Merlin had a wonderful first day back here at Tails and Trails! He began his morning on a one on one walk with our volunteer Eric around the field. He was extremely excited to go out for his walk and busted out the door into the yard once Eric had put his leash on. Merlin definitely led the way as he ran right to the end of his leash trying to get Eric to go faster and faster. Every so often he'd walk beside him and get a little head scratch before continuing. When it came time for his outdoor play group, Merlin was just as excited to get outside and meet all of his new and old friends in the yard. He wasn't very playful today but enjoyed instead sniffing all of the other dogs in his group and following them, as well as I, around the yard to see what we were doing. He also spent quite some time sniffing along the fence line with one of his best buddies.
Tennya and Nymeria were the cutest little duo today! They spent all of their outdoor play times together and also with our young female husky, Magic. The three of them began their morning on a very fast paced and fun walk along the trail. They each took off as soon as we got outside and were ready to go go go! Nymeria became obsessed with playing with Magic. She was constantly weaving around Tennya and I to try and play tackle Magic. Of course, Magic had the upper hand since she is much bigger than Nymeria so she was usually the one doing the actual tackling. Tennya would join in every so often to play but would usually catch a whiff of something and end up off on a hunt to track down the smell. When it came time for their outdoor play group, the three of them were almost inseparable! Tennya and Nymeria raced outside one after the other trying to catch Magic. They were each chasing her for quite some time before I brought out a toy fox. As soon as Tennya saw it she raced over to me and started playing tug of war with me. This obviously caught Nymeria's attention and she was over in a flash to try and play as well. I tried to get them to both play against each other but it never seemed to work out. Soon enough, Tennya found another toy bone to chew on and laid down with it for almost the rest of her group time. However she did stop chewing on it every so often in order to roll around in a bit of grass. Nymeria ended up with the toy fox for the rest of her group time. When she wasn't laying down and playing with it or chasing after Magic, she spent most of her time playing in the mud. Her little snout and paws were absolutely covered by the time it was time to go in.
Baxter was such a playful boy today! From the moment he went out for his walk this morning to his outdoor play group he was always ready to chase someone around the yard or play with yet another toy. He had quite a fun walk this morning with a few of his buddies. Once he got outside he started searching the yard for any toys he could find. He found a blue toy bone and seemed as though he wanted to bring it on his walk with him but ended up dropping it before he got out of the yard. He led his group for his entire walk, always at the end of his leash and sniffing for something to play with. Baxter was sniffing around so much that he was exhausted by the end of his walk and laid down for a quick nap before the outdoor play group. By the time his outdoor play group rolled around, he was completely energized once again and raced outside. He picked up absolutely every toy he could find and always held his head high as if he was showing them off. He loved playing tug of war with me for a little while but eventually decided he wanted his toy all to himself.
Oliver had another wonderful day today. He began on a calm walk this morning with a few other friends. He was quite interested in sniffing throughout the whole field and usually kept his nose down on the ground trying to find the next bug in the grass. Every so often he'd jog to the end of his leash as if he was chasing after a scent but he'd slow down again to put his nose right to the ground and continue to sniff along. When it came to his outdoor playgroup he immediately trotted outside and into the yard to greet all of his friends. He went from one friend to the other giving them an overall sniff before coming over to me for a little cuddle. Eventually I found a toy bone for him and he loved it! I held it for him for quite awhile as he chewed on it relentlessly. Soon enough he brought it over to a nice sunny spot and laid down with it for the rest of his group time.
Maple, Charlotte, Sophie, Will, Achilles were all apart of an incredibly crazy, wild and fun group today. The five of them all played with each other at some point whether it was play tackling, a game of chase or simply trying to get a toy from one another. Achilles was the newbie of the group so all the attention was on him at first, and he adored it! He stood right in the middle of all of his new friends while they were sniffing him and waited to be able to play. Soon enough, Achilles and Maple were play tackling one another over a blue toy bone that Maple found in the yard. They play tackled a few times and each of them won about half of the time. Maple acted as though each toy she had was her prized possession. She loved to carry them around in her mouth to show them off to all of her friends. She even had 2 bones in her mouth at the same time! This didn't last very long though because soon enough Achilles raced over and took one right from her mouth! This led to a race around the yard led by Achiles with Maple following behind, right on his tail. As soon and Will and Charlotte saw this they wanted in on it as well. They followed shortly behind Achilles and Maple and the game was on to see who could catch Achilles. Charlotte and Will were a little bit too goofy to catch up to the other two as they kept bumping and jumping into each other. Eventually they gave up to join Sophie for a little while. Sophie started the group by doing her regular routine; greeting all of her friends, making sure Charlotte was okay and then going off on her own to sniff around the yard. However, Charlotte and Will felt as though she needed to play so they play tackled her one on one occasionally throughout their playgroup. Will was most often the one Sophie played with. The two of them kept play bowing and jumping at each other for quiet awhile before Sophie decided she wanted to follow the action between Achilles and Maple who were still trying to get toys from one another. Sophie joined them for a little bit before calming down and finding me for a cuddle. She remained by my side until the end of the group time. Will, Achilles and Maple joined me for a game of fetch towards the end of the group time as well. It was usually Maple who got to the toy first but each of the boys got their fair share of wins as well. Charlotte spent her entire remaining group time with her best girlfriend, Indi. The two of them became inseparable. Overall, each of them were exhausted from their energy filled day!
Enhanced:
Nymeria continues to grow each and every day she does her training. We really focused on her recall, "drop its" and getting her to do paw today but of course we started with a structured walk to get her into the swing of things. She was very excited to start and was a little bit all over the place but eventually calmed down and began to focus. On her structured walk she did an amazing job of sitting by my side once I stopped walking. I only had to correct her once or twice! She was a little bit slower at paying attention to me once I started changing directions but quickly got the hang of things after a few times. We went out front for the rest of her training. She did such a great job with her recall which led to some play time with a toy each time she'd come back and eventually tested her drop it skills. We found that if we offered a treat for the toy, she would drop it instantly. Great job Nymeria! Finally we skimmed over her sits because she does an awesome job with them but focused more on getting her to give us paw. She was quite good at paying attention for this one but still jumped up a few times. Overall I think she is improving very much.
Molly did an excellent job with her enhanced training today. Since we wanted to focus mainly on her walking skills I brought her outside for a structured walk. Right from the moment that we started I could tell that she was really paying attention to my every move. She did a wonderful job at stopping and sitting right beside me as soon as I would stop walking. She'd even look up at me as if she knew she did it right each and every time. Once I started changing my directions, she focused even more so that she could follow along quickly. At the end of her training I gave her a nice back and head scratch before she went back into her kennel. I think she is definitely on her way to having amazing manners while walking. Good job Molly!
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