Once Koda saw the two girls racing around, he immediately ran over to them. He seemed to fit right in between them and was accepted to play with them instantaneously. The three of them looked so happy to be racing around the yard together. However, eventually they each went their separate ways. Koda remained very playful and continued to try and get all of his other friends to play with him. He was always on the hunt for another friend, even if it was just me giving him a back scratch. Tennya returned to her bone in the yard before sitting beside me for a chin rub. Nymeria continued to race around the yard after multiple different friends until she was so tuckered out that she simply laid in the sun. By the end of their group time, all of them were definitely ready for a long nap.

Enhanced:
Boris and Tasha both began the enhanced with their structured walk. Boris was entirely focused today, and Tasha tried really hard to not focus on the birds that were in the field as we walked along. Boris and I went back to basics today and focused on sit and stay. He has mastered the sit part, and sits very handsomely, waiting for his reward. Once I added in the stay, he at first didn't realize. Afterwards, I made him sit at one end of the playroom while I told him to stay and then walk to the other side of the room. The first couple times we went through it, he would sit and then stay for a couple seconds and then proceed to follow me. The third time, he finally waited there until I called his name for him to come over. He got so excited that he did it so well. After that he did it twice more, both times done perfectly! We took a break from working and I rubbed his back and bum and scratched behind his ears, which he adored! Tasha was feeling super cuddly this morning so we went into the playroom after our structured walk and I just let her do whatever she wanted to do. She scoped out the perimeter of the room, and then made her way over to me and put her two front paws right on my lap. I rubbed her ears and her belly and she rolled onto her side, inviting me to rub her even more! Tasha girl was really feeling the love today:)  

When it was time for Nymeria's training, she seemed quite excited to spend some one on one time. We started off by working on "leave it". This seems to be what she is able to do best during training. I brought a toy along with us so we could use that. I showed her the toy and put It on the ground and she practiced leaving it alone. She would sit patiently and wait until she was told it was okay to grab the toy. Next, we worked on "drop it". Nymeria had a little bit of a hard time focusing on the command as she was very excited to have the toy. Sweet little Nymeria knows so much for a puppy her age! She loves to work for her treats and she listens very well as soon as they come into the picture. Today we reinforced her basic commands and started only being rewarded after every couple of commands so that she doesn't rely solely on the treats. I gave her lots of enthusiastic pets as a reward instead of a treat every few times. After her training, as a reward I let her play around with the toy I brought in earlier!